city by the bay

The boys had two whole weeks off for Spring Break this year. We took it easy during the 1st week and during the 2nd week, we went had some fun! We headed to the city. During our first day there, we went to Pier 39.





The boys loved all of the specialty shops. They wanted to buy something from each and every shop...even the Sock Shop -LOL! They settled for some candy out of the barrels.




The boys met the Pier 39 Sea Lions for the first time. We had a blast watching them and listening to them bark.


You can't hit Pier 39 and not have a bowl of Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. YUM!


After Pier 39, we made our way towards Lombard Street. It was a first for John and the boys. They thought it was so cool. Next, we headed towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of driving across it, we got off on the exit right before the bridge and stumbled upon Crissy Field. One word...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We had the best view of the Golden Gate...a new family favorite. The boys brought their gloves and baseballs and we spent about 2 hours playing baseball and playing along the shore. It was awesome.








We ended our day at our hotel. My sister, Amber and her 3 boys met us there and the boys had so much fun swimming in the Hotel's indoor pool. It is NEVER dull nor quiet when these 7 cousins get together.

bittersweet

Today was the last day of school. I am experiencing a roller coaster of emotions...very bittersweet. I have always looked forward to summer vacation and its perks since I was a little girl. The thought of being carefree...the lack of schedules, no homework or reports to complete, sleeping in and not having to make sack lunches on a daily basis really makes me smile as the Mommy :-). There was an all school assembly this morning. I lost it(tears and all) when I turned around and started to see individual classrooms, entering the quad with their teachers. When you are blessed with wonderful teachers and friends for your children, it is really hard to say goodbye and move on.






This school year has been amazing. The boys have loved every minute of it. They have grown so much. Not just academically but physically and emotionally. Tanner made the honor roll again with straight A's. Carter reached (or surpassed) many of the goals that he set for himself. Garrett worked so hard and made HUGE progress in all areas of kindergarten. We are so proud of each of them. This was a big day for our family. Tanner finished elementary school and is excited at the thought of attending middle school. Garrett graduated from kindergarten and will enter 1st grade this August. I am constantly asking myself how we got to this point. I swear Tanner just started kindergarten yesterday. Their little lives are flashing right before me and I really want it to stop...at least for a moment.


We had a great last day of school. We enjoyed a kindergarten picnic with friends,getting yearbooks signed,saying goodbye to special friends and teachers,Popsicles and a swim party.






































I am excited at the thought of not having to set my alarm tonight as I crawl into bed. YAY for summer vacation and alarm free snoozes! Happy Summer!

weekend get away

Our little family had the opportunity to escape to beautiful Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Our fabulous friends, the Solano's, had an extra condo open up & offered it to our family. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We enjoyed 4 days, 3 nights up @ North Star. Our boys were a little bummed that there was NO SNOW but in the same breath, they were happy to be wearing shorts. Yes, it is November & my boys are still wearing shorts any chance they get.

While in Tahoe, we enjoyed: movies, the gorgeous weather,

ice skating,





roasting s'mores @ night down @ the rink,

Rubicon pizza



& garlic bread sticks, endless hours of tackle football(mom watched & cheered them on), Kings beach,

spending time with the Soalno's & Laprays,


chocolate crackles by the dozen, college footabll on the TV, bungee/trampoline jumping,




& the Jacuzzi tub,

{are my boys going to kill me some day for posting this photo?}

going to bed late & getting to sleep in a little, & spending time with good friends.




Between our 3 families, we had 12 children total in tow. 9 boys & 3 girls! Whew, that is a bunch of kids :)!!!

It was a great little escape/vacation for our family! It sure is nice to be home but we are already missing it!

Weekend get away!

I am home! I enjoyed a great weekend away. It was a fabulous weekend filled with lots of scrapbooking, girlfriend time, & lack of sleep :). There were 9 of us girls who went this year & we had a blast. We enjoyed music, movies, good food, sunshine, the 1000 piece puzzle, jokes, stories about our families, & staying up way too late. You would not believe the amount of scrapbook stuff that was toted up to the beach. We even had lap tops, printers, scanners & electronic die cut machines. We were high tech @ the beach. Eve & Debby did an amazing job planning all of the details, great & small. There was a scrapbook survival goodie bag @ each of our tables. It was loaded with candy, chapstick (homemade by Eve), band-aids, gum & a cute little quote on how you know you're a scrapbooker when... Then when we went to bed on the first night, there was a cute Valentine bag with a piece of choclate & Valentine candy on everyones night stand. Very sweet & very thoughtful. We had a little check list that was passed out. It had things to complete while scrapbooking. For each item completed (things like creating a page with hot pink on it, completing a Christmas page, scrapbook a page about you & your hubby, help someone learn to use a new tool, etc..) we received a raffle ticket. So through out the weekend, lots of prizes were given away. Denise & I ended up winning the grand prizes. They were cute scrapbooking totes/bags! I was able to complete 15 layouts this weekend. After my page a day in January & a weekend of scrapbooking, I have had my share of scrapbooking for a long while.

Some highlights & favorite memories/quotes for me during the weekend were:
-Having one of my best friends, Michelle drive up from the Bay Area (she is a wonderful friend & I miss her) it is was great to spend time with her.
- Eve sharing her story about her son & "Busting a Grumpy".
- Hearing about how Matt is related to our new propeht (2nd cousin 3 times removed or something along those lines)
-that Cornflakes can be used as a topping for all foods.
- Green jello with shredded cheese on a bed of lettuce(EEEEWWWWW)
- Denise needs to be a rep for Club Scrap, this girl loves their paper :).
-Homemade Tortillas
-My DJ bling from Eve & Debby. I was in charge of the music last year(keeping the music on & picking Cd's to play) & they brought my DJ bling from the dollar store this year-it was a crack up.
-Michelle was saying her prayers one night (@ about 2 am) & Denise comes in the room & says "what are you doing"? while giggling. Denise was wondering why Michelle was doing Yoga @ 2 am???
-Giggling @ 2 am(& not being able to stop) while listening to text messages that were sent as jokes- "what you doing"? "I'm calling you, ring ring". "I like ponies, do you like ponies"?

I know some of these are things you just had to be there for but I wanted to get them down so I would remember them.

It was an awesome weekend filled with fun, laughter & the things I love to do. I am looking forward to next year. John was amazing & took care of EVERYTHING while I was away. I know it was a crazy weekend for him but I am so grateful that he knows how important it is for me to get breaks from time to time. Thanks sweetie!

Thanks for the Memories girls, you are the best.

Heading Out

I am leaving tomorrow! A little mini vacation is just what I need right about now. I have been running around like a crazy lady trying to get ready for my weekend get away. I taught the VIP 10 Things I Love mini album class @ the scrapbook store tonight. It was a class of 24. One more thing to check off my list.
I am looking forward to getting away & catching up with friends. I will miss my cute little family while I am gone. I am thankful for John. He is amazing. It is nice to know that I can sneak away & all will be well. The boys are looking forward to having him home for the next couple of days. I am sure they will fill his days from sun up to sun down. Have a great weekend!
P.S. The LO is one more that I completed in January for my LOAD challenge.