Happy Birthday Lauren

We went with Grandma and Grandpa to Pirate Island for a Birthday lunch.

Blowing out the candles!

Christian helping Lauren with her treat bag.

Landon with Lauren and her presents. Sadly she has a big scab on her face for the pictures. She went to the dentist and had a tooth filled a few days before. Her cheek felt funny to her and so she kept rubbing it. I was at the store with her and didn't notice what she was doing until it was too late. It looked terrible (bright red) in most of the pictures I took of her birthday.

Back to School 2009

Gavin 2nd grade.

Landon 6th grade.

Christian 8th grade.

All of them were so excited to start school. I can't believe how fast the summer always goes by.

I Can Ride

One day Lauren just decided she could ride her bike. We didn't even have to teach her. She probably could have been riding all summer if we would have taken off the training wheels sooner and helped her. I am glad she figured it out.

California Trip

Christian and Landon with some of their cousins. Kevin, Katie and David. Kevin is doing pretty well considering he was hit by a car just the week before. I think he just got out of the hospital a few days before this picture was taken. Sure glad he okay.

Gotta love those true Star Wars fans! Jedi Greg.

I call this one 'Nerd Fest'. They are all linked up on the computer playing Warcraft against each other. They really had fun together.

Disneyland

We had a great day at Disneyland. I always have to go when we take a trip to Cali. It really is one of my favorite things to do. (Wish it were a little cheaper) My parents, Laura and her kids went with us that day too.

I don't know what is going on with my hair here, but the rest of them look cute.

Day at the Beach

My cuties poseing for a picture for me. This was our first day on vacation in California. We went to Ventura beach with Greg, Katie, David and Alyssa.

Love this shot of the kids looking out at the water. They had such a fun day!

Landon being his silly self.

Gavin didn't even know he had all of that sand on his face. He just finished getting buried in the sand by David and Katie (his cousins).

My brother Greg 'holding' a Seagull.

Swimming Lessons

Gavin had a great time in swimming lessons. He would probably love to be on the swim team in a few years. I didn't realize how much he enjoyed swimming.

Lauren lounging in the water after getting treats from her teacher.

Going down the water slide on the last day of swimming lessons!

Love that smile!

Strong Family Reunion

Me and my cute brothers with Mom and Dad. L-R: Tammy, Greg, Dad, Mom, Gary and Jon (who was making weird faces on purpose for every picture).

Gramdma and Grandpa with most of the Grandchildren. Top: Grandpa, Landon, Christian, Grandma. Bottom Row: Gavin, David, Alyssa, Lauren, Claire, Grace, Lana and Matthew.

Cute random shot of Chris and the boys.

I think this was the only shot where Jon is doing a normal smile. We were not even ready for pictures, so I lucked out.

What a cute picture of Mom and Dad! We love ya!

Snake Charmers

Okay, I get the boy thing with reptiles and creepy animals, but my little girl? Where is the sugar and spice?

Chris has been working out in Delta with all the creepy crawlers - so I guess that means we get to have a visit from a local snake. He brought this home for the kids to enjoy for a few days and then it went back to its home. Gee, thanks for that Chris. I have to admit, the whole neighborhood was over to see and apparently everyone (but me) really enjoyed the snake.

Summer 'Break'

Well, it was the first official day of school being out and Landon broke his arm. This effectively put an end to baseball, Seven Peaks and pretty much anything fun. He was riding his bike (which I had no idea - has no brakes) and tried to stop. Landon jumped off his bike and tripped on a rock. He caught himself with his right arm causing a buckle fracture in both bones. Of course he went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to get fixed up (I guess he was closer to their house). Grandma called me and said Landon had an accident and he wanted me to take him to the doctor. As soon as I saw his arm, I knew it was broken. It was pretty swolen. He got a splint and some X-Rays, but the cast has to wait till some of the swelling goes down. I guess it's going to be an interesting summer.

Update: Landon got his real cast on and then the Orthopedic doctor had to set his arm. He didn't even cry, and you could hear the bone popping back into place. Yikes! Anyway, the good news is that Landon's cast is totally waterproof. He can go swimming and best of all, he is suppose to take a bath or shower every day, the cast does better that way - I love it!

Cinderella Dancer

Is this girl cute or what? This is Lauren's final dance recital of the year. She did two dances, one was a 'Teddy Bear' dance and the other was the 'Princess Dance'. They did such a cute job, the whole recital was very nicely done. The older group of girls even did a 'Twilight' dance in baseball costumes and used 'Muse' song (Super massive Black Hole). Another group did a dance to David Archuletta's version of 'Imagine'. It was a fun night and both Grandma Linda as well as Grandma HuLene and Grandpa Wayne attended the performance.


Lauren is the one on the far right.

Mother's Day Family Picture

I have a tradition of getting a Mother's Day picture of me with my babies (they're still my babies even if they are growing up so fast). This time we actually asked my Dad to take a family one as well. Of course you always have one where someone looks better in one and not so good on another - I was just glad to get all of us together.

Happy Mother's Day!

Easter

Coloring Easter Eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Aren't they nice to let us do that?


Lauren got bubbles and she was pretty excited about it - although you would never know from the picture.

Murphey's Law

Okay, so I am so excited! I just got a new car! It is a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. I know it is another Mom vehicle, but I really love it. It is so nice!

Here is where Murphy's Law comes in. About five or so hours after driving the sparkly new minivan home, I picked up Chris for a little spin. We were only going to drive around for a few minutes before heading to the school for Landon's theater performance. A dog ran out of nowhere and took several chunks out of my bumper - and himself presumably. I guess the dog was okay for the moment because he ran off. My bumper is not okay, sadly.

Landonisms

It seems Landon always has something to say and sometimes he is pretty funny. I know I have forgotten some of his funnier sayings, but I thought I better start writing down a few. Good thing he is not a smart alec!??

Landon (age 4)to a 20 something guy: Hey dude, you shouldn't smoke. It turns your lungs black and your teeth yellow.
Guy: Thanks man.

Burnage!

Waiter at Applebee's: Can I get you anything else?
Landon: Can I get a refill for my drink?
Waiter: I'm just going to bring you a big drink, do you think you can handle it?
Landon: Yah, I have bladder control.

(About his teacher) Mom: Mr. M sure is a commedian.
Landon: No, he is from California.
Mom: Where are commedians from?
Landon: Canada

Oui, Oui, it is good to be French.

Whatever

What now?!

Too Bad!

Do I know you?

Never! (anytime you ask him to do something)

Aye, aye captain. (also when you ask him to do something)

Landon (age 4) to some guy in Kmart walking by: Dude, you shouldn't swear.

Mom(while pregnant with Lauren): Landon, what are you going to do with a little sister?
Landon: I'm going to tease her and pull her hair.
Mom (after Lauren was born): Are you still going to tease your sister and pull her hair?
Landon: No, I didn't know how much I was going to love her.

Landon couldn't wait for his little sister to come home from the hospital after she was born. He told his first grade teacher, "My little sister is going to be so cute, and she is going to be dressed in a cute outfit."

If anyone remembers more let me know and I will add it to the list.

Makeover

Is it me, or is she looking more and more like Chris everyday? Lauren gave herself a bit of a makeover and I have to say - I've seen her look better. I guess it is time for the tweezers (no, these are really not Lauren's thick, dark eyebrows).

She has a bit of Tammy Fay Baker action going on with the foundation not blended in. Oh well, I guess she had fun and of course I just had to take a picture.

Happy Birthday Christian and Landon!

Here are the boys ready to blow out the candles (24 of them all together). We celebrated on Saturday by helping the Scouts deliver phone books for a fundraiser. After that we took everyone to brunch at IHOP. Later I made cupcakes and we all went to a movie(Mall Cop). On Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to have dinner and cake. I think the boys had a lot of fun. We just did family celebrating since last year we had a party with friends.

Landon turned 11 years old. He and Christian got Star Wars Legos for their birthday's and are putting them together in these two pictures.

Christian is now a teenager! How did this happen so fast? I must say that so far I am lucky to have a sweet, happy teenager (at least most of the time).

New Background

Okay, I think I am an idiot for attempting to make my own background. It took forever because I don't know what I am doing. It still won't do what I wanted it to. Next time I will just buy one or get a free one, but for now I will enjoy this one. I guess it was a good learning experience?

Beautiful Day

This was one of the first warm days this year. The kids were so happy to be outside and they had lots of friends over to jump on the trampoline. They were all being so cute playing together. Here is Gavin getting some air time.

My cute girl was having fun too. She loves it when there are frients to play with. During the day almost everyone is at school.

Snow Fort

We had a big snow storm and of course everyone was excited to build a snow fort (except Gavin). It was quite a project. I was just glad Chris was willing to go and help so that I didn't have to. They finished one more level of bricks before they had to stop. My little stinker Gavin came and destroyed all of the hard work before Chris and the boys could finish and enjoy it.