Pool days

Devin had a rare day off of therapy today, so I surprised the kids and took them to the pool. I've arranged my mother-in-law to come and be at the house for Devin's therapies every Thursday so I can take Justin and Avery to the pool for about 4 hours each week, but since the sessions today were canceled the kids were pleasantly surprised to get to go a second day during the week. I just love watching them play so hard and get all their energy out. They love the pool so much. I wish we could do it more.

Okay, so we're keeping it real on the blog, right? No sugar coating things to make our lives seem like la la land. Devin. Well, I thought he'd be thrilled to go to the pool. And he was to an extent. But after today I'm really glad I don't have to take him every week. He just wasn't satisfied with where we were in the pool or what diving stick we were playing with. Don't get me wrong. He did have fun as you can see in the picture above, but I had visions of him having so much fun he'd be happy with anything. Not the case today. Needless to say, I'm glad I brought my camera because I'm not sure when I'll take him back unless Kirk is with us. Little stinker. :-)

Welcome Summer Days!

Monday's Devin only has 1 therapy session from 9:00-11:00, so I do believe Monday afternoon's the above picture will be a typical sight around here. Avery and Justin had goggles and Devin didn't want to be left out, so he grabbed Avery's glasses that were sitting out and then he was a happy camper. They had a good time playing around and cooling off. Good thing for blow-up pools/slip 'n slides. This particular one is a combination of both. It's pretty fun to run and slide down the slide into this pool area (although, the slide wasn't hooked up to it today).

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful father! I hope we honored Kirk enough because he truely does deserve it. He's a hard worker, playful with the kids, a great priesthood holder and example to them of how you honor your priesthood and loves them dearly. I'm glad my kids have such a great all-around guy for a dad. We started the day at church. They gave out home made necklaces with big balls of bubble gum wrapped in it and huge Snicker bars. Lucky! When we got home he opened all our things. The kids had each made cards and such at school and we put together a snack box of all his favorite treats and drinks to have all to himself. He spent the day watching the US Open Golf Tournament, so his day really couldn't have gotten any better. :-) After dinner we honored him with a german chocolate cake - one of his favorites. It was a nice day and I want him to know how much I appreciate all he does for us. I love you, Kirby!

Preschool graduation!

Today was Avery's last day of school and she had her graduation. This past year she has attended a special needs preschool and was a typical peer. What this means to us - it's free! She went Monday thru Thursday 8:30-11:30. The first part of the year she had a wonderful teacher, Miss Angela, but then she got another job opportunity and Avery was very sad to see her go. Since then she had Ms. Cheryl (above). She had about 4 other typical children in there with her and made a couple of good friends. She's had playdates with Iris and Ariana (below) and is looking forward to continuing her friendships with them throughout the summer. Good work this past year, Avery. Way to go, girl!

May the force be with you!

Happy early birthday to Justin! This morning we celebrated Justin's 8th birthday over a month early. Why you ask? His birthday is really at the end of July and it's so hot, people are on vacation and it's just easier to get invitations out at school than during the summer when we've lost track of some people. So, we met 9 of his friends at the local discount theater and rented out a room to ourselves. They watched Star Wars Episode 1, ate popcorn and put their new light sabers that we gave out to good use!

They were really fun to watch. Every time a battle scene came on they'd run around the theater acting it all out themselves. What a fun time!

At the end he opened all his wonderful presents and we headed out. Kirk took this picture of us. I've never seen it before, but he may actually look a little like my son after all. Maybe????? Anyway, it was a great party and they all seemed to have a really fun time. Those light sabers sure were a hit! Happy birthday, Justin....early. :-) We love you!

Another trip to SEA WORLD

About a month ago we got a notice in the mail that Sea World is having their annual start to summer night for card holders only with fireworks and all. I don't think I've ever been there at night, so we decided to do it as a surprise. I went to get Justin out a school early. Boy was he surprised! Kirk had an estimate on the way there, so by the time we got going, stopped for that and the traffic, we made it there around 6:00. Perfect. Come to find out we didn't even have to pay for parking. Even more perfect! With the cost of gas ($4.19/gal today - yikes!) every bit helps! They just opened the Bay of Play area and Avery's been begging to go check that out. This is a picture of Devin watching the tea cup type ride that they were in line for. He wanted to go on so bad, but he's too small. So, he and I went over to the Sea Lion and Otter show to save some spots until Kirk and the kids were done with their rides. That was an entertaining show before it even got started! I remember going as a kid and there was a mime that would go around mimicking unsuspecting guests. This show had the same type of thing. So funny!After that, we got some dessert and walked over to the penguin and polar bear area for a bit.Then it was off to the main event of the night - Shamu Rocks followed by the fireworks display. Here we are at about 9:15 waiting for it to start. Boy we are excited!

And here is only 20 minutes later. Poor little Avery just couldn't take any more. The Shamu show had started, but she couldn't keep her eyes open for it. Devin conked out on me only about 5 minutes later. At least Avery woke up enough to watch the fireworks, but Devin just wouldn't have anything to do with it. He was just too beat.

We had a very nice time together. I love times like these that bring us closer as a family. I always feel rejuvinated even if there were times that were hectic or maddening. We made memories and spent time together and that's what really counts.

My cute Beehives

Let me introduce you to the cute Beehives that I teach every Sunday (minus a few). On Wednesday we had a spa night activity with just our class. It was a lot of fun. The girls got really into it. We did manicures and face masks. The face masks were quite the hit. Here we all are with our shiney faces before peeling them off. Aren't we attractive? Well, I know it's hard to see since it's clear, but it was very shiny.
And this was our reward - peeling it off. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to peel that stuff off...
The first picture is of me peeling off Cassidy Scott's mask. The second is evidently our alien councilor, Missi Waldron. Kind of scary! Anyway, it was a fun and silly night. Those girls are darling!

Wild and crazy weather

Okay, I know that only in Southern California would this be big news...news enough to deserve it's own entry into a blog, but our weather today was quite remarkable. Monday was so hot we could barely breath and today, only 3 days later, we had quite the storm! We are back in jeans and jackets and enjoying the winter like conditions of the day. When I was picking Avery up from preschool the sky was pretty dark and it was thundering in the distance and starting to sprinkle. By the time we got home it was pouring and thundering and even hailing. Avery had 2 friends over and they were all going ape over the 'ice falling from the sky'. It was a fun hour and a half. I'm sure Justin will have some stories for us when he gets home from school. His class is in a portable. That had to be loud! If you look closely at the pictures you can see the hail actually falling. It came down really good!