One Story at a Time

Since the day Carissa was born I was constantly looking for FREE activities to enjoy with my baby girl. We loved playing at the park and when she was a bit older we greatly enjoyed story time at the library. Reading has always been a relaxing past time of mine what better way to spend time with my mini me than read and like mother like daughter Carissa loved and still does love books. As expectant that my little girl would follow suite in my love for reading I was just as unexpected that Nate would enjoy SITTING and hearing stories. Its just that even in my belly he was way more on the go than Carissa and when it was time for him to sit and be still I just didn’t see it happening, but although a bit more squirmy than Carissa he absolutely indulged in each story read and as he got older it got much more easier to let him sit like a big boy right next to his sister. Although vastly different in many ways there’s nothing that melts my heart more than seeing them enjoy one another's company by reading a book together (Carissa reading and Nate turning the page ;-) I felt that as I wrote this no one would believe how often this happens so I thought I’d share pictures of one day that I was going about my usual wife/ mommy business that I noticed how quiet it was so I had to go make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be and sure enough they had a book open and I’m sure having an adventure through imagination! I really can’t take all the credit on this one either though other than being consistent in getting the kids to their weekly wed story time I have to give a lot of credit where credit is do to the library staff and their wonderful programs! Especially their summer program that provides so many kids the opportunity to grow in their love for books! Of course with all the activities we had lined up this last summer we had to do the summer reading program which in all honesty God made all of it possible I had no idea how I was going to read enough books to Nate and get them to their parties but by no strategizing of my own it all worked out and both children had a great time challenging themselves and getting rewarded for doing their favorite activity reading! Carissa's party was first and I got to watch Carissa enjoy all her gifts, face painting, making masks, playing games, and laughing hysterically at a comedian juggler who at one point takes a pair of underwear and uses it as a handkerchief (Carissa's favorite part). A few weeks later Nate got to watch a train puppet show and anyone reading this should know our boys love for trains!! Just seeing his name on a train car on the wall was reward enough but to sing songs, eat train red velvet cupcakes and get his arm painted was icing on the cake….or cupcake rather!! It is a true treat to watch the love for reading grow in my children's hearts  every year because of the summer program and you can be sure to find us there again next year!

 

Part 2 of Anniversary Trip

After a very comfy night in our room Sunday we woke up just in time to pack up but our trip wasn’t quite done yet. Before heading home we took a trip further up the mountain to a small western town to take in a cute show, down-home cooking for lunch, and after walking off lunch making sure we got some apple pie that was delightful!

Anniversary Trip Part 1

Have i mentioned how much we love our family and time with them is never enough? Well we had such a great opportunity to go spend some time with my brother in law and sister in law, niece and nephew! This time happened to fall right on our anniversary weekend which turned out to be a great gift from them. Philip and Olga graciously shared their timeshare with us in Ramona, Ca that is located near the San Diego wildlife park. So we spent 2 nights and 2 days letting the kids play until their hearts content and if anyone knows these 4 they could be together forever, despite occasional normal cousin challenges they just loved being together! The best part was the wildlife park. Its very different from the San Diego zoo. Although less types of animals since this park only holds animals that are in danger of being extinct so they are in charge of breeding to save their species, the park is quite large since the habitats are much larger than any zoo I’ve ever seen before to give the animals more of a realistic home environment. Carissa and Nathans favorite part was the bird show, especially since at the moment their favorite movie of the year is Rio. The show was filled with lots of exotic birds flying right over head, and one cockatoo giving a great show with his funny mimics. At the end of the day we all had exhausted mommy’s and daddy’s oh and of course children but it was a great success since we conquered 90% of the park and saw all the special events we planned on seeing. David and I predicted that Carissa and Nathan would crash and although Carissa denied ever being tired and refused to believe that she would be asleep by the time we got to the resort she proved herself wrong ;-) Overall it was a fun filled day taking in all of Gods amazing creations!!

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Roughing It

Ok well maybe not roughing it seeing as though I ate more food than dinning at a Vegas buffet…….but compared to some who say they camp we roughed it ;-)  Camping is seriously one of my favorite vacationing activity!! We got a taste of it when we were in AZ since my mom and dad brought out a little children's camp play set, all you need for smores and yes a big camp fire in 100* heat, many of my favorite things that got me so excited for our church campout which was 2 weeks after we returned from AZ. Well lets not kid ourselves I was super excited when we got the go ahead to plan our church campout this year!! We are so blessed to have people in our lives like those in our church! They are so dear to us and we are so thankful to the Lord for them. I fully intended on having a completely relaxed time but there just were too many fun and exciting things to do and since there were some first timers we had to be sure to “initiate” them. No we didn’t jump them in or anything but there are some classic hiking areas that they have to experience as well as the best dessert I have ever experienced toastie eyed fries, what no….. toadies ties, I mean toast tight pies! hehe yea had to be there ;-) There were some first experiences for David and I as well our first hike was interrupted by a downpour of rain which was very unexpected or else I would have closed our tent window, than our 8 person tent broke and we had to move into a 4 person tent only we could only get 3 of us in there, but of course all this just adds to the experience and family memories! I could go on and on but there might not be enough room for pics so I’ll let them explain themselves ;-) enjoy!

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Summer Adventures!

Ok as you have already known about me consistency is not my strong point! I really really try but outside of remembering the schedule of our families hectic week and other really important things my blog gets very left behind. So unfortunately although there were some great moments at the beginning of the year that I’d love to share I need to skip to the now which is ending very soon.  The saying “time flies when your having fun” greatly applies to our summer!! Immediately after Carissa had her last day of school we were heading off to our first adventure, AZ, to see Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Chris, and all our favorite doggies! It was some much needed time off to relax and to kick our summer off right! Unfortunately David only got to stay for the weekend but we made sure to make it a great time before he had to fly back home. Then the kids and I stayed for an additional 2 weeks!! This was a treat for me since usually we pack in our time together with fun activities trying to make use of the little time that is usually spent with them but this time along with fun activities time was spent just being together. Mom got to share her gifts of baking and many art activities the kids really don’t get at home since I’m not much of an artist, Dad shared his love for the stars and planets and his gift for computer movie making that yes dad David is using and loving! Another great gift of our visit was the quality time spent with my brother! The kids really got a chance to get pretty close with him not that I’m surprised kids love him! But there is nothing like seeing my kids his niece and nephew bond the way they did with him. It was also a great pleasure to meet his girlfriend and her parents during our stay! I love that she doesn’t let him get away with anything Chris I think you met your match HAHAHA! And of course our trip to Pheonix to visit my moms best friend Debbie and her family! Zoos, swimming, girls day out what can I say?  It was a vacation that will never be forgotten with or without pictures the memories made will be treasured forever…….oh but don’t worry there are lots and lots of pictures (scared ya didn’t I ;-)

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A Grandpa Kind of Morning

Well if anyone was wondering WE MADE IT……through the week that is ;-) David accomplished his first week of work and I accomplished my first week without him and although both of us ended up with a cold probably caused by the early mornings I can honestly look back and rejoice that we not only got through the week but God gave us the strength to accomplish our goals for the week. So our reward was a great weekend. First we started our Sat off with trains trains and more trains! An amazing hobby grandpa Phil has shared with our children, well all the grandchildren, has been the love for trains. From real trains that zoom past on the tracks near a burger place to small model trains. We got to attend a train expo that had many booths displaying their model trains along with their magnificent landscapes.  Now of course this is the only picture we get with Grandpa since we were too busy being enthralled by the trains…….