First Day back to school!!

We woke up this morning eager to get ready and off to school. Madelyn was so excited. As we walked out our front door the Oak Glen fire was blazing and Madelyn looked up and said, "Mommy, someones house is fired up." Cute how she said it. Then Owen and I took her to school where she was beside herself to see all her friends and Teachers. Owen wanted to stay at school and threw a fit when we left. But I made up for it going to Kids club at the gym, definitely trying to get motivated again. Owen and I went grocery shopping then came home and played outside for awhile, Owen made me a mud pie and said, "Happy Birthday mommy". Such a cute little guy!! We showered, ate lunch and it was time to get Madelyn from school. She was so excited to see Owen and I she screamed across the whole room "look Miss Val my mom came back to get me". Overall she had a great first day. She said she played with all her friends and was delighted to play with her new flash cards when she got home. My kids amaze me every day. They say the funniest things! Mommy and Owen are working on the potty training today and so far so good. He has gone all day in the potty. Keeping my fingers crossed.
On another note, the kids and I are still adjusting to Gabe being gone all week. It is hard. We sure miss him. Looking forward to the long weekend coming up. We are going to be starting on our bedroom and bathroom addition. Can't wait until that is all done. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week!

Changes

I know it has been forever since I last blogged. But things are changing for us. Today Gabe woke up late and was stressed about talking to his boss as to why he was late. He had a meeting with the owner and was chewed out a little but ended with good results. He got promoted to a full on foreman, gas paid and company truck. I couldn't be more proud of him. He is such a hard worker. I also got promoted today in my Mom's group. I have been the assistant organizer for the past few months and am now going to be taking over the Organizer position. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I hope things go smoothly!!! We have been staying really busy this summer with more to come. We are headed to Oregon early Sunday morning for 2 weeks and are so excited. We can't wait to meet all the new babies in the family. When we get back it will time to start getting ready for back to school stuff. Madelyn starts 5 day a week preschool on the 31st of August and can hardly wait. I am a little sad for her to be going to school so much but it is only half days I guess, so I will manage. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!! Enjoy a few pics from our recent beach trip!

Parades, Swimming and field trips!!

Friday Madelyn had a field trip with her school to a park near our house. The kids had a great time even though it was a little chilly. Madelyn loved playing with her friends and eating lunch at the park. Saturday morning we went to the Cherry Festival Parade, as Madelyn would say, "to watch Hailey on the girl scout float". We had a good time with our friends. Madelyn has been taking swim lessons, she completed her 3rd session today and is doing awesome. She is holding her breath, swimming and diving for sticks. She loves it and can't get enough. We are so proud of our little water baby. Here are some pictures and even a little video. More to come.... Tomorrow is Gabe's birthday and we are having some family visiting this weekend so I should have more pics soon.

My Baby turned 2!!!

It has been awhile since I last blogged, thought it was time. Last Wednesday we celbrated Owen's 2nd Birthday with his friends and cousins. We had a big bounce house, water sprinklers, and lots of fun. He was exhausted by the end of the whole thing. The weekend before that Grandma and Grandpa Hare flew into San Diego to go to the zoo with us. It was a fun weekend. We went swimming, shopping, to the beach, on a boat ride, to the zoo, and to Belmont Park to let the kids ride some rides. A short weekend but lots of fun. Here are some pictures of the birthday celebrations.

Baseball Game

I decided the other day to get a wild hare idea and plan an eventful date for Gabe and I. I called my friend, Kai, asked if she could babysit and bought the tickets for the Seattle Mariners vs. the Anaheim Angels. Not just tickets, they had to be the best available. We were in for a great surprise, we sat on the third base line, straight up from home plate. We could almost touch the players. It was awesome. The Angels lost but played a great game (final score 8-9). I lost Gabe the Griffey foul ball though. I was in the way when it came our direction and he was bummed out about it. Gabe and I had a great time and definately needed the time away. Here are a few pics from our date. Have a great week.

Arlee's Visit

Gabe's sister and her son Bragen came to visit this last week and we had so much fun. Bragen is such a little doll. Owen and Bragen had a lot of fun playing together even though Owen can be a little awnry sometimes and push Bragen down. We were able to go to Huntington beach, Palm Springs, t-ball games, a birthday party, the park, and the San Diego Zoo while they were here. It was a fun filled week. Little Madelyn loved sharing her room to Aunt Arlee and her cousin Bragen. She still asks when they are coming back. She really enjoyed them being here. Gabe's step sister, Jessica also came to visit for a night. We had a nice time going to dinner and lunch in Palm Springs. Here are some pictures from our week...

T-Ball

My baby girl, Madelyn had her first T-ball game today. It was so cute. She did awesome. She grounded the balls that came to her and made some base hits. Audrey her cousin is also on her team and was fun to watch. Here's a video and some pictures...

Wild Animal Park

I forgot to post some pics from our trip to the Wild Animal Park for Kailey, my niece's birthday. So here are some to enjoy!

Birthday!

So I celebrated my 26th birthday on Saturday and I had such a great day. First I woke up and started my day at the gym with Kelly and Tammy. When I came home my wonderful husband and kids had my presents waiting, which was some things for my car and some weights for the gym. After I showered I went to lunch with Jodie at Casino Morongo where she handed me $30 bucks and told me to play. I won $110!! I was so excited. Then I came home to Tammy picking me up to go shopping for an outfit for my night out. We then went and picked everyone (Rhianon, Tobi, and Kelly) up and went to see "He's just not that into you" at the movies. After which we finished up the night at Marla's for dinner and some drinks, where Tanya and Diana joined us. It was such a great day. Thanks to my husband for watching the kids all day, I was able to have a day out with my friends. I also recieved many cards in the mail, phone calls all day, and well wishes on facebook, myspace, and meetup. Thanks to everyone for making my day so wonderful. Here are some pictures to see our night out!

Been Awhile...

So we have been busy with life and have not posted in awhile, so I thought I should update. My friend Karen moved back to Oregon last weekend and a few weeks ago we had a going away party for her. (Picture: Julianna, Karen, Jenna, and Kelly, the organizers of my Moms group). My SIL had knee surgery last week and we have been busy helping her family out, going to Valentine's Parties, working out, and Madelyn even had her first slumber party at her friend's house. She stayed with her friend Tyler and had so much fun, watching movies and eating popcorn, playing play-doh, coloring, getting her hair done and playing outside. Mommy had a nice break but Daddy was a little uneasy about the whole thing. He was ready for her to come home. Owen is charming as ever. He is starting to copy everything you say and it is so cute. He is finally over the pneumonia and back to his old self, into everything. Gabe is staying busy at work, thankful to be making it through the hard times. We are coming up on my niece's birthday, my birthday and our anniversary, so we will be busy for the next couple weeks. Until then I hope everyone has a great week.

Sick Again

Well I took Owen into the urgent care today for almost 4 hours to find out he has an ear infection and pneumonia. He was such a good sport about the x-rays, breathing machines, and the shot. I have to take him back on Monday and do more x-rays to make sure he is getting better. It has been a long day. I feel like he has been getting sick a lot this winter.
On a more positive note we celebrated my niece Audrey's birthday last weekend. Saturday we had the cake and ice cream party and Sunday, Gabe went with Madelyn and his brother's family to Disneyland. I hope everyone is having a great week... Here are some pictures of Madelyn and Audrey playing dress up and at Disneyland!

Crazy week!!!!

We have been rather busy the last week. We attended two birthday parties last Saturday and on Monday I started a biggest loser competition in my mom's group. On Wednesday Madelyn, Owen, and our friends, Karen and Christian and I went to Disneyland. It was a beautiful day and no crowds. Then on Friday I went to my friend Agnes' birthday. I also took over the postion as Assistant Organizer for the mom's group I am involved with.There is 60 moms's involved in the group and I am happy to be a part of this wonderful experience. I hope I catch on to everything quickly and can handle my responsiblities. It shall be fun to see how it goes.
Gabe has been working constantly to keep his job. With times being so tough for everyone, jobs are in jeopardy everyday. I am so thankful he is still working and for all the many blessings in my life, including my family and friends. Tonight we are celebrating my niece, Audrey's 4th birthday so I hope to post more later. Check back for more updates....

Photo Shoot

I hope the new year is treating everyone well. We were able to go to a photography lesson in my moms group on how to capture pictures of your kids. I learned a few new helpful ideas and wanted to share some of the results. I am still learning so they are beginner pictures. But I had great models to practice with.

Happy New Year. I hope everyone was able to ring in the new year last night. We had a great time, going to our friend Kai's house and eating Sushi, King Crab legs, and tons of yummy food. We sang karaoke and the kids played until midnight. We then watched the New York times ball drop and drank our sparkling cider to toast to a wonderful new year. Best wishes to everyone as the new year begins. I hope you all have resolutions that suit you and many blessings that come your way.