Guest Post from Erika

Hi Bloggy bloggers!  Sorry to disappoint you, but today is not my Mom Kris, it's me Erika...remember me??

 

How bout now? 

Good...great.  Let's catch you up.

  

Well...life is...The exact same.  Except I have been putting more photos in albums,  frames & on my walls vs my blog upkeep.

Exhibit A:

 The larger frames are awaiting their photos I'm having done of Noah & I (mostly Noah) on La Playa.

   I do miss blogging tho.  I miss my bloggy friends. 

Ran a half marathon with my cousin Jessica.  It was not fun.  Very windy, like hurricane Erika status I tried naming it that but they said it wasn't really a hurricane & that I was just a wimp.  Sure felt like one when I was digesting 7 miles worth of sand from the beach.  But it sure was a fun time with my cousin!  She is my running hero.  She's a machine.  I felt good miles 1-10.  Mile 10.5 I wanted to call a cab.  But I didn't and I finished.  

In other news.  Noah had his 5 year old check up just before he turned 5... (Sniff)  

All is good in his hood.  Doc says he is on track to be about 6'6.  Ya heard me, 6'6.  I am not surprised at all.  I'm 5'9 and he is about up to my chest.

At his check up he had to have 5 shots & a tb test.  Poor Bubs.  I hate that part &... kinda wanna punch the nurse by needle 3.  Instinct?  Mama bear?  We woke up the next day he was vomiting & had a fever I figured that was normal.  As the weekend continued his right arm continued to look worse.  Swollen, tight, red & tender.  I took him to the ER after driving round town discovering not a single urgent care was open. 

We got meds he had to take 4 times a day that tasted awful, & I mean AWFUL.  So I did what any good mother would do.  Bribed him with mounds of candy, new toys & movies.  I kept him back from school & me from work for two days & he was up & running in no time. 

I went on a hike recently with my friend Jen & we are eager to venture to many more round the likes of here!  We really live in such a great location.

Noah turned 5 !!!  Still, every year I cry on the eve of his b-day...I asked my Mom when does this stop??  29?  What am I in for? 

I had his party at Pump it Up which is so great for kids, they had a blast!  And some of the big kids too!  I'm pretty sure my brother wants his b-day there next year. 

 I also had a "tower of tires" that were chocolate donuts.  Noah loves him some cars!

These were some of the "big kids" at the party.  Good times had by ages 5 & under and 5 & up.

(don't mind the blurry-ness, that is a child running)

Let's see what else.  

We had out last hoorah at Disneyland :(  Our annual passes expired and no plans to renew them.  We took a trip with our good friends.

I started out loathing Dland.  But we ended our season pass having grown fond of it.  The park is gorgeous, there is lot's to do, it's a lot of walking, and most importantly Noah has a blast every visit.  My most favorite trips have been just Noah & I.  

We still frequent the park on the reg.  And my friend/neighbor Jen's sons play both t-ball & soccer so it's been fun to visit some of their games & cheer them on/prepare for soccer Mom life. 

Noah is all registered for Kindergarten & I can't believe that we are venturing into K-6  How did this happen???  I enrolled him for soccer which starts in August so I'm officially a soccer Mom (who drives a Sedan) woo hoo!  We can't wait!  Speaking of my sedan, Mary Sue is still doing great!  She is as a great car & we love her so much...so much so, that we are keeping her until death do us part. 

God has been doing some really amazing things in our life.  He is faithfully laying out my stepping stones to his will for me as I live my life Christ devoted.  It's truly the most fulfilling I have ever felt when I am who I was created to be.

Other than that just living life & loving it.  Miss you all

XO

Birthdays

Well hello there.  Long time, no see!    Today was my Mom and my niece Deanna's birthday. 

We all went to a favorite restaurant of ours.  Some were missing, so it was a smaller group than usual.
Here is half the table.

And here is the other half.

There are usually about 30 in our get togethers.  Not many restaurants can accommodate us, but The Crab Cooker always does.
Happy Birthday Mom and Deanna!!!
Our grandson Noah turned FIVE this past Thursday too.  He had a fun day at school, and we gathered for pizza at our house that night.

His Mama got him a shiny new bike!!  He was so excited!

 Gamma and Geeps got him a new Razor Scooter. 

The three kids had so much fun racing in the front yard!

A fun time was had by all!
I leave you with a feel good picture of my granddaughter Hannah.  We have been "swimming" in the spa lately, and the kids have been loving that.  This picture of her makes me smile.  Oh to be so carefree!!!!

I have had a bit of a clog in my blog lately.  I am not sure why.  Just sort of tired from a lot of goings on here in my life.  I have been going a mile a minute for months.  I think it has caught up with me.  I am trying to take it easy for a bit.
XO  Kris

It's All About The Grands!!!

It certainly has been all about the Grandkids this weekend!!!   We have been enjoying having our two grandgirls here!  They have been perfect in every way.  Yesterday was a big day.  It was their cousin Noah's 5th birthday party, and boy did everyone have a ball.  Hannah and Claire woke up at 5:30.  The first thing Hannah said was "Can I put my party clothes on now?"  I managed to coax them back under the sheets, and buy another 30 minutes before the pitter patter of little feet came down the hallway.
I didn't let them put their party clothes on just yet.  I am pretty sure Gennifer would have been proud of me for having done their hair and matched their bows to their darling outfits too.  In the morning, we were very busy running trains all throughout the bedroom.

I have always thought Clairey looked a lot like Gennifer.  But all weekend long, I have been reminded of some photos of me at the age Claire is now.  I swear she looks like I did as a kid.  Mom???  I am remembering a photo in particular of me standing in my undies in my Auntie Connie's house.  Same hair do, same grin. 

She's got "Fink" eyes for sure!  Greg took the girls for a long walk with Ducey.  They had fun collecting flowers and pinecones and treasures along the way.  I love these pictures of them on our front lawn, looking at their flowers.

The girls have always been leery of our super duper rambunctious dog, Ducey.  But this weekend, they kind of had to get used to him.  He is still a pain in the patoot, but they learned how to handle him at least. 

They helped me water the garden, and gather eggs.

Before we knew it, it was time to put those party clothes on, and go celebrate cousin Noah's birthday.

Clairey's eyes were half closed, but this is the only picture Geeps got of all three.  I didn't bring my camera, because I wanted to keep my attention on the kids, not pictures.   Noah had such a fun party.  Erika really hit it out of the park for these kids!!!  They had a ball!!!

Inflatable slides, bounce houses, air ball, mazes, you name it.....a kid's fantasy land!!!

Then you end up in a party room for cake.  The birthday boy/girl sits in the big chair and gets a crown and wand.  They shut the lights out to sing happy birthday, and then a spotlight shines down on the big chair.  So cute!  They feel so special!!!

It was just precious to watch.  He was so excited!!!!  On the way home I asked the kids if they were tired.  Hannah said "NO, I want to go in the spa when we get home!!"

Clairey didn't fall asleep. She just took her pen out of her goody bag and wrote all over her legs!!! 

Today was pretty low key.  We had a pretty slow morning, and then about noon, we got lunch and took it over to their house and ate outside.  I watered their garden, and let the kids play.  Then I thought that Clairey would take a nice nap if she was in her own bed.  So I put her down, and Hannah and I watched Soul Surfer.  We took another nice long soak in the spa this afternoon when we got home. They are sleeping soundly now.  Tomorrow night, Mommy and Daddy get home.  I am thinking that maybe I need to have a little Vacay!!!!!
XO  Kris

Visitors For The Weekend

We have some special guests that are here for the weekend.  They arrived this morning, with suitcases in tow.

Goodbye Mommy &  Daddy....Have fun!!  See you in a few days.

Our oldest daughter Gennifer, and her husband Jake, have gone to Napa Valley to celebrate their 10th anniversary!!!  It seems like yesterday that they were married.  How did 10 years go by so fast?  They let Hannah miss school today, just to make things a little easier.  Noah was already here, because he arrives about O Dark'Thirty every morning.  He was so excited to see his cousins coming in the door!  We had a busy morning, making breakfast and getting everyone ready for the day.  They all wanted to come out back with me when I fed the chickens.  So since we were out there, we walked around the grove, picking up wayward tennis balls from the next door neighbors who have a tennis pro working there every day with lessons.  We get a lot of balls in our grove!  It was already hot out there at 9:00 in the morning!  I knew it was going to be a scorcher! When it was time to take Noah, I got all three buckled up into car seats, and off we went to take Noah to school.  Then the girls and I went to exchange a shirt at Kohl's.  Then to get a  ridiculously expensive bag of dog food for Ducey at PetCo.  It seems we have finally found something to help his allergies.  After walking up and down every aisle to see the fish, and mice, and the hampsters, and lizards, we mosied across the way to have a little lunch at Chick Fil A.  They drank all of their chocolate milk, and ate almost none of their lunch and wanted to go play in the play room!  We stopped at their house after lunch and watered their garden, and by then it was time to go collect Noah from school.   By now the temp had risen to 102!!!!!!     So after getting into the house, and having a snack, we got into our swimsuits!

The pool is still too cold to swim in, but the spa is just right!  I heated it to about 88 degrees, and they had an absolute ball!  It was cool enough to be refreshing for them, and warm enough so that they didn't get cold at all.  We stayed out there for TWO hours!!!    I got them all in, me included, then realized I didn't put sunscreen on them.  So I made everyone get out, and get lathered up, then back in.

It was a shame that they didn't have any fun!!

They were a riot to listen to.  Such imaginations! 

 I love this one of Clairey for some reason.  The green in the background and her pretty little profile.

Barbies were swimming too.  It made me think of all the times that my girls played with their dolls in the pool.  For Drew, it was poolside basketball and who could make the biggest cannonball though.  Such fun times in a pool!  Our pool was built when the house was built over 30  years ago.  There was no spa.  We put one in outside our bedroom several years ago.  It is tucked up underneath an orange tree, with ivy and greenery all around.  It is such a pretty and private little spot to be.

I kept saying, "time to go in" and every time I did, I got a chorus of "NOOOOOO. not yet!!!"    So we stayed in until we were pruned!!

Eventually, we all got out and went inside to have a snack.

It was nearly dinner time by the time we got out.  So while they waited for me to make it, they had some delicious strawberries from the Farm Fresh To You pak that Gennifer gave to me.  They just started this delivery service of farm fresh produce that gets delivered every other week to your home.  It is grown locally, and shipped straight to your door.  Each time it contains something different.  I think you can request certain things too.  Heaven knows we don't need to be ordering oranges and avocados!  This is what was in the box today.

Those strawberries were amazing!  They are gone!  After dinner, Erika and Noah left, and I got the girls straight to the tub.  While I was preparing for their bath, I heard a crash.  Uh oh.....I had told them that they could each put a penny into the M & M machine, and poor Clairey had a little mishap.

Luckily no one was hurt, except the gumball machine!  I swept it up, and gave it a good vacuum, and promised a chocolate covered graham cookie after their bath.

We brushed and flossed, and tucked them into bed, and they were out within minutes!!!  Tomorrow is Noah's birthday party at Pump It Up.  They can hardly wait!  Should be another big day!!!  I don't plan to take my camera.  I have to keep track of these little girls, so I don't want to be fussing with my camera too.  Geeps will bring a point and shoot.  They were as good as gold today, but boy oh boy, let me tell you, this was much easier in my twenties!!!!!  I have Noah M-F so I am no stranger to busy days.  But, three kids 5 and under....different story!
Goodnight!
XO  Kris