Happy FALL!!!

Fall in Southern California is not all  that spectacular unfortunately.  The air doesn’t have that familiar crispness to it and well… sand doesn’t undergo seasonal color changes…  So we pretend…

We buy our steaming hot cups of PUMPKIN SPICED Lattes (what would we do without Starbucks?!);

Make fall trees with colored paper…. and sand…

Carve pumpkins.  In the Desert heat they whither and faint the same day you carve them…

And we ‘Trick-or-Treat”.  No need for jackets – we can dress-up as Malibu Barbie AND get a tan…

OCTOBER Festivities!!!

Pumpkin carving in our household is Geoffrey’s “thing” and the kids had a blast with him!

They turned out so cute… Such a pity they didn’t last very long!!

Both Skyler and CJ had Halloween parties at school.  School parties in our house = CUPCAKES.

Skyler dressed up with her classmates for the annual Village Elementary Halloween Parade…

CJ had a blast as Spiderman with Mrs. Kyra and had way too much sugar!!!

Then, finally it was time to fill up those candy pails…

We had a VERY successful evening… indeed!!!

THE END!

BIG Camping Adventure…

For weeks and weeks the boys (Geoffrey & CJ) have been planning their first “Boys Only” camping trip.  The UPS man became a close friend as he made numerous trips up our steps to deliver camping equipment every few days!!!

The day finally arrived… Sunday morning CJ woke up and told his sister how much he was going to miss her but not to worry because he will be writing and MAILING her lots of letters and photos.  I don’t think he quite understood that their trip would only be for 2 nights…. not 2 months!!!  He left a picture of himself on my wall too – so I would not forget him!

Skyler and I could not wait for our time alone.  We had all kinds of “Girly” activities planned.  We gave ourselves pedicures while sipping on hot tea and eating Pannekoek (crepes).  We watched Extreme Home Makeover and read the Chronicles of Narnia.  Our fun was just starting!!!!  We woke up Monday morning with great excitement for a full day of MORE female bonding!!!  But alas…

At about 12 pm our doorbell rang.  The boys stood their with huge grins on their faces!!!!  Poor things looked exhausted!  Apparently they had come close to frostbite, got stung by a bee in the middle of the night and ended up sleeping in the van!  Then to top it off it started raining!!!  They decided that they just missed us too much and would rather snuggle with us in a warm, cozy bed.

Skyler exclaimed:  ”Go back!  We’re not done having girly fun yet!”.  But a trip to ToysRus and a dinner date at Mimi’s with Mamma made it all better!

Who’s kid are YOU?

I had the following conversation with CJ.  It made me realize how blessed we are with an awesome church. They are doing a tremendous job instilling GOD Confidence in our kids!!!

CJ:  ”Mamma, do you know who’s kid I am?”

Me:  ”You’re my kid, Honey.”

CJ:  ”No, I’m not!”

Me: “Then who’s kid are you?!”

CJ:  ”I’m God’s SPECTACULAR kid!!!”

Me:  ”Indeed you are, Baby!!!!”

My SPECTACULAR Boys!

Friends… Always…

We were so blessed to have two of our dearest friends visit us back-to-back ALL the way from JAPAN!

Maricel was visiting her father-in-law in northern California and traveled an entire day to come see us.  BOY, how I miss her presence!!!  She truly is and always will be a part of our family!

Then, Tom flew in from Japan to visit his “Yankee” brother for a full THREE days!!! Now that’s a true friend!!!  We had so much fun celebrating his engagement to the lovely Mutsumi!  We can’t wait to meet her!!!

(Miss you both like crazy!!!!)

Being a Mommy…

Some days are really hard…  Being a mommy is challenging on so many different levels.  Today I’m exhausted!

It’s only 10 am and already I have had 5 long hours of …

making breakfast;

packing lunches;

tripping over toys;

wiping the toilet seat;

waking every one up with a smile;

reading some edifying scriptures;

changing 4 (YES FOUR!!!) yucky, stinky diapers,

nudging every one out of the door and into the car;

praying for Noah (boy in Sky’s class who has trouble listening);

dropping Sky off at her classroom (boys in tow…);

getting CJ ready for Preschool;

praying for Jordan (a boy in CJ’s class who has trouble listening);

ANOTHER stinky diaper…

doing laundry – load number 2 (of 10… YES, I am a bit behind!!) …

And as I’m reflecting on my morning so far (sipping on my cup of hot tea!), I am reminded of how INCREDIBLY blessed I am.  Mommy’s can go non-stop for hours, days, weeks, without anyone noticing all we do (or so it feels) and then, out of the blue, the heavens open and we find that special gift…

The unsuspecting card or flower from the hubby;

a sweet hug and “I LOVE YOU” from your baby boy,

or a beautiful picture drawn especially for you by your little princess…

“SIGH”…  Yes, it IS all worth it…

1st Grade Here We Come!!!

WE ARE SO READY FOR THIS YEAR!!!

Skyler is geared up and super excited to be a first grader.  Mrs. Doull is a super sweet teacher and we’re ready to LEARN, LEARN, LEARN!!

How we LOVE our new Jumperoo!!!!

My Princess is 6 years old!!!

Not a day goes by that I am not reminded by the sweet blessing that is my SKYLER!  Not only my first born but also my only girl… my Princess!

I adore you and am so proud of you…

You make me a better person by showing me daily what it is to

LOVE, LIVE, and LAUGH!

The Great American Adventure…

My parents arrived in Los Angeles on July 10th for a long-awaited “American” vacation.  My mom had never been to the States before and we planned on cramming in as much of the culture as possible into their 5 week stay.

After almost 30 hours of traveling, they finally arrived in Victorville… minus their bags – which ended up going to Singapore (we think?).  We spent our first weekend visiting with my aunt and uncle from Louisville, KY.  How glorious to share stories and several cups of tea with “my peoples”!

Their bags finally arrived on Tuesday.  We gave them an hour or two to unpack and then set out on our Grand Adventure…

We covered 10 000 miles!!!  We had numerous adventures and so many funny stories… Too many to record here… So I decided to just post my parents infamous State Sign photos (we were obsessed with them!!!!) and a few other highlights…