Cabiness Family

Charlotte's 7th Birthday

2012-01-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

Charlotte's birthday was on a Saturday this year so after opening presents and eating breakfast, we went to a model railroad Christmas tree farm and rode the train! It was really fun (and cold!!) and made Charlotte's birthday extra fun!

Birthday Party

2012-01-29T21:32:00.000-08:00

I didn't think Aaron and Charlotte were going to want to share a party this year, but they didn't mind so I went with it!! It was just a small family party with a few close friends, but everyone had fun and the kids got everything they were hoping for!

Pierced Ears!

2012-01-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

Charlotte had her ears pierced when she turned 3, but they got infected after a few months. We were doing our best to help them heal again, but one earring fell out in the middle of the night and we couldn't get it back in the next morning. By this point she was FINISHED with earrings so we let them close up. I figured we would try again when she was 8, but she was very persistent and excited about it, so I told her she could get them pierced again for her 7th birthday.

She wanted to get it done the day before her big day so she didn't have to feel the pain on her actual day!

Trying to smile for the camera and brace herself for the pierce :)

Aaron's Birthday Dinner and Decorating the Tree!

2012-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

Aaron requested chicken pillows and cheese cake for dinner and the girls and I had fun setting a fancy table for him

Lila spent quite a bit of time kissing her Dora ornament from last year. Goofball.

Aaron's 9th birthday!

2012-01-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

Aaron was not at all happy that he had to go to school on his birthday. We woke up extra early so that he could open all of his presents and have a yummy breakfast before school started.

Then at lunch time we picked him and some cousins up for In-n-Out for lunch.

We were invited to another cousin's birthday party that night and I gave Aaron the option of going to the party and having his birthday dinner the next night, or skipping the party. He almost chose skipping the party, but decided to go instead.

2011-11-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

The next day we all went to the underground gardens with everyone. Our tour guide was better than when I went with Aaron's class which made it fun to go through again.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

We finished our kitchen just in time for our company! Nick's family came and spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with us.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-19T10:16:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine came with us and took our group shots for me. We haven't taken a family picture since Lila was a baby. I am so happy to have some updated shots. Thanks Sarah!

Backsplash

2011-11-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

While I was gone the boys were hard at work. I came home in time to help a little bit with the tile back splash. Nick's family was coming to our house for Thanksgiving, which was one week away at this point. We were putting in some pretty long nights!

Twilight

2011-11-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

This year for the Twilight premiere my mom grabbed Ali and I and drove us up to Danville to watch the movie with LoRen. It was a quick 24 hour trip, but it was really fun. I wouldn't be surprised if we do this again for the final movie!

Kitchen Counters!!!

2011-11-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

For our counters we decided on IKEA's solid oak chopping block, and I love love love them. We also (after buying a sink that was too big and having to ship it back) decided to go with their single basin apron front sink. Shipping costs were outrageous, so we ended up driving to pick them up ourselves. Unfortunately we had to go to two different stores to get everything we needed. So, we got a baby-sitter, took all the seats out of the van, and road-tripped all over the bay area.

The next day, the boys got busy measuring, sawing and gluing.

Here are a couple of before shots of the 30+ year old Formica before we (they) broke it up and ripped it out.

Nick and my dad constructed a "seamless" counter top for me and it looks amazing!!

I was however, forced to wash the dishes in the bathtub. Not most favorite thing ever.

My 30th Birthday

2011-11-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Amid kitchen construction I celebrated my birthday! Luckily it wasn't one of those days where I had no access to my sink or appliances. Nick made crepes for me and the kids decorated the table.

After I got everyone off to work/school Lila and I went to visit Grandma at work and she took us to lunch.

Aaron had a cross country meet that day and he and Nick went to scouts after that. I invited family over for cookies and hot chocolate (didn't feel like baking) and Nick surprised me with this ice cream cake.

I think he must have forgotten that he is over 3 years older than me!

Cross Country

2011-11-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Aaron joined the Cross Country team this year! This is his first meet, where he came in 9th place!! We were so proud of him!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Cowgirl, all ready to go get some candy!

The Creek's came over to trick or treat with us. Their kids were not near as excited as ours to be getting so much candy! Once Lila realized what was happening, we had to run to keep up with her! I've never seen her move so fast!!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

We got smart this year and moved the pumpkin carving outside! I guess I forgot to take pictures of the finished pumpkins, but the kids sure looked cute scooping out the seeds!

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

My mom worked her make-up magic and we ended up with the best looking vampire and pirate ever!

Aaron was very excited for this costume. He had very specific ideas about what he wanted! I think we did a good job creating the look he was going for.

I was surprised at how easy it was to convince Elsie to be a pirate instead of a Disney princess! She looked fabulous and had fun being scary (kind of) instead of fancy for once!

My mom's mom made this dress for me when I was 3 and each of my girls has worn it for Halloween when they were 3! I LOVE it!!!

And Charlotte made a perfect Madeline! All she was missing was the red hair.

My goofballs!

(Aaron was dying to take this picture. He finally convinced one of his sisters to let him!)

The Wizard of Oz

2011-10-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Aaron and Eden's teacher had tickets to see the Wizard of Oz movie with a live orchestra at the Saroyan Theater. It was a busy day for us, but we couldn't pass it up! We met us with all our cousins for the show.

Then we headed to Grandma's house for some costume make-up!

Character Day Parade 2011

2011-10-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Charlotte decided that she wanted to be Madeline this year. My mom and I made her coat and I found her little hat in a consignment shop in Cambria.

One of her friends was Madeline too! (I think Charlotte was a little bit annoyed by that!)

We waited outside a little bakery while the kids paraded by.

Sophie as chicken little!

Rain-gutter Regatta

2011-10-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Aaron did a great job at his first rain-gutter regatta. He designed a cool pirate ship and did a great job sailing it!

I am confidant that he would have gotten 2nd place if it wasn't for a sail adjustment that slowed his ship down on his last race. But he was a very good sport and was happy to get 3rd place!!

More kitchen floor pictures!

2011-10-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

He's Official!

2011-10-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

On October 24 Nick was sworn in and officially became an employee of the United States Government. When they first offered him the job, we almost turned it down. He was really happy at SkyWest. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized it would be stupid not to take it!

I have to say though..... I do miss that uniform :)

Lila's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-10-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Cherry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a chocolate covered cherry on top. Yum!

Since our house was in no shape for company, we had a little party at the park. Lila was very excited!!

She really enjoyed being spoiled and having it be HER day!

Happy Birthday big 3 year old!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Elsie's preschool went to a pumpkin patch in Reedley and I just wasn't up for the drive out there. Neither was Shalee, so we took our kids to a small one in town instead. We got dressed up in our fancy Halloween clothes and left Daddy to battle the kitchen floor by himself!

Lila pouting. This happens 10-12 times a day.

Because I took the little girls and got so many pictures (and because our kitchen was in a constant state of disarray) , I forgot about our tradition of taking pictures with all 4 kids until after Halloween. I was a tiny bit sad, but figured Aaron and Charlotte wouldn't care at all. Boy, was I wrong! They were both pretty offended that they had missed out! Apparently they love being forced to sit on pumpkins and smile. I guess they have been faking boredom and irritation all these years!

Goodbye Old Gross Linoleum

2011-10-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

We wasted no time and began ripping out our old floor as soon as we got home. I was so happy to say good bye to it!

Now that I am looking at it in this picture it doesn't look so bad. It had tons of deep scratches and the top coat had been worn away which made it attract dirt like crazy. I really didn't like having a white floor!

We debated just tiling over the linoleum, but decided against it and I'm glad we did because we found hard wood underneath our entryway, which had been covered over in linoleum. Not sure why they did that, but we are going to undo it!

Before long we realized that this was going to produce way more waste than we knew what to do with. We had to have a trash container delivered!

Here is the backer board beginning to be laid down!!

Solvang and Avila

2011-10-19T00:21:00.000-07:00

For some reason I really wanted to go to Solvang. I can't exactly say why. So, even though Nick was less than enthusiastic about it, we went.

Turns out, Nick was right, not much to see there. ( I have since been told that it is fun to go during Christmas time or for their Danish festival) But it turned out that I was in fact being drawn there for 2 reasons!!

The first reason was for a cheese slicer. My friend MaryJane from high school introduced me to Havarti cheese (which is probably still my favorite) and her dad (who is from Denmark) had a really amazing cheese slicer that would slice really soft cheese into really thin slices. Ever since I have been married I have been looking for one like it. It never occurred to me that it might have been a special Danish cheese slicer! While we were there we walked into a gift shop and I over heard someone asking if they sold cheese slicers. The gift shop clerk asked if they wanted a regular one of the Danish one. I was so excited!! I immediately ran over and bought one!

And as if that wasn't enough (honestly, it had already made my day!) we also wandered into an amazing antique store, which we spent at least another hour in, and we started looking at rings. We really weren't planning on buying another wedding ring anytime soon, but I instantly fell in love with one. Luckily for me Nick liked it too and he bought it for me!!!

The picture below is horrible and you can't really see what it looks like ( I probably shouldn't even post it) But it is a 1920, white gold, Filigree, diamond ring and it is beautiful! If I ever figure out how to take a good picture of a ring, I will post it.

Nick really wanted to go to the beach and just relax for the rest of the trip, so that is just what we did. We ended up in Avila, which is a beach right by Pismo that I went to a bunch as a kid, and found a cute little hotel. My favorite part about the room was the fireplace, and at the coast it was actually cold enough to use it!

We both agreed that this was the best day of the trip. Next time we will just come here for a few days.

Above is the outside view of where we stayed.

It was nice having Nick all to myself. He took care of me very nicely!

We were both a bit sad to go home, but we had 4 kids and a kitchen renovation awaiting us!!!

Hearst Castle

2011-10-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

On our way out of town I called and reserved tickets for us to tour Hearst Castle the next day. It was beautiful! Not having any kids with us may have added to the experience :) When they are a little older they will probably enjoy it, but for now it was very nice to be able to take our time and not worry about who would be getting hungry or who might need to use the potty!

Cambria

2011-10-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

When we realized we weren't going to have enough time to make our trip to Paris work, we were both pretty bummed for about 30 minutes. Then during all the hustle and bustle of Lila's birthday we decided that we should just take off and go away anyway. We already had sitters lined up and the little girls were packed and excited about slumber parties with their friends.

We weren't really sure where we were going to end up, but we rented a car, said goodbye to the kids and hit the road!

I had never been to Hearst Castle or Solvang and was interested in seeing both so we headed in that direction.

On our way we ran into some traffic, so we took a detour. It was surprising to discover that driving without kids is actually enjoyable!

While driving along on our detour we were stumped by these trees. We couldn't tell if they were a fruit or nut so Nick pulled over and we got out to investigate.

After cutting through two different layers we figured out that they were pistachios!!

Then we drove about 1/8 of a mile and saw a huge PISTACHIO sign!

Oh well, it was fun to figure it out by ourselves!

Our detour road

We ended up spending the night in Cambria and I fell in love! I can't remember if I've ever been there before but I loved it.

We got into town as the sun was starting to set and checked into a cute little Inn.

For dinner we found an Italian restaurant that we both loved. We ordered minestrone and a bread platter. It was perfect! I wish I could have some right now.

The town had a scarecrow contest and everywhere we went there were tons of them. We took a few pictures of our favorites to show the kids.

We usually don't enjoy eating out as much as we do eating at home, but I have to admit that with the exception of a couple of meals, we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves!

Here we were about to eat a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict.

We had to take a picture of this scarecrow because as soon as we saw it we thought of Nick's grandma!

Are we right?

Nick and I go on date nights pretty often and we have even been on trips without kids, but except for our honeymoon we haven't been away without kids or without friends for so long. It was so fun to be completely alone without a thing to be done or a place to go. It really reminds you about how much you have in common and how much you like each other!

We spent about 2 hours walking through antique shops which is something I didn't know we would both enjoy so much. After that we wandered around and found an old cemetery.

I can't wait to go back to Cambria both with the kids, and without!

Lila's 3rd Birthday

2011-10-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Lila's birthday morning was a crazy one. We got up very early, still hoping to catch a flight to Paris, but sadly realized it just wasn't going to work.

Since we were home, we decided to go ahead and celebrate! I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and pretty soon I was making pancakes, bacon and eggs, while Nick and the kids were wrapping her presents.

She was so excited!

Luckily she was also so excited to go and spend a few days with our good friends the Creeks, because after we took Aaron and Charlotte to school, we dropped them off and headed out for the week!!

She really was very excited to spend the night with Evelyn and Leonard and I actually would have felt bad if I had to change those fun plans for her on her birthday.

It made it much easier to kiss her good bye and spend the next few days alone with her Daddy!

My baby is 3?!!

2011-10-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

(Those pictures were taken weeks apart, yet she still has a band aid in the same spot!)

Three years ago tonight, I was going to bed, trying to ignore my contractions so I could get some sleep.

Tonight I am trying to plan a last minute trip to Paris, hoping my baby won't remember that tomorrow is her birthday, and that we can celebrate next week without causing any permanent damage.

Nick was offered a great position working for the FAA a few weeks ago and he starts next Monday. This will be our last chance to cash in on the free flight benefits of working for an airline. We haven't worked all the kinks out, but if all goes according to plan (you know, the plan we came up with yesterday) we will be leaving for Paris tomorrow!

I will also be handing off my birthday girl to a friend and probably be feeling very guilty.

I guess I will have to make up for it by spoiling her rotten next week when we actually celebrate!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

I love you to pieces...and I hope you forgive me!

Storyland with Grandma and Grandpa

2011-10-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Jodi and Joe came to visit and celebrate Lila's birthday a little early with us! Sadly Nick was on what would end up being his last flight ever with SkyWest. We were sad that Daddy missed the fun, but not so sad that we didn't enjoy ourselves!!

We hadn't been to Storyland in a long time and Jodi and Joe had never been so we went there and played at Playland too.

Playland ended up being more fun. Our kids are getting to be a really fun ages. Even though I do get sad at times thinking about never having a baby again, there are definite perks to leaving the baby stage behind.

After our long day at the park we went out for yummy Mexican food before Jodi and Joe headed home.

Thanks for a super fun day guys!! Can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!

Fair!! 2011

2011-10-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Always highly anticipated in our house!!

We went on a school night to avoid the crowds, and it worked! In fact we stayed way later than we intended to because it was so nice.

This picture above was so funny. Nick told the girls to get together for a picture and this group of kids jumped in and posed for the picture too! My girls weren't so sure about it... but everyone else seemed to think it was a perfectly normal thing to do!

Elsie smiling sweetly for a picture... and Lila running by with her tongue sticking out. Pretty typical.

Before/During

2011-10-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have been mentally planning a kitchen face-lift since the moment I walked into our kitchen almost 3 years ago. Our latest debate was whether or not to strip the cabinets before painting them, Nick leaning more towards stripping, and me wanting nothing to do with stripping! In between Saturday conference sessions we ended up going to Lowe's to buy a can of primer "Just to try it out" to help us make a decision. Well before we knew it, we were in the middle of a full kitchen renovation!

Nick didn't know what hit him.

Here is a good before shot of Nick stripping a few of the really nasty parts that needed more than a good cleaning. Our kitchen has looked like this since we moved in and surprisingly, this is much better than what we bought it like! (I just looked back through my past blog posts and couldn't find any of the kitchen when we moved in. I guess I never posted any. They are around here somewhere, maybe I will find them to post with the finished kitchen)

When we moved in I tried to peel out this probably 30 year old contact paper, but it was so hard to get out I just ended up laying more paper over the top. It took Nick and I both about half an hour just to finish this one shelf!

We lived like this for about 2 weeks... it was really fun.

Here they are almost all primed!!

Fund Run

2011-09-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

If Aaron raised $200 he got to go on a limousine ride to Red Robin with his principle. That was definite motivation for him to call everyone for pledges and run as many laps as he could!

We came along to cheer him on and run too!

He ran 22 laps and only took a couple of very short walking breaks. He made almost enough money for the limo ride but we were so proud of him for trying his best that we gave him the rest. We also encouraged him to go out for cross country!

Parade of ???

2011-09-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Every year Charlotte's school has a parade at the beginning of the year to kind of kick off their theme for the year. Last year is was the Parade of Colleges, but this year I'm not so sure... The parade of monsters??

Well, whatever it was called, we went, we took pictures, and it was cute!

Forestiere Underground Gardens

2011-09-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Aaron is lucky enough to go on a field trip every month at his new school. It was the main reason he wanted to go there in the first place!

The first field trip this year was to the underground gardens

I had never been so I was excited to go with them!

The whole idea behind the underground gardens started because Baldassare Forestiere decided to dig a room underground to escape the Fresno summer heat! Before he died he had dug under 80 acres of his land and was planning to turn it into a resort.

Nick turns 33!

2011-09-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Nick was not working on his birthday this year. It was only a month ago, but I can't remember what we did! Luckily I took some pictures to remind me of some of the details!

We woke up early to make breakfast for him. Aaron and Charlotte wrapped presents.....

While Elsie and Lila helped out in the kitchen. I do remember that we made eggs benedict with fruit salad, and that it was yummy!!

Then while the kids were at school, we must have done some other stuff... or maybe he went shooting?

Then after school Aaron and Nick went to scouts while the girls and I made a carrott cake.

That weekend we had some friends over for an adults only dinner, which was fun also.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

1st day of Preschool

2011-08-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

Waaaaay behind.....again, life just keeps getting busier and busier! Here starts the beginning of what we have been keeping busy with!

I almost kept Elsie home this last year before Kindergarten. She is still a mommy's girl and doesn't really care about playing with her friends (except for Evelyn) because she has so many siblings to play with at home. However about a week or two before the school year started I found out about a Kindergarten readiness class offered one day a week at the school she went to last year. The class is being taught by a Kindergarten teacher, so I decided to sign her up. She loves it (thought she doesn't talk in class) and only going one day a week is perfect for both of us.

Since her drawers were already stuffed full of Charlotte's old clothes, she really didn't need any new school clothes, but I let her pick out a new outfit for her first day. If something is pink, frilly and shiny she wants it! I was not suprised that she was drawn to this top!

I was a little worried that she might cry the first day, but she did fine and said she had fun!

1st Day of School

2011-08-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Summer was too short as usual... but I do enjoy getting back into a routine. This year Charlotte and Aaron are both in school all day, and Elsie is only going to preschool one day a week...which means a lot less driving for me!

Charlotte has been so anxious to start first grade. She is so excited about having her own desk, and about doing homework.

Aaron wished summer would never end. He is excited about starting a new school (the 4th school he has attended now) and being able to see some cousins more often, but wants nothing to do with homework.

Aaron's school starts 15 minutes before Charlotte's and Nick was out of town for the first week. They actually take the same bus to school in the mornings. It drops Aaron off, then goes strait to Charlotte's school. But I wanted to take them on the first day. So, we took Aaron to his class a little early. Eden (Spencer and Julina's daughter) sits in the desk right behind him!

Then we rushed over to get Charlotte to school. Daddy called to say good luck!

We found her class all lined up and ready to go! Charlotte is at the same school as last year, so she was very comfortable and super excited to use the "big kid" play ground! I squeezed into her classroom to take a picture of her at her desk before saying good-bye.

Then we were off to let Elsie pick out a new outfit for her first day of preschool next week!

Ice Cream at Sonic

2011-08-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

We were out running a late errand one night by Sonic. Ali happened to be working so we stopped by for a treat!

Wild Water Adventures

2011-08-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

This summer we bought season passes to a water park in town. We went a ton in the beginning of summer and the kids have LOVED being able to go whenever we want. With summer nearing the end we thought we should make one last trip out there before school started. I finally brought my camera to help preserve some memories.On this particular trip we brought Ali, Christian, and Grace with us.

Elsie is still the happiest right by my side, and Aaron spent his time with Ali and Christian on the big slides, so most of my pictures were of Charlotte and Lila. Elsie does love playing in the water and she has a good time, but while I am constantly trying to keep track of Charlotte and Lila, I always know exactly where Elsie is.

The kids will miss the water park until next summer. I, however, am ready for a break!

Lemonade 50 cents!!

2011-08-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

All summer long the kids have been begging me to have a lemonade stand. With only two more weeks to go I figured I better get on it!

They were so excited and had very business-like attitudes.

Aaron did all the math and the girls helped pour and put tiny umbrellas in each cup.

We sold all our lemonade and made 20 dollars! Success!

Day 5

2011-07-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

On our last full day we decided to go explore an area that was new to us. We heard that it was just a little walking trail around an inactive volcano and thought it would be a fun way to kill time before dinner.

Little walking trail was an understatement... it was a hike!

It was fun and it wasn't a hard hike, but we weren't prepared. Charlotte and I were wearing flip flops! It took way longer that we thought it would and dinner was pushed back about an hour.

Lila was way too slow and spent her time either on Nick's shoulders, or my back. Not the most comfortable way to hike when it got steep, but we made it work.

After dinner we started packing up what we could to help prepare for our long drive home the next day. We were able to leave the next morning by about 10 am, which I was
impressed with. I was a little worried about packing the van all by myself (Nick packed it for me the night before we came) but I managed to get everything back home! We were sad to leave as always, but Daddy was waiting for us at home which gave us lots of motivation to get back.

It was a fun year, I'm glad I went ahead and took the kids without Nick, and as usual, we are already looking forward to next year and hope that everyone can come!

Day4

2011-07-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Burney Falls!!

I almost skipped this trip this year. I wasn't sure how I would get Lila down the trail, but Grandma offered to come in the car with us and play with Lila near the water while we hiked down to meet up with them! Thanks Grandma, I'm glad we didn't have to miss out on it!

Above, Aaron and Isaac are tiny little spots right by the waterfall

Nick and Charlotte. I love this picture

Day 3

2011-07-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

Time for the Lava Tube! This is a fun tradition for our kids, I will be sad when they aren't so excited about it anymore. We rounded up all who were willing and headed out. Here is Lila waiting for us to get our act together.

Inside the cave it is cold, so we bring sweatshirts with us, but it was hot out in the sun. Lila didn't care though and insisted on wearing her sweatshirt AND hood!

I was holding Lila the whole time and didn't get any pictures inside, but we saw a mouse that we chased around with our flashlights! The kids thought is was very funny.

A very bad picture of all of us

Back at camp we had some ice cream..... every time this happened we had to completely change Lila's outfit!

Aaron got a couple of fishing lessons from Great-Grandpa Siggy!

Of course we swam some more too!

One of my favorite parts of our camping trip each year is going on long walks with Nick down the road that leads up to the camp grounds. I thought it would be fun to take my kids this year instead! Aaron and Charlotte instead chose to stay with their older and cooler cousins, and Elsie and Lila didn't even make it out of the campground before they said they were tires and wanted to go back!

My cute babies walking to the bathroom

...and back!

I could eat that baby up...

Day 2

2011-07-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

The next day was Sunday and we just hung around camp. Our trip was only 5 days this year instead of the usual 7, so this was the only day that we didn't venture off somewhere else for a few hours. The kids spent all day in their swim suits hopping in and out of the water as they pleased.

Hat Creek 2011 Day 1 !!!!!!

2011-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

We were very sad when we realized that Daddy wasn't going to be able to make it to Hat Creek for our annual camping trip this year. We knew it was a possibility and I had already decided that we were going to go weather or not he did, but it was still very disappointing. Aaron even said "If daddy can't go, then I don't want to go either." I convinced him that we would have more fun at camp without dad than at home without dad, but it was still sad.

Instead, we did the next best thing and brought another Nick with us! My brother was a huge help to me. He hasn't been camping with us since Charlotte was a baby and I was so happy that he came! Especially since that meant I had another driver!

We left very early in the morning and found this fun park to stop at and eat our breakfast in Modesto.

(Notice how none of their feet are actually touching the ground in this picture?)

We stopped again near Redding at a rest stop to eat lunch and watched a car catch fire! Then, after only 7 1/2 hours (our new record time!) we were finally there!!!

The first time I went was 9 years ago. All of Nick's cousins are much younger than him and his sister Charity, and they would spend as much time as possible in the water. Our kids are just about at that same age now, and they wasted no time getting in!

Without Nick there to help this year, I didn't take near the pictures I usually do. (which has made it easier to sort through) I spent the rest of the day setting up our tent , and getting ready for the week, visiting with family, and most importantly making sure Lila stayed in sight! That alone was a full time job!

Auntie Ali's Tea Party!

2011-07-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Ali and Christian started dating, our kids really wanted them to get married. Before too long we figured out that what they really wanted wasn't cousins, like I had suspected, but slumber parties!

Christian invited Aaron over to spend the night one night when Ali had to work and they played games with some of Christian's friends. Aaron had a blast staying up late with the guys!

Ali invited the girls, including Grace, who is Christians niece and their fellow flower girl, over for a fancy tea party/slumber party!

The girls had lots of fun picking out their outfits from our dress-up box, and putting on make-up (blush and lip-gloss) and doing their hair!

I left my camera with Ali to take some pictures for me.

July 4th 2011

2011-07-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

(I'm only about a month behind now!!! I want to be caught up by the first day of school, which is Monday. I'm going to be busy!)

On the third of July the girls and I made this super cute (though it was cuter than it was tasty) cheesecake flag for Sunday dinner.

On the 4th we went to Auntie Tree's for a BBQ and swimming. I love taking 4th of July pictures of our family every year. This year Lila would NOT cooperate.

This is the closest thing to a group shot I was going to get. Little stinker.

The dentist told us at our appointment this month that Charlotte's teeth should come in within the next 6 months to a year.
We might have to wait another year?? They fell out over 6 months ago!!
When I told her that I hoped she would have teeth by Christmas, she said "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.........no, never mind. I want a DS."!

Lila wanted nothing to do with the group shot, but when she saw everyone else having their turn taking individual shots, she was not about to be left out.

Nick was finishing up his last week of training in Long Beach and was scheduled to be home on the 5th. He surprised us with a phone call that we was getting a ride to Selma and we could pick him up around 1!!

Later in the evening we went to a park by a high school that has a fun firework show to meet up with some friends.

Playtime with the Bohners

2011-06-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had planned on driving home the night of our ferry ride and stopping to visit with some friends in Livermore on our way out. But it ended up being too late to get a good visit in with them, so we spent the night instead! The next morning we headed to the park for a water balloon fight!

While we were at the park (with our van packed and ready to drive back home) Theresa called me while she was driving up to stay with Marissa. She ended up convincing us to stay an extra night! Our Daddy was still in training so we really had nothing to rush home for.

After we said goodbye to Kandice and her kids we drove back to Walnut Creek and played with Johnny and Cece for one more day.

By the next morning I was definitely ready to go back home, but it was a very fun way to spend our first week of summer!

Ferry to San Fransisco

2011-06-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

The next day we were so excited when Grandma Siggy asked us if we wanted to take the Ferry with her into the city!

(On our way to meet up with Grandma Elsie asked me "Will we ride on their backs?". I found it amusing that she wasn't at all afraid to hop on the back of a "fairy" for a ride to San Fransisco. She was only a little disappointed when I explained that a "ferry" is actually a boat!)

We didn't stay too long, which was good with 4 little ones, but they were thoroughly spoiled just the same!

Cousins!

2011-06-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Not only do two sets of Grandparents and two Aunties live up north, so do Marissa, Cece and Johnny! Everyone came over to Jodi's house for dinner on Sunday and the kids got to play for the first time in months! They really missed each other.

The next day LoRen was watching them, so we all got together for a picnic at the park! We played for hours, and got pretty sunburned! I felt especially bad about Johnny's burn:(

Aaron had tons of fun flying (and repairing) his air hog from Aunt Charity!

It was sad to say goodbye. Hopefully it won't be so long before we see them again.

Park Pics

2011-06-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

While we were at the zoo it was pretty warm, but the next day it was freezing! We went to this fun park, but couldn't stay long because we were so cold!

I hadn't taken any park pictures in a while so I brought the camera.

Horseback Riding

2011-06-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Aaron and Charlotte got another riding lesson while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa! Elsie still wasn't ready. They got to do a little bit more this time and they both had lots of fun.

To Grandma's house we go!

2011-06-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Since Nick was out of town we decided to spend a week at Grandma's house! We left as soon as the kids got out of school and met up with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Charity at the rodeo in Livermore. We had never been to a rodeo before, and it was a great way to kick off the summer.

The next day we went to the Oakland zoo. We went a few years ago and it was fun to go back.

I told these goofy balls to get together for a picture and they came up with these poses.

I think I was pregnant with Lila the last time we were here and we haven't been to the Fresno Zoo much since the older kids started school. It was fun to watch her explore everything.

She wasn't really sad here. Just being silly.

Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Charlotte did such a good job in Kindergarten! She loved every minute of it and wished it was a full day instead of only half. She had a fabulous teacher and made good friends.

She got every award that was handed out!! (Except for perfect attendance, which doesn't count in my opinion!)

Mrs. Lindscheid is retiring and we are so glad that Charlotte got to have her before she did!

(and doesn't Charlotte look cute with her new hair cut!)

Desi Graduated!!

2011-06-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Lucy's Lair

2011-06-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

In one of my dad's classes he had to attend some sort of event from a culture completely different from his own. Eating at this Ethiopian restaurant was one of his options so he treated us to dinner!

The kids thought eating with their hands was very fun, but surprisingly it took them a minute to get comfortable with it. Aaron and Charlotte were very good eaters. Elsie and Lila pretty much only ate the chicken, but they really liked it!

I liked everything, but my favorite was the lamb.

I'm excited to go back on a date with Nick when he comes home!

Goodbye Daddy

2011-05-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

In April 15th Nick flew to Salt Lake City to interview with SkyWest and was hired!

On May 28 we took Nick to the airport to begin his 6 weeks of training.

They are all smiles here, but before Nick was out of sight all three of them had tears in their eyes and Elsie was crying pretty hard. Which of course made me cry too!

Luckily Lila was in a consoling mood and kept telling us "Don't cry, daddy be back." in her sweetest voice ever.

Hurry Home Daddy!

My Kitchen

2011-05-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

My kitchen isn't a horrible size, of course I would like bigger, but overall it works nicely for me. However, it is very ugly. Our house was built 52 years ago and surprisingly, ours is more up to date than some of our neighbors. It looks like ours was remodeled about 30 years ago when they added on the new master bedroom and bath, and tore down a wall making our living room a decent size.

We are very slowly trying to update the place. Up until this point nothing had been done to the kitchen. One day we had a service guy out looking at our oven because the self cleaning function wasn't working. (I can certainly clean the oven myself, but we still had a home warranty, so why not use it?) While he was here he asked me if I wanted him to fix the oven or just give us a check for the amount they would have spent and we could use that toward a new oven. A new oven wasn't in our budget, so I told him to just fix it.

Well, I got on craig's list, just out of curiosity, and I found someone selling their matching dishwasher, cook-top, microwave, and double oven for $500. They were upgrading to stainless steel appliances. If I had the choice I would have chosen the stainless steel too, but going from 30 year old appliances to 5 year old appliances sounded pretty good to me!

Not to mention the DOUBLE oven. Being summer and really hot I haven't actually used them both at the same time yet, but come fall and winter... I can hardly wait!

The best part was that after the appliance guy left I realized that my self cleaning function still wasn't working. This time I told him not to fix it, just give us a check. Which he did, bringing our total purchase down to $300!

This is what my kitchen looked like while my dad and Nick were installing the oven. We had an electric cook-top, but the one we bought was gas. We really wanted gas anyway, so we didn't mind, but it did require Nick spending lots of time under the house (not his favorite place in the world)

And here it is in it's new home! They made a new cabinet face for it and it looks perfect. Maybe sometime this year we will get to painting the cabinets! But progress is progress, and for now, I'm happy!

Ali and Christian's Wedding Day!!!

2011-05-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it was already 2 months ago! The day was a bit of a blur, but luckily the temple is so nice and peaceful that I was able to really enjoy their actual marriage. I don't think I have been to a sealing since our own (At least my tired mind can't think of one right now) and I kept thinking of it the whole time.

They hired a photographer, but I don't think they have received any pictures from her yet. The reception seemed like a whirlwind to me, but we did manage to get some pictures.

Ali looked so beautiful!! So beautiful in fact that Elsie couldn't help but to rush up to her the moment she stepped out of the temple!

They had a ring ceremony and Ralph and Linda's beautiful backyard was the perfect setting.

(one of the last pictures of Charlotte with long hair)

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

The Easter bunny left some fun treats in our Easter baskets!

We grew wheat grass in our baskets this year! They were very cute, but the grass took up a lot of room in those little baskets. Next year we will buy bigger ones.

Aaron was very embarrassed to be posing for pictures with his sisters in front of everyone at church. Oh well, he survived!

After church we came home for lunch with family, and then of course an Easter egg hunt!

Charlotte had to stop hunting because she had no more room to put the eggs!

Charlotte goes flying!!

2011-04-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

Charlotte has been promised, since the day that Aaron went flying 3 years ago, that she would get a turn to go with Daddy. She hasn't let us forget it either!

The day before Easter was a perfect time for them. The weather was nice and Nick didn't have any obligations ( a very rare occurrence) so off they went.

I guess it was a bit sunny for her little eyes.

Looking very serious while she was in control of the plane so Daddy could take her picture!

Nick called us as they were taking off and we went outside to watch them fly circles over our house!

She did such a good job flying the plane that she got a bag of popcorn, 2 cookies and a Capri Sun!

Talent Show

2011-04-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

While Nick was still in SLC for his interview, our ward had a talent show. I made Aaron sign up to play a song on the piano. He didn't want to, so I gave him the option of singing or playing piano. He quickly chose piano. I let him choose the song, and he decided on Red River Valley. He memorized it and played it perfectly.... but he was still a little nervous. Grandpa was over and picked up the guitar while Aaron was practicing at home and before long, the piano piece became a duet! Aaron felt much better about that!

I may be biased, but I thought they were the best in the whole show!

Easter Potluck

2011-04-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

Elsie's preschool had a little potluck for Easter. She was excited about it all week. It was a simple little potluck, and the girls got to go on an Easter egg hunt!

Also, this is where we were when we got the text from Nick that he was hired by Sky West!

One Of The Boys

2011-04-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Aaron is very much enjoying being old enough to hang out with the guys. He goes almost everywhere his daddy does (except to PlayStation fests because mommy doesn't approve of most of the games!)

Uncle Christian is a good sport about Aaron tagging along, in fact he makes Aaron feel like he is just one of the boys. Which is one of the many reasons why I love him!!

Going shooting is Aaron's favorite activity to do with dad. I even pulled Aaron out of school early one day of Nick's last week before training so he could go with him.

Nick took the camera on this trip and took fabulous pictures!

(I have to admit that these next two pictures were a little hard for me to look at)

Whatever the Weather!

2011-03-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Charlotte's Kindergarten play was next after The second grade play. She was extra excited about it after watching her big brother in his play!

Charlotte not only had a line in the play, she also got to be a snow flake!!

She was hoping and wishing that she would get to be a snowflake. She even had me help her write a letter to her teacher asking if she could. She was so excited when she found out that she was chosen.

I tried to get there early so that we could get better pictures than we did at Aaron's play, but apparently people are more excited about kindergarten plays than 2nd grade plays because even at 1/2 an hour early, all the seats in front were gone. We could see pretty well from where we were, but picture taking with our one and only lens wasn't great.

Charlotte is in the top left corner.

Snow flake dance

Charlotte's line "What if the rain was made of something other than water droplets?

>

Full group shot

Charlotte and Natalie

Charlotte and Charlotte

Ali's Wedding Shower!

2011-03-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

My mom and I , with lots of help from Christian's mom and sister, threw Ali a bridal shower luncheon at the lovely home of Colleen Anderson (longtime friend of the Robbins family).

I managed to snap a few pictures that turned out alright, so I'll share them here and Ali can copy them if she wants!

It was a fun day, we had a really good lunch , and Ali got fun presents!!!

Twin Day

2011-03-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and her little friend Natalie just had to dress the same for "Twin Day" at school. They were planning it all week. We met up at Target with Natalie's family and the girls picked out matching shirts to wear. They already had the same shoes.

Girls are so different from boys.

Aaron and one of his friends decided to dress the same also, the day before. They decided on jeans and a white t-shirt because they both already had that in their closets.

(I didn't get a picture of them together because Aaron wanted to ride the bus that day)

Nap Time

2011-03-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Aaron and Charlotte at school,

Elsie and Lila watching Max and Ruby right before Lila's nap.

One of the very few quiet times in our house each day,

and I love it!

Oranges!

2011-03-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Fund Run

2011-03-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

Aaron and Charlotte had a fund run at school and the second graders and kindergarteners ended up running together so we went to cheer them along!

They were both super runners! They ran almost the whole time. (I think it was 20 minutes) Charlotte paused for about half a lap to let Lila walk with her, but then she was off again!

Natalie, Charlotte and Lila

Aaron and Michael

Fire Station Field Trip

2011-03-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

Elsie's Preschool took a field trip to the fire station. Luckily I brought Charlotte and Lila, who enjoyed it, or else it would have been a huge waste of time! Elsie will not appear in any of these pictures because she would not unwrap herself from my leg the entire time!

Picnic

2011-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

We finally started having nice enough weather to have a picnic outside. The girls were so excited. I let them help decide what we should eat.

So, it wasn't exactly the healthiest of all lunches... but we enjoyed it!

We also enjoyed warming our tummies and toes in the sun!

To The Zoo

2011-03-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

I am going to attempt to get caught up this week. Lots of exciting things are happening ( including Ali and Christian's wedding and a new job for Nick!) and I really want to be caught up so that I can blog about them! I'm going to post the dates that everything actually happened so I'm not sure if they will show up as a new post or not, so check any way.

We were invited to go to the zoo with Charlotte's friend Natalie from school and her family. We hadn't been in a while so we were excited!

Elsie

2011-03-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, I'm just waiting for you to be a little kid."

"But I already was a kid. Now I get to be a mommy"

"Awwww....... I missed it!"

A tribute to Dr. Seuss

2011-03-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

All of the 2nd graders at the kids school were in a play all about Dr Seuss. Aaron was thing 1.

For the most part, all of the kids only had 1 or two lines.

Aaron's lines were:

(Aaron-thing 1) "Please sit back and enjoy"

(thing 2) "as we sing and preform"

(thing 1) "tiny parts"

(things 1&2) "from our favorite Seuss stories"

Bowling!

2011-02-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

The kids had a Monday off from school so Nick took the day off too. All the kids have been wanting to go bowling lately, so off we went. It was fun. Even the little girls did well and I think Aaron bowled better than me! (Not that that's hard to do.)

So Brave

2011-02-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

"Mom! There was a booger in my nose! So, I got it out, put in a napkin, and threw it away. Isn't that so brave of me?"

Our Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

The weekend before I took the kids outside to take pictures so we could make these super cute Valentines. They turned out perfect. I should have taken pictures of them before we gave them all away!

I also got a few group shots just for fun! It was very bright outside, but we managed get all the pictures we needed.

The night before Valentine's day I set the table and put a little suprise out for each kiddo.

Nick needed a little surprise too!

Then the next morning a few additions were placed on Nick's and my plates!

The girls filled up their new notebooks while I made breakfast.

(and I remembered how much I love chocolate chip pancakes!)

After breakfast our lens stopped working again, and of course our warranty expired last month. I played around with it and got it to work again the next day, but I'm not sure how much longer it will last.

Later that day I helped out in the kids classroom parties, then made a fancy candle-light dinner! We had a quick little FHE, lesson by Elsie, then for dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries and these cookies (which are securing their place as a valentines tradition!)
I love Valentine's Day!

A visit from the Siggy's

2011-02-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had some special visitors! Nick's Grandparents came from up north to spend the day with us. Us girls had fun running errands, playing at the park and teaching Grandma how to play guess who.

The boys got to go to the shooting range. Apparently Aaron has pretty good aim. Who knew!

Pinewood Derby

2011-01-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Aaron was soooo excited to build his race car for the pinewood derby, but I'm not sure if he was more excited than Nick was to help him.

Aaron designed a really cool car. He painted it black and put skull and flame stickers on it. He was pretty sure it was going to win.

In the end he didn't win, but his car did well and the whole experience was fun!

He also got his first few awards, including a pin for me!

Math Wiz

2011-01-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas Break (yes, this post is long overdue) Aaron was sent home with 20 addition and subtraction sheets with a note that said he would be tested on these after vacation. Each test would have 70 questions and they would be given 5 minutes to complete each sheet. Any student who could pass both the addition and subtraction tests without any errors would get to go to a pizza party at school!

We worked very hard on those tests. We practiced almost every day, but he always fell just short of the 5 minutes. We found more math sheets when we ran out of the ones his teacher provided and I even bought him a math game for his DS. He did finally finish within the 5 minutes, but only once and we were unsure if he would be able to do it again under pressure. Aaron had given up hope on the pizza party and hard as I tried, I couldn't bring his confidence back up.

Then the night before he went back to school I was reading over his homework before putting it in his backpack and I realized that we had made a mistake! He had to complete 70 questions in 5 minutes... and the sheets the teacher sent home had 100 problems on them! He had been doing it all along!! When I explained this to him a slow smile crept over his face... a smile of relief!

On the day of the tests he finished in plenty of time and even went back to check his answers.

He was so excited to tell me that he passed the tests when I picked him up from school!

Snow Days 2011

2011-01-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Jordan and Stephanie invited us up to the cabin again this year. I kept it a secret from the kids until the day before because we hadn't finalized the plans yet and they were so surprised! We bought some more snow gear so that the kids could play out in the snow a little longer. They were out there almost all day, and when they weren't they were begging to go! In fact the only pictures I took were outside.

Lila didn't really last too long, but I give her another year or two and I bet she will be right there with the rest of them!

I was surprised at how much of a trooper Elsie was! She stayed out the whole time with everyone.

Sisters

2011-01-04T10:26:00.000-08:00