Sweet notes from Audrey

Audrey loves to write letters, she gave us these yesterday.

Pismo Beach

Josh smiling big at lunch (I love those blue eyes).

The trick I can do with my big belly and a soda, I'm ready for the circus.

Liege & Chad

"Kiteboarding"

The asparagus salad Josh ordered....yum!

Josh and I got away this weekend for our anniversary. We dropped off the girls in Visalia with Nana and Papa and headed to Pismo. Our friends, Chad & Liege, were also celebrating their anniversary and so we decided we'd all meet up in Pismo and hang out for the weekend.


Here are some highlights of our trip:

• The most peaceful two and a half hour drive to Pismo, no kids screaming in the backseat, no emergency stops for a potty break, just me and Josh.
• The jacuzzi that graced our balcony and where I probably spent 90% of my time.
• The hour long massage I got (heavenly).
• Eating king crab legs with lots of butter at a table with a view of the sunset.
• Eating dessert two nights in a row and not even trying to justify it.
• Walking along the beach and listening to the ocean.
• Watching tons of guys "kiteboard" along the beach.
• Talking to Josh for hours and hours, and loving every minute of it.
• Eating a clam chowder bread bowl at the Splash Cafe.
• Getting to know Chad & Liege more.
• Spending two blissful nights away and realizing I do miss my children when I'm away.
• Breathing that ocean air.
• Reading magazine after magazine with no interruptions.
• Dreaming together about our future.
• Wondering why we don't do this more.

Well we are back now, and you'd think after the great weekend I had I would be more than ready to step back into reality but....My girls missed me and need lots of attention, I need to make them dinner, I have lots of bags to unpack, my house is a mess (just the way I left it), they are so noisy and I think I'm getting a headache.

A Day in the Snow

Anjie (Josh's sis) picked up our girls (the oldest 3) after church and took them to the snow. This was a great anniversary present, she took them all day, then came home and watched all four of them so we could go out to dinner for our anniversary. What a sister! The pictures she took show the great time they had, they went to Shaver and it was SNOWING! Thanks Anjie, the girls had a blast....Addie did say, "This was the best day of my whole life."

12-year anniversary

Josh's present to me.

My present to Josh.

Us.

We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this weekend. We went to our favorite place for dinner, Max's. I had salmon, Josh had pasta, it was delicious. Josh gave me a great gift...huge pictures of each of our daughters. I've been wanting a BIG picture like this of each of them for our bedroom wall....yeah! I bought Josh cologne and an hour long massage...my present to him wasn't spectacular but I was proud of my wrapping job.

Good friends, Good times

Chad and Liege had us over last night. Liege thank you for the kind words on your blog, Josh and I feel the same way about you and Chad. Thank you for being brave enough to have us over, our girls adore you! Dinner was wonderful and so was dessert. I'm reminded of God's faithfulness over and over as He has blessed us with real, true friendships.

Nice Afternoon

Addie's favorite place to do her homework, in the crate myrtle in our front yard.

Ellie jump roping with a dog leash.

Gabby sniffing around.....she's such a good dog!

Grace looking her best....this is how she looks most of the time (hair in her eyes, dirty face, etc).

Olivia pretending to be a dog, Audrey is walking her with a jump rope.

Well I suffered a "pregnant moment" this morning at Fresno State....as Addie performed her poem I quickly snapped picture after picture, only to discover a few minutes later I had left the memory card for my camera in my computer, so unfortunately I have no pictures of the performance.......Josh did video tape it though, that's the only thing that makes me feel a little better about my brain mush!

Anyway, we had a nice afternoon, the weather has been great! Here are some pictures of the girls' adventures outside.

Old Pops

Going to the dining room on the tram.....this is always a highlight of our visit.

Sitting on the bench in front of the dining room.

Olivia's little hand against Old Pop's hand.

Grace & Old Pops taking a stroll.

Grace pointing something out to Old Pops.

Josh and Old Pops

"Old Pops" is the endearing name my children came up with for Josh's grandpa. He is an amazing grandpa and great-grandpa, and lucky for us he moved to Fresno last year from Bakersfield. He lives about 3 miles from us, and we have enjoyed hanging out with him alot this last year. One of our favorite things is to go to dinner with him at the dining room at San Joaquin Gardens...the girls are treated like super stars and love all the attention. It also gives us a chance to practice our manners for eating out. I also have to say the chance to ditch my own kitchen and not have to think about preparing dinner is a serious positive for me. Thanks Old Pops for putting up with us and continuing to invite us.....you have created an awesome legacy for us to follow.

Peach Blossom Dress Rehearsal

All the sisters in the audience anxiously awaiting Audrey's performance.

Audrey and her friend, Amanda.

Audrey's dress rehearsal was this afternoon for Peach Blossom. Tomorrow morning she will perform at Fresno State for the annual oral interpretation festival. Her group (1st & 2nd graders) are reciting the poem "I'm Squealing, I'm Screeching, My Mom's Gone Antiquing." She did a great job today and I'm looking forward to tomorrow also. Last year I was working so I didn't get to see her perform at Fresno State. Yeah for being a stay-at-home mom this time around, makes me so happy not to miss this kind of stuff!

Random Pictures

Belly pic, 25 weeks and counting.

Close up belly pic.

Addie figuring out her math on the driveway.

Big smiles from Ad.

Liv finding new uses for sidewalk chalk (can you tell she's wearing her pajamas?). This kid is something else.

My recently planted Hibiscus tree is blooming.

I found this tree at Lowe's for $8, which I figured was a good price since I would probably kill it, but look.....it's thriving! Amazing!

Prego Party

Jacinda graciously invited Natalie, Andrea, and me to a "Prego Party" this afternoon. I had never heard of a party exclusivley for pregnant women, but it was a good time. Thanks Jacinda for thinking of me!

Grace is walking!!!

Grace and her walking legs.

Trying to "help" by putting dish soap in the dishwasher.

When I ask her to smile, this is what she does.

Last week Grace turned 16 months old, and I'm happy to report she is finally walking. She is walking more than she is crawling and I think she finally convinced herself this newfound freedom is nice. It's a little strange to see her little upright body taking steps across the kitchen floor. She is talking more and more too, usually the same words over and over: uh-oh, no no, bye bye, hi, mama, dada, night night. Her favorite things are unrolling all the toilet paper off the roll then saying uh-oh, playing in the play kitchen opening and closing the cabinets, stacking and putting stuff from one container into another, pulling her clips out of her hair, waving to anyone who looks at her, and of course her blankie and pacifier. I'm learning she may be a little stubborn and has a bit of a temper, but she is sweet and we all adore her.