Dad

I miss you...so very much.



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Not Lost

Last Saturday was our dear friend Dave Hoover's birthday. He usually tries to let the day go without notice. Without fanfare. However, since he is the King of doing people's birthday right, this year we were able to track him down. To celebrate with him. And celebrate him.

We met at The Catch in Anaheim, and had a great dinner. But this night was proof of something I have been thinking a lot about lately. And it all started with the TV show "Lost".

As annoyed as I might have been with the finale of the show, and how it left virtually EVERY question of it's 6 seasons unanswered, I did love it's finale message. And that message was, that who you go through life with is SO VERY important. The people you surround yourself with on a daily basis shape your lives, in so very many ways. I think at the end of the day, these will be the people that surround you, and give you faith and courage.

I feel so very blessed to have the most amazing, loving, caring group of friends around me. They have shaped my life, (no more so than my amazing husband and beautiful daughters) and whomever I am I owe to them. I hope I contribute something, even if very minor, to their lives. I can't wait to see what their future holds in store for them. My guess is that it will be some totally awesome things, and some things that are very sad. But ultimately that is the beauty of it...that we will hold each other up when those tough times come around. That's definitely one thing I have learned over the last few years, that Faith, Family and Friends keep you going with the good times and more importantly the bad. And I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us. I'm thinking a lot more good than bad. We're so very blessed.

So Loved

He has many names. The Dude. The Cisco Kid. Buddy. But really his name should be Loved. He is kissed, petted, and spoiled on a daily basis. Zoey will brush him daily, and Avery will give him treats just for going outside. He is as much a part of our family as I am. We all love him dearly.

He has his funny habits. He sleeps under our bed, and does not want to get up before noon. Even to go outside, or get a treat! If he doesn't want to come out, you have to DRAG him out. He just loves to sleep in!

He HATES the car and will not get in it without being forced and lifted in. Being 95+ pounds does not make this easy, so he does not get to go with us nearly as much as he would if he would just jump in the darn car! Even with that, he still gets to go to my work ever so often, and out to Canyon Lake every time we go. His visits to Uncle Hoover's, or especially Uncle Dan and Aunt Debbie's are his favorite. He HATES the actual car trip, but once we get there he's howling with happiness!!

"How did we get so lucky?" is what one of us will say at least weekly, if not daily. He is such a good dog, LOVES the girls and really the whole family so much. He will not eat until Rob gets home each day, even if he gets home at midnight. If Rob has to travel on business, he will sleep outside of the girl's room...to protect them I would assume. He is a gentle giant, and would not hurt a flea, unless they were trying to hurt us. He is so very loved.

Sushi with Friends...the BEST!

Had such a great time Friday night, went to Benihana's with Hoover, and Dan and Deb. Yum!

Three beautiful faces I love!

The sushi was great but the company was even better. No place I'd rather be!

Thanks again Mr. Hoover for a wonderful night. Next stop, Danihanas!

Spring has Sprung!

Nothing says "spring" like dying Easter eggs. Last year we were in Canyon Lake, and the girls dyed eggs with Aunt Bea and Uncle Jim, so it's been a few years since I dyed eggs with them. I forgot how much fun it was.

Doing these little things can sometimes seem like a hassle to me. I am so busy, and running around so much, that to slow down and take the time to mix the dye, boil the eggs, clean up the mess just seems like one more thing in the list of 100 things that needs to be done that day. But this year I really thought about slowing down and just cherishing the event. My children will be young for such a short time. Before I know it they will no longer be interested in spending an afternoon dying eggs with Mommy. And I know when that time comes, I will sorely miss it. I really thought about it this year, and am trying to make a more conscious effort to cherish the little things every day. Making their lunch in the morning. Folding their laundry and hanging it in the closet. Before I know it, their closet will be empty and I will wish for "those days". I really am trying to be in the moment and enjoy the entire experience of Motherhood now.

The day just began the month just right. We laughed, and talked, and decorated. I loved every minute of it.

I can't wait for next year. Happy Easter!

132 Months...Happy 11 Years

I keep thinking about it. 11 years. Really? How did this happen? How did these 11 years fly by? It amazes me. Every day. But especially on birthdays. I really think about what is going on.

Last night she asked me to tell her the story. The same story every year. "Tell me about the night I was born..." is always the request. I understand. After all, that was a favorite tale of mine. A frequent request of mine, a family story I wished my own Mother to lay down. She always would on request. Or my Dad would, depending on the situation. Dad was always great about stuff like that.

I was happy to tell her. I pulled her close, hugged her tight to my body. She looked into my eyes and I started. I told her about how we started out that day, shopping for that night's groceries. We went to the Farmer's Market at Fashion Island, just to wander about and look for fresh produce. We walked around the booths, and Rob collected the fresh stuff for that night's dinner. I kept having contractions, but thought it was "Braxton Hicks" and not something to be concerned about. After all, I was not due for 3 more days. I just KNEW I was going to be late. I was wrong.

We got home. I laid down for a really deep, strong nap. When I woke up my water broke. I went down stairs and told Rob, and his response was "Should I cook the fish???" (that he had in his hands). The rest, is history.

Now, 11 years later, I look at my daughter and marvel. This beautiful girl is mine? She is my daughter? I am SO very proud every day. She is a young lady that has empathy beyond her years. She holds the hand of her Grandma that has such advanced Alzheimers that she does not know Zoey, and has not for so many years. And yet Zoey loves her Grandma, and when we visit she holds her hand, kisses her face and loves her. And on some level I know Henny knows all of this. This young lady will hold my hand, or give me that tight hug when I am having a hard day and whisper in my ear..."Grandma knows we are doing great"...to tell me she knows I am missing my own Mom and wishing she was there to witness my girl's growth. She is holding me up? Who should be so lucky?

All I want to say, after these 11 years, is what a lucky Mom I am. How incredibly blessed I am. To be the Mother of this amazing girl? I'm blessed. I cannot believe that this beautiful, empathetic girl is mine. How proud my Mom would have been of her. How proud I am.

I love you baby girl. Happy 11th birthday!!!

I'm a officially a Fan!

Lo and I had a rare girls night last night, and went to see her favorite band...Bon Jovi. Lo had seen them at least 6 times prior, but this was my first time.



I have never really been a Bon Jovi fan...more of an '80's girl I guess. I figured any GNO is a good one...so I was onboard.



I was so surprised how many of their songs I knew and could even sing along to! They are amazing, very polished performers, and the show totally rocked! I even got a t-shirt...




The first picture in this post was displayed on the big screen (several times)...so I guess it's definitely official...I'm a fan!

We went with Lo's co-worker and her sister...The Mayor :-)
They MAKE a concert fun!

Till next time ladies. I'm writing this listening to my first Bon Jovi album downloaded onto my iPhone this morning. Rock on!


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The Look of a Man

I don't know him well. I don't know his last name. I know he is one of the best friends of one of my best friends. I know every time I have met him he has been so very kind. His wife (and wait a minute...IS SHE HIS WIFE...sssshhhhhhh??) has been such a beautiful spirit to know and be around.

Just very good people.

He was unaware. Lured into the whole "we're having dinner with friends" line. And then walked into the door and found out he had been had. Takes a few minutes to sink in though. The loved ones that created this night could soak it in. Enjoy his confusion for a minute, and then enjoy his surprise. After all, it was all just for good...done because he is LOVED.

I gave up my camera for the evening, so I have no credit for these pics. Zoey and Avery took Uncle Hoover's request to heart, and spent the evening snapping away. I LOVED the pics they captured. The one above, where he is looking at her and saying..."You did this?"

This one, where he is pointing at someone he has not seen in 20 years and thinking...is that you?? Really you?? Ahh, while I HATE surprises myself, I love seeing them played out on other people. Moohaha...

And this one. After Hoover's sister had put the beads around his neck and the hat on his head. The one that says, "Okay, I'm over the shock and ready to have an amazing evening." Ah Roland...Happy Birthday! We love you!

And you don't look anywhere near 50...

And the Butt's have it!

Our friend Dave Hoover hosted a surprise 50th birthday party for a lifetime friend of his this last Saturday, much as he did for Rob back in October. His friend Roland was turning 50...was here from out of town, and was ripe for a perfect birthday set-up. Of course something like this takes a ton of behind the scenes planning, and as Dave had invited many high school friends that Roland had not seen in 20+ years, he wanted the evening documented on film.

Wisely, he asked his beautiful and talented nieces to take loads of pics, but he also asked my Photoshop skilled daughter Zoey to bring her awesome picture taking skills, (and Mommy's awesome camera) to round out the photography taking crew. Awesome Uncle Hoover even offered her $20 to take on the task. Of course she was all over it.

When the evening came, we took off from the house and were half-way there when Avery realized she had left her camera at home, and she REALLY wanted to be a part of the picture taking crew. NO WAY was Zoey going to have the only official job at the party, without her being included! As we were already running late for a surprise party, I offered her my "little" camera...my point-and-shoot Canon (which is still an awesome camera, by the way). She reluctantly agreed, and as we arrived she set herself upon the task of taking pictures of the crowd. "Take candid shots", I told her..".pictures of people just doing their thing...not necessarily looking at the camera."

After the weekend was over, I downloaded the shots from both cameras, the one Zoey shot and the one Avery used. On Avery's camera I kept seeing shots like these. Not one, not two...but MANY. Shots of Hoover's nephew, Travis. But not shots of his face. No. Shots of his butt. I had heard her laughing with him that night, and reports of pictures of his butt, however I had no idea.

She was serious.

She thought it was funny to take these pictures of his butt. So (poor guy) she was following him around all evening taking butt pictures. Multiple butt pictures.

And to her 7 year-old sense of humor, this was hysterical.

Should I be worried? Knowing her as well as I do I know it was her way of "teasing" him (okay, pestering him). Thankfully he is one of the most amazing young men I have ever met. His family, including his incredible parents, and his 7 siblings, are some of the nicest, most joy filled people I have ever met. Sounds sappy, but you would just have to meet this wonderful family to understand. He (as well as the rest of his siblings) are so very patient, so very kind to the younger ones.

However...we all have our limits! This picture cracked me up the most! Thank you Travis for being so very patient with an earnest 7 year old. I cannot wait to see what her strong spirit has in store for her life. I know it will be incredible!

No butts about it!

Whales in the OC

Each grade at St. Paul's has a major field trip. In Kindergarten it is the "Crab Lab" in Dana Point. In 8th grade they take a week long trip to Washington DC.

But 1st grade's trip is Whale Watching.

Our trip was schedule for 2 weeks ago, but was cancelled at the last minute (the morning of) due to rain. Few things are cancelled due to rain here in Orange County, and there were many VERY disappointed 1st graders...not the least my own. She was teary, and so disappointed. Even though it was being rescheduled, when you are 7 years old 2 weeks seems like a lifetime!

Because Avery's teacher is almost 8 months pregnant right now she was not able to go on the trip. She traded places with Mrs. Cobb, a former 1st grade teacher that is now teaching 3rd grade. She has been on this trip many times prior, and with her sunny disposition she was an easy fill in for Mrs. Peyton. Avery has always really liked Mrs. Cobb, so she was happy that she could join us.

Honestly I was skeptical that we would see any whales. Both Rob and I took the day off for Zoey's whale watching trip, and there was not a whale in sight. We saw lots of dolphins, but no whales. I have heard that to see a whale is almost more the exception than the rule, so we were prepared and excited just to see some dolphins. But we were in luck, and it was not long before the captain saw a spout off in the distance. We followed that whale and ended up coming upon not one but 2 whales. The captain told us it was a Mama and baby "Fin" whale, and the Mama was 80 feet long!

We followed the pair for almost an hour and watched them surface, take a breath and go back down several times. After we had followed them for quite a while we left them, and went to look for dolphins. We ended up running into two other whales (they might have been the same pair??) and got quite a show. It was an awesome day...and wonderful to see God's amazing creatures, so big and powerful, but yet so peaceful and beautiful.

The kids were all really good, and just had a wonderful time. The sun came out as we were pulling into Newport Harbor, and it made for such a beautiful sight. The gorgeous homes, boats, and just the surroundings as a package. We had a nice picnic lunch at the park (Andrea and I snuck into a Mexican restarant next to the park and got some yummy chips and guacamole...if we could have managed a margarita we would have done that too :-) ), and then watched the kids play in the park before piling into the cars and heading home.

I love 1st Grade!

Aunt Bea Special

When Avery found out that Aunt Bea was coming to town she was SO excited...because Aunt Bea's tradition with the nieces is to take them to get their ears pierced.
The report was that she was very brave and did not cry. Uncle Jim had a tissue at the ready, but she did not need it. Both ears got pierced at the same time (there were 2 girls behind the counter).
She is now proudly sporting some beautiful red flower earrings, and looks SO grown up!
Ahhh...where is the time going?

Project 365/Project LIfe

I love to scrapbook. But I never have the time. I wish I could sit for hours at my "scraptable" (hahaha...I don't have a scraptable) and create beautiful pages. But I hardly have time to download my pics from my camera, nevermind edit them and print them and create those pages.

So this year I found a really cool solution. For years I have been a big fan of Becky Higgins. She is an author, scrapbooker, and blogger. She used to create "kits" for Creating Keepsakes magazine...that were monthly kits you could purchase. I have gotten a few of these kits, my favorite being the "School Years" kit that gives you everything you need to scrapbook your child's school years from preschool through 12th grade. Makes it so easy, and I LOVE it.

Last year one of her kits was Project 365. A great idea...basically having you take a picture every day of the year to document your family's life. They grossly underestimated the interest in this kit, and it sold out in about an hour, with many people being really angry that they did not have a chance to order. I was one of the ones that did not get a kit. And was bummed.

Flash forward to now. Becky Higgins no longer works for Creating Keepsakes. She has gone out on her own and created a new kit. Project Life. Same idea. Take a picture every day. Awesome delivery, divided page protectors that can fit a pic and journaling card for every day. I'll take some pics of the weeks I have done. But it is so fun and so easy. And at the end of the year we will have a "snapshot" of our life, and what it was all about. The big things. The little things.

The "wolf" moons. The joys (new bikes), or the bummers (hives). All of it documented to remember as the years go by. It's awesome and I love it. And if my memory is anything like my Greatgrandmother, or my Grandmother, or my Mother...I'll need that help to remember. And I hope my girls enjoy looking back on what their life was like right now.

Words + Pictures = The story of Life.