The Happiest Place on Earth

Enjoying the happiest place on Earth...

 

Of course the boys chose to go on the Rip Roaring Rapids first thing in the morning!!  Why oh why did I even bother straightening my hair??

We even got daddy to go on the swings with us on this trip....by the end of the ride his knuckles were white from holding on so tight!

 

Every time we go to Disneyland we try to do one thing we have never done before...this trip we did three new things...

we rode the canoes for the first time....

we went on the Cars ride for the first time (despite the 2 hour wait!!)

and Nick ate a turkey leg for the first time.  (We all tried a bite and it actually wasn't half bad.)

The Hunts and Casarolis joined us on the trip and all of the kids had a great time together as always...

Check out Nick being a poser on Splash Mountain.

My favorite parts....priceless time with my three favorite boys and

the firework show and snow on Main Street. 

Christmas Highlights

Some Christmas highlights from this year....

 

This year our sweet neighbor, Miss Opal, moved into a retirement facility.  It had been quite a while since we had seen her so we surprised her with a visit and had a fabulous time.  She is the most precious 90 year old who is constantly praying for the boys, telling them they need to follow Jesus and encouraging them to learn to play the piano.  We love her.

Another family tradition....pj's, hot chocolate and Christmas Tree Lane.  This year the Lane was so packed that it took us about 2 hours and the boys fell asleep on Christmas Tree Lane under the blankies in the back of the Suburban.

The best part of Christmas....Santa's visit to Noni's house.  Everyone loves this time, except for Lukie this year.

 

 All of the great grandkids posing for a pic on the couch.

 Noni sitting on Santa's lap.

 

 I love it that my baby boy still likes to sit on Santa's lap!

 

Christmas morning at Mimi and Papa's house...all the kids got animal hats and loved them!

Fall Sports

 Wow...this fall when by like a blur and now looking back at all the pics, I can tell why.






As soon as Bretty was released for full activity, we left the hospital and he went straight to Cross Country practice.  He could not wait to compete!!  Although his first few races were tough as his legs were very weak, he was determined in every race and won the most inspirational runner this year.  (There were often people cheering for him with tears in their eyes!)
I was the proudest mommy out there!!

Cody played soccer for Nelson with his buddies again this year and had a great time on the field.   

Cody played football for Nelson and they took home the area title going undefeated all season!! Cody's favorite thing to do was take a hand off, run all the way down the field and score touchdowns or come from behind the quarterback, sneak up on him and sack him. 

 

Nicholas played on a Crossfire team with some of his buddies from Kastner.  They had a great year and Nick's game improved a lot playing mostly mid field or defender.

 

Cody ended up the year playing basketball for Nelson.  Once again they had a great year and missed the area title by losing one game!!  It was a big bummer, but great year none the less!

 Lastly, Nick tried out for the Kastner 7th grade boys soccer team....they had 40 boys trying out and onlykept 18!  It was a real accomplishment for him just to make the team.  Even though they did not win one game, they had a good time trying and fought hard on the field.



First Day of School 2012

AAAAH!!  I have a middle schooler!!! Where has time gone??  I am so scared because I have heard from so many moms that once our kids start middle school, the time accelerates even faster and then in a blink they are graduating from high school. 
I cannot tell you how proud I am of my boys.... all of them.  But I will take a moment here to tell you what a great kid Nicholas is.  He is an amazing student and always has done well in school.  He is one of the hardest working kids I have ever known...in the class, on the field, even at home when we give him a task.  This summer he even cleaned the entire pool tile by himself and went through 9 pumice stones.   He is respectful and loving.  He is sensitive and caring.  His little cousins adore him and he is ever patient with them, their questions and their constant requests to play.  He is a great role model for his two (and soon to be three) younger brothers.  He is giving and never selfish and on many occassions has emptied his wallet for those less fortunate.  More importantly, he loves Jesus and is always inviting his friends to learn about Jesus too. He is growing into a remarkable young man who is a leader to many around him and I cannot wait to see the plans God has in store for his life.
I am so blessed to be his mommy and am going to try to take every opportunity over the next 6 years to tell him and cherish every last moment.
(I am equally proud of the other two.....they will get their moment when they start middle school...I'm just feeling a bit emotional over Nicholas tonight)   :)

So...here is a picture that was taken on the second day of school because Nicholas and I had to rush off on the first day to make sure he wouldn't be late.

So...this is Cody entering 6th grade and Brett entering 4th grade.

Have I mentioned how much I love these three?? I am truly a blessed mommy!!

Summer Recap 2012

I really cannot believe that we are already one month into the school year.  Although our summer was a lot more mellow than normal due to Brett's rehab and ordered inactivity, the summer still flew by in a flash.  So, in an attempt to not let any more time escape me, here are a few highlights from our summer:

We started the summer with a trip to Disneyland (since that our Spring Break trip here was cancelled due to extrenuating circumstances) and took full advantage of Brett's wheelchair status.  The Rush family even joined us for a day.

 

Had lots of fun playing in the pool.....pool hoops was our new favorite this year.

Enjoyed a fun trip to Bass Lake with the Johanson family....

Enjoyed some time at Millerton on the 4th

Watched lots of Outlaw and Clovis West All Star baseball!

Brett even got to take the field in his team's last tournament of the summer....he still could not run, but he was allowed to play right field and it made his entire summer (and his mommy's as she cheered through blurred eyes!)

Got to experience the emotion and excitement of watching Mr. Brunn fly into Lemoore after a 9 month tour.  Have a newfound appreciation for those we so sacrificially serve our country!

And once again got to enjoy a week at Cayucos with great friends making great memories that we will cherish for a lifetime!!

 

And, as we were acutely aware of how precious life is and how blessed we are to spend moments like these with those we love, it makes the moments even sweeter and the memories even more precious!