Cali Vacay 1 - Road Trip/Arrival

On the road in completely packed car 

 Brayden gets car-sick, so he was excited to sit closer to the front

 ...and Averi travels so nicely. NOT!! Don't let this picture fool you. Between her and Bryce, 6 of the 9 hour drive was whinning & crying. 2 weeks before the trip, we weened her off the pacifier. After about 5 hrs of whinning, we couldn't take it any longer and shoved it back in her mouth. [SO glad I brought it "just in case"] She was changed & well-fed, she just cried because she learned how to crawl-run (or crawl reeeeaally fast) and she just wanted to practice her new moves. 

update: she's off the paci again :)  

 While we pulled over to find the pacifier, we noticed this mountain in the background looked like a lady (or fish) puckering her/it's lips. ...so why wouldn't you take a picture like this?

When we arrived, it was actually dark and we couldn't see anything, but here's a partial pic of the villa we stayed in

 

 One of the master bathrooms - this picture really doesn't do justice and this is just the back half of the bathroom. Gorgeous view!

 The room we stayed in was perfect. Brayden & Brax stayed in another room, but Averi & Bryce stayed with us. There was plenty of room to put up the 2 playpins :-) 

 There were LOTS of windows and glass doors, so pretty much everywhere you look, you can see this breath-taking view of Lake Hodges. SO pretty to wake up to.

I wanted to take more pics of the house, but didn't. Here's a pic of the front kitchen area. On the left (or around the corner on the right), there's an opening to go into the back kitchen area. Yes, a separate kitchen with a large sink, extra fridge, and lots of storage - we called it the clean-up kitchen.

 ...and a random picture of the border  :)

There were 6 bedrooms, 6 baths, an indoor theatre, game room with open view of the pool & spa, and perfect seating areas on all 6 porches. Was quite lovely. 

Ahh Summer

Summer days are gone too soon, so we must enjoy it while we can with... 

Kite flying

 Water fun with neighbor friends

Lots of slip n' slide

Picnics

 and car trips to nowhere :)

dear summer,

please last a bit longer this year.

yours truly,

delight

I Think I'm Back

Is it possible to forget you have a blog? Then you stumble upon on it one day and look through your posts and wonder why you stopped posting?

Some of my favorite outdated pics...

(Bryce is crying because I made him stand by the snowman)

I love my kiddos

My Lil Girl

It is so fun to have a little girl. The poufy skirts, the hair bows and flowers, the painting of mini nails, the dainty spirit. I love my boys - BOYS ARE AWESOME! - but I'm definietly happy to experience both genders. ...and the boys are so good with her.

Averi Brooke

Never seen a better big brother in all my life

Brayden loves to hold and care for his little sister. So stinkin' cute.

Brayden's Bday Party

Some pics from Brayden's 'Green Lantern' birthday party...
Bryce was so glad to sit at the table & eat pizza with the big kids.

The little blonde girl to the right of Brayden is Addie. Apparently, he's going to marry her.
Averi smiles now. Melts my heart.
Ecstatic Brayden opening the Ben 10 toy he's been eyeing at the store
Titan, Brax, Jansen, Brayden, Zach, Addie, Kimber, and Aundra in the front
Oh the many faces of Bryce. The look-how-cute-I-am-instead-of-noticing-I'm-eating-someone's-ice-cream-and-I'm-lactose-intolerant Face.

Brax and Kimber. Brax thought it would be impressive to chew up a cucumber and spit it on her pizza. She didn't seem to mind very much. sweet girl.

and since Brayden plans to marry Addie, brax is planning to marry her little sister, Kimber. Keep it in the family, lol.

Kids crack me up.

wow...

Was August really my last post? shameful. I blame the move, kids, and work. We're still unpacking, but I guess it's time to post something so I can still call myself a blogger...

My sister-in-law (well, sort of. she's my sister's sister-in-law, but I can claim her, right?), Lindsey Potts took these pics of our family a few weekends back. This girl has some serious talent. I've seen her paintings and drawings and HOLY COW she is good. (her brother and sister are also super talented) So I was honored and grateful to have her capture some moments of our family. Thanks Lindz!!

...and I hope she won't mind me posting these pictures, but they are so adorable, I just can't help myself. This shows just a hint of her creativity...

I can't remember who this little boy is, but he is holding his little sister, Tink. love it.

Me and My Boys

Jeremy snapped this pic last night when me and the boys were having a tickle fight. I can NEVER get them all smiling at the same time in a picture, but this one came out effortless. Thanks honey.

*I don't know how or why Bryce is such a big boy, but he just keeps growing and growing. He doesn't even eat that much! Him and Brax are almost the same weight and fit in the same size diapers. (Yep, Brax still wears diapers at bedtime.) Bryce even has the same size head as the other two. He seems like he should be walking, but he can barley crawl. Awe, he's so cute. Our little big boy.

*Brax isn't totally naked, btw. He just likes to be free as a bird and hang out in his undies. Fine by me- his little buns are the cutest.

Colored my Hair Red!

I haven't colored my hair in 6 years. Thanks to Natural Instincts by Clairol, I went from dark brown with natural highlights to Raspberry Creme.

..and I like it.

It's different, but not too dramatic.

I wanted a subtle, yet noticeable change and that's what I got...

(it was almost midnight when i took this pic, so if i look tired, it's cuz i am) Thank you Laura- for taking the time to color and trim my hair

and for doing such a great job!

Thanks "Ally"- for letting me borrow your sis,

using your home as a salon, the refreshing non-fat smoothie,

and the amazing hot rolls.

Thank you Chels- for the slimming fruit & veggie platter,

introducing me to BIG FISH, and...

for trying a california roll (even though you didn't want to)

{ Hey, best friends don't lie }

OH! and thank you thank you Chels & Alyssa for rushing

to the store to get more hair dye the minute I realized we were short.

You guys are the best!

Cabin, Kids, & Fun

Over the weekend, we went to Justin's family cabin with Chelsea and the kids.

i had fun goofing off with the camera outside on the balcony...
...while the kids were fast asleep :)

Woke up early Saturday morning to cook breakfast, but could barely take my eyes off the view outside. SO pretty, lush, and green.

I also like the view inside :)

Dad relaxing on the porch..

...and mom relaxing on dad.

There were so many Blue Jays flying around- we just sat and bird-watched after breakfast

Justin and his new little girl, Maddie

photogenic horse

Brad and Justin

Chelsea and Maddie

Mama Mia & Bryce

Jeremy and I played tennis. Was great fun until he ran away with my water bottle. He said I could have it back if I chased after him. So I did. I still didn't get it. SO THIRSTY!!

Brax was intrigued by this wooden doll house. (don't tell anyone)

Brayden said his classroom at school should look like this one... I agree.

The lifelike playhouse was a wonderful babysitter pretty much the whole weekend

I was given a tour by the man of the house

...and had a nice hearty meal cooked for me. delish! I wish I could 'pretend' clean and get away with it

Such a cute little play-cabin for kids

...and a gorgeous one for adults

Had a bonfire Saturday night after the kids were in bed...

...roasted some marshmallows (played with them actually)

J: what are marshmallows even made out of?

D: Oh, just some mallow and a little marsh.

...and such good news! Bryce started crawling for the first time ever! The BEST part about it was that we were both there together to witness it.

He saw something he wanted, and he just went for it...

SCORE!!

I always enjoy pictures like this one more than when they're posing with a cheesy smile. Not because none of them pose at the same time anyway, but because seeing how they naturally act, cracks me up.

...not even sure what they're looking at!

(Sure, they'll all turn their heads to the back at the same time, but not to the front)

Got one smiling!

Got two smiling!

...aaaaand that's it.

I love him. He's so chill, happy, and...

...look at those chubby cheeks! (Just want to kiss 'em again and again.)

Brax sure had fun pulling that wagon

...and his big brother

I even got a ride. sort of.

Glad to have spent the weekend with family.