The Runner Bunch

Trading Places Day

2011-11-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

For Halloween at Haylie's school they did a trading place day instead of regular costumes. They asked the kids to dress like their parents and anyone helping in the class to dress like their children. It was a pretty tough assignment to figure out how Haylie could dress like me so we opted for one of my old shirts which is pretty short on me now and some skinny jeans. Does she look like me?

While I was tryng to get a good photo of Haylie, Max decided he wanted to show his stuff in the photo as well!

And here's Mommy helping in Haylie's class, with my best attempt to dress like Haylie.

This was so cute - comparing costumes :

Around the block and back

2011-11-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween we set out for some trick or treating all together and along with some neighbors who Haylie and James like to play with. We left a bowl of candy on the porch but I was told by a neighbor it was emptied real fast. Bummer.

Here are some photos from our night of trick or treating. By the time we made it around our block the kids were very ready to go home. Half of our group continued on and the other half of us headed back to eat the candy before bedtime:

Harvest Carnival with friends

2011-11-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

It's funny now that Haylie is getting a little older, she wants to bring a friend with her everywhere we go. We invited her best friend along to the harvest carnival at our church and the girls had a blast being silly from all that sugar they were scoring from the trunk or treat line.

Raider and his girlfriend Jen:

James found a friend too:

The super slide was a big hit!!!!

She's a runner!

2011-10-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

I was so proud of Haylie in her school jog-a-thon this year. Last year was pretty rough, not only did she walk almost the entire time but she was about the slowest walker I have ever seen :) This year she did so much better!! She actually ran a decent amount of the time and completed 21 laps as compared to her 12 last year. It cost me more money but it was well worth it!!

So proud of her lap card:

Quick pic with her teacher:

Proud Mommy and brother:

Apple Hill or bust

2011-10-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Every year, lately, it seems like we just barely make it to Apple Hill. I love to go as soon as fall hits but our early fall weekends seem to fill up so fast. Plus I think Micah likes to avoid the crowds at Apple Hill so it gets put off. We usually try to find a week day and then run out of time. This year I picked a day in advance, and we headed up before Halloween even!!

The kids enjoyed feeding the animals, picking pumpkins, running the Hay maze 100 times (they were having a competition - Daddy was timing them to see if they could get faster each time).

Hume

2011-10-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Hume Lake again for our Bible Study women's retreat. The speaker was Sheri Rose Sheperd and we completely enjoyed her. She is a fantastic speaker with great messages that really gave us all something to walk away with. Most of all we loved hanging out together, chatting it up, watching movies and talking about good books. Always love weekends away with the girls.

Haylie's Birthday Wish

2011-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Haylie has been wishing and hoping for a puppy for well over a year now and Mommy finally cracked. We were set on not getting a puppy but last week when we were reading a book about 3 wishes, Haylie lamented that she only had one wish - to get a puppy! How could I resist? Mommy raced out and found a puppy later that week and brought it home just before bedtime one evening. Haylie was SO excited and the look on her face was so precious. I adored everything about that moment and this little guy is pretty cute too:

School carnival

2011-09-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dancing with her teacher:

Airshow

2011-09-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Although I have never been to the airshow before, the rest of my family has. I think Micah usually takes the kids, along with Uncle Brian. This year Daddy had to work in the VIP tent and got us all in. We got to watch the planes from right in front where they were taking off, in addition to eating yummy food and drinking free drinks. It was very hot that day but the airshow was a pretty cool event.

Hanging out with Haylie's friend from school:

James is a preschooler!

2011-09-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

James's first day of preschool meant my sweet baby James is growing up. It's hard to watch your babies get older. I wish I could sit and rock him on my shoulder in the rocking chair for the rest of my life. But he keeps growing up and moving on to new adventures He was so very excited to start preschool - it felt like he had been waiting forever!

This is his favorite pose lately:

My two school kids:

He chose a Star Wars backpack:

Outside the classroom:

Nanny and Cathy came to see him off too:

So hard to say goodbye:

Vintage Couch

2011-09-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

I borrowed this couch from a friend for some photo sessions, but when it worked out that we had the couch one more night than originally planned I decided to throw together a quick photo session of the kids and the couch.It was quite the last minute plan so it was amazing that I found clean, matching outfits. I wasn’t even planning on joining in the photos but threw a dress in my bag as I was running out the door (hence the wrinkles you will see in it!)

For being a photographer – I have a terrible time being in pictures. I have this weird lean-in, head-tilt thing I always do that makes me look pretty foolish but since I can’t seem to figure out how to stop doing it whenever a camera turns my way, I’m just getting used to my goofy looking photos – you can see the concentration in my smile…don’t be awkward, don’t be awkward!

Thankfully, the majority of the shots this time weren’t too awkward; but then again you’re only seeing the ones I approved:

Cool guys:

Now look at that straight up head – no leaning, no tilting. Phew – maybe there’s hope yet. Thanks to Raider for taking the pics of Micah and I – it’s nice to finally have some with each other. Had I properly prepared for the session I would have brought my tripod and got a family shot!

Cabo - part 3 - the beach!

2011-09-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

While in Cabo we also spent some days going to the beach. Haylie developed a little obsession with collecting seashells and by the end of the trip she had a whole bag full. Raider even found some that he intended to bring back and turn into necklaces as gifts.

On the hunt for good shells:

Everyone was dragged in at some point to help Haylie find pretty shells:

The treasure:

We found a really pretty beach on the way to San Jose with cute star beach huts to hang out under, so we all packed up lunch and lots of sunscreen and headed out for the day:

Micah had to stand guard in front of the kids most of the time because the tide was rushing out pretty fast the day we were there. We were afraid the kids would get swept out to sea. They almost did a few times:

The funniest incident of the day was when a crazy crab came running into our area and sent all of us scattering. There were lots of crabs but most of them left us alone. Micah is holding the daring little guy:

Cabo - part 2 - out on the town and traditions

2011-09-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

One of the nights we were in Cabo, Micah's parents watched all the kids and gave us Mom's and Dad's a date night. We went to our favorite Taco place where we all ate on our trip 3 years ago:

We wandered through the nearby shops and found some fun souvenirs:

Then later in the week we decided to trade babysitting with the Tylers so we could each have one more date night by ourselves:

We ate at a beautiful, hip new restaurant right on the beach. It was such a nice place, with delicious food:

We also took a family day and headed into San Jose del Cabo. It is a cute little town with shops where we bought more souvenirs:

As we were trading around time off, we also switched some time where just the girls went out and just the boys. Jaime and I headed out for pedicures. It was pretty funny how habitual we all are because this is the same place we went 3 years ago so we had fun telling stories about last time and reminiscing.

It was a short drive from our hotel into the main town. It was extremely hot and sunny a couple of the days so we were quickly exhausted walking around but we hit up our favorite little shopping places and restaurants.

We had a group photo in this same location 3 years ago so of course we had to take one there again. Micah was missing because we couldn't find the time to do it until the end of the week after he had already left :(

Who knows what kind of disease these little guys carry but it was too fun to pass up the chance to hold them. The kids loved it:

Just me and the kids for the rest of the week:

Cabo - part 1 -at the hotel

2011-09-05T23:33:00.000-07:00

While we did venture out several times, the majority of our vacation in Cabo San Lucas was spent at our hotel - it is such a beautiful place with a spacious room, gorgeous balcony views, lots of different pools and a beautiful beach; there wasn't much reason to leave!

We had such a wonderful time on our summer vacation to Cabo this year. We traveled with our good friends the Tylers again, and Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a few days as well. Sadly, Micah had to leave toward the end of the trip to go back for an interview but we all survived the pool and beaches without him.

Can't wait 'til our next trip back to Cabo - one of our favorite places!!!

This is the beach just past the pool at the hotel:

A view from our balcony:

Haylie had just learned how to swim so she was a fish the entire vacation:

Enjoying a snack at the swim-up bar:

Walking along the beach to the hotel next door:

The popular whale slide:

Preparing for a sleepover:

Naomi helping me play cards:

Playing checkers on our last day:

Children's Museum

2011-08-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to attend the grand opening preview for our new local Children's Museum. It is such a cool place and we will definitely be going back.

They loved painting on the wall:

Sugarland

2011-08-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Our Bible Study girls had the opportunity to go to Sugarland together thanks to Rebekah. It was such a fun concert!! Although I must say I love being down on the floor where everyone stands and dances the whole time. It was too intimidating to be the only one standing up in the middle of the stands!

First Grade is cooler

2011-08-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

After her first day of first grade this week, Haylie declared: "First grade is cooler than kindergarten because I have my own desk." Haylie loves her new desk and tells me about how she keeps it organized with her pencil box, markers, books and notebook. We are so proud of our little first grader!!

Taking her on the first day of school:

Nanny and Cathy came for a pancake breakfast to celebrate Haylie, pray for her and then send her off on her big day:

Checking out her desk:

Now that the first week is down, Haylie's favorite things so far include: her new desk, playing games in class and chasing the boys with her friend Allie at recess! Her least favorite thing: writing. According to her: "It's hard work!"

The girls

2011-08-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

I am blessed to have a couple groups of really great girlfriends. I think when I was younger I didn't fully realize the importance of great girlfriends but I am so thankful to still be friends with these amazing girls after almost 20 years! We try to get together as often as possible and this year we all crashed Sarah's house in Seattle for a girls weekend of laughing, reminiscing staying up late watching movies, and just hanging out together. We ventured out one of the evenings, took pictures by the lake, went to a nice restaurant and hung out by the fire in a downtown hotel:

LOVE you girls!!

The next day we headed out for a little trail walk down to the beach:

So blessed to have these lovely girlfriends!

Here we go again

2011-08-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

And so soccer begins again! Not sure we're quite ready for the whole season, but with Haylie's two best friends playing on the team too I know she'll love it!!

Weekends Away

2011-08-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

I would go away somewhere every weekend if I could. Every year for my birthday we try to go somewhere - usually Tahoe or the cabin. I was grateful we could spend some time at the cabin this year. Oh how I love the mountains!!!!

After a long morning hiking we decided to cool off by the river. The kids went about as far as they could go without getting carried downstream and then a little water fight broke out:

After the river we headed over to the local play area. The kids loved the teeter totter:

and of course the monkey bars:

Hiking

2011-08-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

This summer we have really enjoyed our few opportunities to get out into nature and enjoy family time hiking, playing and just enjoying God's creation. Both kids are old enough now that they can walk on their own and they held up pretty well for our 3 hours of walking on the Lyon's Creek Trail near Tahoe. We hiked in to a little creek, had a picnic lunch and then headed back.

This was the scenery on the drive back to the cabin after our hike - so gorgeous!

Our hike:

James carried his walking stick the entire time. It was a really good one and he loved carrying it:

Haylie and I loved the beautiful meadows of flowers:

Can't Miss It

2011-08-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

There's something about the State Fair - I have gone every year since I was a kid and for some reason I just can't bear to miss it. This year we decided to go on Kid's Day - something I'm not sure we'll repeat next year, but luckily it wasn't as bad earlier in the day and the crowds started arriving just as we were leaving. The kids had a great time. Raider decided to take his tickets and go on a different night with his girlfriend - I guess now that he's 18 that's allowed! :)

Oh how they love rides:

James is just getting tall enough to go on some by himself:

After the rides we went to see the animals - which as you can see James was not thrilled about:

We had to do Haylie's favorite thing - the Ferris Wheel:

Towards the end of the day the silliness took over the kids and they got a little wild:

And here is Mommy's favorite part of the fair - It's a little tradition for me - I love the photo booths:

Birthday Visit

2011-07-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Got together with the highschool girls today to celebrate Lynette's recent birthday and my upcoming birthday. I love it that we still get together to celebrate each other after all these years. Love these girls so much:

The kids had fun swimming in Brandy's pool and eating ice cream. Thanks for hosting Bran!

Level 3

2011-07-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

Although we intended to send Haylie to swim lessons last summer, we kept finding ourselves "behind the 8-ball" and the classes were full or the timing didn't work... So this year we finally got her in and she has done great!! It was amazing how quickly she caught on with a little focus and direction. After about a week, her teacher said she was pretty much ready for the next level. She accomplished everything she was supposed to including swimming under the water, jumping in, getting rings from the bottom of the pool. It was fun to watch her so proud of herself with each step. We signed her up for the Level 3 next, where she will learn more of the swimming techniques including freestyle and backstroke - we'll see how she does.

We decided to sign James up for swim lessons as well, and although it was probably still a good idea to get some practice for him I was doubting it throughout the session. He wanted nothing to do with putting his face in the water which was his main objective for Level 1. In fact half of the days he got out of the pool mid-way through the lesson and said he was done, came over to me and wanted to go home! Needless to say James did not graduate to Level 2 but it was worth a try!

Adult time

2011-07-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

It sure is nice to get some time now and then to hang out with my love, no kids attached! Micah was offered some free tickets to check out the Sacramento Capitals so we figured it was a good excuse for a date night. I've never been to a real tennis match before; although when we went to New York we actually bought tickets for the US Open which happened to be going on while we were there. Unfortunately the matched were rained out that day and our schedule didn't allow us to make it back. So, it was fun to actually get to watch a live professional tennis match - a new experience for us:

We ran into an old co-worker of mine from the bank and Micah's boss as well. We all got access to the VIP section and appetizers before the game:

I liked their cute outfits and a couple of the girls had very toned arms which is my personal gym goal!

One last picture - driving Micah a little crazy with the photos but it was such a fun time I wanted to document it!

Hiking

2011-07-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

As part of our weekend getaway we went hiking (walking) along a path to a waterfall. It was such a fun trip and I want to find more day trips like this one. We love being out in nature and exploring.

So beautiful:

At the top - viewing the falls:

This just makes me happy:

Haylie loved climbing on all the rocks along the path and conquering each rock:

Craziest thing - on the way back we saw some good friends of ours walking up the trail. We had no idea the other was going and this wasn't a popular trail - neither of us had been here before and it is about 3 hours from home - so weird. Haylie had fun playing with her friend Sierra for awhile and climbing the rocks together:

James a little tired on the way back:

Craft Fair

2011-07-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Micah did a great job finding fun activities for us to go to on our trip. There was a big craft fair going on in town with music and yummy treats... While Daddy and the kids had fun looking at all the sweets they offered:

Mommy and Haylie had fun looking at all the cutesy crafts like tutus and hair bows:

Ultimately the kids each got to pick one thing to take home... James got a pop gun and Haylie got a pink snake:

Children's Festival and Renaissance Fair

2011-07-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

After wandering around Nevada City we headed to the main event - the children's festival and renaissance fair. It was such a great event - better than we even expected - fire breathing dragon and all:

I thought all of the craft ideas were so creative and very well put together. There was a big castle at the beginning that the kids could paint:

The hit of the day was the table full of wood parts and tools where Daddy made James a sword and Haylie a wand. James carried his sword around the rest of the weekend and even slept with it by his side every night:

Mommy helped by sawing off the tip to make it pointy!!

There were probably 20 different free craft tables with fun, creative crafts that the kids really loved making:

One of the crafts was painting pillowcases to make their own tunics:

For the rest of the weekend James walked around with an angry face, beating off imaginary bad guys with his new super cool sword and shield:

On the way back to the car we had to stop at the park when Haylie found her favorite thing - Monkey Bars!

2 more parts to come...

Nevada City and beyond

2011-07-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to get away for some much needed relaxation and family time. We found out about a children's festival and Micah planned a fun little trip for us from there, with multiple stops and several fun things to do:

The first part of our trip included wandering around old town Nevada city. It was such a cute little place - I really love little towns like this with boutique shops and antique stores.

First stop was of course a candy / ice cream shop. Oh how the kids love Daddy!

Dinner - so delicious:

Micah is such a good Daddy and planned such a good trip for us. There are so many pictures I liked from the trip I am breaking up our weekend into 4 parts!

Big Sister

2011-07-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

I love how Haylie takes care of her brother - helping him at library storytime/songs this morning. They finished their first rows of the summer reading program and earned free books and bookbags.

Fireworks

2011-07-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

For fireworks on the 4th we headed over to hang out with all of our Bible Study friends, which we have done for the past couple years. We were missing some of our girls this year:

The kids and Dads swam for a little while:

And then they were anxious to get to the fireworks:

The Dads always enjoy the fire part:

James still really isn't into the fireworks so Haylie has no problem doing extra sparklers for him!

It's a Kid's World

2011-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

It seems like we go from one fun activity to the next these days with the kids - carnivals, fairs, festivals, etc. I wonder how all that excitement and stimulation will affect them in the long run. They'll probably be like their Mommy needing to be in a constant state of activity. We have so much fun watching them have fun though, it's hard to resist going when we hear about fun events. To celebrate the 4th of July we made our second annual trip out to a local carnival / 4th of July event. It was blazing hot but the kids loved the rides and bounce houses anyways.

This was the kids' first time in a carnival "fun house." They liked walking through the different rooms but they were a little scared by the spinning wheel at the end:

They made it through!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Dinner with the girls while Sarah was in town:

Girls Nights

2011-06-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

I love getting to go out with our Bible Study girls - it' such a fun time of chatting about girl stuff without kids interrupting or spilling stuff on us!

Here are some photos from recent girls nights.

At a local club listening to a Country Band:

We sat outside because it was a packed house and felt like it was 100 degrees inside. Other than the cigarette smoke outside it was perfect. We headed in once for a little line dancing. Can;t wait to go line dancing again soon!!

Girls night at PF Changs and Water for Elephants:

Dance

2011-06-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Haylie had her second dance recital recently. She was much better this year. She had been practicing her routine at home and really knew her steps well. She was so adorable in her little purple tutu outfit.

Unfortunately I had a big head and a microphone in front of me during the recital so it was hard to get good pictures:

So proud of my princess:

Looking at her carnations daddy picked out :) Not Mommy's choice but Haylie loved them because they were pink - she didn't know anything else!

Nanny came to watch:

The attempted family photo:

Kiley and Lea came for Haylie's recital too:

Tickets

2011-06-17T00:06:00.000-07:00

Yay for a great husband who surprised me with fun tickets!

Get your game on

2011-06-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

We play games at least 5 times a day. Every day... Haylie and James LOVE to play games. The following list includes just a few of the games we regularly play around here: Sorry, Guess Who, Outburst Junior, Parcheesi, Mastermind, UNO, Yahtzee, Connect 4, Sequence Jr. and Scrabble Jr. The best part is, I picked up about 13 of these games at the goodwill store for $25. One evening we were heading to Target to get a couple games for Haylie, and on the way I asked Micah to stop at the goodwill so I could run in and see if they had any first - I came out with a lot more than he expected but the total was as much as one of those games would have cost at Target - most of them were in nice if not brand new condition - it was amazing!

Through game playing, we have learned several things about James and Haylie's personalities. Haylie is very competitive but she is a very good loser, it doesn't phase her when the other person wins or you SORRY her 3 times in a row and send all her people back to start. James on the other hand makes it known at the beginning of the game, that he's not really interested in playing if he's not going to win. Then if you SORRY him, he goes into full meltdown!

We also learned that James has an incredible capacity for remembering names and faces. We picked this up from other places like Sunday School (whereas Haylie can never remember the names of kids in her class - James knows them all), but Guess Who has made it very evident how good at this James is. James quickly learned the names and faces of all the characters in the Guess Who game and can even recite them like flash cards - I have a video of it but it won't seem to upload so you'll just have to believe me.

I love playing games with the kids and am continually grateful for the opportunity to do so!

Summer Reading

2011-06-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are a little obsessed with the library. In fact, we've been going about once a week for the past couple months. It is so fun to go and check out new stories and adventures each week, read them together and learn about them all week along and head back for more the following week. All summer long the library has story times on Tuesdays which we plan on attending. We've already gone to a couple and the kids really enjoy it. This one was a couple weeks ago and was led by a team from the Zoo - they even brought a pony.

Here is another of Haylie a while ago. The library has a summer reading program with prizes and little free gifts - Haylie is all over it! She is very goal-oriented, checking off her reading boxes and ready to head back in for her next prize!!

Iphone Randomness

2011-06-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

I just learned how to import all my iphone photos into my computer (rather than emailing them individually) so I thought I would do a post of some of the miscellaneous pictures I found but never posted anywhere... it was kind of fun looking through the 400 pictures on my phone!!

At the cabin:

Look ma what I can do:

I can't see you, you can't see me:

Kids day silliness:

Tahoe:

Tired boy:

snuggling (photographer Haylie):

Life in 3D:

Lunch date:

Mrs. napkin head:

Princess Haylie:

Remember these from elementary school?:

Cozied up after bath:

Cute soccer girl:

\
Wheee:

Our other child:

Rock star:

Dinner with girlfriends:

Rainy day:

Shoes I might have worn to the wedding if they weren't $150 :)

Smashburger shakes:

New tricks:

Mom, take a picture of me up here:

18th birthday present?

2011-06-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think so! :)

Auntie Bekah's Wedding

2011-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

We have been counting down the days until Auntie Bekah and Uncle James' wedding. Haylie was the flower girl and James was the ring bearer. It was a big day for them too and they were excited to find out what it would be like. The wedding was beautiful - held at the home of a family friend, the grounds were filled with gorgeous rose bushes everywhere and the weather was perfect!!

I didn't take too many pictures of the day because I wanted to enjoy the festivities and be one of the guests instead of the photographer. The following is one of my most favorite new pictures though. James was so sweet - I didn't even ask him to do that!

The dress search for me could have been exhausting but luckily I found this one pretty fast:

Tangled

2011-06-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Caught James playing Rapunzel... let down your hair:

Let the Summer Begin

2011-05-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of our summer vacation, and I get to be here for every minute of it!!! And I couldn't be more thrilled. I can't wait for a wonderful summer with the kids full of fun and adventures and just being together.

Asthma

2011-05-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

When my sister and I were little we both had asthma problems, my sister much worse than I. It is scary when your children have a hard time breathing. We have had to take James in to the doctor a couple times due to wheezing and I am praying that he does not develop asthma. The doctor said it may be just a little bit of allergies and that's what we're hoping for.

This day he had to have two breathing treatments because he was wheezing so much:

Just like Daddy

2011-05-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

James has been dying to play soccer like Daddy, and like Haylie too. He finally got his chance. He started a little kickers program this month and he was ready to go!! He had a smile on his face throughout the entire practice - he was so thrilled! He was so cute to watch too - he was very good at watching exactly what the coach was doing / saying, listening well and doing exactly what the coach said to do. His mouth was always wide open with excitement at each task they were given whether it was running or kicking or balancing.

Haylie has been coaching him from home as well and can't wait until school is out so she can go watch him!

Following along:

So excited he made a goal:

Nanny even came out to watch:

Thank You Country Strong Soundtrack

2011-05-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

Well most everyone knows I love the Country Strong soundtrack. I listen to it so much that my kids even know the words by now. Haylie belts out the words in the car as we're driving along "who needs a boyfriend, I've got my girlfriends..."

Well the other day I liked the Country Strong Soundtrack a little more! One of the boys in Haylie's class asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend and Haylie said her response was: "no. I don't need a boyfriend. I like my girlfriends." Daddy reminded her to keep that perspective until college!

I can't believe it has already started!!! - I want to discourage the "boyfriend" thing for as long as I can. Obviously it's harmless at this point and the kid probably doesn't understand what he is even asking. However, with the average age of kids having sex dropping to the low teens / tweens and in addition, living in the middle of the teenage years with Raider right now, I figure there is enough boyfriend / girlfriend stuff to last a lifetime!! I am encouraging my little princess to steer clear of it all as long as I possibly can!

Rainbow Fish

2011-05-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love helping in Haylie's class and was so thankful for the opportunity to do that throughout her Kindergarten year. This picture is from one of the last days of school called Character Day, in which parents volunteer to dress up like a character in a book and read a story to the kids (7 different times as the classes rotate through).

I love reading stories and I knew right away which book I wanted to read: Rainbow Fish! It is one of my most favorite children's books and I love the message. Micah said of course I had to pick a book with a message instead of something funny or silly but oh well! :)

I wore a rainbow striped dress and a little fish hat. The best part was at the end of the story I had a basket full of jewels (like shiny scales - which I had also taped all over my dress) - I let the kids each pick one from the basket to take as a reminder to share their shine with others around them. I love the message that Rainbow Fish teaches about having a generous, selfless spirit so great!

I'm in the middle of the picture below - looking pretty silly!

Haylie was so thrilled to have me there it made me feel good. And at the end of the day the teacher asked the kids which of the 7 stories was their favorite and it was a toss-up between Rainbow Fish and SpongeBob :)

Maverick

2011-05-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Maverick David Stanton, born May 18, 2011. 8lbs 2oz and 20 inches of healthy baby boy:

Glasses

2011-05-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

Pink with purple hearts on the side are the ones she chose for her new glasses. Haylie cried when she couldn't take them home from the eye doctor that day.

After a vision test at school that recommended she visit the eye doctor, we made an appointment and they determined she needed glasses. Haylie has an astigmatism in her left eye, which if not treated with corrective lenses, will become lazy due to the right eye overpowering it. Haylie loves to tell people she has to wear her glasses or her eye will be lazy. I hope she always enjoys wearing them as much as she does right now. After wearing glasses in 6th and 7th grade and hating them, I was a little sad for Haylie having to wear them too. However, it hasn't phased her one bit at this point and in fact her friends all want their own glasses now too.

Here she is at the eye doctor picking out her glasses:

Some photos of Haylie we took to celebrate her new look:

Prom

2011-05-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Raider hasn't really been to many of the school dances or activities throughout high school, so it was good to see him go to the Senior Prom this year. He was very handsome in his black suit and checkered tie. He went with a girl named Bri and a group of kids from school. I didn't get to take all the traditional photos since they met at someone else's house, but I did get a few of Raider by himself before he left:

Thanks to facebook, I was able to snag a few other photos of Raider and his date:

The group got a big stretch limo to take them to the dance on the delta king:

Love for Orphans Transforms

2011-05-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

This week I headed out to Kentucky for the Christian Alliance for Orphans Conference. My good friends Jaime and Danielle went and Micah met us there after a business trip in Washington DC. I was so thankful to be at the conference this year with Micah and such great friends who share a passion for glorifying God and helping children without families.

The conference was simply amazing again this year and I felt so blessed to able to attend with thousands of others who are passionate about serving orphans as well. All of the speakers and testimonials were so inspiring; I felt motivated and filled with ideas to bring back to our Home For Good Ministries team and work.

Of all the speakers one of the things that stood out to me most was when Russell Moore said that despite our fears and hesitations about getting close and serving orphans, that "love for orphans transforms." What a true and defining statement. I don't know anyone that has gotten involved with orphan care or fostered / adopted that hasn't felt transformed by it. Caring for orphans is so very core to the heart of God that it brings you to a new place in your relationship with Him. I feel lucky and truly blessed to be a part of making a small difference in the world for "the least of these."

Headed to the conference. So excited:

Ready for the day to start!!

Watching a live taping of Dennis Rainey's Family Life Radio Show - this lady and her husband adopted 13 kids through a truly amazing story:

Show Hope:

Listening to a panel of Adoptive Mommy bloggers - so fun:

Almost time to leave :(

Headed home to see my babies:

Thanks Christian Alliance for Orphans - until next year!

Mother's Day Pity Party

2011-05-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

So unfortunately Mother's Day pretty much sucked this year. I was trying to decide if I would even add it to our blog and forever ink it into history in our blog book, but I decided it's real and not every day is a great, fun, adventure day so it is worth including - even if it's lame.

Micah had to be out of town for Mother's Day this year for a work event and I knew that was coming months in advance and I was slowly trying to prepare myself that it wasn't a big deal. People have to miss holidays and birthdays all the time right?

So the Friday before Mother's day, Micah took the day off and we all went to the Zoo. It was a fun day but there was really no Mother's Day about it, just a great family day at the zoo which I am and was thankful for. Then Micah left for his trip. Saturday night, I stayed up until 2:00 in the morning waiting for Raider to get home safely after his prom. Then Sunday morning (Mother's Day) I had to wake up at 7 to get the kids ready for breakfast with my Mom. So, to start out the day I was already exhausted. Of course no one in my house really knew it was Mother's Day and Raider was way too tired and grumpy to even speak. Micah did call that morning to say Happy Mother's day but could only talk for a minute.

When we got to the restaurant, my Mom said Happy Mother's Day and asked how it was going with Micah gone - of course I started to cry. :( She didn't really notice and I just tried to hide it. Then my Mom asked Haylie what she got me for Mother's Day and she said: "nothing." Haylie said: "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything for Mother's Day Mommy." (Micah had bought a gift but the kids didn't know about it and unfortunately when we went to the zoo, Haylie missed the day they made the Mother's Day gifts at school) So then we had a somewhat chaotic breakfast with everyone and headed home. Micah was busy all day long and the kids didn't really remember you're supposed to take it easy on Mom for Mother's Day.

Somewhere around 2:00 Raider came in and dropped off a card that said: "To my wife on Mother's Day," with a note about a book coming in the mail. Inside the card it said - thanks for everything, Love, Micah. That was essentially the extent of the day other than the pity party I threw the rest of the afternoon. Micah was in meetings all day and couldn't really talk.

We went to Micah's parents house that evening for dinner and ice cream. I almost canceled but I wanted to be there to celebrate Micah's Mom. I was so glad I went - Micah's parents are so refreshing to be around and made my day so much better. I am so grateful for them all the time. What a great Mom to celebrate on Mother's day.

In the end it was definitely lame that Micah pretty much froze up and didn't do anything for Mother's Day (since he didn't know what to do being out of town and didn't really properly plan ahead of time). However, it's interesting to reflect and understand the expectations we put on others and ourselves. It helped me see the selfishness inside me. I know Micah didn't want to be on his trip and miss Mother's Day. And I know if he was here he would have done a great job with the festivities as he usually does. However, I was more concerned about myself than him. I pray that God continues to help me identify those areas where I put myself above others, especially my husband; and creates in me a clean heart and a new spirit that dies to myself a little more each day. I believe God has a lesson for us in each of the trials and tough days if we look for it. Here are some photos from the day...

Mom and James:

My sweet girl:

At this point Haylie took over the camera and this post could be changed to Mother's Day from Haylie's perspective:

At some point a fingerprint got on the lens and all pictures were a little blurry from then on:

Photos with Micah's parents:

So that's my sad, real story. No matter what I am thankful to be a Mom - I wouldn't trade it for the world - even if we were never rewarded or celebrated or thanked - even if there was no Mother's Day!

Gym Friends

2011-05-10T14:55:00.001-07:00

Haylie and James love playing with their good buddy Eli at the gym all the time. This was taken a few weeks ago when they apparently weren't up to their normal energy levels!

Daddy's Day Off

2011-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Since Daddy was going to be out of town for a whole weekend, including Mother's Day, he took a day off to hang out with us before. Unfortunately Raider had to go to school but Haylie missed hers and we all went to the zoo. We haven't been to the Sacramento Zoo in awhile. The kids liked seeing the animals and just hanging out all together:

Grow!

2011-05-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Haylie recently built and planted a little vegetable garden in our backyard. Tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, etc - we are looking forward to enjoying the product of their work soon.

Daddy checks out the vegetable garden every day to make sure things are growing well:

Box Beds

2011-05-04T16:02:00.001-07:00

The kids have had hours of fun with these boxes. Whether they are beds or boats or houses - their imaginations have been endless, playing with and in them daily for a week now.

Bouquet of Pencils

2011-05-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

Check out what Haylie and I made today. It is a pencil bouquet -tomorrow is Teacher Appreciation Day! Take time to appreciate a teacher :)

On the Job

2011-05-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of my new job of being a full-time Mommy. Although, it isn't a huge difference, since I used to work from home and I didn't work many hours anyways. However, there was a new-found sense of freedom and of course responsibility - I simply adore spending time with my loves and I want to use the time wisely - to benefit my kids, my husband and my relationship with God. Craft projects are definitely one of the kids and my favorite things to do. Today we made this little project for Haylie's teacher, in honor of teacher appreciation day:

I found the idea online here.

I found the printable online here.

I was pretty excited about the little project. In all it cost me about $4 to do. I found the vase on sale at Michaels for about $3 and I got the pencils for a little under $1. I had the ribbon at home and printed out the little sign. Pretty fun - I am looking forward to many more crafts and activities with the kids!!

Only mishaps included a few glue-gun, burnt fingers (Haylie's and mine). Plus the following ribbon unraveling. As I was gluing away James was cracking up. When I finally looked up, this is the picture I saw:

Nanny's Last Day

2011-04-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Friday was Nanny's last day with the kids. It was very sad and very hard to say goodbye after 5 years. She has been here since the kids were babies. We made her a scrapbook of photos from when they were little until now. The kids drew pictures and we all wrote nice notes. It was a tear-filled departure for Mommy and Nanny but the kids weren't sure what to think of the whole thing. They loved Nanny but I suppose they think she will be back next week. Hopefully we will see her again soon.

Jog-a-thon

2011-04-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Haylie had her first jog-a-thon at school. She practiced for weeks, running circles around the pool table and running laps around the playroom at the gym. She felt she was primed and ready to run some major laps!

When they set out Haylie was rarin' to go. She even tried to pass kids who were moving too slow.

She made it a couple laps running and then started walking about half of each lap for the next few laps.

We loved watching her Nanny, James and Cathy came too. Haylie was SO cute running / walking...

quick water breaks:

by the end she was walking the whole lap and had little interest in running. Mommy jogged a couple laps next to her to motivate her but once I walked away she was back to walking. The funny thing was, not only was she walking but I don;t think she could have possibly walked any slower. She was TIRED and it showed. It was so funny to watch in fact, several of the teachers came up and joked with me about it afterwards. Guess our last name is deceiving - Haylie loved to run as much as her Mommy does. All in all I think she ran / walked about 10 laps - costing Mommy and Grandma about $10 each. (I didn't do a good job asking for pledges - Haylie will learn that will be on her as she gets older). :)

She got her treat in the end and that was good enough for her:

She even asked for one for her brother - such a thoughtful little girl!

Haylie and one of her best friends:

Easter Blues

2011-04-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

James was very focused at the easter egg hunt this year:

Project Kids

2011-04-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our most recent projects and activities...

Rainbow pudding pops:

Tree art:

Candy-filled chick eggs:

Bird's nest cookies:

little easter gifts for friends:

Yum!!!

The end of an era

2011-04-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

After a decade working for Bank of America I come to my last day with the bank next Friday. I am looking forward to being a stay-at-home Mom and a full time volunteer trying to improve the lives of at-risk children and families in the Sacramento region. It has been a very difficult transition for me to make but I know everything has worked out in exactly the right time and I am looking forward to trusting God for His provisions and his direction in my life.

Starting about 5 years ago, I came to the realization that the path I was on in my life was not really my passion or my purpose for being in this world. Micah and I slowly began changing our lifestyle and focusing on new priorities. When the Bank offered me a part-time job I figured it would be a good, short transition time to realize my goals of spending more time with the kids and spending more time serving in whatever area God called me to.

When my part-time job turned into 3 years, I think I started to get a little too comfortable in my life and in my faith. Over this last year I feel like God has really been working in my heart, changing me and stretching me like I have never known. I never thought I would be ready to walk away from the job I had at the bank but amazingly enough I feel extremely at peace about it. I know God has plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11) and I can't wait to see where he takes me. At the end of the day I want to be a blessing to my children, my husband, the community around me and I want to serve God with full obedience and commitment.

I've received several requests from friends to update the blog and I hope to be posting a lot more now that I'll have more time with the kids, and the many adventures we will undertake!

Bartender

2011-04-16T23:45:00.000-07:00

Micah thinks he's found his new calling after he jumped in to help at a wedding tonight. Pretty funny since he knows nothing about alcohol. He had to ask the bartender which one was the Chardonnay and when someone asked for a Gin and T he mixed some Gin with iced tea, instead of giving her a gin and tonic. :)

Glasses

2011-04-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Haylie got mommy and daddy's genes for sure. She's quite excited about her pink frames with purple hearts on the side!

2011-04-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Watched Raider live up to his last name today runnning the 2 mile in the blazing sun! Oh how I'm looking forward to more sports games for the next 18 years ;)

The family that paints together...

2011-03-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

While celebrating Grandpa's birthday we stopped in for little pottery painting. We all love activities so this little place was calling our name.

The kids picked out their own items and their own colors and painted them so great. Both James and Haylie picked cups like Grandma and Grandpa:

Raider picked a cross to hang on his wall:

Haylie's finished product:

Raider's detailed work:

Grandpa's Tahoe Birthday

2011-03-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time staying in Grandma and Grandpa's nice condo to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. We loved our room looking out over the snow-capped trees and Northstar Village.

While the boys were skiing the kids and I ventured around the resort. We spent most of the day playing games in the arcade and winning prizes in the machines.

I spent all my quarters in the jukebox so I had some good music while we roamed around from game to game. We had the place to ourselves so we were just playing, singing and dancing.

The boys came back later and checked the place out:

Our attempt at a photo with the kids:

Later the kids and I ventured around to find an area to sled. We were pretty unsuccessful in finding a good spot and settled for some snowball fights:

I just love weekends away with the family.

Ready or not, here I come.

2011-03-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

If I can't see you, you can't see me...

Ducks

2011-03-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

So thankful to help in Haylie's class today despite the weather! We got to play with the baby ducks and Haylie was cracking up when one jumped up in her lap.

Open House

2011-03-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Haylie's open house was a source of excitement for weeks before. She was working hard at school to prepare her best work that she could be proud of to show us. She was most excited to show James all around her classroom and introduce him to the class baby ducks that had just hatched.

Her work was displayed all around the room - lots of I Love Mom messages from my girl - so sweet!

Haylie asked Grandma and Grandpa to come too, so she could show them her "best work."

SORRY!

2011-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

Triumph

2011-03-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Haylie has been working hard all year on conquering the Monkey Bars. At the beginning of the year she was fearful to try them because she didn't want to fall, but they definitely intrigued her. Then her friend Allie began teaching her how to fall without hurting herself. Haylie would come home from school everyday and tell me how Allie was teaching her about dropping from the monkey bars. Then one day she came home soooo excited that she had made it to the halfway point. Finally, a couple weeks ago Haylie made it all the way across. She was so proud of herself. She set her mind to it and practiced every day, the sweet feeling of triumph was bubbling over when she came home to tell me about it! So proud of your every accomplishment my sweet girl!

For Auntie Bekah and Uncle James

2011-03-05T23:19:00.000-08:00

One recent day at naptime, the kids somehow found their Coast Guard shirts and they both came down wearing them. I snapped a few pics to show their support!! We miss you!

Happy Birthday Momo

2011-03-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

We made our annual visit to Momo's office this year for her birthday. She likes introducing the grandkids to all her staff and the kids love being able to see Momo's office and their pictures on her desk. Happy Birthday Mom!

Cousins:

Snow Hotel - part 8 - snowed in

2011-03-03T23:38:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Tahoe the snow was coming down so hard we didn't have many options for things to do outside.

We decided to visit the local bowling alley which we usually do once a year anyways. Haylie loves bowling and is so proud of herself when she gets the pins down:

Snow Hotel - part 7 - snow mini

2011-03-02T23:22:00.000-08:00

I tried to stick with my point and shoot camera most of the week but Haylie gave me about 20 minutes one day to capture a few pictures of her. The weather was getting pretty bad out so I didn't even have much room to push the time limits either. It worked out well though and Haylie was so much fun to take pictures of as we were tromping through the knee-deep snow.

A few more pics at the cafe with some hot chocolate:

Snow Hotel - part 6 - On our own

2011-03-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

One of the days of our trip, Daddy had to go back home for some meetings and Raider hit the slopes so Haylie, James and I set out on our own adventures. We spent quite a few hours in the activity center at our hotel, painting crafts and putting together a huge puzzle:

This puzzle took forever!!!

Then we headed out walking around the area and went for treats at our favorite little cafe:

Snow Hotel - part 5 - At the Lodge

2011-02-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

The lodge at Ski Sierra is always packed! This year we finally got a seat at a table when some nice guy felt sorry for us huddled up, eating our lunch on the floor in the corner, and gave us half of his table. The kids and hung out in the lodge while Micah and Raider snowboarded all day. We played every game known to man (or at least every game we could fir in our bag - Yahtzee, Uno, dominoes, etc.). The kids did such a great job just hanging out in our confined space, snacking and playing games.