April Fools?

I thought that we were better... but Gloria's school called and had me come pick her up because she had a high fever again. Cami threw up that night and I am coughing up a few lungs every few minutes..... so, April Fools on us- hopefully we will get better soon.

Pigs.... ARGHHHHHH!!

For the past 13 days, we have been TRAPPED inside of our house with the swine flu. It has been really, really miserable. Grayson was the first to get it, 2 days later I got it. 4 Days later Gloria got it and that same day Cami got another sick "bug". So, we have not gone to school, to the store, to the mailbox or anywhere for 13 days and quite frankly- it SUCKS!!! We have all been so lethargic and had high temps with super sore throats and ear aches, head aches and neck aches and aches everywhere. Needless to say, it got a little depressing around our house. I didn't have the energy to cook- but no one wanted to eat. I didn't have the energy to put together crafts for the kids- they didn't have the energy to do crafts. We mostly just slept on and off all day every day. Poor Livvy- she didn't get sick and she did have energy, so she was pretty grumpy during this whole ordeal because she had to stay indoors. However, today was the magical day!!! All kids had been fever free for 48 hours and were feeling pretty well , so today they all went back to school!!!!! YIPPEE! Livvy and I seemed to have our lives back. We raked all the leaves that fell all over our yard while we had been sick- we did a lot of laundry... and we even managed to make a "Candy Train" with all the kids- which I call our Polar Express train. We made dinner and went to the mailbox. It was fantastic. I am so happy that we are all FINALLY feeling better. It is a wonderful feeling. I lost my sense of smell while I was sick- really I did- and I still don't have it back. I wonder if I should be concerned? Also, Gloria's neck is still really stiff. Hmmmmm.... hopefully we will all be %100 ourselves really soon so we can finish all our Christmas activities that had to be put on hold while we were sick... So, Happy Tuesday Everyone, A very Happy Tuesday Indeed.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Today we had Breakfast with Santa and St. Nicholas. The kids sat on Santa's lap (only the 2 older ones-the 2 babies were totally freaked, evident in their oh-so excited facial expressions). The weather was in the mid 60's today..... How I love California. The kids asked Santa for Zhu Zhu pets and Webkinz (Cami whispered that she wanted a baby doll). It was a yummy breakfast and a fun time with our neighbors!!

Thanksgiving

This year for thanksgiving, we had a super duper special treat.... Grandma and Grandpa Kendall AND Uncle Rob and Aunt Jen came to visit us!!! This is the first time that we have had guests for Thanksgiving, EVER!! Usually we hang out at a restaurant or at friends, but not this year. This year we had FAMILY!! Our kids loved, loved, loved having grandpa and grandma and uncle and aunt here. Grandma made her special apple pies that only she knows how to make. They were a huge hit and gone too fast. Little Gloria made rolls... Gray was in charge of pies- Cami helped with turkey and stuffing, and Rob and Travis made the sweet potatoes. It was yummy and fun. Aunt Jen and Uncle Rob were great entertainment for the kids. Uncle Rob, Daddy, and Grandpa took the kids swimming everyday- Mommy and Grandma and Aunt Jen were way smarter than the boys, we staying in doors and ate and relaxed without the kids!! Who had the best time? The kids, but the women were not far behind. The kids were SOOOOO excited to hear that Aunt Jen was coming to visit again. They love her and think that she is such a blast (she is such a blast). They love to play and goof off with her. And they all got to know Uncle Rob a lot better. Grayson thinks that Uncle Rob is the funniest person in the world. He loved goofing off with him. Here are some highlights from the trip- it is a shame that we did not get pictures of our kids at the arcade spending their quarters from Aunt Jen (thanks Aunt Jen). We love our family. It was a wonderful time of year for us!!

Veterans Day

For Veteran's Day this year Gloria's class did a program for the Veteran's in the area. Gloria came home singing all the patriotic songs she learned and loved it. She learned a lot about freedom and those who protect it. She learned that her Grandpa is a Veteran. She did a fantastic job. We are so proud of her.
The next night, Cami had her very first school performance. She was so excited and she did such a great job. The little girl next to her was antagonizing her a little, and Cami got upset. It was so funny, I got a few pictures!! We are proud of both our girls.

Mexico

This year for our Anniversary/My birthday (which are only a few days apart from each other), we went to Mexico!! What a great time. I wish I could tell you all the amazing things that we did, but, well.... most of our time was spent RELAXING!!! We went to bed early (I mean, some nights I was asleep by 7:00!!), and we woke up late (like 9:00- wow!). I told my husband that I wanted to just relax and not have any responsibilities. I needed the time to just let myself totally unwind. It was a perfect trip for just that. My dear hubby really wanted to do a lot of exciting things, but I really didn't think that I was up for that this trip- this was the FIRST TIME that I have left my kids with anyone other than my hubby. It was so nice for us to spend time remember how it is to be a couple. There was a lot of flirting, hand holding (which is hard to do when you have 4 kids with you everywhere you go), and talking (which can also be difficult with little ones). We did do a few neat things.... we went zip lining through a forest!! It was great. We went on a tour of a tequilla factory, even though we don't drink our friends do and it was a fun tour. They gave everyone all the free shots of tequilla they wanted, so the ride home was super funny!! Everyone was animated and goofy! We did some kayaking and snorkeling, Travis found some cool star fish. We found some great restaurants and we have been eating a lot of Mexican food since we came home because I am addicted!! We played some water polo and I found out that I am pretty good!! We loved it and had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed my time and came back ready to face the next year!! Thanks to my mom for coming and staying with the kids, I never could have done it without her. What a great birthday/anniversary!

Thankful

This week my kids get to stay home with me because school is out for the week. I spent today with my kids and we had quite a few friends come over to kick off our no-school week. Tonight one of my daughters friends (who has never been to our house before) approached me to let me know that my son was trying to play with the girls and could I please have him leave the room?
I explained to her that in our house we are ALL friends and that included Gloria's brother and sisters.
Tonight when I was putting the kids to bed, I told Gloria what a great job she did today of playing fairly and being to kind to everyone. I then told her that the only improvement I could think of was for her to explain to her friends that she plays with her brother at our house because he is her best friend- that I shouldn't have to tell her friends. She then told me "Mom, I did tell her that I wanted to play with Grayson and that he is my best friend. But she went and told you anyway. I told her not to make him leave."- Grayson jumped in the conversation to agree with Gloria that she had stood up for him. I am so thankful for my kids and how loving they are to each other. I hope they will always be best friends.

My Baby is 1.

Livvy had a birthday last week. She is now 1 year old. She is such a fun baby to have around. She is still pretty little, just a petite little thing. She has these itty bitty feet, she just started wearing a size 2... but she still can wear some of her 1's. She is the first of my children to be below the %100 mark for height and weight.She is in the %20. It is fun. People always comment about this little tiny person running around!
Olivia loves showers and tubs. If anyone in the house takes a shower, Olivia will find them and join them... fully dressed or not, it doesn't matter to her as long as she is getting wet.
She is so happy. She loves to play with anyone who will play with her. Whenever we go out she loves to smile and wave at everyone we see. Everyone is drawn to her sweet smile and playful personality. She is a people person. She giggles constantly.
She has goosebumps on her head at all times. She is moving so fast all the time and running around that she is constantly bumping into things. She always has at least 2 goose eggs on her head. Usually more.
She loves to sing. She sings and sings and sings and sings. She has a song that was written for her called "Olivia". If she ever cries, we just start singing the song and she will quit crying and start singing, she can't help herself.
The girl can BOOOOOOGIE! We love to start playing music while she is walking because she will stop in her tracks and just start bopping along to the beet. She really knows how to shake her booty. It is so funny.
She loves to eat. LOVES to eat. She adjusted to regular milk just fine. She loves to eat whatever food we are eating.
I love you, little Livvy. You are such a joy and a sunshine in our lives. Happy First Birthday!

oldies but goodies

Gloria had a performance in her school talent show last June and Gray had a preschool graduation. Gloria and Cami also had dance performances. Unfortunately, right after these events occurred, I donated my camera to my hubbies dental practice and bought a new one for myself (that is not the unfortunate part)... the unfortunate part is that I left my card in his camera andI just got it back THIS WEEK, so here is a peek at what happened last June.

Gloria and her friends wanted to sing for their school talent show. So, we picked out the song sang by Megara in "Hercules" and got the karaoke music ordered and started the hard work on memorizing and harmonizing... they then auditioned for the show... they made it. They then decided that they wanted to choreograph the show, so we let them. It was a lot of work, but alot of fun and a huge accomplishment for 4 first grade girls. I was one proud mama.
Grayson did fantastic at his graduation from preschool. I didn't think that I would get so emotional, but I really did. I was so proud of him. He really matured this past year and was awarded the top of his class award. After the graduation they performed musical numbers that they had been practicing for the past 3 months. The boy can dance!!
Gloria and Cami also had dance performances in June (it was a busy month). Cami was so cute and all smiles. I was worried when she saw the audience that she would freak... but she didn't. She really did a great job. Gloria loves to dance. She has great rythm. She did a great job. I am so proud of all my kids. I love them so much!!

Soccer mom

Gray and Gloria are both doing soccer this year. They are great players. Gray really excels as a forward. He is very involved in the games and he fights for the ball. He is consistently a high scorer in his games (I am not going to mention that to get him so involved in the games we started out with a little bribery, $2 per goal scored... we will know better for next year, maybe $0.25 per goal... soccer has gotten really expensive this season. We only started the $2 incentive to make the game a little more entertaining for us as parents to watch and boy is it ever entertaining!) and we love watching him fight for the ball and take control of it. He loves the game. We love to watch him because he is so intense, but he has so much fun at the same time.
Gloria is a wonderful defender. She loves the position of defender, which may be why she is so good at it. She is so excited to guard the goalie and she is very aggressive whenever a ball approaches her. She is so happy and smiley and she loves the game. I was asked to coach her team this year and I have really loved doing it. It has been a great bonding activity for us. She gets so excited to tell her daddy and brother that she and mommy have a game today, or that she and mommy are on the same team. She tells all her friends that her mom is her coach. We are the "Pink Panthers". When I was asked to be her coach, I knew that there was only one pink team for the under 8 all girls teams... so I showed up early to the coaches meeting and spent a lot of time going through all of the uniforms to find the pink ones. I was so excited to find them before anyone else. The girls were all so excited when I told them that were going to get to be the pink team!! It was well worth the effort. I have loved being her coach this year and hope to be her coach again next year.

Beauty Is....

Grayson came home from school excited to enter an enrichment contest. The Theme is "Beauty Is...". I asked him what area he wanted to focus on, drawing, song writing (he is actually very good at writing songs, so I really encouraged this area) poetry or photography. He chose photography. So, I gave him my camera and let him start shooting.... he took these pictures by himself. He actually took quite a few shots (30ish?) he took shots from faraway and close up.. these are my favorite.