Officially Moved In

We are officially moved in!  It has been quite the chore to get things organized around here but I feel like we are pretty much done.  We got the big yard sale done a couple of weeks ago and just yesterday we took advantage of the holiday (Labor Day) and finally got the stuff in the attic where it belongs and put stuff in the shed and rearranged the garage so you don't trip over everything the minute you open the door.  Ahh. It feels nice!

The move has been an adjustment for everyone but especially the kids.  They miss their friends.  Kyson took a day and wrote postcards to all of his friends.  He was very insistent about what I write down for him.  Lexi went through a few weeks where she talked on the phone everyday with her friends from Valley Springs. I guess talking on the phone was almost like having a playdate?  We took them up there for a weekend so they could see everyone in our old neighborhood and at church.  I think it helped. I am hoping that in a few months they will be happy here and will have made some good friends.

On a positive note, we have had some visitors!  My parents were able to come out and see us for about a week.  But that deserves another post because we certainly had fun!  You'll have to wait and until I can upload those pictures......until next time!

Santa Cruz

While my parents were here, they were kind enough to send Ryan and I off onto a little weekend get-away!  We decided to head over to Santa Cruz and check it out. Our first night we tried out a little diner that boasted "Guy Ate Here."  We decided it had to be pretty good......and it was!

We spent most of our time at the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  It's basically like a fair on the beach.  All the time.  It was fun to check it out and not have to worry about any runaway children......

We found this cool sea turtle.  I had no part in making it but I wanted a picture anyway.

Here's the pier!  If you look close enough you can see the boardwalk behind us and all the fair-like activities.

We decided to try our hand at miniature golf.  I'm pretty sure the last time I played was when I lived in Utah.  Feels like forever ago.  And I did pretty bad too.  Oh well.

And one of the last things we managed to do was ride the Big Dipper.  I guess it's pretty famous. It's a big roller coaster on the Boardwalk.  I screamed my head off.  It just makes it more fun!
Thanks mom and dad for the opportunity to escape for a couple of days! We had a great time!

Beach Day

We managed to take some time off from unpacking boxes to hit the beach before school starts back up.  We went with some families from our new ward here in Tracy.  The beach had a pretty cool breeze which felt like a little slice of heaven after suffering through the summer heat in Tracy.  Plus, unpacking is hot work!

This is Lynn.  She's a painter and apparently a lot cooler than the rest of the moms.....and now my children are saving their money for an art kit.  Good luck!

Shayli Turns Two!

 Shayli is officially into the terrible two's!  Uh oh.  Actually I feel like we've been in the terrible twos for the last 6 months....;).  We had a very low key birthday party for her.  Unfortunately her birthday happened to fall the week before we were moving into the new house so there wasn't a lot of hoop-la.  I don't think she even noticed!

 Of course Kyson assumed she need help with her presents.  Check out that furtive glance to his daddy.

 We were down in Tracy for Sunday (Ryan's brother was put in the bishopric) and decided to make it a family party.  It was the day before her actual party but it worked out since Ryan wouldn't be around for her real birthday. Here's  all the cousins helping out with the treats!

 I was very lame on the birthday cake.  She got store bought cupcakes.  But let me tell you a little secret....it was the easiest birthday party ever! I must not allow this to become a tradition! ;)

Delicious!

At two Shayli is:

very independent

screams like a banshee when she feels necessary

talking like a champ

thinks she's super big

cute as a bug

loves to twirl my hair (and mean LOVES)

loves her siblings

almost as active as her big brother (I think he's teaching her stuff)

very rough and tumble

cries when "Bubba" goes anywhere without her

We love you, Shay-Shay!

Fourth of July.....Again

We celebrated the Fourth of July again......a week after the fact.  We went to Ironstone in Murphy's to participate in an evening of music, dancing and fireworks.  We met some friends up there and had a great time!

Happy Fourth of July!

Summer Activities

So what have we been doing to keep ourselves busy this summer, you ask?  Well Kyson has been learning to swim without floaties!  Probably has something to do with the fact that swimming has become our new religion.  Eat it, live it, breathe it.  And while we would love to keep our crazy dolphin-like lives, we have had to take a few breaks.  Lexi and Kendri's arms and shoulders and thighs started to dry out pretty bad.  And when I say pretty bad, that's being gentle.  Their skin started breaking open and they had little scabs covering their shoulders and thighs.  Ew. So I mandated a few days off to allow some healing to take place.

We have also been shopping. Ok fine.  Stop berating me!  I'll tell you what I found already.  Sheesh.  Patent red high heels.  The perfect color, fit and height. And price!  They were on clearance at Macy's for $36.  Of course I didn't say no.  But I also didn't take a pic.  You'll have to use your imagination......

No, we did not let Kyson buy this ensemble.  Although he was pretty sure if he wore this we could get anything we wanted out of anybody! Sing it New Kids on the Block!  I don't know why that band popped into my head but it did.

And we found this at the stinky reptile store where we spent almost an hour goggling over the disgustingly large reptiles that lived there.

We found a new (new to us anyway) fun park in Murphy's.  It has huge  coverings above it to keep it shaded.  It was so nice.  And it's right by a little river.

Kyson lost a fingernail.  Apparently this particular pinky fell victim to Shayli and a nerf sword.  Need I say more?

And because we've had to take an unwanted 2-week break from swimming, we've had to get creative at Gammi's house.  This kept the kids busy for at least 4 days.  And then we had to clean it up.

And here is why we were on an 2-week break from swimming.  Shayli had her surgery to get her congenital nevus removed.  No swimming!  Doctor's orders.  Shayli did awesome!  Although she looks mad here because we had to force her to take her "happy juice" after she spit it all out on the first attempt.  She got over it fast.....that happy juice makes you a little loooooopy!  

Getting ready to go in!

 And here is what it looks like now.  We have another surgery in September. They couldn't remove the whole thing in one surgery because of the size and location.  There isn't enough extra skin on the calf.  This is about half the size it was originally.  Everything is healing up really nice and Shayli hasn't seemed bothered by it all!  She's one tough cookie!

Jumping Through June

We have been in full swing summer mode!  We started our summer break by something totally different and new.....moving!  We sold our house in the middle of June so we packed up and headed to Angels Camp.  The Plan was to move to Tracy (which is much closer to Ryan's work - San Francisco).  The Plan didn't include 6 months of house hunting to secure a rental.  The Plan therefore failed miserably which is why we are currently living in Angels Camp with Ryan's parents.  The good news, however, is that we have signed a contract (shocking, I know) and will be moving in on July 20th.  Nothing like moving twice!  It has certainly been bitter-sweet for us.  We loved our neighborhood and little town.  We have made such great friends and it is hard to say good-bye.  But we are looking forward to meeting new people and hope everything goes smoothly!  

We had some very special guests come and stay with us during Move #1 (actually Move #2 if you count everything going to storage as Move #1. But that gets confusing.) My brother Travis and his wife, Jessica, came to help.  Wasn't that nice?  And let me tell you, we couldn't have done it without them!  They were a huge help and we appreciate them spending their vacation time helping!  Thanks guys!

But don't think it was all work and no play.....

 Kyson got his fair share of tickle-torture.

And there were some mean block towns being built.  (Do you see my bare house?  Sniff.)

We also managed to fit in a cream puff making party.  This was how I repaid my guests.....it's a favorite tradition we used to make for my dad on his birthday and Father's day.  And it was Father's day weekend, so why not?  Don't worry. We sent dad a picture!

Shayli certainly enjoyed the spoils.

As did Kyson!