Sassy Princess

Emree has got quite the personality.  She is sweet, sassy and full of spunk.  I love that I get to spend my mornings with her while the boys are at school.  It is funny though, since the boys have started school, she has resulted back to 2 naps a day.  Hey, I am not complaining, it is nice to get things done. It just makes me think, "Am I THAT boring that when her brother's are gone she would rather just sleep until they get home"...or maybe, just maybe she is going through a growth spurt.  We all know how badly she needs that.

Our mornings consist of walking the boys to school and then walking.  We come home, I clean up from breakfast, play with Emree and then by about 9:45 she does this....

She curls up on the couch with a pillow, blanket and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and crashes.  Sometimes, if she is feeling really energized, she entertains me by dressing up like Grandma....

And after we pick up Manti, we come home and play for a little while (Manti is not usually hungry when he gets home due to the preschool snack he gets).  After play time with Manti we eat lunch and she will sometimes end up doing this....

Anytime she is awake, she runs the roost.  She is very talkative, quick to tell on her brothers if she thinks they are being naughty and loves to "help" me clean.  I LOVE my baby!

The Year of Changes

I have gone back and forth and rewritten this post several times.  Trying to put all of my thoughts together has been really hard.  September 2011 was probably the worst time we have faced together as a married couple.  I don't want people to think we were having problems....we are GREAT! It was a matter of very UNEXPECTED and SHOCKING events taking place within our families, we realized our lives were never going to be the same.

Adjusting to these changes has been difficult.  They are things we can never fix.  We can't go back and   "what if" I had done this...."what if" I had done that...it has happened and now we just need to find a 'new' normal.

During this time, I really had to focus on the gospel.  We were very fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends surrounding us and helping us through these changes. Saying the right things at the right time. Even saying the wrong things but at the right time, if that makes sense.   For that I will be forever grateful.  People really are placed in our lives for a reason.

It is an ongoing process of trying to understand these circumstances.  I have come to realization that we will probably not fully understand what has taken place and why but I know someday we will get the answers.

I have high hopes for September 2012 to September 2013...here's to finding and succeeding with the 'new normal'!

New Area, New Target

While we were in Wyoming, Troy picked up hunting.  He had a GREAT friend to teach him all the good and bad things about the sport.  His usual hunting trips consisted of Antelope, Deer and Elk as targets.  Moving to California, I thought his hunting trips would end.  For some reason I just didn't think there would be anything to hunt around here...but I was wrong.  He has met a guy in his training who is also an avid hunter so they go out on random trips.  Their new target....wild PIGS!! So far he hasn't had any luck in shooting anything...actually he hasn't even seen one yet.  We are hopeful.

 I think what he really needs is for Aaron to come hunt with him. (hint, hint)  So Bri, if you are reading this, you guys NEED to come! The boys can go hunt and we can go hang out on the beach.

A Moment of Weakness

There has been off and on chatter going on in our house of getting a dog.  I am not hip on the idea.  The boys would love it.  They want to take a dog for walks, wrestle with it and let it chase the gophers in the backyard.  I was feeling bad the other night because I am always so firm on the NO and started looking online.  I found a few that would be a perfect fit.  I felt a moment of weakness and really thought this might be a good time.

Now rewind 11 days....I am kitty sitting for a friend.  She warned me that when there is a change in the cats routine, she might act out and have an accident in the house.  We made it 8 days without any problems and I was thinking, "Awesome, having a dog wouldn't be that bad".  We get to day 9....We (the kids and I) went to see the kitty.  I let the boys play in the backyard and let the cat out.  I sat down and started reading, the cat jumped on my lap for about 5 minutes.  Again, I had the thought that having a dog might be kind of fun.  And then IT happened....the kitty jumped down and went inside.  No big deal right?? Two minutes later Emree comes walking outside holding her hands up and says "Yuck Mommy POOP" I asked what happened and so she showed me....the cute little kitty cat that had previously been sitting on my lap had gone inside and pooped in the middle of the carpet!!!  I was incredibly grossed out, not so much by the cat pooping, more so by the fact that Emree had played in it.

I think I can officially say my "moment of weakness" has been CURED and there will be NO dog in this house ANYTIME SOON! Thank you kitty for making me realize why I didn't want a dog.

* Sarah if you read this....I still love your cat.  She is such a cuddly thing it is actually fun and the kids are loving it! We will get our pet fix through you. :)

Weekends in Cali

We are really LOVING our weekends here in Cali.  The past few weeks we have set aside one day out of the weekend for a day at the beach and exploring.  The kids have been loving it.  We love to dig for sand crabs, play in the sand and collect shells.  We are lucky to have two beaches on base 10-15 minutes away from the house.  We don't get in the water (on base) as it is not recommended due to a strong undertow.  We do however like to go out and play catch, have races and watch the tide roll in.  We save our beach swimming for Avila and Pismo beaches.  That is also where the good food, shops and frozen yogurt are. 

First trip to the beach was when Sebastien split his head open.  It did not slow him down one bit.  We made a quick stop at Avila Barn where the kids got to feed some animals and we looked around at the produce.  

 Finally made it to the water!  I thought for sure they would hate it because the water is so cold but we got the complete opposite.  They had a blast and didn't want to leave.  (Except for Emree, she doesn't exactly LOVE it, but she is warming up to the sand.  It is a start.)

 This is one of the base beaches.  Perfect place to relax and have some fun.  Even great for a photo session. I need to find someone to take our pictures!!

 Manti is the life of the party.  Just look at his facial expressions in these pictures.  He is so silly and is always keeping things lively around the house.

I love these days when we can just escape the normal routine and just enjoy this beautiful world.  The ocean is so peaceful and I really find it relaxing to go be in this environment.  If gas wasn't SO expensive, I would probably go everyday.

Another one bites the dust

We were not even here for a month before this happened...

You can tell by the look in his eyes that he was less than thrilled about the start to his day. 

It was about two weeks after we moved here.  It was a lovely Saturday morning and we had a fun day planned for the kids.  Avila beach, Pismo beach and the Avila Barn.  I was upstairs showering, Troy was working in the garage and the kids were downstairs playing.  I heard some crying and figured if it was serious enough one of the boys would run up and tell me.  Sure enough! Sebastien came into the bathroom crying, and said he hit his head.  When I opened up the shower door to take a peek, I was not expecting anything.  Instead I saw blood running down his face, smeared all over his hands and a very panicked little boy.  I jumped out of the shower, threw a towel over me then grabbed him to try and calm him down.  He just kept saying, "I don't want to get stitches!"

Troy headed off to the ER, as I was not in any position to go (remember, I had just jumped out of the shower, conditioner still in my hair and not even dressed). 

The medicine is kicking in and he was finally up to "cracking" a smile. 

The result: NO STITCHES.  I had one very happy little boy.  They glued this one together and said we could continue with our plans for the day but to be careful at the beach.  Let's hope we can make it at least a year before we have to do this again! 

Bowling Mishap

Before we left Wyoming, we wanted to take the boys bowling for lunch with one of their friends.  We had just ordered lunch, got shoes on and the lane set up.  We bowled two frames and our food had just been brought out when I heard a loud thud, followed by a familiar cry.  I turned around and wouldn't you know it, was one of mine.  Manti had tripped, fell and smacked his chin on the bowling ball.  The ball went rolling two lanes over from where we were bowling and blood was pouring out of his chin.  Nice!! I ran over and picked him up, Troy cleaned up the blood and we headed off to the ER.  I felt so bad, not only for my boy, but because I then had to call our friends Mom and tell her what happened and asked her to watch my two other kids.  So much for a break....sorry Amanda!

Manti was really funny because he was more upset that the ball went down the wrong alley than his chin!!

He was such a trooper at the hospital and handled everything really well.  He cried for a minute when they were stitching him up but it was just because he was scared.   He settled right down and after 3 stitches, we were out of there!  

(about to get stitched up)

It was quite the battle wound but he is pretty proud of his scar now! 

*On a side note, the ER was great!! They brought him a special pillow and crochet blanket to take home. They wanted to make sure he had a good experience and wouldn't be afraid of the doctors and nurses.  It is now his pillow he has to have in his bed every night! Good job nurses!!