the Princess gets Pampered

We are so blessed in our family to have my sister Allison that is so willing to do our hair. She went through beauty school during high school and has worked at Cosmos since. I might be prejudiced but, she is so talented! Camille really looks up to Allison and loves spending time with her. They go out every couple of months to shop or get their toes painted, (I'm always home watching boys, but someday I'll get to get out with them.) Camille has needed a trim, so the other day I dropped Camille off at Cosmos to be Allison's last appointment. Allison and I had talked about giving her an up-do and taking pictures-but Camille insisted on straight hair. They cut her hair, then went out to eat a D-Vine and to Camille's favorite-Bahama Bucks. When they got back Camille was so hyper about how much fun they had and went on and on about when she gets to go to Cosmos and help Allison do hair. Ha!

A Fun Saturday

I am late in posting this, so- the weekend before last we had a great family day. We went bowling together. Our kids love to go! None of us are very good, but we have a great time. (I need the lane blockers almost as much as the kids) Jarom took some great backside shots that I will spare you all from seeing, but you can just imagine our perfect form. Thomas was great in his stroller the whole time and clapped for each of us.

After that we went to PeiWei to eat lunch-Yum! That is one of our favorite places, and even our picky kids eat their plates clean. I was impressed with how well behaved our kids were out in public (which isn't usually what happens)-that made it so much more enjoyable. Although the people sitting next to us probably didn't appreciate the flying chicken as Ben and Thomas fought over control of Ben's fork.

We all took afternoon naps then went over to my parents to swim/BBQ with the Trendlers. Besides me forgetting half the food at home we enjoyed hanging out together. The storm we thought was blowing in didn't hit, so it was the perfect evening to stay outside.

Swim Lessons

This summer my kids enjoyed taking LOTS of swimming lessons over two sessions. I remember loving swimming and swim team when I was younger, but I am not quite ready to commit to that for my kids. Evan had lessons in a neighbors pool, Camille took Synchro, Diving and Swim Stars, and Jarom took Water Polo, Diving and a stroke class also. Jarom's classes were interupted by getting sick so Camille is the only one I got pictures of in lessons! Her favorite was Synchro!

Dinner Helpers

For a mom with younger kids, getting dinner on the table is usually an adventure. I have tried different strategies- getting everyone busy doing something either in the kitchen or in some other room(my preference), so everything can get done. But if I haven't planned ahead I might just lock the upstairs gate and bribe them to watch Thomas and not come down. Last night Camille and Evan put themselves in charge of cutting vegetables for the salad. They were so excited to be helping. The best part was their conversation- it was priceless. This is how it evolved:

First they just wanted to get the knives out to cut

then they were excited to put the veggies together for a salad

next, they got a serving tray and put the pieces on toothpicks for "samples".

Camille started talking to her TV audience about how to make her salad

(thanks to Food Network!)

then they wanted to serve us dinner at their restaurant.

Camille decided it should be our anniversary dinner (anniversary of what?)

and Dad should stay in his dress clothes from work.

I should dress up and put on my heels she had been playing in all day,

but then they remembered that they were hungry too.

So now everyone was included for dinner

and they needed to make a menu for what was being served.

They realized that there wasn't time to serve all the courses and they were just too hungry.

So we all ended up at the table together!

I have to thank Jarom for swinging Thomas though, I couldn't have finished without his help. Thomas did hang out with us for the first half hour. His "help" included- trying to stand on the dishwasher door and unload at least 20 times, sitting/standing/dancing on top of the table maybe 15 times, trying to "peel" everyone in the kitchen, touching the hot BBQ and throwing Ramon Soup packages around the house.

Never a dull moment, and I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything!

SanDiego 2008

My family all went to CA last weekend and had a blast!! It started out pretty scary with my nephew getting hurt-he was definately watched over and was able to play all weekend without slowing down though. Everyone enjoyed the beach-we can tell our kids are getting older because every year they want to go further into the ocean. Luckily we have lots of adults to help us keep up with the kids! Ben and I even went out to ride the waves and about 8 feet away was a sea lion swimming next to us! Where is a waterproof camera when I need one? Jared and Allison rented a kayak-that sounded like fun, maybe next year. Food was great-the highlights were Scott's chicken and waffles, Melissa's pita pizzas and Jelly Bellies. Scipps Aquarium was fun, for fireworks we could see four different shows going at once, and I loved being poolside at the condo. Catch Phrase was the #1 game played-playing with Jared is hilarious! It was such a memorable trip-and being together was perfect!