Sand between my toes

Seven loads of laundry later, I'm STILL walking around at home, feeling sand in between my toes left over from the beach...or is it just that I'm dreaming I'm still at the beach?

Our trip to Refugio State Beach over the 4th of July was certainly one of those vacations that has been hard to recover from. Foremost, we really miss being with our friends from Ridgecrest. The kids especially miss the freedom to run and roam with their buds in the water, in the sand and in the campground. It was so refreshing to see them all get along without any residual pushing or shoving. I surprised myself with a morning of Boogie Boarding that started out with a mouthful of water. Matt captured that moment perfectly (refer to slideshow). Whitney surprised me, too, with her joy in the water and in the sand, where before she's always been afraid or bored. Casper was determined to take both Stewarts (his brother and the Call's son) boogie boarding, though they weren't too interested in the water. Casper did great on the board! Looking for treasures in the tide pools was really beautiful and fun in the mornings. We also enjoyed sharing our campfires and food and funny stories while the kids gorged themselves on bags of marshmallows every night.

Casper has a totally new attitude about putting on his vest now that Mackay, Colin and Simon all gave it a try.

I already really miss some of the women I love most in the world--the ones who have helped me to be a better mom and person (you know who you are)! That Mongolian BBQ we ate for Kathryn's bday wasn't bad, either! Matt and I had our first date in a really long time thanks to Charity and Ben Call watching our kids while a few couples went to a great steakhouse in Solvang. We so owe you!

The 4th of July started out with a traditional parade around the campground and we couldn't be left out. Matt was very proud of his new bike and seat for the kids. It was something to watch him stay balanced!

Yes, I still haven't recovered...and I hope that sand stays between my toes until next summer. Thanks for such a great time!

Our 'Junebug' turns 5!

On our way home from the airport to pick up Matt after 2 long weeks without him, we stopped to eat at Sweet 'Potatoes,' the kids' favorite restaurant. As I watched the kids climb on their favorite dad, I was struck by the fact that it was Whitney's last night as a 4 year old and a lump got stuck in my throat...she's not a preschooler, anymore. In fact, she dressed herself that morning in one of her cutest outfits, matching headband, handbag and shoes. She even wet down her hair and combed it so that the curls went just right. She is a beautiful girl that wears size 6X clothes, size 11 shoes and...a bike helmet made for kids age 14 and older!!!! I could hardly believe it and neither could my witness, the Walmart clerk. It seriously is the first one that fit properly. I'll update my post with a cute photo of her on her new Barbie scooter from Grandma (wearing her new helmet, of course!)





We had a fun time with Whitney and her little friends at the Splash park near our house with McDonalds' lunch and cupcakes. I love you and am proud of you, Whitney and am so glad that you're part of my life! Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Our Cinco de Mayo Celebration

Do your kids ever inspire you to do things that, afterwards, you're so glad you did? Mine do, all the time, if I let them. Casper insisted all weekend that we make a pinata like they were making at school. I listened to him and, with a little guidance from the internet and from him, a quick shopping trip for balloons and newspaper, we actually pulled it off! After our family home evening lesson on Monday, we all helped glue tissue paper over the newspaper-covered form and dad figured out how to attach it to a rope (we'd forgotten to attach a hook before doing the paper mache work). Before I knew it, Casper had written out invitations to kids in the neighborhood for his 'Cinco de Mayo' party, and Whitney and I were off to the store again for a bag of candy, some chips and salsa and snow cone syrups. I made a few more calls during the day to friends and we had 16 kids and 5 moms show up for a fun after school event. I think the picture of Casper with that big smile on his face says it all. How did YOU celebrate 'Cinco de Mayo?'



That same day, Whitney had her dance class. I took a video that's about 2 mintues long. If you have the time to watch it, it'll probably make you laugh. Thanks for reading!

Stew is two!

It's great to be two and we celebrated in style with all of Stewart's 'favorite things:' a train park, slides, swings, new sand toys, bubbles and many of his favorite friends. It worked out that his birthday landed on an early release day for Casper, so we were able to leave at noon and arrive in time for lunch of grilled hotdogs, chips, Stewart soda, fruit and gogurts. The Sesame Street cupcakes were a hit, as were the fun gifts of a giant Elmo, an Elmo magnadoodle, a new dumptruck for the sandbox, a mini Thomas the Train, cars and a Little People Noah's ark. Of course, Casper and Whitney could hardly wait to break open all the new toys. The weather was perfect and the kids still didn't want to leave 3 hours later! The best present was that Grandma and Grandpa C came for the party on an airplane and stayed all weekend! We love Stewart and are so glad he's part of our family!

Good Carma

My kids enjoyed having two moms for a brief weekend at the end of February when Carma Carrick came to visit. Stewart, Casper and Whitney also liked having a cute doll of a baby 'sister' to play with. Comparing Chloe to Stewart really emphasized how big he is and that he'll be two in just a few short weeks. While Carma was here, she helped me decide on colors and actually paint Whitney's room that so sadly has looked like a boy's room for two years. It was a little stressful trying to paint with 4 little kids around, but we got it done in about five hours!! It looks really fun and Whitney and Stewart both love dancing around in the room. We haven't even put up the blinds, yet because the sun makes the whole room look like a beautiful sunset. I'll post more pictures once I have the wall stickers of flowers put up. On Saturday night Carma and I had our own night out at the Melting Pot for gourmet fondue and we literally ate for two hours, testing all the yummy meats, veggies, cheese sauce and chocolate. It was a late birthday treat for both of us full of fun conversation! We love you Carma and are so glad you came! We can't wait to see you at the beach in July!

8 years and counting!

I haven't been able to find our CD of pictures from our wedding, so that tells me we've been married long enough to move 3 times and have at least that many children...yep, we're celebrating 8 years of marriage! We realized, too, that we forgot to get a babysitter again, so we'll be staying in to have dinner with the kids. Our anniversary kind of gets forgotten after the busy holidays. I remember, though, how lucky I am to have a husband that loves and cares about me and would do just about anything to make me happy. I'm glad that I chose someone that will help get the kids out the door to school in the morning and dinner on the table after a tiring weekend so I can take a nap. He sings the kids to sleep at night. He loves to play legos and Star Wars with Casper. He helps Whitney find a burp cloth for her babies and gives 'horse rides' to all 3 kids at once. I'm glad that he'll brave taking us all canoeing and camping and on long road trips and will wait in the car while I 'just run in to the store.' Matt's a gem and I'm lucky he's my husband. Thanks for 8 awesome years and I hope that the next 8 are even better!

Santa made a mistake!

To my surprise this year, Santa brought me a dollhouse! It was the one I've always wanted, but Whitney was sure it was for her! :) Needless to say, we've ALL had fun playing with the fun detailed furniture and twin babies with a mom and dad. When my brother's 5 year old son, Jackson, came over to play with Casper's Star Wars Legos, Casper was more excited about having Jackson see the Dad unload the groceries from the minivan than he was about having a war. My brother was NOT pleased. I was, though. Imagine how much Casper's wife will thank me...

From Collages

We had a great Christmas in Utah, though in the future, we'll probably have to wait until the day after Christmas to leave. Santa's sleigh was almost too full to be a surprise. We did really enjoy seeing so many of our family and even got a visit in to the Andersons and the Carricks.

Matt and I took the kids sledding and skiing during out trip and I was really surprised at how well the kids did. The highlight of the final day of skiing, though, was the snowmobile ride the kids got when they got too tired to finish the last run of the day. I think we were the last ones on the hill. Thanks to the courtesy driver at Alta!