Breakfast with the girls

Some friends of mine treated me to breakfast at one of my new favorite spots! I have to say it is and probably will remain one of my all time favorite places to go for a long, long time. It is exactly up my alley as far as a relaxing and enjoyable time. I didn't want to leave and I can't wait to go back.
Check out their website and plan a date!
Thank you ladies.
I had the best time!

forgot my camera :(

Celebrating with Chris

Chris surprised me for my birthday and took me to The Americana down in Pasadena. I love his surprises!! This place is beautiful. We enjoyed driving down together and having the entire night to talk about whatever we wanted. There's much to discuss these days outside the prying ears of our ever interested children.

This food was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Seriously the best Mexican Food I've EVER-EVER had. I cleared my whole plate and wished for more.

I was stuffed!

This place is really cool. It even has a trolley you can ride!

We sat and enjoyed the water show set to music while eating our coconut and devil's food cupcakes. Another night to store in my special memory box! Loved every minute.

A wonderful evening spent with my hubby.

I wish I was having a coconut cupcake right now!!

Back At It

our freshman/new seminary student

our middle schooler

our 3rd grader

brand new kindergartner

a first for both of us. School for Claire and home alone for me.

in line waiting for Mrs. G.

Sydney's Blessing

It was wonderful to visit our friends the Rahm's over the weekend a few weeks ago to share in the blessing of their 5th child and only girl. She was named by 3 of her 4 older brothers....Sydney Elizabeth Emily Rahm.

Already has Dad wrapped around her finger.

The boys.

Claire & her buds.

Great day to celebrate! Thanks for having us.

Last Day of Summer

Our last day of summer together we decided to take the kids to Balboa Island and ride the ferry. It was a gorgeous day and I loved seeing all the boats in the harbor. These are a few of the interesting signs we came across.

The car ferry.

Enjoying our boat ride. I'd love to take our bikes down there some time and ride all around. There's so much to see. Tons of quaint little shops.

This little guy was swimming around amidst all the hustle and bustle of the harbor. He must be a local.

Newport Pier.
It was a BUSY day down there. The beach here is beautiful, the water is crystal clear and the sand looks as though it has little flecks of gold in it making it appear to sparkle.

We ended the day with a little End Of Summer celebration treat from Sprinkles.

Very Delicious!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Good Morning Birthday Girl!
Happy Birthday to my 11 year old girl! Taylor brings us such joy. She is smart as a whip, clever as ever, a talented writer and so expressive. She is a treasure in our family. We were excited to spend her birthday together. We love her!

Claire's Bug's Life Adventure.

Taylor was able to bring her friend Ashley. BFF's forever!

So, if you have a Disney Pass, you get to come to Disney on your birthday, AND you get a $70 gift card to spend on goodies. (for an 11 year old, it's like winning the shopping lottery!)

One last surprise for Taylor's birthday. When we arrived home, she'd been visited by

"The Birthday Bandits!"

aka: our awesome neighbors

How fun is that?!?

Last Bits of Summer....

Good-bye summer and all your lazy days of sleeping in, watching the Food Network, having sand between our toes (and in our car), play dates, Popsicles, playing in the street until waaaaaaay after dark, walking to the pool, vacation, family & friend visits, applying sunscreen, screaming as we jump over waves, sleepovers, eating too many snacks, and of course lounging with our buds.
Summer......you've been good to us this year and we thank you for all the wonderful memories in 2009!

Peace out~
Looking forward to fall.

End of Summer Birthdays

We had a great weekend celebrating all the end of summer birthdays on the Chavez side of the family. For Karen's b-day we made cheesecake pies with raspberry sauce, yummy! The kids enjoyed hangin' with G-ma and getting their hair trimmed from Aunt Rozie for school.

Happy Birthday to Grandma Karen, Faith, Spencer, Brad (if he was here) and Taylor! Hope you guys got everything you wished for! It was a whirlwind trip, but filled with good memories.

Super Activity

We had a great time taking the youth of our ward on their Super Activity. Heading to the lake was bringing me back to so many happy, happy, fun times on Lake Austin and Lake Travis! I was excited to be invited to be a part of this event. I got to drive a car full of beautiful & excited girls who rose before 5am to get on the road! I was impressed. We drove along the coast to San Diego towards a lake I've never heard of. It was perfect. A nice hot day.

These are two of our faithful, patient and kind drivers. I didn't get a snapshot of the boat I was on, but I have to give my many, many thanks for the couple of runs he gave me. It was like a little bit of heaven being on the wakeboard again!

I'm glad everyone had such a great time. I love the kids in our ward. I'm privileged to be working with them. Thank you to everyone for a safe, fun time.

PS: I never got the group shot I was hoping for. Sorry I don't have pictures of everyone, I tried my best!

Educational Entertainment

While the cousins were here we took the chance to head over the the J Paul Getty Center. Chris and I hadn't been in quite a few years. If you haven't been I highly recommend it. It's an amazing structure and the grounds are beautiful too. Entrance to the museum is free, you only have to pay for parking.

We didn't have enough time to experience everything. I'd like to take another trip there with Taylor, she and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Everyone else seemed to have their fill. :)

We had the chance to meet up with G-Ma and G-Pa. We packed a delicious picnic and enjoyed one of the two beautiful shaded picnic areas. They hadn't seen the kids in a long time as well! It was a great time for us all.

One of the things they have there is a 'family friendly' area. Kids can touch and experience things. I think it's geared more for kids Claire's age.

Inside the museum it's 'Nooooo touchy!' Guards at every turn keep a sharp eye to make sure nobody gets their greasy fingers on the priceless art! It was all very interesting, although Logan kept asking me why they didn't paint women with their shirts ON?? Good question.....

Amazing view of LA.

We could see the LA temple from here.

Good times! Hopefully we'll see you more than once a year!!! Can't wait until you come again.

Miss & love you guys.

Catchin' Some Rays

Bathing beauties.

Luke

Logan

Give it up for sunshine and sand!