Things to be Happy about

I've been trying to take more notice of the joyful things in my life lately. These are a few things that have brought me happiness this week.

Going into a store and finding strawberries on sale for 99 cents a pound. They were actually very good and tasty. I bought ten packs over the course of a few days and have been greatly enjoying them. My favorite way has been on waffles with half a can of whipped cream. This is not just a breakfast dish.

Loma Vista is having a book fair this week. Sandra got her first chapter book and devoured it in less than a day. It was fun to watch her be so excited to read, even if it was hard to get her to get ready for bed. She hasn't stopped reading since then. It is such a joy to see your kids develop a love for something good.

Tuesday night I subbed for a yoga class. Its was one of the funnest classes I have ever taught. It was huge class, and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. We did lots of hard poses, and laughed as we struggled with them. (sorry no pic to go with this, I'm not quite as stealthy as Celia with the camera)

I ordered some items from Amazon last week. They showed up a week earlier than expected. I am so happy to be reading the sequel to a good book. Boxes in the mail are always fun, esp when they are something you have been waiting for.

A Dog's Birthday

We found out that today is Fletcher's birthday. The kids insisted on having a birthday party for him. I tried and tried to get out of it, mostly by just ignoring them. I tried to explain that he is a dog and he has no idea about birthdays, and really doesn't care. But it was all to no avail, the kids won, and we had a small celebration for him, which consisted of him getting a few new toys (which have already been destroyed) and a lot of treats.

This is a gross huge bone part he received. It had tons of stuff falling off of it. It has been relegated to the back yard. Fletcher isn't very happy about my decision, but I am the boss.

Everyone had fun playing with him and his new toys, until they broke.

Smith Farm

Cammie had a pre-school field trip to Smith Family Farm today. She had a lot of fun seeing all the stuff there. She really enjoyed the corn maze, and didn't want to leave it. We were supposed to go back in it before we left, but we ran out of time.

Here she is in the pumpkin patch with the pumkin she picked out. All the other moms loved this one.

Here she is running around the hay maze with some of her friends. This was the first time she left me to play with the other kids. Usually when we are at parties or stuff, she gets really shy and clings to me. It was neat to see her having fun with others.

She got to participate in the barn music show. She was a little unsure of being up there, but seemed to enjoy doing it. She wanted to go do it, so I am proud of her for not being to shy and going up.

This is on the wagon ride to go out and get our pumpkins. This was another fun part, she really enjoyed riding in the wagon being pulled by a tractor.

Sunrise

Today was the dreaded first day back to school after the two week break. Only dreaded because it meant getting up early, getting all the kids up early, getting them ready for school, making them lunches, and getting them to leave the house with enough time to get to school. I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise as I staggered out to the kitchen to get the morning started.

A bucket is NOT a hat

and if you try to use it as one, anyways, it may get pretty stuck on your head. Maybe we should have Jack-in-the-Box add a warning to their kids meal toy.

AfterCammie had to endure me taking pictures, we did manage to pry it off. That strap was quite tight on her forhead.

Escondido

We spent the first week of the kids fall break down in Escondido, California at the Lawrence Welk Resort, with Andrew's parents, grandmother, and one nephew. They all came out from Utah to be with us. It was a lot of fun to see them and just spend a lot of time relaxing. The resort has some great water play areas with pools, a waterslide, splash play area and hot tubs. We were in the water everyday.

We went to the beach at the Oceanside Pier. It was the first time I have ever been to a California beach and not been painfully cold. The kids had a great time playing in the waves, even if the water was on the cold side.

It took Cammie quite awhile to want to go in the water, once she got used to the waves moving over her feet, she didn't want to quit.

A couple of cold boys. Kyle and his cousin Bradley.

Andrew's mom bought boogie boards. Travis and Kyle decided they were much better than just trying to body surf. Travis had so much fun, he and Andrew went out to the beach a second day.

Andrew's grandma. She wasn't really cold, just worried about the sun. The boys ended up with pretty good sunburns on their backs, and the girls on their faces.

Where's Andrew?

He rode this wave in from really far out.

On our next to last night, Andrew's parents took us out for dinner to a buffet. After we had all totally stuffed ourselves and were getting ready to go, the three boys decided they needed a bit more steak. They then spent the next half-hour eating steak after steak after steak, while we all impatiently waited to be able to leave.

We also spent a couple of days doing crafts that were offered there. The girls had a lot of fun painting things. The boys spent many hours playing pool, air hockey, and playstation in the rec rooms. It was a great vacation.

ee