More of the same....

Ah, the lazy days of summer!
There is a lizard under that leaf... they have just saved it from the pool!
Blake, Aiden and Jack filling up water balloons!
Aiden, Brooklyn, Jack and Blake taking a break in the shade.
Aiden, J.P. and Blake 
This week began with a trip to "Bakeryfield" according to Aiden.  Our friends Rebecca and Logan moved to Bakersfield almost two years ago.  Jeramie had to work there on Monday, so we took a family field trip. 

Logan filled up water balloons for the kids and pretty much took care of everything while Rebecca and I took complete advantage of talking the day away.  Friendship is such an important part of life and in these busy days of raising children, most conversations are interrupted for one reason or another.... not on Monday though!  Thank you again Logan and Rebecca! We had a really great time in Bakeryfield!!!!  

Our summer has pretty much consisted of swimming, playing, hanging out with friends, building forts, sleeping in sleeping bags in the living room and trying to save a drowning lizard from the pool (not me, the kids)  
I have amazing memories of my summers as a child.  The days were filled with playing outside with the kids in the neighborhood, swim lessons (and the high dive), trips to get ice cream at Thrifty, making homemade ice cream with my parents and eating dinner outside in the backyard!  
I really don't think that life gets much better than playing outside in the sunshine, sharing a meal with friends, and knowing that your only worry is, "I wonder what mom has planned for tomorrow....."  

Where has the time gone?

Family picture day November, 2008

Cancun June, 2009

Christmas Day, 2007

Blake's first day of Kindergarten, September, 2007

 Pre-school Christmas Program December, 2006

Today is our TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY! ( I wish I knew how to post our wedding pictures.) Jeramie and I have had an amazing 10 years of marriage.  A relationship that began as a friendship almost 14 years ago turned into a wonderful marriage with my best friend. Throughout the past ten years we have seen each other through just about every kind of life change.  We have family who would do anything for us, two amazing children, jobs that we love, a church that we can truly call home and a wonderful group of friends. 

 We refer to our family tree as a bonzai tree because of all of the different directions life has taken our family over the past ten years.  At the end of the day, we are the one constant for each other, even if life has taken us around several unexpected turns. 

We have laughed together, cried together, prayed together, tested each other, learned together, triumphed together, and today we continue to build a bond that grows stronger with each passing day.  We have owned 2 homes, 9 cars (I know, someone really likes new cars), 1 dog, several lizards that won't leave our backyard and Jeramie has made 4 job changes over the past 10 years.   I had intended to post a short look back at what life has been since July 24, 1999, but it was not very exciting reading material for a blog post.  

I am so thankful each day for the life that God continues to provide for our family.  The years have gone by quickly and each year is filled with memories that I will cherish always.  I often joke with Jeramie and tell him that he wouldn't last 5 minutes without ME and although that may hold partial truth, I know that I couldn't last 5 minutes without HIM either!!!  

Thank you Jeramie for agreeing to have a professional family picture taken every year even though I know it's not your favorite thing to do, thank you for making coffee (or going to Starbucks) everyday, thank you for listening to my stories (yes, I do realize that I talk a lot!), thank you for being the best father in the world to our children, thank you for being patient, thank you for understanding how much I love celebrating my birthday, thank you for supporting my decisions, thank you for being an incredible gift giver (it is my love language after all), thank you for your friendship, thank you for GPS because I have NO sense of direction,  thank you for asking me to marry you ELEVEN years ago, thank you for loving me for better or for worse!

There are many, many more things I could thank you for, but you get the idea....I love you!

Happy Anniversary!!!!  

Sittin' Poolside

Aiden and his swim teacher Fred practicing with the kick board.

Aiden and Mitchell having a water fight and Kylie is trying to avoid all of the action!

Blake hanging out by the pool waiting for his lesson to begin.

Blake is finishing up his 8 minute swim.

Blake, Jenna and Aiden 

The boys are finishing up swim lessons this week and they have learned so much.  Blake is a strong swimmer and truly believes that this will be his last year of lessons.   I have tried to explain to him that although he can swim, it is important to learn each one of the swim strokes and proper technique.  Today he swam the length of the pool for 8 full minutes, completing a different stroke each time... he was exhausted!  Aiden continues to love his swim lessons and the 10 minutes of free time at the end of his hour long lesson.  

We have also had quite a few fun pool play dates during the past week or so.    We spend at least a couple of hours everyday at our pool or at a friend's house in their pool.  The temperature has been FREAKISHLY HOT so I have even gone in the pool every day!  Hope you're all finding a way to beat the heat!!!  

Summer Fun

Blake and Aiden toasting (BURNING) marshmallows in the fire pit.

Blake is consuming the finished product.

Aiden all wrapped up after swim lessons.

Aiden preparing to jump off of the diving board.

Ready.....set.....GO!!!!!

The boys started swim lessons this week and are loving them as usual. I only posted pictures of Aiden because Blake's face is always in the water faster than I can snap his picture. I will post more swim lesson pictures with Blake next week. Aiden jumped off of the diving board this morning and was THRILLED with his own progress!
We also roasted marshmallows in the fire pit in our backyard this week and made s'mores. This dessert is a weekly favorite at our home during the summer. The boys haven't quite mastered the idea of "roasting". They believe in toasting the marshmallow until it catches on fire and only then is it ready for consumption.

Captain Jack's

Aiden and his milkshake mustache.

My dad and the birthday girl

A quick picture of the family before mom and dad are off for a night ALONE!

I asked the valet to take our picture before we left the hotel.  He seemed confused, but he took the picture anyway.

Jeramie and Stacy at Captain Jack's

My 35th birthday was fabulous! It began with me sleeping in until 8:00am... sad, but that is sleeping in these days. I came downstairs to find fresh flowers and a card from the boys as well as one from Jeramie. Jeramie made pancakes with fresh strawberries and coffee for breakfast. He took the boys to the Little League field for batting practice and I enjoyed an hour to myself. Jeramie surprised me and said I needed to pack an overnight bag for the boys and one for myself, so........
We dropped the boys off at my dad and Yvette's house about 3:00 pm where we were pleasantly surprised with a yummy treat.... HOMEMADE BIRTHDAY MILKSHAKES!!!! I will attach a picture of Aiden with his milkshake mustache. My dad and Yvette gave me a very sweet birthday card and I will be shopping soon with what was inside....YIPPEE!!!!!
Jeramie and I left La Palma and headed for the beach. We had dinner at Captain Jack's in Sunset Beach which has been my absolute favorite restaurant for about the past 20 years. We had a wonderful table for two overlooking the canals and gondola rides. It was a perfect evening!!!! We were lucky enough to spend the night at a hotel in Long Beach and picked up the boys on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Jeramie for another wonderful birthday!!! I love you!

Happy 4th of July

The kids had so much fun in the backyard.  I think they were all in the pool when I took this picture. 

I'm not sure where all of the kids are going.  They look like their headed inside and on a mission

Aiden has tons of confidence as long as that noodle is in his hand!

My good friend Jenny... she is a FABULOUS hostess!!!!

Blake avoids the camera pretty well, so I have to capture pictures of him from far away.

Aiden is prepared for a water battle with his water gun (and noodle of course)

Our good friends Roland and Jenny hosted The 4th of July again this year.  They have the best house for entertaining!  There were about 6 families and between all of us there were about 14 kids.  We swam and played basketball and the kids played on the slide and swings.  We did fireworks in their backyard (shhh!) and that was a bit too much with that many kids so I don't have any pictures of that part of the day.  I was too busy making sure no one was lighting anyone else on fire!!!!  

Vacation in Cancun

Blake and Aiden in the wading pool on the balcony of our room
Papa Rich and Yvette
Blake and Jeramie
Aiden enjoying his Pina Colada... alcohol free of course!

Family picture on the beach
We spent a week in Cancun at the end of June with my dad and Yvette. My dad took our family to his timeshare as an anniversary gift to us.  I had never been out of the country before and with all of the "swine flu" talk, we almost cancelled our trip.   We had an amazing time at the Grand Mayan Resort!  There were NINE pools and of course we had to swim in all of them.  We went swimming every day for hours and had time to relax and enjoy some quality family time. 

***On a side note, this is only my 2nd entry and I'm still learning how to place pictures and text where I want and I promise my stories will become more interesting! 

Summer of milestones

Opening Day for our family of Yankees. 

They look like they belong in the Big Leagues don't they?  

This summer marks 3 large milestones for me personally.  I am going to be 35, our ten year wedding anniversary is at the end of July, and my mom passed away 5 years ago in August.  I am thrilled, of course, about our wedding anniversary.  I am so in love with my husband and love the family and life that we have created together.  

My 35th birthday is bittersweet.  Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE my birthday more than most people.  I try to celebrate with several different groups of people to make my one special day into an entire week if possible!  This birthday also means that I have to have my first mammogram due to my family history.  I have already tried to make an appointment once, but started crying at the thought of it and hung up.  

The final milestone is the most difficult.  My mom has been gone five years on August 18th.  I can't believe it's been that long.  I still think about calling her every once in a while and never imagined that after 5 years, I would still  be reaching for the phone.  I am blessed to have

an amazing family as well as friends who are like family who understand what I am going through and still lend a listening ear when I am having a hard time.  

I started this blog back in May and then deleted it because it was thoroughly depressing.  This is a new start... one to document my thoughts and feelings about life with ALL BOYS and the general events in our life.  Come back and visit soon!