Randomness from my world

Crawdads, tutus and a little twirling!

2012-01-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Seems that the last few months slipped away and I didn't get a chance to blog much! Today we took a walk up to get the mail and decided to explore around in the wilderness. Since last year's poison oak fiasco, we were much more careful where we let our adventures take us. The kids really wanted to find crawdads in the nearby creek because a neighbor kid was talking about them LOL So off we went. We did find a section of the creek that had tons of them, but they didn't catch any. It was a fun afternoon!

Happy Birthday

2011-09-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Had a great birthday this year! Started out the day with breakfast at Mimi's, thanks April!

Then Brian and I got treated to a night out without kiddos, thanks Baxters! Then we headed over to my momma's for dinner.

So blessed to have such wonderful family!

Legos

2011-07-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Don't want to forget lego time with this little guy. Guess I can't really call him little anymore as he's approaching 8 years old! He prefers his pants ripped and his hair crazy. But he still wants mom or dad to play legos and hug him before bed.

Melanie's 9 year old session

2011-07-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Took Melanie and the kids down to my favorite spot in Old Town to try and get some pics of our new 9 year old. We had fun, but it was just too hot, so we didn't stay long. Here were some fun pics from our shoot.

And had to get some of this cutie too!

July 4th Weekend

2011-07-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great holiday weekend! Headed out to the beach on Saturday and stayed ALL day. The kid's loved boogie boarding, swimming and playing in the sand. The beach is definitely more fun as the kids get older.

On Sunday we headed out to Grammy's!

Grammy has been teaching Melanie how to knit!

Then Monday we celebrated with sparklers and glow sticks in the backyard.

Gotta love 3 day weekends filled with fun.

Library

2011-07-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

The last few summers we've joined the summer reading program at the library. It gives us something to do, the kid's love picking out books each week and Mom loves the free coupons that they get each week because that gives us even more things to do for free! We made some fun bags this year too so it's easier to keep track of all the library books! After this particular trip, we headed to Pat and Oscar's for our free meals.

If only we lived closer to all of our cousins so we could all go together!!

Birthday Girl

2011-06-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet Melanie Grace turned 9 years old! I know I say it every year, but where does the time go?? She's such an amazing girl! This past year she's done AWESOME in school and grown up so much. It seems like she looks less and less like my little chubby cheeked girl and more and more like a young woman. We celebrated with family over the weekend and the kids had a blast doing water balloons and squirt guns. I think Brian and Uncle Vince actually got the most wet!

Auntie amanda made the cutest little cupcake toppers for Melanie. She just loved them!

Melanie also wanted to celebrate her birthday with one of her good friends! So Monday we headed over to Painted Earth to paint something pretty and followed it with lunch at chik fil a! The girls had a great time and I loved tagging along. Thanks Auntie Amanda for watching the younger Watson's!!

Graduation Girl

2011-06-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Still hard to believe that we don't have any preschool age kiddos anymore! Everyone will be in Elementary school in just a few months. Here are pics from Miss Brooklyn's graduation.

Thank you Miss Kami and Miss Donna for an AWESOME year

Father's Day

2011-06-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating this weekend. Started celebrating Saturday at BJ's for dinner, pazookie's and of course Daddy's free Father's Day Mug. Sunday we woke up and headed out to the car show. This is the 2nd year we've gone, and it's always fun.

The kid's wanted to bring their cameras and take pics this year too.

We met a race car driver named Melanie! (photo courtesy of Dale Simmons Photography)

Got to sit in one of the police cruisers! Decided that it was better to be in the front then the back LOL

Saw some pretty cool cars!

Then we headed to Grammy and Grandpa's! Did not tell the boys to pose this way LOL

The kids were thrilled that Grandpa let them climb on the roof to get a ball!

Yet again another wonderful pose from the boys.

Played Grammy's white elephant gift exchange (the kids always look forward to this)

Topped it all with some cake and ice cream!

Had a great day celebrating the Dad's we love! The only thing that would have made it better was to have my Dad there!

Happy Father's Day!

1st week of summer

2011-06-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

Random pics from our first week of summer! We've gone to this trail multiple times.

The girls love to ride on the trail and in the cul de sac. But Brandon would rather ride on the jumps that someone has built up there. This time he was mad because someone had built them up too high, so he decided to "fix" them. I'm sure the bigger kids will not appreciate all his hard work LOL

The light here is just GORGEOUS, so I never mind when the kids ask to go because I can play too. Melanie is usually willing to be my model!

Little B missed one trip to the trail because of this...

But she was back up and running for her preschool family potluck!
This is what sugar does to my sweet innocent 7 year old boy!

We've visited the pool
and of course there has been plenty of time to help Dad with his chores!

So glad it's summer!

Harvest time...

2011-06-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Our beets and carrots were getting pretty big, so we decided it was time to harvest them. The kids had so much fun pulling them all up. Baxter kiddos were over, so we decided to have them pick some too. Kara didn't seem to care until we told her she needed to bring some carrots home to her bunny...then she was excited to pick a few. Of course nobody wanted to wash or eat them LOL But Brooklyn did ask for a carrot a bit later in the afternoon. Now I need to figure out how to pickle these beets for Brian. Can't wait for the tomatoes, because I will be picking those and making sandwiches right away!

I think Brooklyn got the dirtiest, but what else is new!

Caden didn't get to pick any veggies, but I think he had fun playing with Brandon!

Scouts

2011-06-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Had a busy weekend with both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts...of course both events fell on the same day!
Melanie's girl scout troop went to the Sweet Water Horse Farm to learn all about how they take care of the animals and ride some horses. The girls were celebrating the end of the school year and their great cookie sales! Melanie LOVED riding the horse and told us she definitely wants to take lessons now. She also got to brush the horse and pick out it's feet. Brooklyn was excited that she got to come along at this event too.

Both girls were bummed that we had to leave a bit early so we could head down and meet the boys at Lake Guajome. Brandon's pack was having a bridging ceremony and family camp day. We got there just in time to watch all of the boys bridge up to their next levels in scouting. Brandon went from Tiger to Wolf this year.

After the ceremony the boys headed down to the lake to fish...which Brandon was super excited to try, but not thrilled about sitting and waiting for the fish to bite LOL It was a packed day, but we all had fun!

Backyard Randomness

2011-05-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Decided to try planting some new things this year and so far so good. We planted giant strawberries (which have yet to bloom), carrots, beets and tomatoes! Our orange trees have some oranges on them and our apple tree looks like it's going to have lots of apples this year too. The nectarine and lemon trees haven't fared as well. I think the cold weather froze off all of the nectarine blooms so we don't have a single nectarine on the tree. Luckily I still have 5 or 6 bags of nectarine pulp from last season!

As I was out in the backyard trying to get some pics of our garden, the kids were being their wacky selves. Almost every time Brooklyn sees me with my camera, she asks, "Mommy, take pictures of me running at you."

Melanie is usually willing to hop in front of the camera too...although it takes some pretty serious potty humor to get her to give me a real smile!

Brandon does NOT want me to take his picture, unless he's being incredibly silly. I think he was actually thinking of what he could do when I snapped this one.

As soon as Brooklyn saw that I was taking pictures of the other two, she decided that she had to change her outfit and be my model too.

Once the cuteness wears off, she has to be silly too.

Usually they spend most of their playtime swinging. You would think that we were part of a circus show the way they flip around on them. I may send them to the circus one of these days.

We ended the afternoon with some "Slow Motion Running" from Brandon. I think this was what he was thinking up when I took his picture earlier.

Pretty random, as most days are around here. But I know one day, the kids will be older and I will miss all this sillyness!

Our Trip to Disney!

2011-05-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Still haven't blogged about our trip to Disney....seems to be the way things go around here, I don't think I've blogged Melanie's birthday party and it was almost a year ago LOL Since we didn't get a visit from Grandpa Mike over spring break, we were really missing our usual trip to Disneyland. Since Daddy is in between jobs, we decided to make a mini vacation of it. We surprised the kids when they got out of school on a thursday and headed to Anaheim. We checked in to the hotel and let the kids swim at the pool. Once the sun set and it was too chilly for the pool, we got ready for some dinner. We walked across the street to downtown disney, checked out the lego store and then headed to Rainforest Cafe. The kids LOVE eating there and I think dessert is their favorite part...."VOLCANO!" By the time we got back to the hotel it was super late and we all crashed. I think Melanie woke up atleast 3 times checking to see if it was time for Disneyland. Around 6am, Brandon got us all up and we headed to Starbucks for some breakfast and coffee for mom and dad! We got in line for Disneyland at 7:30am and didn't get back to our car until 11pm...it was an incredibly fun and exhausting day! I think we're just recovering now....a week later LOL

Fun was had by all!!

Spring Break

2011-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lot's of random pictures from our spring break this year! We've done the park a few times, celebrated birthdays, been to both Auntie's houses, visited Grammy, the Collins' and Nona, and all kinds of other random fun stuff! Will be hard going back to school, but I know summer is right around the corner!

Workin with Daddy

2011-04-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Brian pulled in to the driveway this afternoon and got a call that he had to go back to work. So we all piled in the truck and headed back. The kids love seeing where Dad works and this time they really loved it. I wish I had known that we were going to explore because I would have brought my camera. The trusty cell phone camera pics will have to do, although they are not the best. It's hard to imagine how big all of this equipment really is, until you see the kids in front of it!

All three of the kids had a blast getting in and out of equipment and Daddy even started up the backhoe and let them climb in and help.

Melanie actually did a pretty good job operating it on her own ;o) May just have to skip school and send her straight in to the field LOL

I think the kids could have stayed all day, but since Dad had already been there 10 hours, I think he was ready to get home. Thanks for a great afternoon Daddy!

Graduation from Karate Program

2011-04-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

A local Karate studio put on a program for the kids at our school. It was a great opportunity for all involved. The karate studio gave all the proceeds back to our school and we made over $2500. The kids got to learn some fun karate moves and go through a GREAT character development program. And the Karate studio got some good advertising. Would love to keep my kiddos involved, but it would be like adding another monthly car payment to an already tight budget *LOL* If we find a place that's a bit cheaper, we're definitely signing them up because they LOVED it!!

Fieldtrip to the Orthodontist

2011-03-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I got to go with Brandon's class on their fieldtrip to the orthodontist...being room mom does have it's perks! The kids all had such a good time learning about good oral health and the orthodontist actually checked each and every one of their bites. She told me Brandon had a cross bite, which makes me cringe since I had one and spent years in braces. But overall it was a great trip! Brandon loved "Stormy" their office dog...he was HUGE!

Valentines Day

2011-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Growing up, I always remember that my mom made Valentines Day special. It's fun having my own kiddos now and trying to do special things for them. The kids had the day off of school, so we wanted to do something fun. We started out with a special valentines breakfast:
The chocolate chips were supposed to be in heart shapes, but Brooklyn informed me that they did not in fact looke like hearts LOL Then the kids opened all their special valentines. I think this one was my favorite of the day!

After the fighting started, I figured that we better get out of the house. The kids got on their bikes and we headed over to a trail by our house. It's nice because I usually get some good exercise trying to keep up with them on their bikes. We ended up hiking up to the top of this hill by our house. The kids assured me there was no poison oak, so I could follow them up LOL

We were trying to spell out the word "LOVE" with our shadows....I'm sure you can't tell unless I tell you, so I'm telling you!

The day ended with some heart shaped chicken parmesan....which only Brian and I ate because my kids are so darn picky!!

I am one incredibly blessed Momma!!

Scouts

2011-02-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

Melanie and I have been busy selling girl scout cookies! Yesterday we spent 3 hours in front of the grocery store pedaling cookie deliciousness! The first group pic was at the beginning and the next one is how we felt after the 3 hours LOL

Brandon has been just as busy with Cub Scouts. He had the raingutter regata a few weeks ago and his boat won first place in his den.

He really enjoys being a Tiger Cub and we're happy to have finally found an activity that he loves!

Exploring

2011-01-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I went on a bike ride around the neighborhood today. I'm sure I looked silly as I was riding Brian's bike! After riding up and down several streets, Brandon said he wanted to go exploring. So we headed back home to ditch the bikes and pick up the girls. Of course everyone wants a stick as soon as we enter the wilderness area.

Lots had changed since the last time we went out to this particular part of the wilderness. With all the rain and winds we had a few weeks ago, a ton of trees were down and it wasn't quite as clear of a path as the past times we have been exploring. We found some great rocks that they immediately had to climb all over, a waterfall and a deep part of the stream that we had never seen.

I think everyone left the wilderness with mud on their clothes and atleast one shoe that was drenched...including mom. I know I blog about the wilderness a ton, but we love it!!

Christmas at the Baxter's

2011-01-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful time on Christmas Day! We woke up and had a GREAT breakfast by Dad. After opening presents at our house, we headed over to Auntie Amanda and Uncle Vince's house to celebrate with the cousins! Feel like we ate amazing food all day, played, ate some more, opened presents, at some more, and finally headed home.

Christmas Eve at Grammy's house

2011-01-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

We headed out to Orange County for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration at Grammy and Grandpa's house. The kids had a great time running around with Alex, while we enjoyed our chili! There were TONS of leaves in the backyard, but because it had just rained we didn't get to do much playing in them. Of course fun was had by all when it came time to exchange presents. We're so blessed to live close to family and be able to get together frequently.

Joey's Birthday

2010-12-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

Because of some computer trouble, and the holidays, I've seriously neglected the old blog! Thought I would post some pictures from my nephews 3rd birthday that we recently went to. All of the kids had such a great time playing with their cousins. We are so blessed to have an awesome family that lives so near!!

Nona with all of her Grandkids!

After bouncing, playing and eating cake, we were all about this tired!

Lots of totally random pictures

2010-11-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Brandon asked me to take pictures of him. I think it was just a trick to let him go exploring in the wilderness, but I couldn't pass it up since my kids rarely want me taking their pictures! So these are all the random pictures we got.

Of course Brooklyn wanted in on the action too...and yes she has red stripes in her hair LOL Leftover from Fall Festival on friday! I just love all her silly faces.

Then Melanie found out what we did and asked to do the same on Sunday after church. Was fun getting pics of all three together and I got to play with my "fuzzyflector" too. More random pictures...

Random Costume Pictures

2010-10-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

Since it is Halloween, here are a few of my kiddos in their costumes. Of course we haven't even gone trick-o-treating yet, but they've already dressed up multiple times whether it was for school parades or costume parties at Auntie's...enjoy!

Back to School Picture time!

2010-09-23T09:48:00.001-07:00

Melanie 3rd Grade

Brandon 1st Grade

Brooklyn Preschool

BB belt loop

2010-09-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Brandon got his first belt loop in cub scouts! He got to shoot BB guns at one of the Tiger Cub events! He also got a patch because he got all 5 shots inside the circle on the target.

Tarantula Walk

2010-09-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Santa Rosa Plateau with the Cub Scouts, to go on a tarantula walk. It's their mating season and I guess they are more readily seen during this time. We ended up seeing about 8 of them on our short hike.
Brooklyn was getting close to the spiders and making momma nervous!

This song always encourages me!

2010-09-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

No Matter What – Kerrie Roberts

I’m running back to Your promises one more time
Lord that’s all I can hold on to
I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises You
Before a heartache can ever touch my life
It has to go through Your hands
And even though I keep asking why, I keep asking why

No matter what, I’m gonna love You
No matter what I’m gonna need You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, if not, I’ll trust You no matter what, no matter what

When I’m stuck in this nothingness by myself
I’m just sitting in silence
There’s no way I can make it without Your help, I won’t even try it
I know You have Your reasons for everything so I will keep believing
Whatever I might be feeling, God You are my hope
And You will be my strength

Anything I don’t have You can give it to me, but it’s OK if You don’t
I’m not here for those things
The touch of Your love is enough on its own
No matter what I still love You and I’m gonna need You

No matter what I’m gonna love You, no matter what I’m gonna need You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, if not, I’ll trust You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, but if not, I’ll trust You

No matter what
No matter no matter what
No matter no matter what
No matter no matter what

Songwriter: Chuck Butler, Kerrie Roberts, Tony Wood

Hat Day Parade

2010-09-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Brandon...and the entire first grade...paraded around the school to show off their crazy hats. It was also Patriot's Day, so we decided a red, white and blue mohawk hat would fit right in.

Photo shoot at the beach

2010-09-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

Since I was heading all the way down to San Clemente for a senior session, Brian and the kids came too! They played in the sand, walked down the pier and got some Pedros while Mommy worked.

Beach day

2010-07-28T08:28:00.001-07:00

Headed out to the beach this past weekend. Traffic was terrible and the weather ended up being overcast once we got there. Then it had to be one of the most crowded days at the beach and on the way home, they closed the highway we take to get home!

Aside from all of the chaos, the kids had a really fun time playing in the water and the sand! Planning on trying to go again before the kids start school in a few weeks!

Painting

2010-07-28T08:18:00.001-07:00

We had SO much work to do at our condo in such a short amount of time! Our previous renters did not take care of it and it was a MESS! The kids were super excited that Daddy let them help with the paint in one of the rooms. Everyone had fun and worked hard. They were all so serious about doing a good job. I think in the end it actually helped Daddy with that part of the wall. So glad that we're done fixing things and have new renters in there now. Hopefully they will take much better care of things.

We have another swimmer...

2010-07-28T08:15:00.001-07:00

We've spend a lot of time at the pool and beach club this summer, and Brooklyn finally learned that she can go under water. She LOVES being in the water!

Boy Scout Hike

2010-07-20T13:49:00.001-07:00

We decided to tag-a-long on a boy scout hike since Brandon will be in Tiger Cubs in the fall. There were'nt any other boys there his age, so we decided to head up our own hike. It was a rough start for Brooklyn because she was just too tired to walk LOL but once we found some rocks to climb on, she was fine! We had a great time and stopped for ice cream on the way home!

All Star Game Fun Run

2010-07-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Brian signed us all up for the Fun Run at the Angels Stadium. Brian and his Dad did the 5k run and his mom and I took the kids on the 1 mile walk. It was so much fun hanging out and walking around the stadium. Brian was excited to meet Tim Salmon. Both Brandon and Brian got their medals from him at the finish line!

Birthday party fun

2010-07-08T23:11:00.001-07:00

Kids had a great time at their friend Ashe's birthday party. Can't get much better than playing at the park, eating cake and getting your face painted!!

4th of July weekend

2010-07-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

What a great holiday weekend! On Friday afternoon we headed down to the local townsquare park to watch a concert. Our church teamed up with the murrieta food pantry and for just 5 cans of food or dry goods, the kids got to jump in the bounce house and get a free icee! And that also included entertainment! There was a band there called Mission 6 and a family comedian came as well. I was super encouraged by the band and I bet tons of other kids and families were too. They started playing together in 5th grade and now they're 15 years old. Such a passion to tell other kids about their relationship with Jesus and all God's GREAT plans for them! I'm hoping that my kiddos caught on to some of what they were saying in between bounce sessions.

My sister and her family came with us too, which added to the fun.
We watched the sun go down and Melanie had to get a picture of it! It was really a fun night.

The next day we headed out to Grammy's house to celebrate the 4th of July...and her birthday! The kids ran around in the backyard all day! They dug holes out in the garden, played on the slides and spent a lot of time on the swings. The adults did lots of eating and squeezed in a poker game or two! It's always such a blessing to spend time with family!
I think that this is why Brandon now holds up the peace sign in just about every picture LOL He loves his older cousin!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Had a great Father's Day hanging out with the Daddy in our fam :o) We went to a car show that they have every Father's Day, then headed to church and finished off the day watching Toy Story 3! So thankful that our family has such a hard working Daddy who is so much fun too!

Temecula Blueberry Company

2010-06-19T20:14:00.001-07:00

What a GREAT place to go and pick your own blueberries. It was really hot (even though it was only 930am), Brooklyn melted down about half way down our first row of blueberry bushes and then she tripped and dumped her entire bucket out as we were paying for them *LOL* But overall it was fun and I look forward to going back.

Can't forget this cuteness!!

Tiger Cubs

2010-06-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

Brandon has been asking about Boy Scouts since Melanie started Daisy Girl Scouts in Kindergarten!! Unfortunately Boy Scouts doesn't start until first grade! But he waited patiently and we signed him up a few weeks ago. Last night he went to his first event as a Tiger Cub. He heard that they were shooting BB guns and decided that he had to be there. I started the evening with him and then Dad joined us when he was off work. I left before the BB gun fun, but they had all kinds of fun things for the boys to do. Once Brandon did get the chance to shoot the BB gun, he got all 5 shots on the target...with one in the center!! Because he hit the target with all 5 shots, he got his first patch :o) He hasn't stopped talking about it all day! I'm really excited to see him go through Boy Scouts!

Haircuts

2010-05-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

My kids have all had their moments where they cut a snippet of hair off. But the youngest decided to give just about all of her toys some kind of haircut. When I walked in to her room for bedtime, I found hair of all colors scattered on the rug.

Our "My Little Ponies" no longer have long flowing tails and their manes look more like mohawks. The Barbie dolls still have their long locks, but with large chunks of super short hair. The Cabbage Patch Dolls also fell victim to the scissors, and were left with stubs where cute little fountains of hair once were. Even her ridiculously large pony had chunks of his mane trimmed off.

All I can do is laugh and blog about it. I'm sure it will be much harder for me when she is a teenager and giving herself a mowhawk or some other extreme form of rebellion. I need to remember that when she is playing quietly, it means TROUBLE!!

Beautiful Weather

2010-05-07T23:51:00.001-07:00

We have had great weather the past week or two and had to get out in the backyard! I wanted to try and get a picture of all three kiddos playing, but there always seems to be one Watson who won't cooperate (if not all three LOL). But it was neat just having the two B's spend some time together. It seems that my children fight 24 hours a day (maybe only 20 if you account for some sleeping in there). But it was fun to play out in the wilderness for a bit without fighting. I just love how Brooklyn is looking at Brandon in almost all of these pictures.

Brooklyn just got her hair cut and our stylist talked me in to bangs! I think they fit her sassy attitude perfectly!
And I can't forget the one who didn't want to be out in the tall weeds with us. But I can't blame her because I spent atleast half an hour taking stickers out of all our shoes and clothes LOL

Easter

2010-04-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

After about 7 hours at church we headed out to Nona's house to celebrate! The kids enjoyed an egg hunt...or two...or three! And of course my favorite part was the delicious food that my momma always makes us! Thanks for making the day so special for everyone Nona!

Spring Break

2010-04-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

Kids are back in school today, so I have a bit of time to actually blog about our Spring Break! It went by much to fast and yet I was ready for the fighting to end so I was ready for the kids to get back to school. We really enjoyed sleeping in and lounging around the house.

Spent lots of time exploring in the wilderness.

GORGEOUS out there this time of year! Also have our fruit trees blooming!!

Spent some time at Nona's for Easter, and enjoyed a visit from my Dad too! But I had better post pics from that seperately!

Miss B

2010-03-24T22:42:00.001-07:00

Been bloggin about all the older kids activities and didn't even post any pics of Miss B! If I have my real camera out, she runs! But she let me take her pic with my cell phone in the car today. Brooklyn is my buddy throughout the day. She tags a long as we drop-off and pick-up kids at school. She loves to summersault and if the ground is soft enough, she will summersault from point a to b...rather than walking. She summersaults down the hall in the morning and into bed at night. Probably should put her in gymnastics, this momma just can't take one more activity at the moment LOL She is also really in to the Disney princesses right now. Wants to hear all about them each night before we go to bed. Her favorites right now are Snow White and Cinderella. Will miss my little tag-a-long once she is in school. Need to enjoy her now...tantrums and all!!

Another update in pictures

2010-03-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

The Watson family has been keeping busy with...

SOFTBALL...Go Wildcats!

KINDER FIELD TRIPS

GIRL SCOUTS (International Fair) - Girls dressed as a Rugby team because they learned about New Zealand for their booth.

MORE GIRLS SCOUTS (Field trip to DC Gymnastics) - Had to get more use out of the Rugby shirts *LOL*

Throw school in to the mix, homework, AWANA and softball practices and our weeks are just flying by! This momma is super excited for down time over spring break!

Lead Me...

2010-03-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Heard this song for the first time today and really felt God speaking to me! I don't want to be so caught up all the day-to-day and not be intentional about leading my children in God's ways! Whether it's just taking time to discipline, talk with them, pray with them, etc. It's overwhelming to think about how I need to change, but I know the more overwhelming it seems, the more I need to depend on my Father for strength and guidance! I'm thankful to have a great husband who leads our family and is by my side through all the chaos.

Sanctus Real - Lead Me (From the album Pieces of a Real Heart)

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Boots

2010-02-24T23:55:00.000-08:00

Brandon got a pair of cowboy boots for Christmas and LOVES them! If Daddy would let him, I think he would wear them every single day. The other day we were out in the back watching Melanie practice and he humored me as I took a picture of his boots. Otherwise, he isn't a big fan of his picture taken these days.

Four Cookie Booths down...

2010-02-24T23:52:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, that wonderful time of year when the Girl Scouts sell cookies! Except this year we've had all of the cookies in our garage and I think we've personally eaten about 20 boxes ourselves! Melanie worked 4 cookie booths and has sold over 100 boxes so far. Thanks to all who have bought them to support our girl scout troop!!

Busy, busy, busy...

2010-02-24T23:22:00.000-08:00

Softball season has started and this year Melanie is playing in a different division! She has been spending a lot of time practicing with Daddy in the backyard and has three practices during the week. She's even practicing pitching because the girls pitch to each other in this age group!
Brandon is enjoying his break from baseball this season, but still likes to practice with Dad. Brooklyn loves going to Melanie's practices because she gets to play with her "friends" who are also at the park watching their siblings practice. She usually spends a few minutes in a chair and then she's off and running the rest of the time.
With all of the practices and games starting soon, life has been hectic! In addition to softball, Melanie is still in Brownies and AWANAs at church. Good thing Brian has been off work to keep things running around our house!!

Holiday weekend

2010-02-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

We had such a great four day weekend! We decided very last minute to head up to the snow on Saturday. the weather was beautiful and the kids had so much fun sledding and having snow ball fights with Dad and Uncle Vince! Uncle Vince made a snowman that was taller than Melanie! Got some GREAT pics to add to the good old blog and then realized that my memory card wasn't in. Such a bummer, but we will have to go again soon and get pics.

On Sunday we decided to head up to El Mirage for some riding and camping. The kids really wanted to have a campfire and spend the night. Brandon was happy we didn't see any snakes this time. Although it got chilly that night, we had a great time. The lakebed was closed, so we had to ride on bumpier terrain than the kids were used to. Melanie really got used to riding in the sand and over all kinds of bumps and hills. Brandon ventured out, but still prefers the flat for now *LOL* Brooklyn may be our most daring kiddo yet. She rode her "quad" all over the place and rode with Daddy up and down some pretty big hills! I didn't bring my camera because it's usually pretty windy when we camp. Of course the weather was beautiful and I'm bummed I didn't.

Oh well....promise my next post will have pics!

Mad Brando

2010-01-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

Even though the candy store was fun, any trip wouldn't be complete without one mad kiddo. On this day it happened to be Brandon. But he cheered up pretty quick!

Free Lollipops

2010-01-22T21:33:00.001-08:00

When we were at the park, my sister was telling me about a local candy shop that had a storytime and free lollipops. That was enough for us to check it out. She came by the house to pick us up and we headed out. The kids really enjoyed the story and of course checking out all of the candy. Free lollipops and balloons was probably the highlight though. Great idea Auntie Amanda, you kept the Watson Mommy sane for another day of Christmas break!

Catch up blogging...

2010-01-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Now that school is back in session it seems that I'm swallowed back up by all the daily school-related things. But wanted to post some pics of the last week of our Christmas break. I was just about ready to sell all three of the Watson children on ebay so we decided we had better get out of the house. We met up with some friends at the park one day...brought out the best in everyone for a few hours! Melanie was so busy playing I didn't get any shots of her!

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

It's so crazy how fast time flies as you get older! Figured that I had better post some pictures from our Christmas and New Years celebrations before it's summer time! We really enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with Grammy and Grandpa in Orange County. The kids have so much fun seeing their cousin. We ate chili, chatted, ate more food, and then opened presents. Then we drove home to have our own family celebration Christmas morning. The kids woke us up bright and early and we watched them open some presents from us. Then we headed over to Auntie's house to celebrate some more. It was great to visit with my Noni and Nona. I'm so thankful that they came down, even though they were in the middle of a big move. We also got to see my sister's new baby girls and enjoy all kinds of good food that my other sis prepared. Between holding babies, eating yummy food, nerf gun battles, eating yummy food and visiting with family, it was a GREAT day. We are truly blessed!

My sister brought us masks so we wouldn't spread germs to the babies. My kids wanted to wear one right away LOL

New Year's Day was great as well...We tried to get a picture with Nona and all her Grandkids. But it wasn't going to happen with this group. This was our best shot and I must admit that one person had to be photoshopped in LOL
Then we also wanted to get a shot of the twins with the twins...special ;o)

Christmas is here!

2009-12-23T14:17:00.001-08:00

Can't believe how quickly it came this year! Our tree looked pretty for the first 24 hours after putting it up. After that cats and children have messed with it multiple times and the ornaments are all bunched together *LOL* We decided this year to donate gifts to the Angel Tree ministry at our church in place of giving tons of gifts to our own kiddos. They are already blessed with so much and they really enjoyed picking out things for other kids who may not have as much. I picked kids who were roughly the same age as them so that they could each pick out a toy and outfit. It was really a fun thing to do with them.
My kid's favorite thing to play with each year is the Little People Nativity (thanks Auntie Amanda). As soon as it comes out of the box they play with it. This year the nativity characters even played on some of the Littlest Pet Shop houses *LOL* I usually end up rearranging all the characters on a daily basis and try to keep them all together. We always joke because every year we seem to misplace Baby Jesus and then find him a few months after Christmas. How could we possibly misplace the star of the show?!
I think it's God's reminder to us to keep Christ at the center year round.Here are a few more pics of a couple of my favorite ornaments. Both were on our tree growing up and one was given to me the year I was born. Hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Good times with Little Miss B

2009-12-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Need to blog about something positive about 4 year olds...I could probably fill pages and pages with all of the struggles we are having with our lovely 4 year old, but I will post some silly pictures instead to make me feel better.

Brooklyn HATES having her picture taken...I take that back...Brooklyn HATES having her picture taken when I am behind the camera. Give anyone else a camera and her precious little smile comes out. But whenever Mom tries she gets mad.

The other morning we decided to play with the camera. I needed to get out the camera for fun reasons rather than just using it for business. Brooklyn decided that she would rather take the pictures than be in them. So we took turns and had some fun...

Happy thanksgiving...

2009-11-27T09:34:00.001-08:00

So much to be thankful for this year!!

Halloween...a month late!

2009-11-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

Been so busy with other people's photo sessions that I haven't had a minute to update our family blog. But better late than never! Here are all of our little trick-o-treaters. Melanie requested to be a bat this year...

And of course Little Sis wanted to be the same thing.

And Brandon was Indiana Jones...mostly because he wanted a whip *LOL*

Soccer

2009-11-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Another season of soccer has come and gone. Mom is glad to have our Saturdays open up for a few months, but we'll miss this great group of girls!

Fall

2009-10-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just some recent pictures of some of our fall adventures

Mommy Brag

2009-10-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Melanie got a Student of the Month Award this morning! I am so proud of how well she always does in school. Her teacher awarded her this for,

"her overall outstanding behavior and work ethics. Melanie makes sure she is always listening and ready for the next assignment. By doing so, she has earned 100% on almost all of her sasignments and tests this year. Melanie doesn't stop there though because she also loves to help others understand their work too. Thanks you Melanie for your great attitude in school."

Wondering where this "great attitude" is at home some days *LOL* but overall so proud of who Miss Melanie Grace is becoming :o) This is when Melanie first saw me and was probably wondering why I was there. She didn't know that she was getting an award.

School Picture time

2009-10-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

Trying out a new location for headshot pictures...getting ready for ya Uncle Jim ;o) and I decided that the kiddos needed some updated school pics. I'm tired of waiting for the ones that the school took, and my kids usually have goofy faces in those anyway. So Brooklyn was the first willing Watson. I didn't think our session was going to go well because I kept getting these faces...

and finally got this

Then Brandon stepped up to bat

and Melanie insisted that her picture was taken with these star stickers on her face.

Luckily she let me take a few more without the stickers

and after some MAJOR candy bribery I even got this one

So excited about the one of all three! I think the last picture I have of all three smiling was when Brooklyn was one. Now I just need to get these printed out and make my rounds to the fam ;o) If I knew that all three kids were going to be so cooperative, I definitely would have changed them in to better coordinating outfits and maybe styled their hair...but I'm sure if I had done all of that none of them would have smiled at all *LOL*

Disneyland

2009-10-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to head to Disneyland for Brandon and Brooklyn's birthdays. We headed in to Anaheim on Saturday and went to dinner at Rain Forest Cafe. We also got to check out the lego store and walk around downtown disney while we waited! Then we headed back to the hotel to watch fireworks. The next morning we woke up early and headed back over to Disneyland! We met Nona at the gates and headed in. Since Auntie April's Baby Girls wanted to be able to attend future Disneyland trips with Nona and Brando, they decided that this would also be their birthday!! Nona left to welcome them in to the world and we stayed at Disneyland with Grammy and Grandpa to finish off Brandon and Brooklyn's birthday celebration. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day :o)

Birthday Buddies

2009-10-14T13:16:00.001-07:00

These two little guys (not so little anymore) were born on the same exact day in 2003! They met in preschool a few years ago and have been best buds ever since! We met up with them the other night to celebrate the boy's birthdays. It was a fun...and crazy time ;o) These boys just get so silly when they are together! Thanks for a great night friends!

Can't forget Baseball

2009-10-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I posted about soccer, so I had better follow it with some baseball pics too. Brandon was in t-ball last year and this season he moved up to coach pitch. I got to take him to a practice a few weeks ago and Brian stayed home with the girls. It was nice because I'm usually chasing them around and don't get to watch much of the game. Brandon is a GREAT hitter...

but still doesn't like fielding much...

I absolutely LOVE how his tongue pops out when he is running the bases...

and of course it melts my heart when he stops to give his momma a wave!

Not a Daisy anymore...

2009-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Melanie's Daisy Girl Scout troop bridged over to Brownies! We had a little bridging ceremony and all of the girls got their new patches for their new lovely brown uniforms. Melanie really enjoys girls scouts and I like helping out at her troop meetings too :o)

Soccer

2009-09-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Soccer season is here again and Melanie is doing great! Daddy is her coach again this season and I think he is having fun too. Here are a few pictures from one of her games. This girl has a mean throw-in

And I think she's a pretty good goalie too

But her favorite thing may be the goodies at the end of the game *LOL*

Another tooth...

2009-08-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Melanie was SO excited to lose her tooth at school today! She got special treatment since it came out during class. A friend got to walk her to the nurse's office and she got a special container to put her tooth in. What a great way to start the year!!

First day of school

2009-08-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Everything went well on the first day of school! Melanie is now in 2nd grade and Brandon just started kindergarten. Brandon was a little nervous, but as soon as we got there he got right in line and seemed ready to go. These years are flying by so fast!!

Family

2009-08-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Brian is out of work so we decided to join my sister and her family on a weekend trip up to Sacramento. We really enjoyed seeing my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a nice reminder that no matter how crazy life seems to get, God has blessed us with an AMAZING family!

Apples

2009-08-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Had to follow up on this post to show you our apples!!
I am really excited to try them, but I don't think they're ready yet. Brian pulled one off last week and said it didn't taste good. Hoping they just need more time on the tree.

I also learned how to make jam with Brian's mom! It was great to use all the nectarines that came off our tree rather than just throwing them away. They all get ripe at once and even after giving a bunch away, we still had way too many to eat ourselves. I had a cool picture of all the jam jars, but it seems to have disappeared so you will have to use your imagination ;o)

Summer

2009-07-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a while and thought I would just post some pics to sum up what we have been up to this summer! I can't believe that in just a few weeks we will be gearing up to go back to school. Until then we are going to try and enjoy every second of our summer freedom!!

Park Days with KidsLife

The Beach

more park...

more of the beach...

I also got to shoot at my first wedding last weekend and have a bunch of photo sessions this weekend, so keep and eye on my photo blog ;o)

Happy Birthday to my Baby Girl

2009-06-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

I am not quite sure why, but 7 sounds so much older than 6 to me! I spent most of the weekend watching home videos from when Melanie was a baby up until she was about three. She had the sweetest little voice and cheeks you just want to kiss. Now she's looking so much like a girl and not a baby. As more teeth come out and her chubby cheeks go away, it makes me sad. But it's great to see what an AMAZING girl she's becoming. Today we went to the store to use a gift card that she got from Nana for her birthday. Melanie decided on her own that she was also buying each of her siblings a present with it as well. Then when we got home she served us all a plate of snacks...such a random girl! I'm excited to see what this year holds and trying to hold on to each moment that she's still a little girl!

This bridge is at a park we've been to a few times this summer and I just love it! Melanie struck a pose for me when we went on thursday.

What woman wouldn't...

2009-06-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

die for these lashes! Since the day he was born, Brandon has had the longest. thickest lashes I have ever seen! People are constantly commenting on them wherever we go. Of course Mr. Shy absolutely hates it when people say anything. I'm sure he will appreciate them when all of the girls are after him in high school because of those eyes!

I've always wanted to try to get a picture of his lashes, but he just doesn't coorperate with me these days. So last night I waited until he fell asleep and snapped away. I also got a fun new toy for my camera, so I needed a willing subject. Sad that willing=asleep in my house LOL! To see just how long and thick they are, click on the pic and see it full size...ridiculous!!

Graduation & Awards Night

2009-06-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

This week was full of fun activities as school was winding down and so were lots of the kids activities! Brandon had his graduation from junior kindergarten on wednesday. I am sad because I really enjoyed the school that he's been at the last two years and we are both going to miss all the great people there! He is sad because his bestest bud in the entire world is going to a different school than him next year!

I didn't get a great diploma shot as I had Brooklyn in one hand, the video camera in the other and the camera resting on my arm...it looked pretty interesting to say the least. But I did manage to catch the shot right before he smiled LOL!
Later that afternoon we had the kids awards night for AWANAS. AWANAS is a program at our church where the kids get to go each week and play games, hear stories from the Bible and recite their Bible verses that they've been memorizing throughout the week. I didn't realize the capacity to memorize scripture at such a young age, but both Brandon and Melanie finished their entire book!! I even found myself memorizing the verses right along with them. It was such a blessing for all of us. This is their group leader and the certificates they got for completing the year!

One Season under His belt

2009-06-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Brandon's season lasted about a month longer than Melanie's softball season. He played 22 games. He LOVED being up at bat, and did NOT love being in the outfield. For the first half of the season he would go to his position and plant himself there like a statue. He did not go for the ball unless it went right to him LOL. Towards the end of the season he was actually running to get the ball and throw it to first! Brian helped coach his team and had a blast! I love watching the kids play and having their Dad out there coaching. These are some pictures from the end of the season pizza party. This may have been Brandon's favorite thing about the season too ;o)

Here is a quick slideshow that our AWESOME Team Mom put together :o

Women's Retreat

2009-06-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

What an AWESOME weekend for me! I was so blessed to have Brian at home with the kids so that I could sneak away for some much needed down time. I was missing the kids by Saturday morning, but it was so nice to take off my mom hat and just worry about myself! I was encouraged by all of the women who spoke, had a blast hanging out with women from church who I usually don't get to spend time with and loved getting to know people I didn't know before. When the weekend was over, I was encouraged to focus more on God rather than trying to manipulate just about everything in my life by myself! I also came away from the weekend with closer friendships and excitement! Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend...a few are scenic and a couple are from our crazy photo scavenger hunt

!

Camping

2009-05-27T10:57:00.001-07:00

We had such a great time camping over Memorial Day weekend! The first thing the kids did was help Dad make a fire pit. Then we did most of the usual camping stuff...set-up the tent (which we didn't sleep in *LOL*), and got everything situated at our campsite. The kids spent the first two days riding bikes. When they weren't riding the motorcycles they were riding their pedal bikes. Melanie was already off of the training wheels, but this was Brandon's first weekend without them on his dirt bike.

Brian brought the BBQ and we ate better out there then we do at home. The kids roasted marshmellows, went on a flashlight adventure and even saw a baby sidewinder rattlesnake. Daddy relocated the rattlesnake...but everyone was still a bit scared so we decided between that and the wind, we were sleeping in the trailer *LOL*

My favorite part of the trip was the first morning when my wonderful husband made fried eggs, bacon and even coffee and we got to sit down, watch the sunrise and eat a peaceful breakfast. All of the kids were still sleeping, we actually had to wake them up around 8am because their Grammy, Grandpa and Nephew were headed out to join us.

I'm excited to do this again in the future and have a bunch of fun memories for our kids! I wish I had gotten more pictures, but it was so dusty that I was nervous dust would get in to my camera. Next time I am going to bring my point and shoot so I'm not as worried.

A little reality

2009-05-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

In most of my pictures and posts my kids are smiling because that is definitely what I want to remember and cherish for years to come. But most every day is filled with some of this...
a little bit of that...
and a TON of this... And yes, I really did take out my camera and take a picture when they were all this pissed off *LOL* I think it made all of them madder and definitely made my husband wonder what the heck I was doing! I think that this is payback for all the trouble I gave my mom growing up ;o)

One season under her belt

2009-05-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

Melanie finished up softball and had a great season. She is really good at hitting the ball and didn't really use the tee much at all! She is going to play soccer again in the fall and then do softball next spring I think. As crazy as weekends can get with sports, I love watching the kids grow in their skills and have such a great time. These are pics from our end of the season pizza party!

How do you like them apples

2009-05-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, our apple tree actually blossomed this year. It has grown like crazy, but we have never had blossoms on it. I am so excited that we may have apples this year!!

Facebook and 3 year olds

2009-05-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

I LOVE this verse!! My 3 year old has given me a very challenging & exhausting week. I feel like I don't know what else to do to get her behavior under control! I know that God is right there with me as I'm struggling to handle her, but I never know what I'm supposed to actually do in that moment! Far too often I resort to yelling and I know that's not the right thing either.

When I got online and checked out facebook, I saw this verse and it definitely made my day! I'm so thankful that God can even use facebook to speak to me :o)

Way too many Jog-a-thon pics

2009-05-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Brandon's school had a jog-a-thon last week and he had so much fun! Brooklyn wanted to come along too and I'm so glad that his school always welcomes her! She even ran a couple laps with him. As soon as she was done, Brandon took off with his best friend Zachary and ended up running 19 laps...I couldn't believe how long he ran for! The kids all had a break for oranges and water about half way through and were rewarded with popsicles at the end. Thank you to all our jog-a-thon donors!!

New hair

2009-04-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

After many months of arguing every morning when it's time to brush hair, Melanie finally agreed to get it cut! Mom was about to force the cut, so I'm glad that she wanted to get it cut. Here is a picture of her before we got it cut...it was super windy outside.

And here she is afterwards...via a cell phone picture

This morning it was SO much easier to get ready for school without the usual drama of untangling hair!!

Flower Fields

2009-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

We went down to the flower fields in Carlsbad this week. It was a bit colder than I was expecting, but we had a great time! What a beautiful place. The kids had fun running around to all the different stations to get their passports stamped. Although I got lots of random pictures, I thought this one summed it up the best *LOL*

Santa Rosa Plateau

2009-04-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Went a couple weekends ago to check out the vernal pools and had a pretty good time. It's just beautiful out there. We even went back today to check out another trail and visit the "new"seum (visitor's center). The kids have so much fun going on the trails. Brooklyn even walked for 75% of our hike today.

The first time out we decided to head out to the Adobe houses and although it was fun, the trek back was torture because our 2 and 3 year olds were too tired to walk. But it was fun while we were there. The younger kiddos like watching the squirrels and trying to sneak in to the barn. And poop was the highlight of the day. Everytime we spotted some we had to stop and talk about which animal left it behind. They were also fascinated by the fuzzy caterpillars all over the trails.

Here are some pics from our first hike. I totally forgot my camera today.

P.S. I will totally upload these and send you the link Amanda :o)
P.S.S. Melanie did NOT pick that flower that she's holding in one of the pics...strictly forbidden to pick flowers while on nature preserves ;o)

Wilderness

2009-03-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm a bit obsessed with the wilderness area behind our house LOL. I am just amazed at all the flowers that are out right now! They're probably all weeds, but it's just so green and gorgeous back there right now. Also all of our fruit trees are in bloom, so the backyard has some color too. I have to enjoy it because I'm sure they will come and weed whack the wilderness any day now and before I know it all the flowers will be falling off the trees as well. Anyways, here are a few of the wild flowers, followed by the fruit trees. And yes that butterfly really did just pop down on the flower as I was getting ready to snap the pic, what a treat!

Jump, jump...

2009-03-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Had fun practicing jumping shots with my brother when we were out at my mom's this weekend...even got my husband to join in on the fun! Wish I hadn't cut off his lovely girlfriends arm in the shot, but she's beautiful even without it ;o)

My brother's photography is awesome and it's fun watching his work get better and better. He gets tack sharp images with my old kit lens and I can't even seem to get consistently sharp images with the lens I have now!! It's nice having another person to go out on "camera walks" with ;o)

Revisiting the Flower field

2009-03-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Every year about this time the wilderness behind our house is just beuatiful!! Everything is all green and overgrown and at the end there is a field of these orange flowers.

We headed out there after school yesterday because I wanted to let the kids play and was hoping to get some pics of the kids in the field. Of course the kids just wanted to play in the darn stream. So no flower field pictures, but here are a few of the kiddos :o)

Baseball Boy

2009-03-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

We had Brandon try soccer during the fall and all he kept telling us was that he wanted to play baseball. I thought maybe it was because he was on a soccer team with all girls, but I think this boy just LOVES baseball. He gets so excited to go to practices and games. He treasures his new baseball helmet and just shines when he puts his uniform on. When he rounds that last plate he can't even hide his smile! All of the other kids on the team run and tackle the ball when it flies to the outfield. But Brandon just holds his position and takes the game very seriously. I am excited to watch more of his games this season.

Of course Miss Brooklyn is along for the ride...whether there is a "park" at the park or not. At this game she decided that the drinking fountain would be just as fun and spent 50% of the game getting drinks *LOL* Had to get a pic of those sweet puckered lips!

Bring on the baseball

2009-03-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

I have to first say that I am just not cut out for all of these sports! I thought soccer was bad, but baseball has twice the games and all kinds of equipment. The kids are loving it though and Brian is helping to coach both teams, so he's having fun too. Here's some random pics from opening weekend. I will have to do a seperate post with Brando pics since I took so many at Melanie's game.

My Super Star

2009-03-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

Wish I had gotten a better pic with her teacher, principal and vice principal.....but my lovely three year old forced me to the back of the room and I wasn't paying attention to my camera settings!

Matthew West

2009-02-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

Recently this has been a favorite song of mine! It's rings so true for me! Change can be so scary and uncomfortable, but I want to experience God inside of me. I want to take part in His plans and experience His peace and joy!!

Matthew West "The Motions"
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way (I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go)
take me all the way (through the motions)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

The beginning...

2009-02-22T17:53:00.001-08:00

Brian grew up riding dirt bikes and camping. We have always talked about doing the same with our kids. Brian sold his dirt bike when we lived in the condo because there just wasn't room for it and he wasn't riding as much with three little ones. Now that we live closer to riding and the kids are a bit older we thought it was a good time to introduce them to riding. They have ridden in the backyard a bit and practiced with the throttle, but this was our first time going out to a riding area. It was a lot of fun and we can't wait to continue the tradition.

Melanie and Brandon took a while to warm up, but by the time we were getting ready to go, they didn't want to get off the bike. Daddy showed the kids a little track that they could ride on and before we knew it they were going off of it to go up and down hills. Brandon still makes us nervous, but Melanie seems to be more cautious and in control of the bike.

Of course Brooklyn wanted to ride too, but she had to ride with Daddy since she is still a bit small for the bike. Daddy even did some tricks with her ;o) We also brought out the kids pedal bikes and they loved riding them all around. I'm so excited to do this as a family as our kids get older and even go out with other families that enjoy riding too...hint, hint Collins fam ;o)

I didn't grow up riding and am not the most coordinated person, but I took a turn on the 50 and had a blast. Maybe one day I will get out there and ride too, but for now I really like just watching all the kids have fun.

Hair pics

2009-02-19T15:26:00.000-08:00

OK, I was dragging my feet on posting pics because I don't really like my bangs yet and it's hard taking a pic of myself. But Miss M helped me out this afternoon and took a quick snap of the front and back of my new do. I don't like how straight across the back is cut or the fact that none of the "chunky layers" I asked for seem to stand out (when will I ever learn to take a picture in with me *LOL*). So it might not be what I was envisioning, but I'm sure I will get used to it and it will grow

This is more of the look I was going for, but I guess I'm just not Stacy *LOL*

Extreme Randomness...

2009-02-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

Totally random weekend, but it was good! Our computer did what it's done many times in the past and crashed. That wonderful blue screen appeared and I knew that was it. Luckily I didn't lose too many pics as I've learned to back them up every month or two. I did lose a lot of my recent documents, but it's not a big deal. I backed up my Itunes library because I lost it all last crash and the technician told me he would fix it just that once. Well the computer won't read the disk I backed it up on for some reason, so I'm bummed about that! I had so many songs on there that are gone now. I suppose I could contact Itunes and beg and maybe they will restore them once more for me *LOL* I did manage to reinstall our operating system, anti virus program, all my camera and photography software as well as a few other programs and drivers. I'm pretty proud of myself as I'm not the most technologically advanced person!!

After the craziness of the computer crash I decided to treat myself to a hair cut. If you know me, you know that I am never bold and my haircuts are hardly noticeable. Well this time the stylist talked me in to cutting bangs as well as 5 inches off the length!! I'm not really liking it too much, but she compared my long hair to an Amish woman so I suppose I needed a little updating *LOL* I hate posting with no pics, but since there are absolutely NO pics on my computer right now and I'm just too tired to go downstairs and take one and go through the process of uploading, etc. You will have to wait and see it in person ;o)

Lastly, our sweet Brooklyn is having tummy problems yet again. She woke up last night and told me her tummy was hurting. Then this morning started out with a fever (sad that it takes a fever of 100.8 to get Miss B to cuddle with her mom). So the worrying starts again for this momma! We've been doing Motrin all day and she seems to be fine until it wears off. She isn't throwing up and I would be surprised if she did since we all just had a stomach bug not too long ago. But she does keep telling us her tummy hurts. I'm going to keep an eye on her tomorrow and continue to pray that God would settle my heart from all the "what if's" and remind me she is in His care!!

Hope everyone else had a great holiday weekend and I'm glad to have my computer up and running again so I can catch up with your blogs and my email LOL

Little B's new room

2009-02-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Miss Brooklyn and Melanie used to share a room, but we ran in to a few problems:

1) Melanie didn't want to be on the top bunk anymore
2) Brooklyn and Melanie go to war every night around bedtime..."you be quiet, I'm not talking you are, shhhhhhhh, Mom, sister won't stop talking!"

So we emptied out the office (quite a task if you saw our office) and Brian changed our linen cupboards into an office nook. Have I mentioned I love being married to Handy Manny! He had to install an outlet, demo some of the shelving and re-install some custom shelving.

I really like the computer being more out in the open, even though it's still upstairs. Brooklyn loves her new room too. We still need to take the top bunk apart and reassemble it in Brooklyn's new room. Right now she is just on the matress on the floor. The walls should be a pretty pink color once Daddy gets around to painting in there.

Wish I could give you a better view of both areas, but small house+50mm lens=exremely cropped shots *LOL*