Breaking and Entering Christmas...

Today, I received some very good news for someone that is very dear to my family! But to start this the right way, I have to go back a little and give you the background to this person and about what happened. First, this person is my cousin Nick's girlfriend Ashley. Ashley is an incredible person with a huge heart. She has been living with her dad and 3 brothers up in Ramona. Her mother is not in the picture. Her dad has been very ill for a very long time and unfortunately this year her dad past away. Ashley and her brothers were left with nothing due to the fact that everything they had went to pay the bills. Ashley has been supporting her dad and brother this whole time, while also attend school. Since her dads passing she has had to put her school on hold and work full time to keep her family together.

Now, every year at this time a radio station here in San Diego does this thing called "Little Tommy's Breaking and Entering Christmas." The radio station asks for letters to be sent telling them about someone you know that really needs help at this time of year. They reveiw all the letters and then pick one. Once they have picked the letter (or family) they get more information about the family and what they need from the person who sent the letter. Then, on a given morning somewhere in San Diego, they make sure the family is out of the house and then they "break in" with the help of family members or friends and create "Christmas"! Well, Ashley was picked this year! My aunt and uncle took Ashley and her brothers out to breakfast this morning, and my cousin, Nick, went to the apartment to let the crew in! The crew was lead by Mr. Steve Finley! Here is what they did:

- dental exams and cleanings for all 4
- chairs for their dinette set
- a new couch
- vacuum cleaner
- printer
- numerous gift cards for stores, gas, groceries
- pastries, bagels, turkey in the freezer, a counter full of food
- lines, blankets, comforter
- jackets, t-shirts, sweaters
- wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree which included: t-shirts, socks, games, basketball, football, 2 signed baseballs by Steven Finley
- And last but not least, a CAR will be delivered this afternoon.

When Ashley and her brothers got back to the apartment, they were quite shocked to see what had taken place while they were at breakfast! I'm not sure if she knows who sent the letter or who even did the breaking and entering at this point. But Ashley and her brothers so deserve this! They have been through so much this year and always seem to have a smile to share! This is what Christmas truly means! Merry Christmas Ashley! You are loved!

Bates Nut Farm

We went to Bates Nut Farm for our annual pumpkin patch trip! The boys had a great time. We met up with Helge, Lisa, Brittney, Adam, and Jack. The boys got along great and it was so much fun spending time with good friends!

Texas Trip Part 2

Well, we finally have a "new" computer at home! Yippeeeee! Anywho! I'm finally updating the blog with the 2nd part of our trip to Texas! So, one who is not from the lonestar state, just might ask themselves, "what do you do in Texas when you have a lot of time and land on your hands?" Well, I'm here to tell you the answer - actually, I'm here to show you....




You go shootin'! Shot guns, Hand guns, Rifles! We weren't the only ones that
par-took in the action...


Lindsey, Shaleen, and Alan all had a little bit of fun too! Actually the guns all belonged to Alan and left work early just for us to have that fun! We had a blast! He did play a trick on Caitlin though! He had her shot the shot gun with a smaller round in it and then without her knowing it, he switched the round with a "big" one and her her shoot again! Here is what happened...


She was a little sore the next day! Well, That was our trip. We had a great time while we were there. We hated to leave Caitlin, but she is were she needs to be and the college fits her very well! So we will be back to visit soon! And remember... Don't mess with Texas!

Pictures from Texas (part 1)!

Here are the pictures from Texas! I'll tell you alittle about each picture! We hope you enjoy them!

This is TCU's football stadium! It is massive! We had tickets for that nights game! We sat on this side on the upper deck! Let me tell ya, it was a hike, but the seats were amazing and in the shade - added bonus!

Now you can see the front of the seats in the stadium! I took this picture of Paul and Caitlin on our "guided" tour. Again, Caitlin told us so much more about her school then the guides did! This picture is taken in the new Student Center (the B.L.U.U.)! That night we went to the football game and out seats were just to the left of the "T" in TCU. Again great seats!

This is the new Student center. It opened in August. The water fountain is called Frog Pond (I think!) and is at the other end of the student center. The following pictures are of the campus!

As you can see the campus is beautiful! Paul and I feel this was a very good choice for Caitlin! The campus very well laid out. They have a number you can call if you need a ride back to your dorm room if it is too late and you don't want to walk by yourself. The dorms are all accessed with the students ID cards. And they have meal plans to eat and there is always a place open late for those who need a snack or late dinner! The following pictures are of the front of the school, and the "Horned Frog" statue that everyone rubs or kisses before an exam for good luck! Since Caitlin didn't have an exam, I had her stand on a wall and we had her pretend to kiss it. The statue is pretty far from her so there was no way she could have accidentally kissed it!

Well that is all that I have right now. More pictures will be coming in the next few days! Hope you enjoyed taking a look into Cailtin's world! We sure had a great time with Caitlin and seeing her school but still miss her everyday!

Back From Texas

Well, we are back from our trip to Texas. We went out for Parents weekend at TCU! What a beautiful campus! Caitlin is doing great and is making friends! We saw her dorm room and met her roommate, Shaleen. She is a super sweet girl. They get along like they have know each other forever! We decided to take a tour of the school that the school put together and it consisted of, now hold your breath, 2 buildings! A dorm room and the New Student center. Our guides were not that up on the information of the campus. After the tour, Caitlin took us around the campus and we saw and learned a lot more stuff from her! We spent the next week visiting with family and eating, eating and more eating! Oh, while we were out there, Caitlin got another tattoo! Yes, our little girl is all grown up! She got the outline of the state of CA on top of her foot with a heart over San Diego. It's really cute! Paul, Shaleen, and I went with her to get it done! I wish I took pictures of her during the tattoo but I forgot the camera back at Holly's house! We stayed at Holly's the whole time we were there and I'm sure they were glad to get rid of us on Saturday! Just kiddin'! We had a great time with the kids and learning Huddy Talk! I think I actually got it down by the time we left! Holly, you run a tight ship! My hats off to you! I will post pictures later, once I get them off my camera. Hopefully I can do that this weekend! Thanks to everyone in Texas who took us places, fed us, and entertained us! We had a great time! And we promise to bring the boys with us the next time we come out! Ta Ta for now!

Pub Crawl!

1st Annual Cousins Pub Crawl in PB!

On September 6th (yes our anniversary!) we had our 1st Annual Cousin's Pub Crawl in PB. Kim and Cord were the Pub Crawl Commity and pick the places we stopped at! We started the day at the Sandbar by the Rollar Coaster! We took in the sun and sights on the deck upstairs and then headed to the next our next stop, Gringos, for drinks and chips and dip! Then we headed on to Twisters! Cute little bar with great mimosas! Then we had lunch at Taco surf and on to pur next bar. I think Cord thought we were on the Tour de France! He killed most of us! The next stop was a total hole in the wall that Paul found out opens at 6am! Thats pretty sad! Our last stop was The Travern! We drank water, ate some popcorn, people watched and headed for the cars! We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year! I'll be sure to train for the bike ride so I can keep up with Mr. Baker! Above are some pictures!

Happy Birthday to Dad and Jeff!

So about a month ago, I took a cake class with my cousin Kim. It was on rolled buttercream fondant! The same look as fondant, but tastes a whole lot better! Kim asked me to help her make a cake for Adyson's birthday - a Tinkerbell Cake! I was up for the challenge but decided that I should practice first! It just so happened that Dad and Jeff's birthdays come before Adyson's! I decided that I would make a golf ball cake for them after I saw a picture of it in a book that I bought! This was my first attempt at making anything like this and I think it turned out pretty darn good! I didn't have time to put the working on since my dad was in the hospital, but I did make the cake as planned! Here is a picture of the inside as well!
I need to work on cutting the cake in half a little bit more, but it still tasted good! It was yellow cake with cream filling! Yummy!

Message's to Sissy

Parts of the video are dark, we were filming at night - sorry.

Jesse's message to Sissy...

and Tyler's Message to Sissy...

Off to College!

Well, Caitlin has left for TCU. She left last Thursday morning. It was a bitter sweet good-bye. Paul and I are so proud of her and her new adventures which lay ahead, yet at the same time don't want to let her go. Paul had a hard time with saying the word to his "little" girl and it broke my heart in a million pieces to watch him do it. Those two are so close that they really do have their own language! Tyler knows "Sissy" is off to college, which by the way both of them think is up in the clouds, and it really hasn't fazed him YET! As for Jesse, he was having a hard day that morning when he had to say his good-byes. He just wanted to sit in her lap the whole time and kept hugging her. I guess to that our minds off the day and his little mind off of missing sissy, he fell at school and ended up in the emergency room AGAIN, and had his forehead guled! It was close to stiches but they glued it instead! Now he walks around the house telling us everyday how much he misses her. I know deep down inside Tyler feels the same way and misses her terribly too, but he isn't showing it just at the moment! We have talked to Caitlin everyday since she got there and she is loving it so far! She was able to move into her dorm room and our family in Texas helped her get set up and convert her dorm bed into a bunk bed to give her more space! We were talking to her last night, her first day of orientation and staying in her dorm room. As Paul was talking to her, he started laughing. Come to find out as she was talking to him she was rocking in a chair and thought she was still rocking when actually she was falling and fell off the chair and onto the floor! I guess we have another Holly on our hands! Well, that is all for now! I told Caitlin to send pictures so we can see her new place and the school! As soon as I get those I will post them and share with all of you!

Beautiful Nail...

This video the girls will love if they have ever went and had their nails done! Thanks Brittney for telling me about this funny video!

Can I have your numba???

I heard about this video from my friends daughter. I couldn't stop laughing when I heard about it that I just had to share it with everyone! The thing that really makes it funny is that Darrel is played by a girl! Enjoy it!

The Monkey Bars....

We have always wondered who was going to be the first to either get stitches or a cast. Well, yesterday we found out. Jesse was crossing the Monkey Bars at school and lost his grip. He fell and landed on his arm as he was falling backwards. We took him to the emergency room and had xrays taken. The doctors there thought her had fractured the bone from his elbow to his hand. They put his arm in a splint and made an appointment for today for a cast. Come to find out today, he actually fractured the bone right above his elbow. The put a cast on from his upper arm all the way to his little hand. He chose a Red cast! He was such a big boy through this whole thing that we took him to Target to get a fire truck. We'll let you know how he is doing in 3 weeks or so when we take him back to the doctor to see how things are healing. Here's a picture of him with his cast.

He had such a big day today that once he got back to Nonna's house, he took a long nap with Tyler and Taylor!

I Think...

I am: a good mom and step mom
I think: about how hard it is going to be to say goodbye to Caitlin when she leaves for college
I know: Paul has the best doctors in San Diego
I want: a new car
I have: a fantastic, wonderful, and funny family
I wish: I could win the lottery and pay everything off!
I hate: (dislike) people who don't value family as much as I do
I miss: Sydney and my grandparents
I fear: getting another phone call that something has happened to Paul again
I feel: lucky to still have a home in San Diego
I hear: Jets from Miramar flying over my office
I smell: coffee that was just made
I crave: chocolate
I search: for Tyler's 'dirty Kitty' all the time (its a stuffed animal people!)
I wonder: what my kids will do when they grow up
I regret: taking the piercing out of my tongue
I love: Paul, my 3 kids, and 2 dogs
I care: about my family and friends
I always: have some smart-ass remark to say!
I am not: patient
I used to be: a size 4 - then I had twins!
I believe: everything happens for a reason
I hope: my boys follow their dreams
I dance: whenever I hear music - even the music in my head!
I sing: with the boys to Saturday cartoons!
I don't always: get my way
I fight: when I know I'm right
I write: on my blog!
I lose: often to Paul!
I win: sometimes!
I never: like being wrong
I listen: to my instincts
I can usually be found: at my desk at work
I am scared: of losing someone I love.
I need: a new car and a vacation!

On that note... Feel free to hi-jack and play! After all, I just did!
Lisa

Starting a new chapter - Part 2

How could I forget the most important part of this new chapter of mine - I made a gigantic mistake and forgot to mention that I am now working very close to my favorite cousin, Kim. She works at Qualcomm, just a hop, skip, and a jump form my office! Sorry Kimmy for forgetting to mention you!

Starting a new chapter...

Well, I have started a new chapter in my life - a new job! I am working for the Rangoni Shoe Company at their Corporate offices in San Diego. I started last week and love it! It's up in Sorrento Valley so the drive sucks, but I'm doing something that I truly love - working with shoes! Paul is excited too because now we can stay with our medical plan and keep our doctors! Other then that, Caitlin is getting ready to leave for TCU. She will be leaving on August 14th and driving out to Texas with Paul's parents. She is very excited! Paul bought a new (old) truck and it is sitting in our garage right now. Paul already knows what he is gonna do to it and just waiting on getting some money together so he can start his new project! The boys are loving going to school everyday and are sad when they don't go! And finally the dogs are doing great too! Roxy had to visit the vet for a bad ear infection a week or so ago. She is getting much better. And Tucker, well, he's just Tucker and uses his half a brain that he was given to get into all sorts of trouble! Well, thats it for now! Write more later!

Our new puppys!

The boys got new bath towels that look like dogs. They wear them all the time and run around the house yelling, "Hero doggy to the rescue." I have no idea where they got that from but it pretty funny to watch! Today they went to the movies for the very first time with Nonna and Papa. Taylor went with them too! They went to go see Wallie. They didn't stay to long because the movie scared them! Oh well, maybe next time!

Today was Jesse and Tylers 1st day of Pre-school. Right after I took this picture, the boys decided to run to my car which was parked down the street. As they did this, they ran into each other and went head first into the side walk. Tyler skinned his knee pretty good, so I had to go back to the house, get medicine and a band-aid. Once we got to school, everything changed. They were off playing with the other kids like they had been there all year long! After I got their attention, and said my good-bye, I had to leave quickly with tears in my eyes so they didn't see ME cry! Poor Mommy! We pick them up at 5:00 pm today and I'll be sure to have my camera in hand to take more pictures with Daddy!

Welcome to our Blog!

Well, we finally decided to join the blogging crowd! Hope you enjoy the pictures and vidoes (once we download something!). We can't wait to see everyone who is coming out for Caitlin's graduation!