disneyland again

Ok, so I am attempting to take all three of my kids tonight to Disneyland by myself. This heat is killing me like you wouldn't believe and I think it's done something to my brain my making me think I can handle all that alone. And my air conditioning unit is acting funny and not producing the cold air I want it to so i'm trying to find things to do that keep me out of the house. Wish me luck. We'll see if i can snap a few picks in the middle of the craziness.

FHE at Disneyland

Last night for Family Home Evening we took off to Disneyland. The kids love it there and it' s easy and free for Nick and I. Our kids know that we won't buy them anything there, so they don't bother asking. I refuse to pay almost $4 for a churro. So we eat on the way and take snacks. We've got it down to a science now.


Here we are cruising into the park. My kids love this part because they don't have to put on seatbelts.




Buzz Lightyear is the first ride we always go on. Sydney hates that ride and Nico loves it, so it's always a source of a fight as soon as we enter the park.




sophie was checking out everything. There was too much for her to look at. It was hilarious.

Me and my girls.
Kids waiting for the Teacups.
Nick spun them sick. I'm glad Sophie and I were in our own cup.
Some sweet pics from Small World.
We had a great time and maybe we can make it back before school starts.

The evolution of my kitchen

OK, so when we bought this house 3 1/2 years ago the market was crazy. If you didn't put an offer down within minutes you lost the house. Before this house we had put two other offers on homes and been outbid or the buyers offered a shorter escrow. So when we came upon this house we were on our way to Phoenix and we when we saw it we liked the curb appeal and it had a big yard and the rv parking we needed so we put in an offer sight unseen, without seeing the interior. So when we finally got this house and saw the inside for the first time this is what we walked into.

One of these days i'll post the rest of the pics of the house when we bought it. Put it this way 1976 original with wall paper. Not pretty. Scary really.


So this was our supposed cozy family room, connected to the kitchen and dining room.


This was my kitchen. I almost passed out when I saw it. There was no way I was living in this house with this as the place I was going to prepare meals. So we painted the cabinets white, put in new wood floors and replaced the counters, sink and appliances. Our only fault was that we just sort of did half assed, ( i can't think of any other way to say it)



So we decided to refinance after 2 years and pull out equity to remodel our house the right way. We were sick of the floors so we ripped them out. Installed new windows, gutted the backyard, etc, etc, etc. You get the pic. So this is Nick tearing out our old icky kitchen.



Here was our clean slate. No floors, no anything, just bare walls. We also took our outdated flouresant lighting and installed new can lighting.


We hired a custom cabinet maker and completely reconfigured the kitchen and added a buffet to the other side of the room. Here they are finally installing the cabinets. It took forever. I lived with out a kitchen for about 3 months from start to finish.

Here they are all installed, it was seriouosly my happiest day in a long time.


Here are my new granite counter tops. I was so excited.



After the kitchen Nick started working on the sliding glass door. We put a new one in that was 2 feet longer and better at keeping the heat out. By the end I was so sick of all the dust I was about to move out and make Nick clean it all up.

At the end this is what we ended up with, The big yellow box in the corner is our new tv they we have to wire and hang above the fireplace. We still have crown molding and base boards to do. They are sitting in the garage just waiting. But from where we started I am so happy

Here is my new kitchen, with my new floors. I just got those about a month ago, in the kitchen though, all the rest of the house had already been finished in the tile. All we have left in here is a new window and window treatment. Would i do it all over again? Ask me in a year when it's not so fresh in my head.

A moment for Nico

I have to take a moment and vent about Nico. Today we were at my friend Laura's house for a lunch/playdate and Nico and his friend Grant decided to take purple crayons and color all over Laura's daughter Kaitlin's walls. And after they were done with that they went outside to Laura's garden and picked all of her unrippened tomatoes. I was and still am mortified. I put him in serious time out, took away toys, called Nick at work (which nico hates) and he still doesn't seem to care. How do I get through to him that these actions are not ok? Any help would be great. But then I got home and I was looking for some pics on the computer and I came across these old pics of my sweet boy with the curly hair and my heart ached for him. I miss my sweet little angel, who has been replaced by a boy. Just look at how cute he was then.

A day at Sea World. I just want to eat him up.
Even with a chocolately face he can do no wrong.

This is one of my favorite pics of him. I even enlarged and framed it in my living room.

Girls Night Out

On Monday night I got some girl time with my friends Kalli and Laura. We left the kids home with dad's and a grandma and took off to Victoria Gardens for some breath time. We went and got deluxe pedicures and manicures. They did a hot stone rub on our legs. HEAVEN!!. I asked them where to get the stones so I could have Nick rub my legs. We try to go out at least once a month alone. And wish it was more. After our relaxation, we walked around the shops for a while and worked up an appetite. Did a little shopping. And put our wish list together at Coach. It's the perfect stress relief.

DISCLAIMER: I look about 40 pounds heavier than I really am. For some reason this top, which i love, makes me look ballon like in pics. I don't look like that in person, promise. Anyway here we are getting our toesies done.
I have the most sensitive feet ever. I am so tickleish. I was freaking out when the lady was scraping the bottom of my feet. And Laura snapped this pic of me.
After all our hard work, we landed at our favorite place to chow.
Waiting to be seated. I have the best friends ever. They are wonderful.

(me, Laura, and Kalli)

A random street corner. I just thought this planter was so pretty.


Ok, so we decided to go to Pinkberry since everyone says how wonderful it is. Well I don't agree. We asked for a sample before committing and glad we did that. After my sample I asked the guy working there why everyone was so crazy about this place because I thought it was vile. when i said that you would have thought I shot the guy by the look on his face, I guess he figured I would be blown away. I guess you really have to like yogurt, like the yoplait kind and that kind makes me want to vomit. But their fresh fruit toppings looked really yummy. I would have loved a bowl of just the fruit.

My Nightmare

Ok, so one of my biggest pet peeves is a messy house, and more importantly, I hate clutter of any kind. And all these vacations we've taken this summer have taken their toll on my house. I have had only enough time to keep the house semi picked up. And some spaces have taken a bigger toll than others. One of those rooms is Sydney's room. It doesn't help that she is the biggest packrat/slob in our family. (well she and Nick are neck and neck there) Any way with Olivia setting up camp in her room and never being home her room looks like a tornado went through it. I had to keep the door closed so I didn't have to look at it until I could really get in there and tear it apart. And today was that day. I couldn't take it anymore.

So here is where we started from. And these pics don't include the piles in her closet and under her bed.



After 3 hours and 15 minutes and 2 trashbags of trash and 4 trashbags of stuff to give to charity. Here is where we ended up. I can finally sleep soundly. That monkey is off my back.

Yeah, next is Nico's room. Not even half as bad Sydney's. His should only take about 30 minutes. But you haven't seen my garage. That is Nick's domain and it's really scary. It's really bad because of all the remodeling and the fact that Nick has purchased 10 surfboards this summer to add to his other 8. So I have 18 surfboards in my garage with everything else.

Today's the day

Ok so I am a little obsessed with High School Musical and can't wait for #2 tomorrow night. So set your tivo's and watch it on the Disney Channel at 8:00pm. Sydney and I have already bought the soundtrack this week and a cd rom that came with tv guide and on it there are the dances you can learn. You can bet we were practicing them today to get ready for tomorrow. GO WILDCATS!!!!!!!!

Remember my hubby is out of town and that's why I'm posting so much.

My Obsession

I need to talk about my insane obsession for Target. I feel the need to go there almost on a daily basis. That is not normal. Today my mother-in-law watched my kids so I could run my errands. (she's an angel) So I took my list with me to Target and spent way, way, way, way over what I should have. I walked into the Juniors dept and just started picking things up, and I rationalized them because they were on sale. Then I hit kids and all I needed there was socks for Sydney for school and I ended up buying her five shirts and 2 skirts. Hello, does anyone else share my addiction? I hate that my list of 7 things ended up being endless bags of goodies. But I seem to have this problem where ever I go. The mall, outlets, Nordstrom Rack, (don't get me started on the Rack) I need some serious intervention. I need to stay away from there all together. Help!!!!!

Love Quote

I just found this quote when I was cleaning out my office today and forgot how much I love it.


There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day, knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.
Ronald Reagan

Am I Becoming My Mother?

When I was a child just about every Saturday night my mom would get out all the ironing and stand at the ironing board and watch tv and iron. Well this last Saturday night I found myself doing just that. I gathered my pile of ironing and ironed and watched tv. By the time I was done my feet were aching. So I figured I should take a picture so I could at least stare at my work when my pile was high again.

And Nick is out of town for the next 4 days on a scout trip. So I have a feeling I will be posting quite a lot. I'll have nothing but time.

More Vacations

Ok so my pictures are all out of order but here we go. Last week we went back to Doheny for a couple more days. And last night we got home from Laughlin again. We felt the need to take the boat out one more time this summer before Nick's vacation is up. And this morning I took my sister Olivia to the airport to fly home to Virginia. She left us after three weeks. It has been a very busy and eventful summer to say the least. And it's not over yet. Don't count out another 3 dayer before school starts. We'll see.



Sophie and I, I know you can't see her face but I just love her eyes. You can see her mind working behind them.
Olivia, Syd and Nico on the boat.
Nick and Sophie in the water. Her life jacket engulfs her.
Nico driving the boat. He is the craziest driver ever.
Sydney taking a break from the wind of the boat and lying down.

Sophie camping at Doheny, She is trying to eat her way out of her crib.
All three sitting in the front window of our motorhome.
The picture wouldn't flip for me, since i used the laptop to post today.
And back at the River Sophie is sleeping, i love her butt. So cute and round.

And another one of Nico driving the boat. I wasn't paying attention to the pics when i uploaded them. Enjoy!!!!