the end is in sight!!

*Last weekend spent at my in-laws' was the perfect, "almost done!!" weekend as I head into my final two weeks of work.

It rained for part of the weekend, so the kids enjoyed a movie in grandma and grandpa's room.

We celebrated Kendall's birthday. I think we have officially drawn out this birthday longer than any other!! :)

A little Mario Cart competition.

*I've mentioned before that food is very scarce on these trips. Hehe :) Kendall's requested birthday meal included hamburgers/hot dogs, potato salad, baked potato casserole, fruit, chips with "Kendall Sauce" (long story but it's what the family has coined onion dip), and lemon jello salad.

*Yesterday was back to normal, until late last night. Cam came down with a fever so today he's laying low watching movies while I get some work done alongside him. I could get used to working in my p.j's while watching Avengers!!

longest ride so far

*Yesterday was our longest ride yet with our cycling club...49 miles (when we got back, my dad joked that we should ride around the parking lot to make it an even 50...but we were SO done!). It was at times draining, but still a super fun ride. The only downside was my epic fail on the SPF front in that I came home with a horrible sunburn on my arms. It's still painful this morning. :(

Here we are mid-way at Citrus Park in Riverside. We are holding up "46" because that's how long the ride was scheduled to be.

*Chris has a Bible study each week on one of the days he works at the church. This past week was his week to bring food. I made this cake recipe, which I originally got from his mom. It's VERY yummy.

Honey Bun Cake

*This picture was from last week, but I just thought it was so funny to see the number of purses Kendall brought with her. This is very typical ;)

*We are starting the Mission Impossible movies with the kids. It's pretty sad that, even on weekends,  all four of us wake so early that we actually have time to watch a good chunk of it before church!

*I have way too many reports due this coming week so I knew I'd have to work some at home. Luckily the best, "don't have to watch every minute to know what's going on" show started up again. I put it on in the background and typed away!

kendall is 10!

*Last weekend we hosted Kendall's 10th birthday party. She invited all the girls from her class plus our neighborhood girls. She had been SO excited for weeks and she and I had spent a lot of time planning the party, which included watching Youtube videos on how to make her unicorn cake. It was a little daunting and while it may not have been Pinterest-worthy, it came out pretty well and we loved making it together.

We got pizza and the girls played musical chairs and pin the horn on the unicorn. They had a blast and it made me so happy to see Kendall adoring every minute of it. :)

*The next day we celebrated Mother's Day at Cafe Rio.

*Last night was Cameron's last track meet of the season. He has had a blast and is very excited to do Cross Country in the fall. My parents came to all three meets and a tradition developed of going to Portillo's afterward for dinner.

chocolate smoothie

*Kendall chose to do her CA project on the Hollywood sign. I'm terrible at being creative with school projects, but I think her sign turned out just fine!

  

*Last week we got to visit with some of our favorite people, Jeremy and Ana. We started with a short family hike and ended the afternoon with pizza at their house. Ana even made me the most delicious, moist chocolate cake for my birthday. :)

 

*Tuesday was Cameron's first track meet. He absolutely has adored track and I'm so happy he decided to do it. Both sets of grandparents were able to come, which made the afternoon that much more special.

*We've been waiting for the past two weeks to go see End Game. The kids have been SOO excited! Though three hours is a bit long, it really was a pretty fantastic movie. Here is Chris helping Kendall hold the oodles of things she brings with her to every movie (which include a blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal). ;)

 

  

*Kendall is having her 10th birthday party next week. We began preparing today by making a few of her layers for her cake, which I'll stick in the freezer. We are making a rainbow/unicorn cake. Yikes! Wish me luck as my cake decorating skills are by no means expert!!!

*I recently stumbled across the most delicious and healthy chocolate smoothie recipe. Seriously.  I followed it exactly but I will say that since it has zero sugar, in order to increase the chances of the kids liking it, I added a tablespoon of vanilla coffee creamer. But otherwise, the ingredients are SO good for you! Cam is a big fan. Kendall likes it, but since she isn't a super chocolate freak like me, it's a little rich for her.