Endless Summer!

Well, its been sometime since I have done any blogging. So I thought I would catch everyone up on our lives since February! Lets see, We took the boys to Disneyland for the first time! They absolutely loved it! I loved seeing the park through their eyes! Such wonder and amazement! When they saw Mickey Mouse for the first time, you would have thought they were teenage girls who just saw Elvis! It was hilarious! 2 little boys screaming Mickey's name and waving so hard you would have thought their little arms were gonna fall off! We spent 2 days there. One day at Disneyland and the next day at California Adventure. They got to take a picture with McQueen and Mater there! They were so excited! I'll have to post picture! Caitlin came home from TCU for the summer. The boys are so happy to have her home! But she is leaving next week to go back to school! We haven't told the boys yet. We enrolled the boys in swim class and they are enjoying their time in the pool every Saturday afternoon learning to swim! I'll post some picture of that as well! Well that is really all for now. Not too much happens here but we are never bored! Always on the move!

The Boys Birthday!!

Well, the boys had their 4th birthday party on Saturday, January 31st. Their birthday fell on Super Bowl Sunday this year so we had it a day early! It was a small party with mostly family and a few friends! We had pizza, decorated cookies, jumped in the jumpy, and ate cake! I made the boys their cake this year! They wanted this dump truck cake they saw in a cake book I have. I decided that I was gonna go for it and make it for them! It took me about 4 hours to finish it, but they loved it, so it was well worth it! There are some pictures from their day!

They took pictures with Nonna and Papa, and then with Mamaw and Papaw.

Decorating cookies was a lot of fun for the kids!

Tyler.......and........ Jesse (talking to Sissy)

Rachel.......and........Taylor

Colton.......and........Zander

Then they had some fun in the Jumpy! Even Avery joined in!

Sweet Innocents...

Sweet innocents, I wish they would stay this way! As I sit here 5 days before my babies turn 4 years old, I think back to the day they were born! They were so tiny, all of 4 lbs, 12 ozs, and 4 lbs, 11 ozs. I remember almost being afraid to hold them because they might break. They didn't even fill out the preemie outfits that my mom got for them to come home in. Now, they are "boys", you know what I mean, ruff-n-tuff, going 100 miles a minute every moment of the day. Yes, Paul and I are tired, yes, we loose our cool from time to time, yes, we don't ever have any time to talk to each other about important stuff, and yes we are feeling old! But, looking at these 2 beautiful little boys, with their big brown eyes and wild imaginations, I wouldn't change a thing! They have brought so much to our lives that words could never express what we both feel for them!

Happy Birthday Jesse and Tyler! You are both the love of my life!

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!