time share

 *My parents were able to rent one of their friend's time share condos in La Jolla for the week. Since we can't all six fit, the four of us stayed there this weekend and my parents will head down tomorrow. We just got back a couple hours ago and had such a fun stay!

Our complex was right across the street from some tide pools, which we walked to as soon as we got there.

Friday night we walked to a delicious taco place and ate outside.

Saturday morning we headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day!

That night we VERY briefly discussed a few restaurant options, but then obviously ended up at our favorite, The Cheesecake Factory. :)

Not pictured were some fun times down in the Jacuzzi. The kids had it all to themselves every time we went. My favorite was our last night, when we all took down our ice cream bowls and sat and talked. :)

Thanks, mom and dad, for sharing your place with us!!

13

Our boy officially turned 13 this past week. It does feel a bit strange to say we have a teenager in the house. The four of us celebrated one night with a trip to Cabizon to get him some new shoes for cross country. We then headed to Blaze pizza where he opened our gift, a new Snap Circuit set. This kid is SOO into these right now. They have become a permanent fixture on our dining room table since he works on them all the time!

*This past weekend we celebrated up north with Chris' parents and some family. It was such a nice and relaxing weekend.

On Saturday, Cameron asked if he could join Chris for a round of golf. He wanted to see what, "...dad always talks about when he tells us about golf." He lasted 9 holes (just caddying), which was impressive considering it was incredibly hot!

Here he is before his requested birthday lunch of hamburgers.

As usual, there was no shortage of good food. Here is our dessert spread!

Chris' mom always treats me to a massage or pedicure when we go up. This time Kendall was also treated to a manicure. :)

Not pictured was some great Hallmark movie watching I got in!! None of us were ready to come home!

books

*A friend of mine wrote about a book she and her daughter had gone through. I decided to get it for Kendall and I. Kendall LOVES it and I do too. She is daily asking if we can, "Do our book". :) I would highly recommend it.

I had such a hard time finding a good one for Chris and Cam. There are sooo many more books for girls. Chris ended up finding one. He and Cam have read a few chapters and so far, Chris said it's really good.

Another book I highly recommend deals with worry/anxiety for kids. Cam and I started this one over the summer. I was looking for strategies to help him in this area. While it looks like a little kid book, the concepts are awesome and very practical.

I wish I could recommend a book I'm reading...however it has been an embarrassingly long time since I've actually read a book. :(

*One or two times a year Chris' brother has a work conference out in the desert. He'll let Chris know the dates and offers for the kids to use the hotel pool. It has become somewhat of a tradition and the kids always look forward to it. It's usually while I'm still at work, so it turns into a fun outing with dad. 

Chris made it all the more exciting by including a trip to Krispy Kreme. :)

*The kids are back in the swing of things and both kids are really enjoying their teachers, classes, etc. Chris is back in the groove of taxi service to and from, I'm in the making lunch groove, and we are all in sadly the, "no more lazy mornings" groove. :(

*The kids and my new favorite song is Sam Hunt's, "House Party". Even this afternoon, there was a little not so great mood floating around the house. I cranked the song and it immediately disappeared. :)

*Cameron will become an official teenager in a couple of weeks. To celebrate, we invited the boys from his small group at church to a scavenger hunt. I gave them a booklet of clues, which included instructions at each destination (i.e. "Take a picture of a Lego set with more than 1000 pieces" -Target). They ended with a pizza lunch and cupcakes. Cam had a blast and I'm so thankful it turned out so well! 

Kendall was so excited to play her role. The boys went to Chick-fil-A and had to find a unicorn, who then gave them money for a soda. :)

*Yesterday the kids and I finished the second Hunger Games book and just finished the movie this afternoon. 

bass lake

I'm fully back in the swing of things with work, however the kids are finishing off their summer up with my in-laws. Our last family hoorah came in the form of a fantastic week with family at Bass Lake. My in-laws rented an amazing house right on the lake, which meant the kids could literally run out back and jump in. We are sooo grateful to them for providing such a fun place to spend the week together.

This was our backyard. Here Lauren and Kendall are working on something...not quite sure why they chose a floating dock to do writing. :)

This pic wasn't posed, which made it so much sweeter.

Chris' brother's family and our family piled into one car and made the drive to Yosemite one day. It was extremely hot, but didn't disappoint and was just so beautiful.

We rented a boat one day and it was a huge hit with the kids. They loved being pulled around (this is actually a pic of Chris falling off after attempting to stand up!).

Some of my favorite parts about these vacations are all the down times we have to just hang out and talk, both inside...

..and outside on the dock.

My MIL brought a Karaoke machine and Kendall and Lauren put together a party for everyone one night (including dancing!). 

Several games of Monopoly were played.

The entire vacation was amazing and more fun than I could have pictured us having. Unfortunately the end of the week yielded a few people who got sick. Chris' aunt Noonie is doing better, but we are still praying for her recovery. Cam and Kendall had gone home with my in-laws (they always watch them the first week that I have to go back to work), however not to go into too much detail, we ended up going to pick them up early as Cam got pretty sick. The kids were SOOO sad to have to leave, so we were able to work out a way for them to continue their stay after we had him home for a few days.

The kids get back Wednesday...then life for all four of us starts!!

last lazy week of summer

*This is our last "no-plans" week of summer and I'm SOO sad. We have a vacation planned next week with Chris' family which we are looking forward to, however I have adored the past few weeks of blank slate days with the kids. They are such fun companions. :)

*New episodes of The Good Witch recently came to Netflix and Kendall and I have been loving watching them together. They are basically Hallmark movies stretched out into a series. I love how clean they are...like, unusually clean and appropriate, which is so rare nowadays. Plus, I always like any show that is set in a cute, small town.

*We went to the beach last week with my mom. We sat and chatted while the kids played. The beach isn't my favorite of outings, but I always make sure we go at least once since the kids love it so much.

*The kids indulged me in a Costco trip this week. I found a shirt for $4.97, which made the trip that much better!

Our typical routine consists of the kids accompanying me for the first half of the shopping, thereby obtaining all the samples. Then, I'll get to browse a little more while they head to the book section, where I'll pick them up before checkout. 

*Yesterday we went to Therman Flats with some friends. I always take for granted having places in the mountains like this that are so close to home.

*Somehow it aligned to where both kids had sleepovers last night. Chris and I got to go out and chose a new restaurant in Yucaipa (Toscano's). It was really good and I'm proud of us for branching out. We always tend to go to our same places. ;)

 

more summer stuff

*The 4th of July was very low key and so much fun this year. We started out watching a short little parade with some friends.

We next walked across the street to a park where they had food booths, a patriotic band, etc.

Later my parents came over for a BBQ dinner and fireworks. Rather than go to a show, we sat outside our house and had a nice view of some Beaumont city fireworks. Chris brought out his blue tooth speaker and played patriotic music, which made it so fun. :)

*Saturday was another ride with our cycling club. My dad was unable to go due to a recent eye procedure, but he showed up to see us off and was there when we returned (and treated me to an iced latte, which has become what I always crave after our long rides).

*A few days ago we biked to Panera Bread for breakfast, then across the street we stopped at Hobby Lobby to get a craft kit Kendall had been wanting.

*Yesterday we visited Jen and her family in the desert. They were staying for a week and invited us to their hotel to swim. The kids had a blast and it's always fun for Jen and I to hang out.

*This morning we took a walk up the road to a local bakery. The kids raved and raved about the coffee cake, which had a crumb topping almost an inch thick. :)

*Bachelorette pick: Peter

*The kids and I finished the first Hunger Games book and movie. They are hooked!