Movie day, the 4th, and some yoga too

We had a great long weekend in our neck of the woods. Friday I had the pleasure of lunch and a movie with one of my sisters and two of my sis-in-laws. We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (yum!!), candy at the movie (another yum!) and then we were really bad and had some Pinkberry frozen yogurt after that (interesting, but also yum!) It was my first time at Pinkberry and I tried the coconut flavor...kinda hard to explain; it was like a Yoplait yogurt flavor but in soft-serve ice cream form (I guess I just explained it, huh?). The movie we saw was an ultimate chick-flick, My Sister's Keeper. Good movie, and we cried like babies! I'm so lucky that I have so much fun with my sisters!

Here is a picture of the four of us - Trisha, Cherie, me, and Kelli.

Saturday we went to Nick and Suzanne's for a big family 4th of July get together. Suzanne's daughters came in from out of state to join us, it was fun! Emily had been sick all week with a virus (and crazy high fevers) so we had to show up later than everybody else because she couldn't go swimming yet and we didn't want her to have to sit and watch everybody else swim. We had a lot of good food and good company though, and we stayed until after dark to watch the fireworks show. They have this amazing view from their backyard and we were able to see about 8 different fireworks shows from there! Most of them were a little too far off and really small, but right in the middle there were two main shows that were close enough to watch. It was really pretty and without the crowds and noise!

Here we all are before dinner - Charlene, Jon, Alex, Suzanne, Nick, Trisha, Shannon, me, Tina, Doug, Alexis, Jack, Devin, Emily, and Ryan.

Today I'm keeping busy. Emily has been dropped off at school, the A/C on my car is hopefully getting fixed, and lucky Bella has a vet appointment this afternoon. :)

Tonight is yoga! I signed up for a yoga class through the school district's rec. center. It's every Wednesday night for 10 weeks and last week was my first class. It felt really good and it should really pay off in helping me support my lower back better and help keep my bones (and hopefully my mind) more aligned. I'm looking forward to going again today and seeing if it leaves me as sleepy as it did last week, yay for a good night's sleep!

San Diego

We're baaaack! What a great time we had on our mini-vacation!! Emily pretty much summed it up for me the first afternoon we were there; she was playing in the water and sand on the bay when she stopped and called out to me, "Mommy, this is happiness!"

We left after lunch time and stopped at a view point on the way there because it was a beautiful day. There turned out to be a bunch of squirrels running around and this other family had some trail mix that they were nice enough to share with Emily to feed them with; they ended up eating right out of her hand, even putting their little paws on her hand to make sure it stayed still. So cute!

The next day was zoo day. We loved the zoo! We decided to walk instead of do the bus tour because you can see way more and go at your own pace. The weather was perfect, and Emily changes her answer every time she's asked what her favorite animal was because there are too many to choose from.

That night we drove to Old Town for some super yummy Mexican food and Emily was very excited that we had a little visitor during our meal. We were in the outside seating area, and this kitten was just watching us eat most of the time from on top of a brick wall.

Wednesday was our only other full day there and we decided to use it for relaxation time. I got a massage in the early morning and the rest of the morning we spent at the pool swimming and reading. After lunch we walked over to the dock and rented a boat for an hour of driving around Mission Bay, that was sooo fun! The faster the boat went the happier Emily was and it was so fun to hear her laughing out loud the whole time. We all took a turn driving the boat, even Emily drove for a bit!

After our boat ride we went to hang out at the beach by our room. Emily couldn't get enough of playing in water and sand, she'd live in it if she could. Dinner time came next so we went to a local pizza place and had a huge pizza that was really good, then we headed across the street to Belmont Park where they have some rides and carnival games. We did a few things there and ended the night with huge amounts of fabulous ice cream.

Thursday morning it was time to pack up and come home to our own beds and pick up Bella (I have never seen her as happy and excited as she was when I picked her up!). Bella was way over-due for a play date with her best friend, Roxy, who lives in our condo complex so we made sure to get some doggy play time in Thursday afternoon.

I think that's about it, you're all caught up to today!

See You Later!

We're on vacation until Thursday! I'm sure I'll have lots to post over the weekend. Have a great week everybody!

This Week In Pictures

We haven't had any main events happen this week, so I thought just post some pictures from things throughout the last week and tell a bit about them. Enjoy!

This week we...

...went to the dog park (3 times). This is Emily's favorite dog there because she can actually pick him up and hold him. He's fairly patient with her and sits there looking frightened (as if a Chihuahua has a different look) until she moves her arm and he runs off to his mommy.

...drew some chalk art; This is Emily's owl.

...saw this red-tailed hawk just sitting on the house watching us after we finished drawing. It was really cool to see so close!

...went to the playground by our house where Bella loves to dig huge holes in the sand (I keep refilling it and she digs it out again) and Emily met a couple of new friends.

...found this empty fallen bird's nest that I wish I could see how tiny the eggs are that fit in it. Emily has recently discovered roly-polys and she was laughing so hard holding these two in her hand and feeling them crawl around and tickle her.

(Somewhere in here I donated blood, but don't have any pictures of it.) Mommy got a hair cut.

...went to Laguna Beach to see how Bella would do with the water. She didn't like it, but was all too happy to run away from it with Alex and to dig a few holes in the sand.

Last Weekend

I know, I know.  I'm slacking on my blog-updater duties!

We had a great time last weekend!  Saturday we headed down to Lake Elsinore to spend some time with my brother and his family and the free carnival that was going on there for little league closing ceremonies.  It was great, thanks for the invite guys!  Free food, cotton candy, snow cones, and bouncy houses and water things for the kids to play in.

Emily was super excited for Sunday to come because that meant going to Sesame Street Live.  She really really loved it and her eyes were glued to the stage the whole time.  Alex and I didn't mind that we went to Starbucks both before AND after the show because there happened to be one right outside the entrance...it was almost like we had no choice with it right there!  The show was really cute though; it was all about Elmo's new friend, Sunny the Sunflower, and how he needed a new place to live because his pot was too small.  So they had to find the perfect spot in Big Bird's garden and talked about being earth friendly and recycling and such.  They had little gift bags at every seat from KCET and Emily got a necklace and bracelet in a little Zoe purse.  She kept telling everybody she looked, "Just like Zoe!"  Very cute, that little girl of mine!

A Long Fabulous Weekend

I hope everybody had a great Memorial Day/3 Day weekend!  We had the best weekend here, and it was pretty much like a 5 day weekend for Emily and me.

We started off on Thursday with a day at Disneyland with Emily's Grandma Suzanne.  It was really busy but we're lucky enough to have passes so it was ok that we just ate lunch and went on 3 rides over the course of the day.  Thanks for coming with us Suzanne!

Friday we had a great little play date at the park.  The kids ate lunch there and did a little Memorial Day craft of painting and gluing big popsicle sticks together to make a flag; they're so fun to watch!  Then we finished off that day with meeting our friends Brandon and Jessica and their kids at Chuck-E-Cheese's for some greasy pizza and play time.  I also made my first angel food cake that day.  :)  It was fun to learn a new recipe and it came out sooo yummy!

Saturday was great!  My nephew, Colin, had his 5th birthday party and it was awesome!  After all, who doesn't like a Boot Camp party??  As the kids showed up they all got their faces painted and to put on camouflage vests and head bands (seriously adorable).  When everybody got there they got in line and were taught some things by their drill instructors (Sean and Brendan, my 8 year old nephews) such as - saluting, marching and jumping jacks.  Then it was off to the front yard to the obstacle course!  Around a tree, weaving through cones, army crawling under strings, hopping over hoola-hoops and over and under some pipes they went til they finished and grabbed a grenade water balloon and ran to the back yard to throw it at the target that was drawn on the wall.  After that it was time for "drill sergeant says" and then inside for some tank cake that my fabulous sister-in-law made and present opening.  Of course Emily decided it was a good idea to wear a dress to that kind of party but she sure didn't let it slow her down.  Great party, Cherie!

After the party we came home so I could frost my angel food cake and take it to a family BBQ at Nick and Suzanne's for an early birthday surprise for Suzanne.  We had the best grilled salmon for dinner and as always, great company.

Sunday morning was fantastic for me because I got to use my Mother's Day certificate at the spa!  Such a relaxing morning with a massage and some time in the hot tub, and the weather was perfect so I drove home with the top down and enjoyed the cool breeze.

Monday I did a little Memorial Day sale shopping at Michael's for some cake supplies, then we were off to Tina's house for some more BBQ and fun.  We took the kids to the little water park in Ladera Ranch and I love it there!  It's perfect for parents to just sit and watch their kids go crazy in the shallow water.  We had the best BBQ ribs dinner that everybody pitched in on then went home full, happy and tired!

And, of course, here are some pictures from the weekend!

Mother's Day

Well somehow I ended up with no pictures at all from Mother's Day!  I had a fantastic day though, thanks to my hubby and the other fabulous people in my life.  I woke up to presents from Alex and Emily; I got some candy, a Bath and Body Works gift card, a picture frame for some of our Angels game pictures, and a home made card from Emily (with a picture of a "really cool space ranger" on the back and a "ummm...it's an ice cream maker..." picture on the inside).  My fabulous husband got me a Mother's Day massage package from Burke Williams Spa, yay!!

After presents we got dressed and headed over to Tina's house where the guys made all of us mothers a really yummy brunch and we stayed and talked a while.  We came home and had some relax time in the afternoon and took a family walk with the dog, then got ready to go to dinner with Nick and Suzanne.  The restaurant is by the beach so we left a little early and took a beautiful drive down the coast with the top down to get there.  After dinner and dessert it was late and we were all worn out so it was home and to bed from there.  What a perfect Mother's Day!  Lots of family time and beautiful weather can't be beat!

Emily's First Angels Game

We had so much fun on Thursday night taking Emily to her first Angels game!  She was really excited and couldn't wait to see Torii Hunter (her favorite player) and eat hot dogs.  We ate horribly of course:  Hot dogs, popcorn, peanut M&M's, and cotton candy to top it all off.  She was really good for it and was so happy when they got a home run and the fireworks went off; we stayed until they 8th inning and she didn't even want to go home yet!  It was free hat night and 80's night so we got some fun music to listen to and they put all of the players faces on pictures of people from 80's movies and music (like Torii Hunter's face was put on a Michael Jackson CD cover), which was hilarious!  This is definitely something we need to do regularly as a family night activity.  :)

A Walk Around Our Neighborhood

This is a long post, but there are just lots of pictures.  :)

I love our neighborhood.  It's nice and calm and quiet, but people are friendly when you pass by and want to get to know you when you're playing at the park or walking the dog.  I love that we have tons of trees around us, it's relaxing, and lots of room to run and play outside.

This is where we live.  It's a little condo community.

This is our backyard.  When you walk up a short sidewalk outside of our front door (the opposite direction that Emily's going in the picture above), you come to this huge grassy area that's perfect for playing ball, having a picnic, running in circles,  or doing just about anything else you could imagine.

There's this great walkway that goes all the way around it, perfect for walks.

On the one side of the field there are the condos, and on the other side there's this ravine-type thing that runs the whole length.  It has lots of trees in it and a little stream in the bottom (there was probably more water back in the day), and there are lots of sticks and rocks and who knows what kinds of bugs or frogs or whatnot.  I bet little boys love to explore down there!

At the end of the field, there's a little playground that Emily loves.  It's simple but keeps her entertained, and sometimes we'll bring her sand toys and build things.

We usually take two walks a day, once around the field, and the other one around this great pond/stream-type thing that's in another section of our condos.  All we have to do is cross the street and go behind the other houses and we can see little waterfalls, bridges, and rocks with turtles hanging out on them.  Emily likes to make them dive into the water.  I didn't realize how big the pond was until we got the dog and started exploring more.  It goes almost the whole length of the street.

And since this post is already so long, I might as well throw in a few more pictures of Emily from our walk.  :)  Come and visit us!