This is the life!!

We're Moving!!

2009-07-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here I am again...trying to catch up with my blog. It's been a while since I've posted and a lot has happened in the past months. Let's see.....where to begin?

A few months ago, we started thinking about moving. We love our house and our area but due to certain circumstances, we knew we couldn't stay here forever. Luckily, Adam was offered a new job position & title which does not require him to work in the bay area anymore. Faced with this new opportunity to stay in the valley, it made us think of moving possibilities. We could pretty much move anywhere in the central valley. Adam mentioned Valley Springs- which is an area that he loved visiting as a kid. I didn't know much about it, so we took a drive there one day. Once we got there, I fell in love! It's right by Lake Hogan! The schools are rated very well, it's a small community & a great place for the kids to grow up. We decided to make the move & began looking at houses with our Realtor right away. We found a couple to make offers on. The first one didn't work out. We got the second one! Yay!!

But, now we find ourselves running into timing issues.

Maddy starts Kindergarten on July 27th! We thought we would be in the house BEFORE school starts, but it's not looking so good. We knew this could happen, so I am prepared to drive Maddy the 40 minutes to and from school until we actually get into our house. I just keep telling myself that people commute more than 40 minutes for work each day, so I can do it temporarily, right!?

Memorial Day Weekend Camping Trip!

2009-05-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Scenery

Nate with Pop & Mop

Dirty Boy

Our nighttime friend

Mop & Maddy

The only group shot we got all weekend

Riding the long board

Nathan, Izzy & Maddy

Me with the kiddos

Memorial Day Weekend, we decided to take the kids camping for the first time ever. We went to the Memorial Park Campgrounds. These are the same campgrounds my family used to go to when I was younger. I remember camping as a kid & I did like it. But, as time went on and I've gotten older, I've become less and less of an "outdoorsy" type of girl. I don't like the heat, I don't like the cold and my favorite place is usually inside! My family camps every year & they always invite us along. We usually decline the invitation by stating the fact that "we're not campers!" Well, guess what! We were wrong. We loved it. So did the kids. (Except for the fact that it was MUCH colder than I expected and we weren't prepared for that.) Even being cold the entire weekend, we managed. We had a lot of fun and made lots of new memories. We purchased a tent, air mattress and some other camp supplies and I'm sure we'll be "professional" campers in no time!

2009-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Isn't this cool??

Back to Blogging!

2009-01-28T08:38:00.001-08:00

I've decided to pick up where I left off with my blog. I haven't updated it in about 7 months or so. Hmmm...what important things happened in the past 7 months? There are so many. Read on to see!!

I turned 28!

2009-01-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

I turned 28 this year. Just another day for me! I tried to let it pass by without thinking about it. It wasn't as hard as turning 27. Last year was a tough birthday for me. I wasn't working & had just recently had Nathan. I knew I wasn't going to have any more kids, so what did I have to look forward to? I felt done. Done with everything. But, I woke up & realized my life is just beginning. I have 2 beautiful kids & a great husband. What more can I ask for? So, Happy Birthday to me. Another year down & many more to come!

Christmas, 2008

2008-12-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas in Maui. It was so much fun. Adam had been to Hawaii before, but I never had. The kids had a blast. I would really love to go back someday. It was a little strange waking up Christmas morning to 80 degree weather. I never thought I'd be heading to the beach in December...but I wouldn't change it for the world! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity because I'm sure we won't be spending many future Christmases in Maui!

Trip To Hawaii-Dec. 2008

2008-12-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Maddy Turns 4!!

2008-10-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

This was the first year Maddy had a "friend" party. She had a blast at her dress up themed party with all her friends.

Opening gifts

Blowing out the candle

"It's my party!!"

Cousin Isabella getting fancy

Lets get dressed up!

Maddy's 4th Birthday, continued

2008-10-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

After the friend party, we had family over for cake & presents!

Our 4 year old princess!

Family Portrait Time!
Maddy with Auntie Jenny

Princess Cake

Blowing the candle! LOL!

Maddy Starts PreSchool!

2008-09-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

My baby started school today! I can't believe next year she will be in Kindergarten. Boy does time fly!

Nate Turns ONE!!

2008-08-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Nathan had a great first birthday...here's some pictures from the big day!!

Daddy & Nate
Maddy on the waterslide!

Nathan & Pierce
The "woody" cake

The Smash Cake

2008-08-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Blowing out the candles!

Yummy!
LOL!
Presents!

2008-08-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Help from big sis!

He LOVES his rocking horse
and his John Deere!
the end to a long night.......

Our Tahoe Trip

2008-06-09T08:58:00.001-07:00

Adam & I went to a friend's wedding in Lake Tahoe on Saturday. The ceremony was on the beach...it was beautiful. The weather was just perfect. We stayed the night at the Embassy Suites hotel which was also nice. Sunday, we headed home.

Maddy and Nathan had a fun & busy weekend with Mop & Pop. Saturday they went to our cousin Kelsie's high school graduation party. Then, they had what Maddy describes as "a really fun slumber party with girls!" I know there were boys too; including my dad, Anthony & Josh, but I guess Maddy didn't notice them! Sunday, Nathan wasn't feeling well, so he stayed with Pop while Maddy hit yet another celebration with Mop & Auntie Liz! Maddy was so happy with all the parties she went to & said she's ready for another sleepover soon!

Going away for the weekend!

2008-06-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

We will be leaving the kids with Mop & Pop this weekend! This will be our first night away from Nathan! He's still not quite sleeping through the night, so I hope he'll do ok. I'm sure he will. Maddy will have a blast, I know. She loves sleepovers...especially when Mop & her aunties are involved.

Adam & I will be attending his friend Matt's wedding in Lake Tahoe. I'm hoping for nice weather. I'm sure it will be very fun.

Auntie Liz's High School Graduation

2008-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Liz graduated from West High on June 31. This was the first time I was able to attend the graduation ceremony for one of my siblings. I have always had to work in the past. The ceremony was at the new football stadium, which is very nice. It was hot & both kids were pretty restless until Nate finally fell asleep in my lap. We left right after they called Elizabeth's name. I'm glad she's an "A" because with a graduating class of almost 800 students, it would have been at least an hour or two before they got through each student.

The party was fun. Maddy had a blast. My mom hired a live band & rented a jump house so Maddy was in heaven. She LOVES music and she LOVES to bounce! She spent the majority of her time dancing in front of the band though. It was very cute to watch.

We got home late, but both kids slept great.

Here are some pictures from the party!

Nate with his new best friends!

Nate & Pop

Maddy dancing the night away

Story Time and Manteca Water Park

2008-05-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today I took the kids to story time at the library. We usually go to story time at the Tracy library, but since they have changed readers, Maddy doesn't like it anymore. We decided to try out the Manteca story time and went with our new playgroup. Maddy had a lot of fun but I thought it was over crowded!

After storytime, the group headed across the street to the new Manteca waterpark. It was cute. It's actually just a bunch of sprinkler type things that spray up from the ground, but the kids thought it was great! Maddy was resistant at first, not wanting to get wet. Eventually, she jumped right in & was soaked!

Of course, I forgot my camera! I will have to remember to take it to our next playdate!!

Nate's outdoor photo shoot

2008-05-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Maddy's Ear Piercing Experience!

2008-05-09T10:21:00.000-07:00