She's a Beaut

There she is! The one he's been waiting for his whole life!! I am excited to announce the newest addition to our family, this truck!! We have been working pretty hard to finally purchase it. I am seriously so excited for Bobby. This is HIS first brand spanking new car. I have had two. He always gets the leftovers. I think it was well worth the wait. He said it was more than he wanted or expected. I know it's just a car but I really wanted to express my joy for Bobby. He is such a hard working guy. He doesn't complain. He sacrifices his personal wants for the better of our family and he doesn't even bring it up. But I notice all the small things he does. He has just been so patient in getting this. It makes me so happy to see him happy.

We traded in the ol' Saturn for her too. It was time. Bryce balled his eyes out. I also cried a bit. It's funny how attached we became to our little family wagon. We brought Leah home from the hospital. Brought home our Christmas trees in her. Took family vacations. Bryce has drove in that car since he was 1! We were so sad to trade her in but this truck is going to be a blast for the whole family. We can tow the boat now. We are also looking forward to getting a truck camper and making tons of memories. I got demoted back to the old civic! One thing is for sure, we keep our cars for a long time and I think Bobby will have this truck until he's too old to drive it!

Now the kids are trying to name it. My dad has a black truck like it and he named it the "Black Pearl." So far Bryce wants to name her Shakira or The Babe, after Babe Ruth. Leah wants to name it Biebs, after Justin Bieber. My dad suggested The Great White Shark. One of those names will stick, and I really don't think it will be the Biebs.

Romance with the Kids

This year we didn't make any plans  for the big v-day. Bobby and I decided to not get presents for each other since we were trying to save up for a big purchase. Flowers still found their way to me and slippers to him. Guess it's the small little gestures that make us feel nice. I don't want to do the math in my head right now, but we have been together....for a long time. Since we don't have an actual day we can remember dating we celebrate our "together" anniversary on Valentine's day. We both worked during the day and I enjoyed seeing the kids do their celebrations at school. Somehow Bobby sent me one of the grams our school sells for the students. It was a sweet little delivery! Bryce was really sweet and wrote Leah the sweetest Valentine card. It is so "them" and it brought some tears to my eyes. We decided to go to dinner way early to beat the crowds. We really wanted to hang out with our little valentines too, so they came along to celebrate. We ate at my favorite restaurant, "The Lemon Leaf." Then we hit up the candy store. Topped of with a movie on the couch. Perfect day to celebrate love with the people in my life that make me feel that special daily.

Ditch Day

Bryce had a doctor's appointment "down below." It's funny that this is what people from the AV say when we have to head to LA. Since we were already half way there, I decided to make a fun day out of it and make use of our passes to Disneyland. My parents met me there. It was such a fun day! We were sad to not have Bobby there. Someone has to work I guess. The lines were short and I enjoyed every minute of ditch day. I love that every time we are doing something fun my kids thank me and tell me it was the best day ever. Even if we are just going to get ice cream, it's the best day ever, ha! We really had one of the best ditch days ever!

Masquerade Ball

We had a fun little evening out to celebrate Morgan's 50th birthday (my brother's mother-in-law). It was a ton of fun and of course spending time with my family and extended family is a bonus. It was a dinner cruise around the marina. Bobby surprised me and booked a room for the night. The kids loved staying in the hotel! The next day we went for a joy ride on my dad's boat. I was feeling well, for a change, and really had a great time. When we were out on the water, it was perfectly calm. Everyone was smiling and loving the day. I couldn't help but become taken over with emotion looking out at the vastness of the ocean and thanking God for a perfect day with people I love.

School is IN!

School started and I felt a little lost. The first day I did pretty good. The second day I felt sad. I went to the office and was a little teary-eyed. Well, the secretarty mentioned they had to open a new kindergarten class and wondered if I'd want to do it since I had free time now. I would be at the school to see my kids, so I accepted the job, not knowing how long it would be for. They said until they hired a permanent teacher.

So even more change! The job lasted two months. I was a full time working teacher with two school aged kids. I was really glad I took the kindergarten job. It was great money and I got to see Leah at lunch everyday and I grew really close with my class. But boy oh boy, was I exhausted. There is a special place in heaven for kinder teachers!

Leah LOVES school. She gets her homework done on the first day she gets it, she is very popular and has adjusted so well. When I finally stopped working and she wasn't seeing me everyday there was a bit of an adjustment period for her but she is used to not seeing me there everyday now!

Bryce is doing very well. His report card is great and he got to participate in a GATE activity painting cubism art. He loved it. He gets to play beyblades during recess and soccer. He is a well adjusted 3rd grader!

Summer Wrap Up

I started writing this in Summer (told you I'm behind). I LOVE summer! I love not having a routine, or places to go. Some days we stayed in our pajamas ALL day, and loved it! We also had a fun time on a couple adventures.

I feel like a lot changes with the mark of a new school year. Leah is starting kindergarten. I'm sad in a different way than I was with Bryce. I'm excited for her, but it changes my purpose. I've been pretty much a stay at home mom, with the exception of substitute teaching here and there for 8 years. Now with both of them in school, I will work more and it means no more toddlers in this house. I guess I'm feeling blue and a little empty nest syndrome. School is such a bitter sweet thing for this mom.

This summer we had a blast, but we always do! The kids decided on small birthday parties ( I limited them to 5 guests) and instead go to Disney for a couple days. We also made a Pier trip and had plenty of swimming dates at Grandma's. We took a couple Vegas trips, one with friends and one for my sister-in-laws 21st birthday. My mom had her 50th birthday and my dad surprised her with renewing their vows. It was such a special day. Not looking forward to getting back to the grind!

Playing Catch up

Boy, oh boy! We have been so busy and sitting down and writing has taken a back burner. But I miss this little journal of our lives so expect me playing catch up in the next few posts! I have had a lot to say and update! More to come.....