The Big Day

Happy Birthday Mr.C!!!!

" I want some modern furniture, camping stuff and a quadruple combination." my son told me a few months ago.

Just what I love about Mr. C, he is very specific. He seems to have had a very good day. He loves just to be at home and around family, he just wanted all the traditions to be intact, as usual, and was relieved we all pulled through.

First is the Birthday Door, where a fairy comes in the night and hangs crepe paper or something fantastic over the opening of the bedroom door. Then in the morning we have to knock on the door and tell the birthday girl/boy to come outside...and wahla!!! When they walk through the door they are one year older!!!! We all clap and sing happy birthday.

I have photos, but early morning shots of the bunch of us is pretty scary.. and most eyes were closed etc... so it didn't really capture the moment like I wished.

Oh well, finally we get to follow the birthday celebrity up to the kitchen where a gift a favorite box of cereal and cake awaits... with balloons etc...

The rest of the day was actually pretty busy and he had hopes to get out of everything for his birthday... but not-to-be. The only thing that he did not have to do was his ZONE (chore area) .

We ended the day however with a dinner out, at a restaurant of Mr. C's choice.

I was actually the most excited about this because, of all my kids, Mr. C has the most sophisticated taste. He loves gourmet foods and seafood; pretty much anything. He never hesitates to ask for the most expensive and delectable items on most menus. He loves to cook and just enjoys good food. So I couldn't wait to hear his choice for tonight. Needless to say I was a tiny , little bit, slightly, minutely . . . . bummed out, when he actually said the words Chuck-A-Rama.

Hanging out was the best though and we had a great dinner!!! I actually enjoyed some coconut shrimp with mango sauce!!

Mr. C's birthday wishes all came true.... we focused on him a lot this week and I am pretty sure he was greatly satisfied with turning twelve. He got an awesome "Modern Chair", tons of camping stuff and a quad!!

Now let's see who's birthday is next..............

. . . turning a corner

Great weekend!! Great weather etc... Mr. C, my 11 year old, just got back from Scout Camp . He hiked up with Llamas and a 25 lb pack. They slept under the stars (w/o tents) and fished etc... He seemed so grown up when he got back. He turns 12 on Tuesday and has really been excited for this birthday. I however; am somewhat feeling sad. 12 years old is a big deal around our house, seems like he will be all grown-up if he is twelve.

He is a funny boy, and I guess I will actually have many years left of his boyish charms.. we tried for a while to put a funny video clip of him lip syncing, but it was taking so long to get it all figured out. And once we did it was bedtime, so maybe tomorrow.

Tatum wants her Grandmas to see her play her harp... so we will try to post that too. I think we have to go through you tube, to get them on this site..

My Hydrangea plant was a little droopy today... I did not know that my husband only runs the water one day on the weekend and I put it in a spot that the sprinklers could reach. Since they did not go on Saturday, it was droopy. I watered it before I thought of maybe taking a picture of it, so it is back to perky now. You will just have to imagine it's lifeless leaves. And we have adjusted our sprinklers. So hopefully that will not happen again.

Mr. Q and madam S swam in their first swim meet of the summer on Saturday morning. I love seeing them do such a great individual sport. They did great too. I love the smell of chlorine in the morning.... and it was breezy, but warm when the sun came over the hill. I was just glad I was not the one getting in the water .... They are good sports and it is fun to cheer them on!!!

Before the swim meet I did my first long run since I injured my leg a few weeks ago. I have been slowly trying to get back to going at least 10 miles on a weekend run. I was so nervous and had been only planning a 7 maybe 8 mile run....but when I got up and out, I just felt like it was going to be a great running day and went for 10!!! It felt so good to run without any pain etc..... I am trying to train for a half marathon in August... I hope I don't have any more set backs. And I hope all my remaining runs are just as great.

Last year I ran a half marathon and got a stress fracture during the race. I finished with a decent time for my first race , but it was a very painful recovery. So I am going for another half before I turn forty!!!! I seem to get a lot of ticky-tack injuries!!! And I lose valuable training days!!!! I just hope my time does not go down..I hope I can at least beat my time.

Ell I better get to bed... I have a whole this of things to do back to back from 5:00 a.m. to about 10:15 ... like running, driving kids to music lessons, swim practice, dance and summer camp....etc.. by 10:30 I should be able to actually be at home and get something done ( like take a shower!!!) g'night.

A photo of my new Hydrangea plant

from the first day...June 19th, 2007.

Madam S

Mr. C

Mr. Q

Little Miss T

My kids are really excited about this blog.. they also think I may kill my Hyrdrangea plant. So we shall see. Anyway, we have so much family out of the state that it will give them a little peek into our lives. Also, my husband is a great sports fan and will be blogging sports on a link I will have up shortly. The only thing I can note about the Hydrangea plant is that I think I picked a really good location... and it seems to be fine. I just watered it.

I have posted pictures of my kids, who I adore!!!!! They are so amazing, talented and funny!!! You will see.. they have big plans to post video clips and "random" stuff. Be prepared to be amazed.. you may see magic tricks and rapping and wild dance moves. As well as jokes, sports commentaries and artwork...

On a typical day at our house in the summer we are up pretty early, I run about 5:30 a.m. and then by 7:00 a.m. we get kids off to swim team at a local sports club we belong to. Brent takes them on his way to work. Then we send them off to dance, tennis, golf ,drama or whatever camp/class is that week. By the afternoon we are swimming at our Sports Club..... then we come home clean up and the kids just play with nieghbor friends etc...

Barely enough time for me to keep up on the house, but it all seems to work out and we are really enjoying this summer. It is fun to have so much daylight especially after dad gets home. Feels like we have so much more time together.

Right now, we are planning our traditional vacation to a beach house in Baja, Mexico... and some SoCal fun!!!! Can't wait...