ChristMESS time!

The kids had so much fun on Christmas morning just tearing into their gifts and leaving a big mess! I told Andy to just leave it and enjoy our time in our little house. It is the last Christmas we were spending there so I wanted to remember it as a great time!


One of the cute pictures I took of Ava on Thoroughbred Street :-)

LIghts on Thoroughbred Street!

We went to enjoy the lights on Thoroughbred Street one last time. We got there early so it wasn't too crowded but by the time we were leaving it was insane! The surfer Santa house was even better than ever! We then went to Pizza Factory with Scott and Jackie for dinner. On our way out we saw Gabby and Zoey walking in! The kids were so excited to see their friends :-)

Merry Christmas!

A Holiday greeting from out family to yours!

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Christmas Dinner with Friends!

We went to an early Christmas dinner with some good friends. I love these people!

Designer Yumminess!

They have done it again! My designers came out with some sweet kits/templates this week :-)

(Winter Heart by Lyndsay Riches)

(Captivated by You by Amy Stoffel)

(Frames, Frames, Frames Template by Scrapping with Liz)

(A Year in Review by Captivated Visions and Suzy Q Scraps)

(Forever Friends by Captivated Visions and mLe Card)

Early Christmas!

We celebrated Early Christmas with Nannie and Papa! We opened presents then went to Kissui to get pictures with Santa Claus. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the kids did with Santa this year and how much they liked him :-)

Christmas at Disneyland!

We just had to go to Disneyland at Christmas one more time. We got back from Jamaica late Friday night, spent Saturday with my parents, Andy brought them to the airport early Sunday morning and we went off to Disneyland for the day :-)

Jamaica, a small taste of photos!

My poor blog has been neglected because I was so busy getting ready for our trip to Jamaica and dealing with selling our house. The good news is the house is pretty much sold and we are just waiting to hash out closing dates. The bad news is we will have to move right after the holidays. Despite all of this, we really enjoyed our week away in Jamaica! My wonderful parents flew out to stay with the kids and Andy and I had our first real vacation at least since having kids and, I think, ever! I know we have gone for a couple of days here and there, but this was a full week of bliss! Jamaica and Sandals was everything I dreamt it would be and more. We ate, we drank, we slept, we snorkeling and I even got to swim with dolphins! Mostly we just really enjoyed each others company :-)

Yo Gabba Gabba!

There's a Party in my Tummy!


Like mother like daughter!


Raise the roof!


DJ Ava Rock!


Cool kid Zach in his gabba gabba beanie!

We took the kids to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live! They loved it and didn't want it to end :-) I have to say that I enjoyed myself as well and Andy was the good sport that he has to be, haha!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today and everyday I am thankful for my goobers, my wonderful family and my fabulous friends! Wishing you all a happy and fulfilling Thanksgiving!

My babies are having babies!

Snuggling with Parker


Parker and Ava


Pretty girl Tegaen

While I was home for a somber occasion, I was also able to celebrate the beginnings of new lives! I was able to meet Tegaen and Parker. Tegaen is the daughter of a now man that I used to nanny for. I began watching him at 7 years old. Parker is the son of Amanda whom I have known since before she was born. Amanda is a twin and I met her mother when I was 12 and she was about 6 months pregnant with her and Ashley. They have been my "babies" since before I ever thought about having babies of my own! To be able to hold their babies for the first time was a wonderful moment.

A beautiful celebration of life

The kids and I flew back to the east coast last week. We flew into Boston on Monday night and Papa the Original passed on Monday morning. While I wasn't able to see him in his final days, I was able to attend all of the celebrations of his life. I have never seen a wake as amazing as his. It went from 3:30 to 8 pm with hundreds upon hundreds of people coming to pay their respects. At some points the wait was upwards of an hour and half. I knew Papa was a beautiful soul, but to see how many people he touched in some way was nothing short of amazing. It made me so proud to be a part if his family and life. He leaves behind the most wonderful legacy of love and family. While his life ended far to soon, it was a full and good life. Something all of us should strive to accomplish.

Wait to me!

Ava's newest cuteism is "wait to me!" instead of wait for me. So adorbs!

Rest in Peace, Papa the Original

Our Papa was an amazing man! He was always making us smile and laugh :-) He will be missed so much and I am sad that my children were not able to get to know him better.

Binky Free!!!!

I love this picture! These are what you call real belly laughs! (kit is Gratitude from LCC by Amy Stoffel)

Ava is officially binky free! Last week I went to wash her pacifiers and found them with holes in them. I told her before that we would not be buying any more so I made good with my promise. I gave her an old binky that she didn't like so she eventually just started refusing that one and is officially binky free. She has stopped even asking!

Happy Halloween!!!

We are headed out to the safe trick or treat event in Redlands today! The kids can't wait to put on their costumes and I like that we can do it during the day so they won't be as scared.

A lot has happened since my last post! We went to Disneyland for Mickey's Trick or Treat night, the kids went to Oregon to see their family up there and I went to Vegas with Tanisha and had a blast!


Kit by Anna BV at Scrap Orchard


Kit by Captivated Visions at Scrap Orchard


Kit by Tracie Stroud and Template by Scrapping with Liz