Our Happily EverAfter

Busy Busy Ben...

2009-08-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

While the kids and I were away on vacation, Ben had no problem keeping himself busy. He planned a secret project to do while we were away. My amazing husband decided to surprise me by installing recessed lighting in our living room all by himself. He did an awesome job!

What a mess!

He even got a boo boo in the process.

All done!

Towards the end of the week Ben received word that his mom, Barbara Damon, had passed away. Ben instantly purchased a flight to New Hampshire to pay his respects and to support his family. Within those dark days, there was some sunshine. Ben was so happy to see his family, especially his dad.

Ben was even able to visit with his friends, the Kessee's.

Ben with his cousin Jamie.

Ben's dad, Ernest Damon

Ben's sister, Becky LaRouche

Ben's cousin, David

At Ben's parent's house. Jamie and her fiancee Matt in the back. Ben, David, Ern and Becky in the second row and Uncle Richie in the front.

Becky's kids. Travis, Jacob, Brandon and Matthew

Our Colorado Trip

2009-08-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Zachary, Brayden and I decided to take a trip to Castle Rock, Colorado. Unfortunately, Ben was unable to join us due to work. We stayed with my best friend Teresa and her family. Also, it just so happens that Zachary's best friend is Teresa's son, Mitchell. We had a wonderful trip. Teresa and her husband Tim were so generous to let us stay at their house for a whole week. We seemed to have something going on everyday, we were very busy. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me for the first couple of days, but Tim and Teresa said they would send me their pictures so I can post them on here. So, there are more pictures to come...

We bought a portable DVD player. It was a life saver on the plane ride.

Zachary and his Best Friend Mitchell.

Spiderman and Batman. They are too cute!

Brayden, Zachary and Mitchell

My Uncle David, Aunt Jeannie and Cousin Cassie also live in Colorado. I was so happy to be able to visit with them too. Thank you Tim and Teresa for hosting dinner!
Ally, Jeannie, Cassie, David, Me, Brayden, Zachary and Mitchell

Some bath time fun!!
Zachary, Mitchell and William

All of Teresa's kids and my kids piled in their car.
Zachary, Michael, Mitchell, Ally, Brayden and William

All tuckered out after a fun day. Ally was so sweet to let us take over her room.

Teresa and I.

Zachary took this picture of me.

My cutie! We took the kids to this really fun place called Monkey Bizness.
Mitchell and Zachary holding hands down the slide.

Brayden and Ally

Brayden and William passed out before we even pulled out of the driveway.

Teresa, Zachary and Mitchell on the train at Tiny Town.

Brayden

Beautiful!

The kids watching Peter Pan on our last night.

Zachary and Mitchell hugging goodbye at the airport.

Michael, Mitchell, Tim, William and Ally seeing us off.

A Fun Month!

2009-06-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since I have updated my blog, I apologize. This last month has been a busy one for us. Here are just a few things that have been going on...

We went to the Long Beach Aquarium. The boys loved it!

Brayden enjoyed playing in the water play area. Zac enjoyed it too but he was too quick for me to get a picture.

Zachary went to his very first Baseball game. He went with his Daddy, Papa and my Uncle Gary. Zac had a wonderful time and he can't wait to go again.
Go Dodgers!!!

Loving his first Dodger Dog. He actually ate the whole thing!

Zac only agreed to take this picture so his Mommy could see his huge box of popcorn.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Ben recorded Zachary and Brayden giving me a Mother's Day message. They are so sweet. I'm such a lucky mommy!

Zachary Misses Mitchell

2009-05-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

One of Zachary's very best friends, Mitchell, lives far away in Castle Rock Colorado. The two of them miss each other very much, so we decided to make a video for Mitchell.

This one's for you Mitchell...

Our New Slip & Slide

2009-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

I remember having one of these when I was little and loved it!

The Walkway Is Complete, Yahoo!

2009-04-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ben decided to take on the very tough task of re-doing our walkway. After about 7 months of frustration and all over body aches, Ben (our Superman) finished. The boys loved helping their daddy with all the work. Ben did such a wonderful job. I really don't think we could have paid someone to do as nice of a job as he did. Thank you honey for all your hard work!

This is how it looked before demolition.

Zac helping.

Working hard to widen the walkway.

Sharla came over to check out the progress.

Roarrrrrrrrr!

Even I helped out, a little ;-)

Making every piece fit perfectly.

Now for some plant life.

The whole family working together.

All done. Isn't it beautiful?

A Summer Day in April

2009-04-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

It had to of been close to 90 degrees today, at least it felt like it. To stay cool, the boys and I went to the mall where I know it's air conditioned. So far that's the thing I missed most about our old house...air conditioning.

Enjoying lunch at the Food Court.

The heat was just too much for Brayden.
We got home and pulled out the pool.
Popsicle break. Zac preferred to have a lolipop.
I had to stay cool too.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

New Beds

2009-04-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Zachary and Brayden have a new bed. BUNK BEDS! They love them! Zachary has the top bunk and Brayden has the bottom. Zac is really liking his new Spiderman sheets for his new bed! So far, Brayden has only fallen off the top bunk once. We're hoping that that scared him enough to be more careful. We'll see, he is a bit of a dare devil.

Zachary Turns 4!

2009-04-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

I Couldn't Resist

2009-04-14T20:58:00.001-07:00

These are a few shots I took over the last couple of months. These pictures just had to be taken...

Brayden fell asleep in his booster while having a snack.

This iron pig was across the street from our hotel where we were staying in Redlands.

My sleeping babies.
This one speaks for itself.

A Bit Late, But Happy St Paddy's Day!

2009-04-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

On St Patrick's Day we met up with Carrie, Noah and my Dad at Columbia Park. My Dad is such a good sport, he always gets in there with the kids and plays just as hard. We all had a great time!

Brayden, flying!

That's my awesome Dad!

Zac and Brayden, cheering Noah on.
Zachary

Zachary, The Ring Bearer

2009-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

A Wonderful Weekend!

2009-03-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

While our family from Texas was in town for the weekend, we took them sight seeing in Hollywood. They got to see the Kodak Theater where the Oscars were held only weeks earlier. Kimber and Kelly found that pretty exciting.

Then we walked the beach of Seal Beach. It was one of Kelly's requests to put her feet in the Ocean. Kelly hasn't been back to California since she was a young girl, so this was an extra special trip for her.

It was so wonderful to spend time with my Texas family. I only wish it could have lasted longer.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

2009-03-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I put together an elegant wine tasting party for our elegant mother. My mom turned 60 this year, which of course is a big milestone birthday, so we tried to have all the special women in her life there. One of the things that made it extra special was that her sisters and nieces flew out from Texas for the weekend. We had a wonderful time and my Mom was glowing all weekend.

I want to thank everyone that was able to attend the party. All of you being there made it so special for my Mom.

Family Snow Day!

2009-03-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we drove up to Big Bear for the day to go Tubing. We had a wonderful time. In our group there was... Sharla, Bobby, Carrie, Dan, Kori, Noah, Ben, Zac, Brayden and Me. The kids loved playing in the snow. Ben and I decided that hopefully next year we can rent a cabin up there. That way, the kids can build snowmen and make snow angles all day long.

Go Patriots! Oh wait, they weren't playing...

2009-02-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

We decided to stay home for a quiet Superbowl this year. We were all sad that the Patriots weren't playing this year but decided to have the kids wear their jersey's anyway. This kids had a lot of fun and loved all the different snacks that they were allowed to eat.

Not In Trouble Anymore

2009-01-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

This morning I came out of the bathroom to find Brayden cleaning the wall where he had done his art work the night before. Right away I had to send this picture to Ben to show him that at least Brayden cleans up his own messes. You know he was completely off the hook after seeing this. What a good little boy (sometimes :-)

Brayden's Master Piece

2009-01-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

While I was cooking dinner and Ben and Zac were playing with the Wii, Brayden decided to do an art project. It's hard to see in the picture, but there are blue scribbles all over the white wall behind Brayden. If you click on the picture it will pop up larger.

Playing On Daddy's Bike

2009-01-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

Girl's Night Out

2009-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

A few of my girl friends and I went out on the town Friday night. We had a lot of fun! It was nice to get out of the house with adults. I love my boys, but it was really nice to get out for an evening with the girls.

Ashlene, Sharla and I

Maura, Kara and Jenny

Jesus Loves Me

2009-01-13T22:29:00.000-08:00

Ben recorded Zachary singing "Jesus Loves Me". It's one of Zac's favorite songs. Click on the link below to hear it.

Zac's Song

Zachary's 1st Day of School

2009-01-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Zachary went to his first day of Preschool today. He absolutely loved it! We are so fortunate to have one of his goods friends Audrey in his class. Audrey has been in this class since September. She has been a great friend and showing Zac the ropes.

I had Brayden with me when I dropped Zac off and he wanted nothing more then to jump out of my arms and play with all the great stuff. Brayden kept saying, "play mommy, play!" Brayden will soon enough be in this class too . My boys are growing up so fast!

Christmas Morning

2009-01-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. This was such a special Christmas for us because Zachary has really gotten into the spirit of it all. Brayden really enjoyed all the Christmas lights, he would squeal and yell for Mommy or Daddy to look at all the pretty lights.

This year Zac asked Santa for a "Bam Bam Bam", which is a Hammer toy. He also asked for a Remote Control Airplane. As you can see from the video below, he was very excited.

Christmas Bake Day

2008-12-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Christmas Bake Day at my mom's house. We all had such a wonderful time and had a lot of wonderful sweets to take home.

More Random Pictures...

2008-12-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post. Our lives have been very busy with getting ready for Christmas, trying to wrap presents faster then Brayden can unwrap them and trying to keep up with our daily routine.

Ben gave me my much needed Christmas present early, a new beautiful digital camera. My old camera quit working about a month ago, and it was just torture not being able to capture my kids adorable moments. Here are some random moments (mostly because I was playing with my new camera).

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to my Aunt Barbara's house (my dad's sister) where we gave thanks for all of our friends and family. Unfortunately, my camera is no longer working so I was unable to take any pictures.

On the following Saturday, we met up with our friends, Kim and Dennis and their two sweet kids, at a place out in the boonies called Searles Station. It's a place where people can camp out and go riding on their Dirt Bikes and Quads. We had so much fun and the kids absolutely loved it. R.J., Kim's 4 year old son, has his very own Dirt Bike and he was kind enough to let Zac take it for a ride.

Thank you Kim, for taking pictures for me with your camera.

Ben took Brayden out on the Quad. Zac on R.J.'s bike.

Zac, getting ready to take off.

The sun was a little too bright in Zac's eyes.

Zac and Faith on R.J.'s bike.

Oh, to be a kid again...

2008-11-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Ben was home with the kids while I was out at a baby shower. While searching the Internet, Ben noticed that Zac had gotten very quiet. He went to check on him and found him asleep.

Random Moments

2008-11-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

Giddy up Daddy!

New B-day Outfit

Silly Zac

This is what I call a wet burrito.

Gymnastics

2008-11-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

Zachary takes a gymnastics class once a week every Saturday. He absolutely loves it. I am so amazed at how strong he is. He can do a back flip on a bar, something that the older kids can't do. I have realized that he has a little crush on one of his teachers, after not wanting to do any of the exercises with mommy and only with Miss Ashley during the entire class, he came over to me and whispered in my ear "I love her", and pointed to Miss Ashley. He then continued to ask if she could come over to our house to play. Somehow I was able to keep from bursting out laughing, but when he did see my big smile he got embarrassed.

Zac and Miss Ashley

I Think We Have a Performer on Our Hands

2008-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Zachary has become the opening song leader for our church every week. He and George start church by leading two songs, "Jesus Loves Me" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". We know that we're a little biased, but we think it's just the cutest thing ever!

Our Halloween Adventure

2008-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

We started our Halloween adventure by attending an 8o's themed Halloween party a week before the actual day. The party was held at our friends, Josh and Maggie's house. Sharla watched the boys for us, so Ben and I could have a fun night out.

Then just a few days before Halloween Josh and Maggie had another party. A pumpkin carving party. We had a lot of fun, and our pumpkins turned out pretty good too.

On Halloween we had my family over for a few hours before sun down. Then everyone went there separate ways.

Our First Bee Sting

2008-10-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

The evening of Brayden's birthday party, after almost everyone had left, Brayden was laying across the threshold of our front door. I could see him from where I was sitting so I let him play where he was. All of a sudden he starting crying and holding out his finger. As soon as I saw the bee on the door mat I realized that he had been stung. Uncle Bobby came to his rescue and pulled out the stinger, which according to Bobby wasn't in very far. After about 10 minutes of crying he seemed to be fine. The next night Ben and I noticed that his whole finger was swollen and red. I decided to give him some Benadryl and if it hadn't gone down by the morning I would call the doctor's office.
That next morning it only seemed to get worse. The redness was spreading and the whole top of his hand was now swollen. We went in to see the doctor that day when told me the swelling and redness is normal after a bee sting. The hand should starting looking better after a day or two but to continue to give him Benadryl. He was right, it has been four days since the incident and his hand looks much better.

His left index finger

Happy 2nd Birthday Brayden!

2008-10-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

We had a small birthday party for Brayden in our backyard. Brayden had so much fun! Thank you to everyone that came and made this birthday so special for our special little boy.

Pumpkin Carnival

2008-10-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

We met my mom at a Pumpkin Patch/Carnival next to her house in Seal Beach. The kids had such a great time! Thank you mom for such a great day!

They're Back!

2008-10-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

For my 30th birthday Sharla and Bobby gave me two amazing floor seat tickets to the New Kids On The Block concert. When I was 12 years old I was insanely crazy about NBOTB. My cousin Dan-el, who went with me to the concert, was also one of those little girls that was crazy about the group. In fact we went to our first NKOTB concert together along with my best friend Laura. My dad and Laura's dad took us three screaming girls to the concert and I remember Laura's dad wearing ear plugs the whole time.

Dan-el and I had such an amazing time. I felt like I was 12 again! Joey McIntyre is just as cute as I remember. I remember actually praying that Joey would be wrapped in a Christmas present and waiting for me under the tree.

Thank you Sharla and Bobby for such an amazing night!

Getting Ready For Holloween

2008-10-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ben and Zac set up our inflatable pumpkin with ghosts. Sharla was visiting at the time so we took advantage of her presence to take a family picture.

As you can tell Brayden was a little scared.

Zac ran into the picture with Sharla and I at the last second.

My little cuddle bug.

The kids wanted to try out their Halloween costumes as soon as we got home from the Costume store. Zac even insisted on wearing his into Target, all the shoppers loved it.

Zac is Spider Man and Brayden is Mickey Mouse.

Fun Getaway

2008-09-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

To add some fun to these last dark weeks, the boys and I met my cousin Charlene and her two adorable boys, J.J. and Jayden, at California Adventure. Zac and J.J. don't get to see each other too often because we live about an hour and a half away, but when they do see each other they are instant best buddies. When we were getting in the car to head home J.J. told his mommy that he loves Zac and that he was going to miss him. When I told Zac what J.J. had said Zac said, "I'm going to miss him too!"
It was so sweet to see them together that Charlene and I vowed to try our best to do more play dates. I am so thankful for that day, we all had so much fum.

A Tragic Loss

2008-09-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

This past week, horrible tragedy has devastated the hearts and lives of my family.

Tuesday morning September 9th, a freak accident in the bathtub sent my cousins wife Kristina to the ICU. My cousin Tommy unceasingly prayed for a miracle and diligently stayed by her side around the clock. After some time, it was determined she no longer showed any brain activity. Tommy, along with Kristina's family, came to the impossibly difficult decision to remove her from life support and donate her organs on Thursday.

Tommy was a broken man. Kristina was the love of his life, and he felt completely devastated at the thought of going on in this world without her. From all the stories I have heard about their marriage it easy to tell how devoted they were to each other. He told his sister Kimberly several times during this awful time to tell his children he loved them so much. By Friday, his family thought they had convinced Tommy that he would get through this with the Lord's strength and lots of support from loved ones. No one could have known what was to come. Tragically, Tommy slipped away while others were sleeping Friday morning, and later that day he took his own life. It is unimaginable to know what his parents and sisters are going through right now.

Kristina and Tommy leave behind three beautiful, amazing, loving children: Austin, age 7, Ginny, 2 1/2, and Charlotte, 4 months. My heart breaks for these children, when I saw them I just wanted to hold them and take their pain away.

Please keep these sweet children in your prayers, as well as Kristina's family and Tommy's family, who are all grieving the tragic loss of two vibrant and loving people. I have found comfort in the fact that both Tommy and Kristina were deeply devoted to their Christian faith. I believe they were truly meant to be together, as they now are in heaven.

Kristina & Tommy
Wedding Day 1997

Girl's Night

2008-09-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that almost every Wednesday for about the last 15 years I have gotten together with some of my closest girlfriends. We all met in Irish Dancing and have stayed close even after we all quit. About 4 years ago we welcomed our very good friend Tim into the group who also did Irish Dancing with us (even with his pleading we still refuse to change the name from "Girl's" Night). We use this time to update each other on what's going on in our lives, basically it's our form of therapy.

This week was very special, 6 out 7 of us were able to make it to girl's night. Number 7, Therese, lives in Canada so she has an excuse. Now that we are all grown up with jobs, husbands and kids it is really hard for everyone to make it. So, this week was extra special for all of us.

On the left is Tim, Ashlene and Sharla. On the right is Maura, Kara and Me.

Papa To The Rescue

2008-09-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

After going to the park today, my Dad and I took Zac, Brayden and Noah to McDonalds to have lunch and play. Brave little Noah figured out how to get up into the sky tubes all by himself, but once he got up there he got scared and started crying. So his Papa came to his rescue to save the day! My dad crawled up into the sky tubes, which if you have ever had to rescue a little one from in there you know how small it is to a grown up, and brought Noah down.
After that Noah didn't try to climb up there again.

Papa and Noah coming down the slide.

You're almost there Dad!
Here comes Brayden!

Blast From The Past

2008-08-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

My very close friend in high school, Kim, and I lost touch about 8 years ago until last week. Kim found me on myspace and we have been on the phone ever since. Kim has two adorable kids. R.J. is three and Faith is two. We just had to set up a play date. So, we agreed to meet at Kid Concepts in Torrance so the kids could play and we could catch up. The kids played wonderfully together, R.J. and Zac seemed to hit it off right away.

After we had lunch we all went back to my house so the kids could play together a little while longer in our backyard. It was so nice to catch up with an old friend and hopefully we won't lose touch again.

AAHHHHHH.... I'm 30!

2008-08-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

On my actual birthday my family and I went out to dinner to the Elephant Bar. It is a tradition in our family for all of us to get together on each of our birthdays and eat.
It has been almost a month and I'm still in denial that I am 30 years old.

The Final Stop On Our Vacation

2008-08-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

For our last stop on our vacation we went to Castle Rock, CO to visit my bestfriend Teresa and her beautiful family. While we were there we also took some time to visit my Uncle Dave, Aunt Jeannie and cousin Cassey. All of the kids had so much fun together. I think this part of the trip may have been the most fun for my kids.

Sumpter Reunion

2008-08-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

On the next portion of our trip we went to Red River, New Mexico for the Sumpter Family Reunion. The Sumpters are on my mom's side of the family. We had a really great time. It is always nice to see such extended family and to see how everyone has changed and grown up.

Summer Vacation

2008-08-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

This post is a long time coming. I have been putting it off because we have so many pictures. The slide show below only contains pictures from my camera, I haven't even started to upload any from Ben's camera.

The next few posts on here are going to be sections of our trip. This post will be of our stay on the Sumpter Ranch.

Our vacation started the morning of July 2nd when we started our drive from Torrance to New Mexico and we didn't return home until July 18th. We stayed at our family ranch on the Johnson Mesa for over a week. We had so much fun spending time with family that we are only able to see every other year when we meet at our ranch.

Go Big Blue!

2008-06-26T22:43:00.001-07:00

My Dad took Sharla, our friend Jenny and I to a Dodger game. We had so much fun, it helped that the Dodgers won 5 to 0 against the White Sox.

My dad was hularious the whole night.

He was trying to cross his eyes, but Sharla and I think it looks like a spider is crawling up his chest.

It's the Pink Eye twins. Kori and Brayden both got Pink Eye at the same time. Poor kids, but at least they had each other.

We're just missing Noah.

For A Good Cause...

2008-06-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to donate my hair for cancer patients. So when I realized that my hair was long enough, I made an appointment to have it chopped. And with all this hot weather right now the timing couldn't be better.

It looks like it's time for Brayden to get a hair cut too.

Sharla had her hair cut the day before I did. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Keeping Cool In the Heat

2008-06-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Zachary decided that Brayden needed to be cooled off. He even cooled himself off a little too.

Summertime Fun!

2008-06-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Zachary, Brayden and I spent the afternoon with our friends Maggie, Audrey and Willem. It was a pretty hot day, so Maggie set up a couple tubs of water with toys for the kids to play in. I think Brayden may of had the most fun by pouring water on his own head. It was pretty fun to watch too.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful Father's Day. We had our family over for a B-B-Q in our backyard. After everyone went home, Ben and the boys went into the front yard to play Ring Around The Rosie and some good old tackling fun. Zachary even showed off his somersault skills.

5 Years of Bliss

2008-06-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ben and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe how quickly these last five years have gone by.

We were so lucky and blessed to have my mom and Gary come over to our house to watch the boys for us while Ben and I went out to celebrate. We went to the Blue Beyou in Disneyland (their only Fine Dinning Restaurant) for dinner. I have always wanted to eat there, the restaurant over looks the ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Ben and I were both pretty disappointed with the restaurant, but I am glad that we went. After dinner we went on two rides and watched the fireworks show. It was a perfect and romantic night. It had been a long time since we had gone to Disneyland where it was just the two of us.

On the tram ride to the park.

Eating dinner at the Blue Beyou.
The Jungle Cruise ride.
I had to take this picture for Zac, he loves monkey's.
We were sitting in the middle of Main Street waiting for the firework show to start.

Sex And The City

2008-06-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was one of those crazy girls that went to the movie "Sex and the City" on the opening day. I went with a group of 12 girls, we had a lot of fun. When we entered the theater, it was insane! I have never been in such an in closed place with so many screaming girls.

Our Little Train Conductors

2008-06-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Zac and Brayden love trains. Zac is also very into Pirates, which is why he has an eye patch on in a few of the pictures.

Both of the boy just got new Train Conductor hats, so I couldn't resist dressing them up.

More Park Fun

2008-05-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

We have made some new wonderful friends who live just up the street from us. I am so lucky to have a new friend who is also a stay at home mommy. Maggie has two beautiful children that are almost the same ages as my two. She has a little girl named Audrey who Zac just adores and a little boy named Willem who loves swings as much as Brayden.

Carrie and Noah joined us all at the park today to play and have a picnic. We had a great time and can't wait until our next play date.

Zac met a sweet little boy who he played really well with.

Noah and Zac (with the hat)
Noah and Brayden
Zac and Audrey

And Back To Disneyland We Go...

2008-05-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

We made a Friday evening trip to Disneyland and as usual we had a fantastic time. It sprinkled a little while we were there and it was very chilly, but we made the best of it.

The boys on the Dumbo ride.
They loved the Carousel.

Strike a pose.

Zachary, kissing Mickey's nose.

Happy 1st Birthday Noah

2008-05-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Noah had his first birthday party last weekend. Unfortunately, the poor baby was sick and had a fever. To top it off it was a very hot day, so he was very uncomfortable. It was sad to see him not being is happy chipper self. Besides having a sick birthday boy, the party went really well. A lot of people that love Noah showed up to celebrate with him. All the kids had a ton of fun in the Winnie the Pooh bouncer and the stayed cool by squirting each other with a squirt bottle.

Out For A Ride

2008-05-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

Ben and Zachary went around the block for their first official bike ride. Just last week Zachary figured out how to really get moving on his tricycle. He's getting to be such a big boy!

A Wonderful Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

I had and am still having a wonderful Mother's Day. I was woken this morning with the delicious smell of waffles and big beautiful smiles from my boys. In the afternoon we met up with my mom, Gary, Carrie, Dan, Kori, Noah, Sharla and Bobby at a near by park to have a picnic and play. On our drive to the park I received the best mother's day present, Zachary said, "Mommy guess what?" I said, "what sweetie?"And he said, "I love you". Then, of course I cried. It's so wonderful to be a mommy!

As a mother's day present Ben gave me tickets to go to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Our tickets are for July 19th, I'm so excited. All four of us are going to go, the kids are going to love it. I know it may seem like an odd mother's day gift, but that's why Ben is the perfect man for me. This is a perfect gift for me, I love the circus and the fact that I get to enjoy it with my family makes it even more perfect.

Noah was falling asleep at the wheel. Too cute!

Brayden loves skate boards.

He's doing better then his Daddy did.

Say Cheese!

2008-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Sears Portrait Studio today to have pictures of the boys done and to also have our first professional family picture taken. The session started out pretty good but went down hill after the first three pictures were taken. Both Zac and Brayden did not want to be told what to do. At least we got a few good pictures out of them.

Brayden looks so grown up.

This is were it started to go down hill.
I love this picture. We tried to get Zac in the picture but he just wouldn't have it.
It took forever to get this shot.

Night on the Town

2008-05-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

My amazing husband stayed home with the kids Friday night so I could go to a magic show in San Pedro with Sharla and some of our friends. We had a lot of fun even though the show ran a little long. After, we went to a local bar and had a few drinks. It was so nice to get out of the house and be around grown ups. Next time we'll have to get a baby sitter so Ben can join in on the fun too.

Here's our group standing outside of the Grand Illusions show.

Sharla and I at the local bar.

Very Quick Trip to Disneyland

2008-04-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening after Ben got home from work, we decided to go to Disneyland for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, when we got there at 7pm we found out that the park was closing at 8pm that night. On top of that, the parade had just started, so we had to squeeze our way through all the people on the sidewalk to get to the Dumbo ride. We were only able to go on two rides before it was time to head back home.

Now that Zac is 3 years old, he gets to have his very own season pass. He is so proud to have his own pass with his picture on it. I love that he waved to the camera as he was posing.

Zachary's first Disneyland Season Pass

Getting ready for lift off. And off we go!

Bad to the Bone!

2008-04-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Zachary's showing off his new Elmo tattoo.

Future Artists

2008-04-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

Like most kids, Zac and Brayden love to color.

Party Weekend!

2008-04-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to two birthday parties. On Saturday, we went to my cousin Brent's daughter Alyssa's 2nd birthday. It was held at a beautiful park, all the kids had a lot of fun. Brayden was in the last stages of a cold, so he and Ben stayed home.

On Sunday, we went to a party for my cousin Charlene's kid's. Her boys J.J. & Jayden had their 4th & 1st birthday parties. Their party was held at their gorgeous home. Their backyard looks like a tropical resort. They had a petting zoo and pony ride for the kids, a bounce house and all the kids (and some of the adults) went swimming in their amazing pool.

Needless to say we had a fun filled weekend.

This is my cousin Elisa's new baby girl Niamh (pronounced Nieve).
The love birds, Sharla and Bobby.
Zac on the death drop slide.
Zac and Bobby rock climbing.
After eating an orange cup cake.
Jumping in the bounce house at Alyssa's party. The petting zoo at J.J. & Jayden's party.

Brayden on the pony ride.

Noah's turn.

Zac and Alyssa

Fun in the water. Brayden is in the blue and black trunks.

There goes Kori!

Happy Birthday Kori!

2008-04-17T09:51:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, April 16th was Kori's 11th birthday! The family got together at my Dad's house to celebrate. Kori received a Disneyland annual pass from her parents and her Mima. Carrie is going to take her to Disneyland tomorrow (Friday), and Kori gets to bring along her best friend Hannah.

Happy Birthday Kori!

Make a wish!

Brayden loved those cup cakes.
I'm so handsome.

Roller Derby here we come...

2008-04-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Mima and Pipa (my mom and Gary) got Zachary skates for his birthday. Of course when he wanted to ride his skates for the first time it was dark outside, but that didn't stop him. He had a lot of fun even though his feet were going in every direction.

This is how they looked when they started out.

And this is how they ended up when they got back.
I am happy to say there was no falling down and crying involved. Ben was very good about making Zac feel like he was flying when he would have done a face plant.

I Can't Believe It...

2008-04-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Kori cut her hair!!! In her 11 years of life, Kori has never cut her hair other than to have it trimmed. Carrie, Sharla and I have been trying to get her to chop her hair off for years but Kori simply refused. I think it's a perfect hair style for her and she says that she loves it too.

Let The Party Begin!

2008-04-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

We had Zachary's birthday party in our new back yard. It was a beautiful and hot day. Thankfully my cousin Elisa gave Zac a pool for his birthday, so we had him open that present early so we could blow it up for all the kids to play in. It was perfect, all the kids had a great time and it kept them nice and cool. Zac received so many wonderful gifts, we are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives.

This is George with Zac. George is a very special person to us, especially to Zac.

Zac, Brayden and their cousin Alyssa.

Sharla's getting ready to help their other cousin Nuallan onto the slide.Brayden and Nuallan chillin'
It's present time!Bobby and Craig. Aren't they cool?

Sharla and our beautiful friend Maura.

Nick, Abi, Kara, Gary, Maura, Bobby and Travis
It's time for Alyssa to go home.

Happy Birthday Zachary!

2008-04-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Zachary turned 3 years old on Wednesday, April 9th! We had a crazy busy day. For lunch Sharla, Bobby and I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I didn't take any pictures. Zac and Brayden both had a great time and fell right to sleep in the car on the way home.
As soon as they woke up from their naps, Ben and I loaded them into the car and headed to Disneyland. We were only there for a couple of hours which was perfect, this is exactly why I love having a season pass. We had a lot of fun, we even ran into two of our friends, Nick and Abi. It was great to catch up with them, it has been a while since we've seen each other.

Zachary loves Mickey!

Posing in front of Pooh's honey pots.

Ben and Brayden

Our friends Nick and Abi.

I thought Zac looked so funny with his jacket and shoes on over his Pajamas.

Sometimes they are nice to each other...

2008-04-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

I couldn't pass up capturing this moment. While Zac and Brayden were hugging, Zac said, "I love you brother". Then Brayden said, "thank you." It made my heart melt.

A day at the Zoo

2008-04-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the LA Zoo on Saturday. Zachary was very excited to see the Elephants and the Monkeys. Unfortunately, soon after we got there the batteries in my camera died so I didn't get very many pictures.

Here is the famous Reggie.

Zachary was a little scared of the Pelicans.
Zachary and I are in the far bubble pretending that we are Prairie Dogs.
Ben and Zac are on the left looking at a Yellow-Billed Magpie Bird.

Welcome Home World Traveler

2008-04-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Kori, her dad Craig, her Grandma Nancy, her Great Grandmother and Craig's girlfriend Stacy just got home today from a 2 week cruise through Spain, Italy, Morocco and Portugal. At the end of the trip they went to Ireland for about a day and a half and flew home from there. Kori said she had a great time but did get a little sea sick. The whole family went over to my dad's house to welcome Kori and Craig home. We are so glad to have them home again, we missed them both very much.

Kori got this cute hat from her Grandma Nancy in Ireland.

We all signed a welcome home banner for Kori.
Brayden has recently started to like wearing sunglasses.

Kids+Park= Fun

2008-03-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

For my kids, the park will never get old. They could stay there on the swings and slides all day if we let them. I love the park because it's FREE and it wears them out. ;-)

Ben and his two boys

Brayden is resting in the shade before running back to the playground.Brayden, Zac and Noah love playing in the sand.

Princess Clara

2008-03-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Sandy's mother, Clara, turned 90! Clara is a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor!

Happy Birthday Clara!

Happy Easter

2008-03-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

For Easter this year, we went to Church and had an Easter Egg Hunt at my Dad's house. Some of my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins came over to join in on the fun too.

My cousin Darie and Bobby are helping the kids find the eggs.

Brayden did such a good job putting the eggs into his stuffed Dinosaur basket.
We couldn't pass up taking this picture.
All the kids enjoyed Darie putting plastic eggs all over her face.

Papa and his Boys

2008-03-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

After raising three girls, my dad is so happy to have three grandson's now. Of course Kori will always be his little princess though.

Zachary and his Papa.
It's dog pile time!
Brayden wanted to get in on the action too.
They love their Papa.
Dan is such a bad influence.

You would think they are all in time out or under arrest.
He is definitely going to be a ladies man with those dimples and baby blue eyes.

Turtle Mania

2008-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

On our walk today at the park we saw a huge Soft Shell Turtle. We have one of our own in a fish tank at home. The one we saw at the park is at least 3 times bigger.

If you click on the picture it will open a full screen view. It's crazy how big he is compared to the other turtles on the rock.

This is our turtle, named Turtle. Original, I know.

Good Times

2008-03-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

On St. Patrick's Day, during the day, we went to Chuck E Cheese's with my best friend Teresa and her kids and Carrie and Noah. We all had a great time, especially the kids. Unfortunately Teresa and her kids are going home to Colorado on Wednesday. We have been so fortunate to see them as much as we have while they have been here. I have gotten used to seeing Teresa so much during these last 3 weeks, that it is going to be hard for me to see her go. She and I have known each other since elementary school but became really close in high school. She has four kids named Michael, Allysun, Mitchell and William that she is a wonderful mother to.

Ally and Mitchell

Me and Teresa (after 4 kids, she is still a twig)
Brayden and Noah (twins again)
Zachary is climbing through the sky tubes.
Teresa and Mitchell are playing Air Hockey while William is lounging in his stroller.
We had to pose with Chuck
That is Brayden's funny face he always does. Noah finds it very interesting.

Injured Pooch

2008-03-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Our two dogs somehow got out of our backyard without us knowing last week. We think they were only out for about 10 minutes before they both came running back. Rosco, the boy, ran right past Ben and straight into to backyard. Fawn, the girl, on the other hand was not so quick to run past Ben because she was not putting her weight on her right back leg. At a closer look, Ben saw that both of her back legs were bleeding. Zac was so sweet, he was very concerned about her and was sad to see that she was hurt.

We rushed her to the Emergency Pet Clinic that is just at the end of our street. After some stitches and a $738.00 dollar bill later, she was pretty groggy but doing better. The vet was not able to tell us if her injuries were caused by an animal attack or if she was hit by something.

The entire time that Fawn was gone, Rosco was in a panic and would not stop barking. When we put them to bed that night we had to seperate them by putting a gate between them so Rosco wouldn't lick her wounds. When I checked on them before I went to bed Rosco was just sitting there watching Fawn sleep. It was so cute to see the concern on his face.

A week later, she is walking a lot better. Every so often she will lift her leg up to keep her weight off of it.

Fawn has to wear an E Collar until her stitches are gone. We feel so bad for her because we can tell that it is really bugging her. She's always scratching at it to get it off.

Fawn and Brayden are just lounging around on the laundry.

New Swing

2008-03-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ben set up the boys new swing today. Zachary was the first to break it in while Brayden was taking a nap. He loves it, now he never has to go the park again. Ha ha, yeah right!

Bird Catcher

2008-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ben rescued a Humming bird that was trapped in our garage. He brought it in the house to show Zachary, who was very surprised to see a bird that is so small.
Don't worry, the Humming bird was not harmed. Ben let it go in the backyard and it flew straight to one of our trees.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

2008-03-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

For St. Patrick's Day weekend we went to the Hermosa Beach Pier to watch the annual green parade. Zac was extremely excited because after watching an episode of Barney and Friends he developed a love for marching bands.

As the parade was going by, Dan, Carrie's boyfriend, noticed that one of the groups was his fellow co-workers of the Iron Workers Union. They all yelled for Dan to jump into the parade to show off his Miss America wave. He only hesitated for about two seconds before he jumped right in.

Twin cousins, Brayden and Noah are wearing matching outfits. Zac was so happy to see a real live marching band.
Carrie, Zac and Ben cheering on the parade.
From left to right... Me, Brayden(in the stroller), Dan with Noah on his shoulders, Carrie, Sharla, my dad, and Sandy and Zac are sitting on the ground. Ben is taking the picture.
There's Dan walking in the parade.

They even had the Kelly School Irish Dancers dancing in the parade.Zac loves to dance, especially with a live band playing.

Keith Urban Concert

2008-03-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

My extremely generous cousins Charlene and Mark called me yesterday and invited me to go with them and some of their friends to a Keith Urban concert. It was awesome! I have never been to his concert before and he was just amazing. I also got to see my other cousin Elisa, which was great. I haven't seen her since before she had her new beautiful baby girl Niamh (pronounced Neeve) in January.

Carrie Underwood was the opening act. I was so excited because I love her music. It was really two great concerts all in one night. For one of the songs Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood performed together, that was a real treat. We had a pretty late night but it was definitely worth it!

Me and my cousin Elisa.

The far couple is Charlene and Mark.

Me and my cousin Charlene.

It's hard to see but that is Carrie Underwood performing.

Keith Urban performing.

Charlene and her sister-in-law Carolina.

Fun at the Park

2008-03-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

My sister Carrie and I try to go walking every day during the week except for Tuesdays. It's a very special time of the day for me because it's a time that I get to have with just my sister and our kids. I have gotten to know her so much better and we have become closer friends. I thank God that we get to have this time together. Our kids have a lot of fun too. After we're done walking our 3 or 4 laps around the .91 mile park, they get to play at the playground together. Zac and Bryaden love their little cousin Noah and I know he feels the same way about them.

Zachary and Brayden are ready for our walk.

Carrie and Noah are ready too.

Me and my boys

Noah fell asleep with his bottle in his mouth, too cute!

Brayden is knocked out too.

Zac had fun playing in the sand.

Both the boys woke up in time to go on the swings.

Zac and Brayden took a ride together too.

Brayden got mommy's red hair.

Sleeping Babies

2008-03-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Every so often Zac and Brayden come crawling into our bed in the middle of the night. It definitely gets cramped but the sight of the two of them sleeping next to each other is just too cute.

I guess the flash was a little too bright.

Disneyland

2008-03-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday the boys and I went to Disneyland with one of my best friends, Teresa. She and her adorable four kids are in town from Colorado. Rose, Teresa's mother-in-law, and her best friend Sue went with us as well.

Zachary loved seeing Mickey Mouse. We had to go through Mickey's house twice. He wanted to go through even more but it was getting late and the park was closing.

New Blogger & New House

2008-03-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

So, my cousin Kim has me hooked on this blog site. I love how I can stay up to date in her family's life even though they are in another state. Ben and I also have our own website where we can post family photos, but since we moved into our new house we haven't set up our old computer to update the site. For some reason we can only access it from his computer.

Anyway, we moved into our new house in the end of January. It is a big adjustment because this house is a lot smaller. The backyard is huge and beautiful, which is why we bought the place. We are hoping to add on a room or two at the end of this year.