September

It's been almost 6 mos. since my last post. I've decided to just do month-in-review posts for the months I've missed. It is always busy here, and then adding the holidays--I'm talking Thanksgiving and Christmas 2011, not this past Easter--, painting, company, house projects, catching up on my photos, blogging fell by the wayside! I want to keep recording our stories, so back to blogging it is hopefully more regularly now that we've settled in our new home.

This was Caroline the very, very beginning of Sept. 2011...I painted her nails that morning. She misses her sibling so much while they're at school! I try to play with her and do fun things like painting nails, often. :)

I also painted our toes. That weekend was Labor Day, and we went down to Brian's mom's. The kids loved her pool! Austin jumped in over and over and over again, and Caroline did too, right to Brian.

I didn't go in that Sat. b/c the water was too cold for my liking. Sunday afternoon I went in the water when the pool heater was on. Caroline and Lauren liked "swimming" in the hot tub, as it is just the right height for them to feel comfortable.

We went to Disneyland on Labor Day. I thought it would be sooooo busy, but it wasn't bad at all! It was hot, which I hate, hate, hate at Disney, but thankfully the fog kept the heat away till the afternoon.

I thought Lauren and Caroline's outfits were perfect for Disneyland! I forgot to pack Caroline's sneakers, but she did just fine walking around in sandals. Plus she was in the stroller a lot of the time.

The girls all wanted to try on hats at one of the little stands.

Austin waiting for the parade to begin. Brian and Julia had gone to get Dole Whips for all of us, but the line was so long they ended up coming back to watch the parade. It was soooo hot sitting there w/ the sun beating on our backs. We were all sweating!! Lovely... ;) Caroline kept finding leaves on the ground--kept her amused while we waited in lines.

Matching outfits...they still like to match. :) This plaid shirt was one of Lauren's favorites from last summer. And now, 7 mos. later, it's too small!

Little fairies in our back yard. The sticks are remnants of the teepee Julia and her friend built. I noticed all the tall weeds in this picture. They are gone now; Brian has done *so* much work weed eating and keeping them down! It looks much more kept up out there! I did some pruning last fall, but probably should cut back a few more trees.

We now have several trees with leaves that change color in the fall. So fun to look at out my breakfast nook windows!

The giant Mexican Sage bush (w/ purple flowers) has been cut way back. I'm amazed looking at these pictures now, how different things look back there!

Silly Caroline!! She is completely potty-trained now, for sure during the day! She wears a Pull-Up to bed at night, and sometimes is wet, sometimes is dry.

Awana started back up the middle of September. Austin and Lauren had soccer practice, so Brian came a little late with them, and I took Julia and Caroline. Caroline was beyond excited to go to Cubbies!!! She loves it, still. I took the 2nd picture after church one Sunday.

A close-up

This sweet little cat, Maxy, would come visit us last fall. I called her Macy, after misreading her tag, then read it correctly and didn't like "Maxy", so continued calling her Macy. LOL The kids would correct me, but I told them if she was going to be in our yard, I could call her what I wanted. Ha ha ha!!! We haven't seen her in several months. I hope nothing happened to her, as she was very friendly, and Bailey didn't seem to mind her.

We had lots of soccer games. Both Austin and Lauren played. Austin did great! He tries his hardest and *runs*!

Lauren was not nearly as into soccer last year. She had several agressive (in a good way, for soccer) players on her team, and was content to let them do the work. They had an awesome team and won almost all their games. Lauren was happy just to get the after-game snacks and end-of-season trophy!

Caroline loves playing Play Doh. This hasn't changed; she still makes Play Doh pizza, cookies, smoothies, ice cream, etc.

Barbie shoes fit perfectly on her little fingers! :)

Anniversary roses! 14 years for Brian and me last Sept. 20.

Brian burned lots of pine branches and brush last fall. SO much is gone.

One weekend Brian camped out in the back yard with the kids. I stayed in the house and slept in my warm, cozy bed. I got more sleep than him. ;) But the kids loved it!! Best Dad in the world!!

All those branches in this picture are gone, even the ones on the slope. Yay! Sometimes the kids would roast marshmallows or hot dogs or make biscuits on a stick. Sometimes Brian would just have a little fire going w/ no cooking over it.

Austin played baseball with his little sisters. We have really enjoyed having a bigger yard, both front and back!

Soccer...Done!

These pictures are from two weeks ago. It was Lauren's day to bring snacks, and she decorated each bag again. She wrote, "Run a lap" on each teammate's bag. I think she wanted to write them a little note, soccer-related, and that's what she came up with that she could spell herself. :) Caroline had just started getting sick. Doesn't she look miserable?


My boy, playing hard as usual. Run, boys, run!

Austin got excellent grades on his report card, but one of the two highest marks was in PE!! Exemplary mastery of standards... He has his daddy to thank for mastering any athletic standards... His other highest grade was for subtraction benchmarks. But that doesn't have much to do with soccer. ;)

Lauren liked to write with sticks in the dirt during Austin's game. This day, she'd found a walnut shell to play with.

Sad, sick Caroline mustering a little smile. She was so cute toddling around with her kitty hood. She was sick for a good week and a half. It was weird, b/c she had no fever, just a bit of runny nose. She also had a very small appetite, and was extremely tired. She just laid on us like a sack of potatoes. Or laid in the recliner. Or even on the floor. I was getting concerned about her, and took her to the dr. on the 8th day. He said her stomach was churning, when he listened with his stethoscope, but said it was probably just a virus. Finally she snapped out of it, earlier this week!

The kids' last games were last Saturday, November 13. All the kids like running through the tunnel after their game. In the second picture, Lauren had to sit out and tried on Brian's sunglasses.

The Purple Ponies hugging their coach. He did a great job, and I think they all liked him a lot. They all improved playing, so that is good!

The last little Pony pow wow...Brian handed out their trophies.

Then on to Austin's game. He gave it all he had, once again! Those boys move sooooo fast! It's really hard to get pictures of them playing. Austin scored the first goal of the game, and the Lava Monsters went on to win the game!

Austin's party was right after his game, a BBQ at his teammate's house. Brian took him, as Julia had to go to a birthday party in Santa Maria. I drove her there. We didn't have a party for Lauren's team, and she was a little disappointed about that. But our schedule (and the other parents') were so full, that we decided not to have one. Austin didn't have one his first season, either.

I did make purple cupcakes, and frosted them with purple icing. Of course Lauren wanted sprinkles on them. :) Austin got his trophy at his team party; it's the same as Lauren's. 2nd pic: Julia taking Caroline on a walk around the fields. They did this almost every game!

Both Austin and Lauren say they want to play again next year. :)

Super Horribly Hot Soccer Saturday

It has been an unusually cool summer. Now that it's finally fall, it's getting hot! Today, around noon, it was 96 in the shade. Our garage felt like an oven; the house felt much cooler--at 76 degrees. It eventually got up to 81 inside. Too hot!

Austin and Lauren both had soccer games, hers at 10, his at 11. During Lauren's game I made Austin drink lots of water and sit in the shade of the stroller and so he wouldn't get too hot before his own game! He made a nest out of dried grass for a soccer ball. LOL Lauren was taking her turn sitting out. She wasn't happy she wouldn't get to play again this game b/c she hadn't scored a goal! She has a cold and was playing rather sluggishly b/c of it, and the heat. She doesn't handle heat well. Look at her red face!


1st Picture: The Purple Ponies giving a cheer for their opponents, the Blue Diamonds.

2nd Picture: Austin after his own game. Not sure if he's cheering in victory (they "won" 6-2 or 3?) or stretching in relief that the game was done! The boys' coaches decided to have them play 8 min. quarters instead of 10 min. b/c it was so hot! At the end of the game one of the kids kicked the ball far, and none of the players from either team ran after it. It just rolled away! Good thing the game was about done! Those boys were wilting. ;)


Austin and Lauren got into regular clothes at home--much cooler than those polyester soccer uniforms! Here are Lauren and Caroline before their naps, when we went outside for just a few minutes.

After the little girls' naps, all the kids went in the pool.

They played keep-away with Brian. One of the kids threw the ball into my rosebush. I tossed it back to Lauren, and the ball quickly deflated. It had a 1/4" rip from a rose thorn! Of course it had to land in the bush that's the thorniest.

Austin and Lauren played in the sprinkler. Julia hopped through the spray. Caroline only went in the pool a bit, then had enough. She has a cold too, and was not herself. She did like eating a popsicle outside. And sitting in Daddy's big chair.

Below: some of our Fuji apples... The tree is loaded, and they're ripening nicely. We go out and pick some every day. Austin put one in each boy's snack bag, as it was his turn to bring snacks for his team today. Some of the apples are huge--like you'd get at Costco! Most are medium-sized, and of course we have quite a few little ones too. :)

Before bed Caroline got a drink and shared with her kitty. She's claimed this kitty this week; originally it was Julia's. Its name is Purr-ecious, but Caroline calls it Caressious. Cute!-