highlights from our weekend

We got back this afternoon from a wonderful weekend up north with Chris' whole family. The kids love going up there, however it's always made extra special when their cousins are there at the same time!

*Lots of cousin playtime:

*I got to go out to coffee with one of my favorite people, Jana. :)

*The cousins with their grandpa:

*Cam was super excited to get on the roof with Chris (he was up there cleaning the rain gutters).

*Memories not pictured include a fun barbecue with extended family, cousin swimming with the dads, dinner out at Chris' favorite restaurant (Espe's), lots of bike rides, and many more. 

GREAT weekend. :)

P.S. I have to include my cute piggy from last week's, Three Piggy Opera:

medical encyclopedia

*Bachelorette is back! I just finished the first episode and it's looking mighty cheesy and dramatic!! Woohoo!

*A few days ago we went to the Bass Pro Shop.

Cameron and I tried on some backpacks and I never realized how awesome a good hiking backpack can be! The Walmart backpack I use doesn't compare and I will definitely put that at the top of my Christmas list!

 They had a free craft the kids enjoyed.

*What happens when your son chooses the, "Medical Encyclopedia" to bring along in the car? Why, a question about puberty, of course! When I got to the part about a woman's "monthly visitor" Kendall jumped in and said,  "I know what a period is! It's when the earring hole in your ear gets bigger!". Hmmm...she was a little surprised when I explained what it really was. :)

I wonder what question will be next??? :)

s'mores oreos

*My side job with one of the School Psychologists has picked up enough to where I finally felt the need for a Smartphone. I'm thankful to these boys for setting it up. It would probably still be in the box if it were up to me. :)

Sidenote: While I did get a Smartphone, I still am terrible at using the map thing on it. On Monday I have to drive to Murrieta and this is what I'll be using. :)

*Yesterday was my last official day with the district. I teared up a bit walking out. It's interesting that I was only there a few months, yet grew so attached. :(

*Today was a hike day for myself, my dad, and Cam. We first attempted a hike that didn't pan out the way we had thought. It wasn't very strenuous and was much shorter than we had thought. We did some analyzing and picked a second hike. It was much more up our alley. :)

Cam fell at one point. He was quite the trooper and kept right on going after we took care of the boo-boo. :)

*While we were hiking, Chris and Kendall started their morning with bagels at Panera Bread.

Afterward they went grocery shopping. Whenever Chris goes grocery shopping, somehow extra treats for the kids end up in the cart. While I'm typically grossed out by weird flavors of things, these were actually delicious!

ballet 422

*The last couple of days I've allowed the kids to take Blossom in the backyard and let her run loose. Sidenote: Since when did Kendall start striking a pose for pictures??? :)

*I love a good documentary. I've noticed I lean more toward ones about present day people living regular lives (vs. ones about famous historical figures). I started one last night while Chris was at softball (knowing he would have no interest) called Ballet 422. It follows a choreographer as he creates a ballet for the New York City Ballet Company. I love learning about other worlds (like ballet) I know nothing about.

*Chris was quite proud the other day when he successfully cleared everything from our garage floor except our lawn mower, car vacuum, and car jack. It looks amazing! :)

*We've discovered a new favorite ice cream brand at Walmart, Blue Bunny. It is especially creamy. The cookie dough flavor was quite tasty.

*Back in December I vowed to no longer stock soda in the house (I only have it when we are out or on trips). I've kept it up and it has drastically reduced the amount I drink. However last Sunday some friends came over for lunch and brought a 12 pack of Diet Coke. They left it here and I must admit it's been such a treat to have some stocked in the fridge!

Many of my days did start with popping open a can.  :)

crossfit

Chris started attending Crossfit a while ago and has grown to really enjoy it. A big reason he likes it so much is that he has a good friend who goes with him each time and they both hold each other accountable (which has been huge). A few mornings a week, Jason shows up at our house at 4:40 a.m. to pick Chris up for class. Yes, that is EARLY!!! Here are the Crossfit buds playing corn hole yesterday at Jason's son's birthday party.

Cornhole wasn't the only activity at the party. Cam really enjoyed riding a scooter at the skateboard park next door. He was SOOO scared to go down this ramp. Even the local teenagers were giving him tips (it was quite cute). He finally did it and we were so proud of him. :) 

Kendall was equally persistent in learning how to walk on stilts. 

Breanna (Jason's wife) is an amazing cake decorator. I loved her cake for their son this year, chock full of Skittles!!

ears pierced

*Wednesday was Kendall's last game of her softball season. Afterward we had a  little trophy ceremony and cupcake time.

*While I'm not a bacon fanatic, I thought this was pretty funny.

*Yesterday was my first full day off (with the kids in school) in a while. The thing I was looking forward to the most? Plopping on the couch with some hot chocolate and watching Good Morning America. :) It was fabulous.

*Every time I see the commercials for Harry Potter World at Universal Studios, it makes me miss the books. I'm cautious about introducing them to Kendall before she's old enough to love them like Cam and I did.  Reading through them with Cam made for such sweet times. He actually wants to join in again too, which would be awesome. :)

*Yesterday we went to park after school.

There was a tiny trail and Cam insisted on me taking his picture at various points so he could write his own blog post about it later. 

*Today was a big day for Kendall. She finally got her ears pierced. She did great and didn't cry at all!

*As my job winds down, I'm realizing how much I will miss it. I actually ended up applying for a full time position, however wasn't chosen. Though I feel like I've done a pretty good job over the past few months, three month's experience can't quite compete with several years, which is what other applicants had. 

Despite not getting the full time job, I have been working with one of the School Psychologists in his side business (he contracts me to test students whose families have hired him) and this will thankfully continue. My biggest fear would be that I lose all that I have learned. This way I still keep myself in the "game" somewhat. :)

slumber party

For Kendall's birthday this year, instead of a big party, we told her she could invite her two girlfriends from across the street (half of the "quads") to spend the night. She had been VERY excited.

Their time was spent doing crafts, playing, dancing, watching a movie, and simply loving being able to not have to say goodbye at the end of the day. :) I decided to use an old ice cream cake pan I had to make her cake. It turned out quite tasty.

Yellow cake with cookie dough ice cream.

My always-go-to-bed-early genes must have kicked in because at 9:15 pm, Kendall came downstairs and proceeded to announce she was tired and they were ready for sleep. Ha! Fine by me!!

This morning I drove them to the donut shop and let them go in by themselves. :) A few hours later the girls headed back across the street and Kendall's first official slumber was over. She had a BLAST. :)

Last night Chris and Cam had a guys night and went to the movies and out to dinner. They had fun, but sadly Cam started feeling sick half way through dinner. :(

Sidenote: They went to the new theater in Redlands and were beyond impressed by the reclining seats and the ability to reserve your actual seat.

candace cameron

*Chris recently purchased a Groupon for a trampoline park in Moreno Valley. The kids and I went a couple of days ago and they had a BLAST. It was quite relaxing for me as they had cushy couches all over where parents could just sit and watch. :)

*Today Kendall's birthday was celebrated a day early at school. I let Cam skip the first few minutes of school and join me to sing along with her classmates. The biggest highlight for her was bringing Blossom along for some birthday show and tell. :) She was quite happy to be the center of attention, holding Blossom and answering all sorts of questions. :)

*The School Psychologist I was filling in for returned this week. I still need to finish up the cases I had already started, however my hours will cut back in the meantime and I'll be completely done in about a week. It's nice that I'll finish before my kids get out of school. I can then attend their end of the year festivities. :)

*Sometimes when I'm on the computer, I'll turn on Fuller House in the background. Honestly, it's one of the dumbest shows, however it's one I can half watch while I'm doing other things. One of the main reasons I watch is that I like seeing what Candace Cameron wears each episode. I love her style. :)

*Between the two of us, Chris and I got an email, voicemail, and a text message today from Costco. Apparently a bag of veggies I bought is being recalled due to some of the veggies being linked to Listeria cases. I was already 3/4 of the way through (and luckily am fine)! I was quite impressed with the effort they made to let us know.

cream puffs

*Cameron had belt testing on Saturday. I love watching him, but it's quite nerve-wracking (mainly because he so desperately wants to pass). My parents went as well and my mom caught this great pic!

*We recently discovered a fun show that the kids REALLY enjoy, Kids Baking Championship. It's on FoodNetwork (or Netflix for us). They love watching other kids bake.

In fact, they got so into the show that we decided to have our own "championship" last night. They made their own cream puffs and daddy was the judge.  Here is Kendall watching him taste her creation. Cam is looking at the TV because he had created a slide with the title of our baking competition. He really got into the whole process. :)

*It took me only a few days to finish Leah Remini's book. Scientolgoy truly is fascinating and extremely disturbing at the same time.

*Saturday night we decided to cash in on both Kendall and my Free Birthday Burger Red Robin coupons. Pretty cheap meal!!

*Kendall is too much fun at her current age, but I wouldn't mind this chunky monkey back for just a day. :) Ahhh....