12

*Tomorrow we will officially have a preteen in the house. We celebrated Cam's 12th tonight and let him choose the evening's activities. He first wanted a family walk at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. I had never been and it's beautiful. I think next time my dad will join us and bikes will be involved.

Afterward, Cam chose his favorite food (hamburgers) at his favorite restaurant, Red Robin.  Then he chose Sonic as his dessert location. So far (between my parents and us), Legos have again been the theme of his birthday. We'll celebrate this weekend up north with Chris' parents.

*A few nights ago I tried veggie burgers on the kids. I called them "healthy burgers", so as not to turn them off right away. They were very sweet and ate most of them, however these comments were also made:
Cam: "Um, they look like our piggy food all mashed together."
Kendall: "How can they be burgers if they aren't made of meat?" (I blame Chris for that logic!)

keurig

*I've been back to work for a few weeks now. We moved locations and I decided to take on decorating our assessment room (where we meet with parents and assess the preschoolers). I was quite proud of my work, however Cameron quickly pointed out to me that I don't have enough tentacles. :)

We also moved offices and now share one big room with the district nurses as well as the Occupational Therapists. Chris bought me a, "back to school" gift in the form of a Keurig for my office. I set it up and everyone brings their own pods. I texted him a picture the day I used it.

My mom introduced the kids to rock decorating. Apparently it's a "thing" in the Redlands area. Kids decorate, hide, and find rocks in various locations. Kendall decorated an extra Harry Potter one for my office. :)

*Our back to school tradition for several years has been dinner at Red Robin the night before the first day. This year we surprised them with a treat at the end..mud pie.

*I can't believe I have a middle school kid!!:(

*I'm really into this show right now. I've read a few books written by former Scientologists and I find it all pretty fascinating and disturbing.

*Monopoly has been back in full force this summer. I would say I participate in about 10% of the games played. Chris does the rest. I like the game...they can just go soooo long. :)

return to me

*We took another trip to Thurman Flats last week with some friends. I need to remind myself not to take for granted the fact that we live so close to the mountains and beautiful places like this.

 

*Every summer we take a trip to IKEA. It's a bit of a drive, but it's something to do and the kids always look forward to the cinnamon rolls for lunch. :)

  

 

Like I mentioned, they have enjoyed those cinnamon rolls over the years... :)

  

*We've been letting Cam venture out a little further on his bike rides. He takes his walkie-talkie and has to check in every 10 minutes. He enjoys the increased independence ;)

 

*Our most recent, "family movie series" has been the Jurassic Park movies. Saturday was our last one before we have to wait for the next one to hit Redbox. :)

 

*I start work on Wednesday. The kids left yesterday for my in-laws, where they will stay for a week. This always helps us out during the time between when I start and they start school. Right now I'm relaxing while watching Return to Me. Not to sound old, but why can't they make movies like this (meaning clean) anymore??

p.s. Just want to say a big THANKS to Debbie and Wayne for taking the kids this week, especially considering my kids wake rather early...as in 4:45 this morning!!!. This is due to the excitement of being there...or maybe the fantastic breakfasts (and all other meals!) Debbie makes. :)

guinea pig birthday

*Last Friday we drove out to OC. After dinner with Chris' brother's family, we all went to a fundraising event in the form of a corn hole tournament the boys had entered. First place!!!!

*Doesn't everyone throw a party celebrating their guinea pig's birthday?? :)

*On Sunday Chris and I did something very out of the norm for us. We went out on a date consisting of more than just dinner. First we stopped off at Chris' old condo in Fullerton. I shared a few memories from here as this was where he lived during our senior year...before we got engaged.

We then went to one of our all time favorite restaurants, Angelo and Vinci's. It's an Italian place with the world's BEST bread rolls. This calzone (I'm holding out my hand to show the enormity of it!) was made from the same dough. :)

After dinner we went to see Jim Gaffigan. He was hilarious and it was such a fun night!

*Kendall's new computer...otherwise known as a broken keyboard and a screen made out of a whiteboard. :)

 

*Just finished re-watching Sabrina. Such a great movie.

*Bike ride last week with my dad. Here we are standing in front of a sign dedicated to a very old country store in Mentone.

 

end of an era

A couple of days ago we watched the very last Harry Potter movie after completing the final book a few days prior.  This series will always, always hold such a special place in my heart. Are they my favorite books of all time? Yep. Will I probably read them again someday? Yep. But most importantly, they have provided hours of precious memories for first myself and Cameron, and then just this last time with Kendall included as well.

Over the years we've read in the car, in hotel rooms, and on camping trips. But most of our reading times have been spent at home.

I'm not sure how it evolved, but somehow a, "special snack" became a part of our reading times. I would only have to yell, "Who wants Harry and special snack??!!!", and both kids would come racing downstairs. Basically I let them fill a little cup with cereal/crackers and a few chocolate chips. Typically, my one rule was that they could only fill it to the brim. As you can see...sometimes I was a little lenient on this rule. :)

So here we are after our last movie. You might not be able to tell, but I had been crying just a bit. Thanks, Harry Potter, for giving my kids and I soooo many sweet memories. :)

oceanside

*A few things I'm watching/have watched:
1. A Quiet Place- this was very suspenseful and had a really unique plot. It was very different than we had expected.
2. Brain on Fire-I love movies based on true stories. A friend Chris works with recommended this and it was pretty fascinating.
3. The Bachelorette- I've taken a break from this show for a few years, however I needed something dumb, brainless, and entertaining as I ride my bike. This fits the bill.
4. The Next Foodnetwork Star- I've always loved this show.
5. The Profit- I love this show and have actually started watching it with Cameron as he finds it pretty interesting too!

*Last week we went to Oceanside for a few nights. My parents rented a house for our family as well as my sister's family. We had such a great time and the kids loved being with their cousins.

 

The dads played LOTS of games with the kids during our time.

 Old Town, San Diego.

 

*Yesterday I tried the new McDonald's cold brew frosted coffee for the first time. Really good. Only $2.

*Two more weeks of summer break for me. Boo.

 

perrier

*For the 4th of July, we went to a church near my parents for fireworks, bounce houses, and funnel cakes. Here are Sierra and Kendall with their costumes...skunks. Skunks are always associated with the 4th, right?? :)

 

*One of the things I will miss about summer are the walks I've been able to take in the afternoons. It is SO relaxing to go for a long walk listening to a podcast. Yes, I could continue this once the summer comes to an end, but let's be honest, I don't necessarily feel like a walk after a long day of work.  

I typically take the same route. It's nice to live near some open land, which is much more relaxing than walking around houses. :)

 *My nieces spent the night this past week and I took them all to a nearby creek. The water was so refreshing on what was the hottest day of the year.

 

Making and decorating brownies:

*Back when I was dealing with some health stuff, I cut way back on my soda intake. I've found myself craving something other than water. I initially tried La Croix, which was pretty good. However today at Costco I sampled Perrier Sparkling Flavored Water and it is SO much better. Sadly it is also SO much more expensive... :(

*After going through the Star Wars series as a family, we wanted to continue family movie nights. We last watched both National Treasure movies. Tonight we are going to start the Jurassic Park movies (which are all on Netflix now).