Let me bring you up to speed...

Bella is still scared of the car wash.

She's at a safe distance without getting too wet...uh oh, she's going to need some clean pants....make that clean clothes....ok, now goggles! Thank goodness our front yard will be landscaped when this pond dries. :)

The only time I'm grateful to be working out in 100 degree weather. The outcome was worth the dehydration. We did good Greg & Gary!

This is a machine to make you feel like you're in a hurricane. It reached 80 mph but I took this picture at 47 mph winds....hummm sounds like springtime in New Mexico!

Awe....soft bath rugs to lay on in a basket. A pleasant way to shop with little ones.

Bella enters the "Terrific Two's!"

I know it's the "terrible two's," but I'm convinced that by saying that will jinks Bella's attitude into a little monster that she isn't. I'd have to say that Bella just grows more precious everyday. There's just too many cute moments to post, but I'll just name a few that pop in my head now. Instead of saying NO to everything, her most frequent words are "LOOK, LOOK momma!" Actually, just the past week or so I've noticed a huge leap in the amount of words she's saying. She's so interested in everything. Bella wants to be doing whatever it is I'm doing, whether it's vacuuming, watering the lawn or folding clothes. She's right there saying, "I try!" Her face lights up when her Dad or brothers come home. When it's time to say prayers we usually let her pick who gets to say the prayer and most every time she picks Bryce. She loves to say his name. In a lot of ways she acts like Bryce. We feel very blessed to have her in our family. I spend a lot of time in the Garden which means so does Bella and Claire. The time we've put into it has paid off though. Here's Bella smelling a fresh cucumber. Her favorite thing is to see the chickens. Claire was so excited that her chicken "Goldie" let her pick her up. Now since our sunflowers are about 10 feet tall I think the kids feel like they're in a jungle. I hope I can pass on the love of Gardening to my kids.

I couldn't help but make Bella's birthday cake a Twilight theme. I figured that this would be the only time that she wouldn't mind the theme. She doesn't care as long as she gets to eat cake! Next year I'm sure she'll have an opinion about what her cake will look like. Plus, the Edward doll is an addition to the Barbie family. It was all I could do to keep her hands from taking Edward off to her room to play. So this is Edward in "The Meadow." As fast as she's growing up it won't be long before we have an "Edward" at our doorstep trying to sweep Bella off her feet.

Skateboarding...Bryce's new passion

As you know we bought Bryce a skateboard for his 8th birthday. Since then it's "hey mom...dad, can you take me to the skate park?" "Gee mom, maybe after you run errands we can go to the skatepark?" (Even though it's 100 degrees outside!!) or "mom, I was thinking we could go to the skatepark so that I can try this new trick, it's called the ...........blah, blah, blah." Bryce has been doing tons of research and learning all he can about skateboarding and so he's always throwing these terms like the double twist half pike, the 90 degree tail whip,the alley, the 180 degree alley, and kick flips just to name a few. He checked a biography about Tony Hawk and finished it in one afternoon. He's wanting to learn everything he can; it's fun to watch. These pictures are actually about a month old and he's improved to much and has gone through several boards (working his way up to the faster boards) and he's decorating his room with the old boards. The past few nights we've had a "driveway picnic dinner" so that we can eat and watch the kids skate around. It's been perfect because the Thunderheads start rolling in so we get a lightning and X-games show all in one. :) Don't worry the lightning is far away.

Cameron also has picked it up, but is a little less aggressive about it and tries to do the same stunts with his skooter. (I'm ok with that, skateboarding scares me.) The girls for the most part have been good sports about spending so much time at the Skate Park. If we get there when it opens in the morning we have it to ourselves and the girls get to run wild! Bella's such a crazy little girl. She's been jumping off things as soon as she learned how to walk. She landed this jump too. :)

Like I mentioned earlier, this happened several weeks ago. Bryce has improved tons and is getting a lot more air than shown here. I'll video him next chance I get to show the difference a few weeks will make. This is just what Bryce needed I think. He works so hard, he'll come in just dripping in sweat after practicing. I like seeing him work so hard for something he wants; it'll be a good lesson for him to learn.

Back from the Big Apple!

I

love NY

Ok, this is going to be a long post. Jesse out did himself when he sent myself to New York with 2 of my sisters, niece and my lovely Mom for 5 days. I'm not going to bore you too much with all the details, but I'll just give you the highlights of the sightseeing...which is actually A LOT!
Day 1: I should probably mention that the night before we left I didn't get a wink of sleep. I arrived to my moms house around midnight and we were going to have to get up around 3:30 to get ready and leave for the airport by 4:30; our flight left at 6 am. We were all just too excited to sleep. Same on the plane...couldn't sleep. Needless to say our energy level was just about ready to collapse. This is the apartment Jesse rented for us. It was so newly renovated that they were seriously sweeping up from the construction dust. It was so clean and comfortable. We saved hundreds as compared to staying in a hotel. I found this place on http://www.homeaway.com/ and it was located on 30th & 5th.

Here is the view from outside of our apartment. Just a few blocks from the Empire State building. I can never get over how tall the buildings are. This picture cracks me up, because we were all wearing a shade of green except for my mom and so our shirts are completely blended in with the background. Plus, Jeanine was trying to tell the camera lady "wait!" and she just quickly took the picture. Ha ha!
After flying in and settling into our apartment, we set out on the town. We mainly just sat at Harold Square while watching the people and cars go by. I could never get tired of watching people. Just enjoying a pretzel and taking in the hustle & bustle of the city.








Day 2: Up and out by 8 am, ready to shop! I think we walked the most on this day. We walked and walked up and down Broadway and 5th Ave. Down to ground zero and then took the subway back to Union Square.












We found what looked like a safe alley and there were some neat backdrops so we stopped to do some silly poses. Just needed a good laugh to get the endorphins running because around this time we were just about to drop like flies. We found this store called "Joyce Leslie" and we found some good deals there and that's the place where I did my Micheal Jackson impersonation. (inside joke between my mom & June)

I had to take my family to this restaurant called "The Bald Man" chocolate factory. The exact name of the restaurant slips my mind. I went to this place 3 years ago with my sister n law Connie and it was sooo delicious. The food lived up to its ability to make me smile. We just couldn't stop laughing (must have been all of the chocolate we were consuming). We walked home home exhausted and really sleep deprived; hit the hay.
Day 3: 4:40 rang the alarm. It's funny when you know you have an exciting day ahead of you, it makes it easier to roll out of bed although, when our feet hit the floor they were screaming! :) Our legs were so sore!! Normally, there's no way I'd get out of bed at that hour. We woke up this early because Miley Cyrus was performing a free concert in Central Park for the CBS Friday concert series they have every summer. The subway was quiet except for a few questionable people. It looked like it did in the movie "Ghost" when Patrick Swayze is learning how to move things as a ghost. I thought any minute a piece of trash is going to fly in my face. When we got to the park the line was very long, but surprisingly we were able to get up close to the stage. Bret Michaels was also there singing the duet "Every rose has its thorn" with Miley. It was interesting to watch them in between sound checks and commercial breaks. They seemed very nice and would crack jokes at each other. They were both very good performers. I caught a glimpse of Emeril, but sadly didn't get to taste any of his food. :(
We activated our New York City Pass (best bang for your buck if you're site seeing) and started at Madame Tuso's. We all screamed when we turned the corner and saw "Edward" so of course I had to get my picture with him. We also had a good time acting for the camera with The Hulk.
To me my mom looks like she just slammed her hand in the door! ha ha! If I had it to do all over again I would of acted like I were fainting. The screaming just isn't original. :)
We hopped on the bus tour to take a load off our feet and loved our tour guide who really knew the city well. We toured through Harlem and Upper side of Manhattan. Amongst all of the heathens in Times Square I was surprised when we came across the LDS Missionaries. These poor boys were probably very hot in their suits, but they were cheerful and upbeat. The highlight of this trip for me would have to be going to see the Phantom of the Opera and the Statue of Liberty. We lucked out on the tickets. We were able to sit in a box seat looking down onto the stage. Let me just say that The Phantom of the Opera is AMAZING!! The singers just brought tears to my eyes; so powerful!!! AND, the sets were also incredible. My favorite part was the beginning of the show after the auction. The chandelier which was sitting on the stage covered with a dusty grey cloth was sparked to life and lifted above the audience. That's when I knew "this is gonna be gooood!" The main characters nailed their performances. Their voices sounded just like the recordings you hear if not better. It's amazing that as many times as they perform this show (I think twice a day) that they perform it as if it's their first. My sisters, June, Janet and I used to listen to the music as kids and so seeing the show was just a dream come true for me. I hope it never leaves Broadway. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but at the end of the show I noticed others snapping some so I got my quick shot.

The Statue of Liberty meant so much to me to visit. I've been doing some reading on our country and how it was formed (thanks to Glenn Beck) and just walking the grounds of it was very humbling.Here's just a random shot of the city near Fox studios. The buildings just seem to go on forever. With our NYC Pass we were able to take a tour of NBC Studios. That was very cool. We weren't allowed to take pictures for obvious reasons, but we looked at the studios for NBC Sports, Conan O'Brian, and Dr. Oz, but the most exciting for me was the SNL studio. Even though I'll probably never see a show I can at least say that I sat in one of the seats. Too bad SNL isn't as funny as it was in the 80's & 90's.
We took our pictures with the character pose and I can't remember what show this was, but Jeanine picked this out and I totally think that Jeanine needs to go for this hairstyle. You look good Jeanine!! For some reason the lady made June's head WAY to big for her character. We had a good laugh. I've left so much out, but those were some things I wanted to share. I love you Jesse for allowing me to take this time away from my responsibilities and spend some Q time with my mom and sisters. Bella who has always loved her daddy now just adores him and is a complete daddy's girl. Claire was probably the one who missed me the most. :) Karen, thank you so much for watching the kids while jesse was sick and at work. You're an amazing and wonderful mother -n- law. :) As much fun as NYC was and always is I'd have to quote from the title of the song: "New York is not my home."

Finally a visit from the tooth fairy!

For weeks if not months Cameron has had a lose tooth that just seemed to hang and never come "loose." Finally, it came out and this morning before the sun came up Cameron woke me up with just the happiest voice. "Mom, my tooth is gone! I think I swallowed it in my sleep!" I unconsciously congratulated him and then collapsed back to sleep. All day long he's been so excited. Every time he gets something to drink he asks for a straw so that he can put the straw where his tooth is missing. Also, all day he asks Jesse and I, "Mom, Dad aren't you just so excited that I lost my tooth?" He's so cute. I guess he's officially growing up. :)

Keeping the kids busy.

The first week of summer break is always the hardest. For some reason my kids are bickering a lot and I'm trying to figure out things for them to do. We had 100 + weather at the beginning of summer and so after being couped up in the house we decided to go to the Farm & Ranch Museum. Luckily the tour guide driver wasn't busy and so he offered to take us around the ranch on his golf cart and we were able to take our time while looking at the animals. Besides all of the normal exhibits they have they were focusing on schools from the past and there was this display set up. The kids all wanted to put on the dunce cap. Hopefully this isn't a look into the future. ha ha

My new motto: Get it done!

Blogging is not at the top of my list these days as you can tell, but it probably should be somewhere in the top 10 because I'm WAY behind. I guess the first thing I want to mention is that we sold our old house. YES! I'm so glad that getting the house ready to sell is behind me now. I must say that I did enjoy it a little. I've always loved home improvement stuff and this project fed my need. :) I would wake up every morning and getting over there to work was my first thought. I'd drop off the kids at school and the girls and I would go directly over and I'd work until around lunch. Bella took her naps for almost 3 months in the car (don't worry the weather was the perfect temperature). I did my outside work during her nap time so I could keep an eye on her. Claire, the poor thing was so sick of going to the old house. At one time we pulled up in the driveway and when I turned off the car she just lost it. She did not want to come in. So, from then on mornings were spent at friends houses, Grandma's and Grandma's daycare. It was much more enjoyable for the both of us that way.

We put the house up for sale April 15th and had an offer on it three days later. We were so thrilled, but we're holding our breath because sometimes these things still fall through. So, finally the couple were able to get their finances from the bank and we closed May 20th. It was hard saying goodbye to our very first real home. We had so many fond memories there watching our little boys and adding two girls to our family. Every home we've moved from is hard, but I'm always excited for a change. If it was the perfect home for us I'd stay put, but we're looking for a larger home to spread our wings. We're still looking for that home, but will be patient because if we have to move again it will be a home we'll be in for a LONG time. :)

Jesse and Greg were taking down the play equipment and this is what I found when I arrived on the scene. It was our trampoline, but to me this looks like a sink hole just swallowed it up!

The tree that just wouldn't survive. We've been meaning to cut this tree down for nearly 3 years...nothing like moving to finally get your projects done. :)

Nothing like fresh new carpet when you've been playing on dusty cement for weeks.

I found Bryce squeezed in this box eating his ice cream and thought it was cute. I know he was thinking about the good times we've had there.

Here are just some pictures of the house all ready to sell. I worked my tail off on the house and I'm proud to say that it paid off!

Claire turns 4!

Claire's birthday was on Wed, but I had to wait to post until today because we celebrated with the family yesterday. Every night last week there were baseball games and then Claire got sick with a fever all day Sat. She pulled through just in time for have a nice celebration. On her birthday night Jesse had a softball game and so we brought cupcakes along with us and the whole baseball team sang to her. She looked a bit shy by it, but I could tell she was loving it. All this week Claire has been telling complete strangers that "it's my bir-day!" While at sonic it earned her a free kids toy, at the bank she got a sucker and so I guess she figured that she would continue to get free stuff if she told everyone. :)

Connie the dress you bought the girls just looks darling on them. I took bella's off so she wouldn't slime it with beans and cake. :)

Jesse designed and helped frost the cake for me since it was mothers day. I think the cake turned out really cute, and most important it was darn tasty!

Claire is the sweetest girl I know! She's very honest and so when she tells me out of the blue, "Mommy, I love you," I know she means it. She's also become a little social butterfly. I just love seeing her make fast friends while at the baseball games. Before her birthday I got out the barbies that I used to play with throughout my childhood to see if she was ready for her own. They kept her mind busy for a few hours and so that's what we bought for her this year along with a doll house. I'm actually looking forward to playing along with her because I still enjoy playing with barbies I have to admit. Having a doll house like this would've been awesome as a kid! :)

Here's a short video of Claire (or should I say Wyatt) blowing out her candles. I wonder if she'll still get her wish? ha ha. It was a little windy otherwise we would've let her blow them out again. :) After cake all of us paired up and played a few games of Croquet. The first game Greg & Karen showed there awesomeness at the game, but the second game Jesse & I dominated! Odoyal rules!!! I think croquet is going to be our game of choice... until the mosquitoes come.

Tagging along for the ride

Every year Jesse has to do a certain number of hours of continual learning for Optometry and so this year we decided to follow him up to Albuquerque and enjoy the weekend with him. He left the day before us at 4am and sat listening to lectures until 5pm. He said it was torture trying to stay awake through it all. Basically his mandatory classes were Friday-Sunday from 8-5pm. I came up Sat. and we met my Mom & Larry at our favorite restaurant Buca's, hit the mall and then hit the hay! We spent the next day at my mom's and the kids were so looking forward to going exploring around her house but it was SNOWING! She lives on the other side of Sandia Peak and so the weather is always 10 degrees cooler. Well, needless to say we spent that day indoors but it's ok because my mom decided to clean out her closet and I ended up leaving with a big black sack FULL of clothes! It's like having a new wardrobe. My sisters will be so jealous, but you snooze you loose! haha It was nice seeing my mom so close to Mother's Day. We're getting ready to go on a trip to NYC in a month and so I'm looking forward towards spending some "quality" time with 2 of my sisters and my niece. There isn't going to be a dull moment.
After my mom's the kids went swimming and had a good time playing some foosball games with their dad. Bella insisted on grabbing the ball any time Jesse was about to score so you can guess who won. :)