The Beginning...

Im late posting this… Im pretty sure it happened mid October, but Im not positive.  This was the trip that started it all...

 The Mallory's took us to the dunes at Pismo to ride our quads in their big trailer.

 Everyone had so much fun, that we decided to buy the trailer and make it our new pastime.

 This was Jaden's first time riding his quad by himself somewhere other than just around the property.  I was quite frantic, but it was great to have Dave there to help us out.
                                                
 Tony and Jaden had a great time riding around and there were no injuries.  Then… we found out that kids can't ride with adults, they must ride alone and so my stress level went through the roof as I realized that Baylee and Aubrey would also be allowed to drive the quad by themselves.

 I tried to not think about that, and have fun playing on the beach with the little 3.  They loved running from the waves.

 I love this picture of my girls.

 and this one of my little man.  :)

 Here is Jaden, ready to go out for a ride.

 Jaden was fortunate to be able to use the Mallory's gear, we didn't have anything yet except helmets.

 This one turned out to love the beach more than anyone!  He told me on the first evening that the day was the second best he had ever had.  I asked him what the first best was, and he told me that he was pretty sure it would be tomorrow, so he was saving it out. :)  That made me feel a little better about letting him ride by himself, although I still lost years off of my life.  I'm glad he loved it so much.

 They also loved roasting marshmallows, I'm pretty sure this was their first time.  No one even got their marshmallow warm, much less roasted it, but they enjoyed putting it on a stick and eating it.

 Noah had a blast!  He loves the "wads" and was fascinated by all of the vehicles on the beach… motorcycles, dune buggies, "monster trucks".  He is very much a boy.

 Livie loved Zeus, the Mallory's dog who tagged along.

 When I took this, I had no idea that within a month it would be ours.  Although I suspect that was Tony and Dave's plan all along.

 Mr. Mallory was very helpful and the kids learned a lot from him.  Well… lets face it, we all did!

Noah wouldn't nap, but I enjoyed snuggling him after he crashed everyday late afternoon of sheer exhaustion. 

 Now, as of this writing, we've been on 3 more trips in the trailer, and it has been so much fun.  I will try to blog the other trips, I just didn't want to forget to do this one first, it was such a big turning point for our family.  We have actually been leaving the house and doing some really fun things, its been awesome, and hopefully we have many more memories to make

Exploring

We went on a little hike today and did some exploring.  The kids are all sitting on a fallen tree here. :)  Love that we can just go outside and explore when the day gets rough!  Thought this was a great picture.  

How is it possible..?

 I dont know how this happened, but somehow, Aubrey turned 6.  He had a great birthday, he got to have a fun grandma and grandpa night the night before his birthday while Tony and I went to a dodgers game with Nate and Anne.  Then, he got his birthday breakfast (he requested donuts) and a special birthday lunch with grandma.  (here he is before his lunch with grandma)  From grandma he got black roller skates with red wheels, a baraccuda blade and samarizer and from us a remote control car.

They got to go out to lunch, then to ice cream and the park.  Tony was working late that night, so it was great he got to do something special.  Then, Friday Tony took off and we gave him his gift (zip line) and he played all day.  Special thanks to Grandpa for putting up the zip line.  It was quite a bit more trouble than I anticipated!  The Karrers came over for the evening and he had even more fun. 

Matt picked out a very cool lego set for him that "he wanted his whole life!"  He loved it.  It was an awesome birthday for my sweet little man. :)

Today's Jadenism

I was trying to explain the concept of blackmail to Jaden.  (Here he is in the leaf man hat he made for himself today from the movie "Epic".)

 I told him it would be like if I had a picture of him in a dress and I made him do all of the dishes so I wouldn't show it to Luke and Holden... that would be blackmail.  He replied: "sounds more like blackFEmale to me." Shooting a sideways glance at his sister, Insinuating a male would never do such a thing.  :)

almond flour pancakes

I made almond flour pancakes today for breakfast.  They were not a hit.  Aubrey and Baylee were complaining about them when Jaden piped in: "guys, stop complaining, we've been through much worse."  Thanks kid. 

 

Prayer Time

Noah praying and peeking at dinner last night.

Catching up again...

Ok, its been almost 2 years since I've consistently blogged about this family. I'm not going to blame any particular child, but I will say that a certain red head I know is 2 years old. Take from that what you will… I've finally learned how to blog on my Mac with my MarsEdit program, have an internet connection (usually) and have loads of pictures to share, so watch out!!!

Kid quotes

Aubrey: "there was only one girl I liked, but I know I'll never see her again." (Heavy sigh) Me: "why's that? Who is she?" Aubrey: "she lives in Mexico. I met her in Arizona last year."

Quote of the Day

Baylee: "I forgot!!" Jaden: "Thanks for taking over my responsibility!" Baylee: "What?" Jaden: "Of forgetting!!" Baylee: (*laughing) "You are going to come with me to college and crack me up!!!"

My sweet Noah

Noah: "where Daddy at?" Me: "Daddy's at work!" Noah: "No!!! Daddy Stuck!!! In Car!!!" Haha, he thinks Tony's stuck in the car, cutest thing in the world. ❤

Tony's Baptism

Tony was Baptized today by our amazing new pastor, it was such a blessing. Loved hearing his testimony and remembering the amazing way God has worked in our lives, we are blessed!

B&W

Took a few photos of the kids tonight and had some fun playing with the black and white... These were my favorites :)

Noah

I was finally able to get the nail polish out of his hair and all without cutting it. :) I love how his hair curls all up after his bath.

Daily Life

I've not written much at all since we've moved! It's too bad, because its been such an eventful year, so much fun and so many firsts... I guess too many though, because I've been so busy I haven't even thought about blogging. Hoping to catch up though. :). Here is just a little glimpse into daily life right now for us. :) Not sure how to caption the photos in order using the phone app... So hopefully it makes sense. Jaden has been reading more and more! Big blessing, because he has had such a struggle and little desire to do so. He loves Hank the Cowdog, it is for sure his favorite right now. :). Noah still has not had a haircut. It's getting so out of control that it is almost funny. He currently has a big clump of nail polish stuck in there... as is common, he is always getting into something he shouldn't and making a huge mess!!! We are absolutely loving our chickens. This is a picture of Noah trying to give the chickens back one of their eggs. :). He is so funny right now, saying so many things! The last picture was just the kitchen after dinner last night. This is a very common scene, it is amazing how much of a mess is involved with cooking for all of these people. I know someday ill want to remember these things when I have it easy. ;) That's it for now, but I am planning a big photo shoot with updates on all the kids, so stay tuned! :)

Rango

I thought It would be appropriate to make my blogging comeback with a cute picture of the newest addition... meet Rango! He is a baby blue and gold macaw that we have been wanting for so, so long!! He is a sweet guy and we are thrilled to have him... He is our 10th anniversary gift to each other, haha, not how most people would celebrate, but we couldn't be happier with the milestone and the return to something we both loved and enjoyed long before children! :)

a few photos

We made it!!!

Well, after much neglect, I am making a blogging comeback... I need to update about 4 months worth of stuff, life has been really crazy and hard and wonderful for the past 4-5 months! For now, and until I have an Internet connection, I am just going to put up some of the pictures from my cell phone and update with what is going on, and what funny things kids are saying. Here is a picture of our new house, complete with snow and a fun instagram filter that makes it look very dreamy. That is exactly how it feels, we still can't believe that it worked out, but we are here!! :)

Kid quotes

Jaden: "Why would we want to get a cat??" Me: "To catch mice.". Jaden: "So they don't eat our cheese fields?!"

Look Who's 2!!

We did a little birthday photo shoot at home since we had already had photos taken.  This was the day they turned two.  Two two year olds.  Two of them.  That are two.  Whoa!  You can tell who is happy to have her picture taken, and who had other ideas.  :)

Cuteness

Family Pictures (November 2011)