Dodger Game

When we went down to Lincoln's California tournament last month, we were able to take in a Dodger game with some of the families from his team. There's something about the feel of a Major League Stadium that is just plain fun. We caught a good game. The Dodgers won, and there was even a Pickle which the boys thought was the coolest thing ever. It's pretty rare to see a pickle in the Majors.

I think my favorite time is when the lights just come on, and it's just about to get dark.

Lincoln and some of his boys. These boys are all good friends. They have been together at least 3 days a week for the past year.

Yeah. How cute is he?!

After the game, everyone was allowed down on the field to watch fireworks. My kids are down there somewhere.

Watching the fireworks. Levi didn't seem to mind them at all. Going to the game was a fun family thing for us to do. Hopefully, we will see many more games together... maybe one day we will be watching Lincoln out there on the field.

Summer haircut

For those of you who know Lincoln, you know that his hair is his claim to fame. He is all about the hair. That is why I am shocked he decided to buzz it off. I can't blame the kid. He has thicker hair than all of his sisters. He was majorly overheating at baseball practice. He is not sure of it. Doesn't think he looks as cute. He is quite concerned that it won't grow back before school starts. At the rate his hair grows, I don't think he needs to worry.

His baseball practices run 3 hours long sometimes. In 108 degrees. I think this haircut is a good thing.

Awards and end of school stuff

This year, all the kids had separate awards ceremonies on separate days. I was at the school pretty much all week between Blake and Lincoln's birthdays and all the awards ceremonies. I'm so proud of the kids. They did great this year!

Blake got her Great American Award. This is an award only offered to 5th graders. They have to memorize all these crazy things like the Gettysburg Address, all the Presidents, the Preamble to the Constitution, and much more. I am so impressed that she got it. Only 27 5th Graders finished everything. Way to go Blake! I wish I could've gotten a picture of her with the trophy they gave her. We had to leave right after she got her award. Levi was OVER the awards ceremonies, so we took him home, and he immediately threw up :( Poor kid wasn't feeling well.

Making sure that mom is watching!

Future trouble makers, right there.

Mom, Seriously, are we done yet?

Dylan finished her last year of preschool.

She looks so tiny next to all those boys.

Ms. Heather has been an amazing teacher to my kids the last few years. We love her!

Woohoooo! I'm going to Kindergarten! Mom, how many more sleeps until Kindergarten? I will hear this every single day until summer is over :)

This is how we roll

This is my ride. It seats 15. Never in my life thought I would drive one of these. But, I quite like it. We took a trip to California this past weekend, and the kids were so far back that I couldn't even hear them. It was quite nice. It will be nicer once we install the DVD system. Dylan asks me all the time if we need to go anywhere, just so she can ride in it. The kids say it's better than a limo. Lincoln especially likes it when he is the only one in the car and gets the whole back to himself. I don't mind driving it, and I'm not even embarassed when I drive up to the school and 10 kids get out :) We are making memories in this thing everyday.

Remodel and everyday life

These pictures are SOOC, so don't judge. I'm not in the mood to edit. Our house is finally put back together. Our downstairs was completely remodeled. New hardwood floors, carpet, and paint. Yay! It feels so clean. The floors are actually darker and more brown than they appear in the photos. Still trying to figure out my new flash, and like I said, not in the mood to edit.

So, here's everyday life for us. Levi walks around all day long with a ball and a glove in his hands. Doesn't really matter what kind of ball. He just throws it, runs after it, throws it again. All.Day.Long. What a good boy. Wish you could see the smile on his face playing catch with his dad. He is thrilled!

Everyday life.

Lincoln and dad watching the game.

Taylor got straight A's and O's this year.


And made it into National Junior Honor Society. She said she wanted to join because it would look good on her college applications. Uh, I wasn't thinking about college in 6th grade, but I'm glad she is.

Blake left for SeaCamp this morning, finally, after waiting the entire school year. There she goes! I hope she has a blast! Life is good :)

Highlights from Disneyland

Last month we went to Disneyland with our good friends the Robinson's. Their kids are the same age as our kids, so everyone had a friend. Since they have twins, Lincoln had two friends. Lucky. The kids ran us ragged nonstop for two days between Disney and California Adventure. Dylan was a good sport while the big kids exhausted all the rollercoasters. She got whatever treats she wanted. I felt like I was just handing out $20's all day long. It was painful.

It had been a while since our last Disneyland trip, because of having Levi, and now with a new baby on the way, it will be a while before our next trip. So, we pretty much pigged out on whatever snacks we wanted, and went on rides until we couldn't stand up anymore. The second night, we didn't even get back to our rooms until 1am. The kids had a blast! It was a really fun trip. My favorite part was watching Levi on Small World. He loved that ride. He was so cute. We went on Pirate's so many times, that he would tense up as soon as he saw the talking skull, because he knew we were going downhill after that. It was definitely fun going with friends. Thanks Robinsons!

Under construction

Even though it's just the house that's under construction, I feel like it is our whole life. This flood has disrupted the order in the house, and has left me feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. I am just staying positive, knowing that it is totally temporary, and knowing that we are getting our downstairs completely remodeled with no expense from us.

The painters came this week, and it is a huge relief to have a fresh coat of paint. We went with a lighter color, and I really love it. We are going with a darker hardwood floor and a brown shag carpet for the familyroom and livingroom. We should be completely back to normal in two weeks.

Jim and I flew out to Florida last week to pick up our new van. I will post some pictures as soon as I can find the motivation to not be so lazy. We drove 40 hours and only stopped to sleep 10 hours. We had to make it home for Blake's school play. We barely made it. As we passed Disneyworld in Florida, I thought, what a shame we are not stopping!

We went through Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in 3 days. It was the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. We spent the night in Biloxi, Mississippi, and left just hours before the tornados hit. Seems like we were just barely ahead of them in MS and Alabama. I'm devestated for those families.

We made it home safe with our new family vehicle, and the kids couldn't be more thrilled. They love it. There is so much room, and I really like driving it. It feels like I'm driving an SUV; not much different than what I'm used to.

The pregnancy is going well. I'm 13 weeks. Finally out of the 1st trimester. It was a rough one, but I'm feeling better. Still tired, but I know that it doesn't last forever. Just hope my family can endure it. We are all excited for the new edition to the bunch. I will try to post some pictures soon.