Fall Break Fun

Fall Break Fun

With 2 1/2 weeks of Fall Break to fill, we tried to keep busy. We went to California for the first week of Fall Break, we still had a lot of time to do some fun things. We went to the zoo, the movies, the park, a farm, bowling, and played with friends.

Bowling

We went to the bowling alley with the Harris' and the Greene's. The boys loved it and Mia got bored of it after a few bowls. She and Jillian pretty much goofed off and ate french fries. The twins even tried to bowl a bit - with the bumpers, of course.

The boys all thought they were pretty cool. They bowl a lot better than I do!

The girls!

Jillian and Mia

Riley and Tanner with their best friend, Presley!

Candy, Erin and I

A Day at the Farm

OK, it wasn't really a day, more like an hour or two, but I took the kids out to a farm that was open to the public. A bunch of friends went too. Brayden, being the oldest, and none of his friends were going, pretty much got dragged there. I explained to him that the twins would love it and we took him to places like this when he was little. I think he actually enjoyed it. It didn't compare to some of the places we went to in Kentucky, like Huber Farm, where the Fall colors were everywhere and you could pick apples from trees and pumpkins growing in the ground. But, it was a fun trip. The twins loved the animals...from a safe distance! A day at the farm was topped off with Chick-fil-a for lunch!

On the hayride

Jamie and Chelsea with their kids and Mia. Jamie was counting the days until her baby came. It was only a few days later.

Kylie and Mia

With the Glazier's and the Drogosz's

What you can't see is Tanner about ready to fall off the seat, because Riley was pushing him off.

It was a fun trip to the farm!

Mia's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Mia turned 6 on October 1st

This is a picture of my little Mia when she was about 3 months old. We got our first digital camera right around when this picture was taken. So, most of my newborn pictures of Mia were taken with a regular old fashioned camera with film. After having 2 boys, I was so excited to finally have a little girl. I was totally convinced I was going to end up with all boys. When I found out I was having a girl, we painted her room purple and everyone gave me pink and purple gifts. I loved it. Mia is such a girly girl and we have so much fun shopping, getting pedicures and doing girly things.

Mia's Party

We threw together her birthday party last minute since we had just gotten back from California. Mia wanted to take all of her friends to go see the movie, Beverly Hills Chihauhau. First we had 10 girls over for pizza, cake, ice cream and presents. Then we went to the movie. The party was a hit and the girls loved the movie. The movie was pretty cute, but Matt and I found ourselves looking at our watches a few times wondering if it was almost over.

Here's the birthday girl, Mia. Why does she always seem to have a stray hair in every picture we take?

The girls getting a little crazy!

Mia and the birthday cake, courtesy of Costco!

You think we could have turned the birthday cake around for the picture.


Tanner looking very pretty. This is what happens when you let 10 girls loose in the house with make-up...your 3 year old boy ends up looking like a girl! He doesn't look too happy with it!

Family Birthday Party

On Mia's actual birthday, Oct. 1, we got pedicures and then came home to have some cake and open a few presents as a family. One of her favorite presents was her American Girl Pajamas. Earlier this year, I took Mia to the American Girl Store in LA and bought her the doll of the year- Mia. The Mia doll is only around for the year 2008. Ever since we bought the doll, Mia has wanted the Mia doll's pajamas that had matching big ones for her. Her Grandma and Grandpa Martinez sent them for her and the Mia doll. She was so excited. Here, she is modeling the pajamas with her doll.

Riley had to pose for a picture too.

Another big hit, was the Easy Bake Oven Mia had been asking for. I totally had one when I was a kid, but it wasn't as cool as this one. I think my boys were just as excited as Mia was to bake their first cake!

What a great mom Mia has. As she is trying to light the candle of her own birthday cake I am reading a magazine ignoring her. I should have at least been cleaning the kitchen. What a mess. Fortunately, Mia and Brayden didn't burn the house down.

Blowing out the candles. Where's the rest of the family?

We love you, Mia! Happy 6th Birthday!

California Fall Break 2008

Southern California for Fall Break 2008

Now that it is an easy trip to California, we've been there several times since we moved to Arizona. Since my mom lives in Orange County, we always have a place to stay. Here are a few things we did while on vacation there.

Newport Beach

We hadn't been to Newport Beach for a couple years, so we decided it would be fun to go there for a change. We usually go to Laguna Beach or San Clemente. It was a beautiful day and no one was there!! It was so nice since we went on a week day. We had the beach to ourselves.

A cute family picture. Notice I'm not in the picture. There is no way a picture of me in a swimming suit is going on the blog! There was a guy in a canoe in the background.


Matt and Brayden waiting for the perfect wave.

The twins were afraid of the water and were content with their sand toys on the beach.

This was Riley's model pose!

Tanner pulled the boogie board around and around for the longest time. It was cracking me up. It was Brayden's board and Tanner wouldn't let him use it.

Since we were in Newport, we had to go on the Balboa Ferry to Balboa Island. This brought me back to the good old days when I was growing up.

Knott's Berry Farm

After having been to Disneyland and Sea World in the last year, we decided to try out Knott's Berry Farm while in California. I don't think I had been there since high school. We had a lot of fun. They've added quite a few roller coasters since I graduated from high school in 1990. It was dead there. We walked on all the rides and were able to ride roller coasters over and over again. The one bummer was that Mia was about an inch too short for almost all the roller coasters. She was so sad that Daddy had to appease her by buying her a big stuffed animal. We had a great time. I hadn't ridden roller coasters like those for the longest time. I was feeling great all day long, but after lunch, my stomach didn't do so well on them. I felt pretty nauseous by the afternoon. I finally got over it while Matt and the boys kept riding those roller coasters. By the time the park closed, Matt, Brayden and Chase all looked like they were going to puke!!! But, they didn't...Riley managed to do that at the restaurant where we ate dinner. Why does someone always throw up?

This was the famous shot where we always posed for pictures when we went to Knott's Berry Farm as kids. That's the log ride behind us.

Tanner and Mia with my mom.

Matt with Mia and Brayden after getting soaked on the rapids.


The whole family with Snoopy. Riley was petrified of him!


Newport Beach Temple

For all the times we've been to California in the last couple years, this was the first time the kids saw the Newport Beach Temple. It was really pretty and built in a really nice area.

Going to Grandpa's House

My dad lives about 15 minutes from my mom. We went over to his house to BBQ and celebrate Mia's b-day a few days early. It's so nice that I can see my parents much more often than when I lived in Kentucky.

Mia and my Dad

Mia, Brayden and Chase with my Dad and my stepsister, Megan.

San Clemente

San Clemente is our favorite beach for the family. It was a super warm day, but for some reason the clouds were hanging just over the coast and no where else, making it a little dreary looking. The kids love riding their boogie boards at San Clemente and watching the surfers on the other side of the pier.

Another great day at the beach and a fun trip. Why don't we live in Southern California???? It doesn't get much better than California! I still say I'm from Southern California even though I left for college over 18 years ago. I just can't quite give it up. It will forever feel like home.

BYU vs UCLA

Boys Weekend in Utah - September 2008

Matt took Brayden and Chase to Utah the weekend of Sept 12 for the BYU vs UCLA football game. They had the greatest time. I know I wasn't there, but I had to write about it. Matt and I both graduated from BYU, and have always been BYU football fans, but Matt has pretty much become obsessed in the years since we left BYU. He's passed that love of BYU football on to our boys. They had this trip planned for a few months. Brayden and Chase were so excited to have their weekend with Dad and BYU football. Matt's parents flew out from Kentucky and Matt's Dad went with them to the game.

The boys walked around campus and went to a pep ralley before the game. They were all decked out in their BYU shirts and hats.

Here are the boys with their Grandpa. We were impressed he was wearing a BYU shirt. Grandpa is a huge Notre Dame fan! Notice the Y in the background.

This picture totally cracks me up. At the pep rally, the boys got their picture taken with this BYU cheerleader. Brayden doesn't seem to mind much, but check out Chase's face!!! How short is this cheerleader? She's the same height as Brayden, who's 11!

Matt's good friends from Kentucky, Jeff Mortenson (his BYU roommate) and Josh Perkey met them at the game.

It was a blowout!! Check out the score - 59 to nothing!