Newport 2014

We have been partying all summer long in case you were wondering.......Here are some pictures from our trip to Newport Beach this year.  

buried alive!

 You can see all the older girls out in the water with the boogie boards.  They loved it.

 Shayli loved climbing the lifeguard stand and jumping off it.  I finally just stopped watching because I was sure she was going to break her leg yet she insisted on continuing to do it. She has a little bit of Kyson in her.....She and Kaitlyn kept each other company climbing up and jumping off.

The mornings are always a bit chilly but it actually felt wonderful! We stayed in the beach house with Rob and Liz's family this year.

I asked my friend Jamie to take family pictures for us at the beach.  This is what Shayli looked like after we were done.  I was a little horrified to say the least.  But rest assured, we got some photos of her before she rolled around in the mud!

Kyson went out with his daddy to experience boogie-boarding.  I daresay it was a hit!

And really.  How much cuteness can you stand???

me and lexi

 We made sure to make a few villages with numerous castles and motes.  Unfortunately they just are too tempting for the little godzillas we had stomping around. They only lasted a few hours before they were crushed to smithereens!

Kendri was a boogie board champ! In fact she finally dragged me out with her and I was pleasantly surprised at how warm the water was.  I thought for sure I would be freezing!  We boogie boarded together for awhile until Kendri decided I was going out too far for her liking.  She went in to dry off while I stayed out and challenged the ocean.

 Lexi made sure to send a note off to Grandma and Pa in Colorado....I'm sure she was trying make someone envious......

What else did we do? Hmmmm......We long boarded down the boardwalk to get ice cream cones, we played capture the flag at night with glow-sticks, we roller bladed to get doughnuts, we had a barbeque with some old friends and just hung out at the beach!  We had a great time and the kids have decided that being professional beach bums doesn't sound half bad!

A tribute to the Giants.....

Sometimes Ryan gets free tickets to the Giants games. Actually he gets them quite often.  Anyhoo, he usually has 4 and then he sees who is available to go to the game with him.  Kyson just happened to be available the other night and jumped at the chance to go! He had the time of his life. 

He got on TV.  Which was kind of scary, he informed me later.  He was told to pretend the camera man wasn't there.  And Kyson did NOT want to screw up.  So he froze.  He actually looks like a statue for about 20 seconds.  It's funny.

He got to high-five Pence (I don't even know who that is but apparently I am the only one in the dark).

He also wanted to make sure he was even allowed in the ball park so he insisted on being treated like the adults.  No explosives here people.

Did I mention Kyson had the time of his life??  Because I'm pretty sure the cotton candy would've been enough for him.

But throw in an ice cream cone on top of an already perfect night???? Hog heaven.

Lexi got to go to the next Giants game. I was really worried about her night after Kyson had such an exciting time at his baseball game.  I needn't have worried......

Barry Bonds happened to be there.  And Lexi happened to get his autograph.  The End.

Ps. Kendri is next.  Keep your fingers crossed she catches a fly ball.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love Mother's Day.  My kids love it too.  I'm always sure to be showered with love. What can I say?  They love a good celebration!  This year was no exception.  I woke up to my ritual of Lucky Charms in bed and then was spoiled with poems, homemade jewelry, pictures, etc.  After church we went to Jenni's (Ryan's sister) house and the men cooked us dinner while we amused ourselves.  It was wonderful.  Thanks for making it a great Mother's Day!

Kendri's Baptism

Kendri was lucky enough to have lots of family at her baptism which occurred on April 26, 2014.  In fact, all we had was family at the baptism with a couple of Kendri's friends.  Even Grandma Suzette and Pa made the trip out for it!  She was super excited! Especially since they surprised the kids.  We kept it a big secret and then Voila! They were here.  It was fun!

 We remembered to take lots of pictures since I think we only have 2 pictures of Lexi's baptism.  Oops. This is Kendri in her baptism dress. It's been worn by all the girls on the Reese side of the family who have been baptized and will be worn by the all the younger ones.

Kendri with Grandma and Pa

The whole family

Ella, Lexi, Kendri, Danielle, Anna

Kendri is already a little missionary and made sure to invite her good friends to her special event.

Gettting ready.......Aunt Jenni gave Kendri this CTR towel to dry off with after being baptized.  Kendri loves it!

Almost time!

Kendri had the biggest smile on her face when she came out of the water.  She was just beaming! I took her in the bathroom to help change out of her wet clothes and asked her how she felt.  (Although I already knew because I could see it in her face). She told me she felt really, really good!  The church is true, people.

After getting changed into her confirmation dress, it was time to go and get confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Gammi and Grandma both gave talks for the baptism.  Grandma spoke on baptism and Gammi gave her signature "Holy Ghost" talk and presented Kendri with a blanket.  Afterwards, we came home and drank rootbeer floats.  It was a great day!

Happy 8th Birthday Kendri!!!

This year Kendri turned 8! A big birthday indeed. Her birthday fell the day after Easter this year.  Which meant she wanted to celebrate while all the family was around so we started the festivities after our Easter dinner.  The plan was to stay in Angels Camp for her birthday on Monday so she could have a play date with one of her friends in Valley Springs.  However, Shayli ruined that when she threw up 12 times that night.  Twelve times people.  I think.  I lost count after 8.  All I know is momma didn't sleep that night. 

So it was back to Tracy first thing in the morning.  Bu we did manage to get Kendri over to the mall to get her ears pierced! She was very excited about it.  And a little nervous.  Here is the play-by-play of how it went.......

Getting ready!

  Coming for the first ear.  Has she changed her mind??

A little more than the "pinch" that was expected

Second ear.  She didn't want to do it.  But by then  we were in too far.

Finally done! But still unsure.

Shayli seemed to have a miraculous recovery from her vomit fest, so we hit Rubio's on the way home for Kendri's birthday dinner. Because I sure didn't want to cook. I had a cake to decorate!

Did you ever see cuter ears???

And because it's not a real birthday unless you have a homemade cake with your choice of decorations, we finished off the night with some Easter cake!

At 8, Kendri is the peacemaker of the family.  She is very giving and generous to her siblings and loves to use her own money to buy things. She also is a super hard worker and will put forth the effort for any athletic event.  She's also been known to do morning workouts with me and loves a good challenge.  She is a great reader and has a fun personality.  

Hippity-hoppity!  Happy Birthday Kendri! 

Happy Easter!

Lexi has an awesome orthodontist.  They are always doing fun things for their patients and their families.  We went to the last party they threw which happened to be an Easter celebration. There was a big egg hunt, bubbles galore, face painting, balloon animals, and magic tricks!

 

My kids had a huge box full of eggs.  So many that Kendri decided to use them as her birthday favors for her classroom.  After sharing with 32 kids plus the neighbors, we still had eggs coming out of our ears. I started throwing egg out.  But don't tell.......

The Easter Bunny was at the party.  In fact, he is the one with all the magic tricks!  He's doing one now.

Easter morning was spent in Angel's Camp where the kids found their Easter baskets.  Afterwards, we went to church in San Andreas where we got to say hi to lots of friends.  

 After church, it was more egg hunting and more picture taking.  We adopted a bunny into our family.....

We did something new this year.  We hid numbered scraps of paper with scripture written on them in 12 of the eggs.  When all the kids finished the egg hunt, they found their scraps of paper.  We went through and read all of the scripture verses that were written down and it told the Easter story.  It was a great reminder for why celebrate Easter.

Kendri

Kyson

Shayli

Lexi

 All the cousins minus the Liz and Rob clan.  They were in Utah this year.

And because she's so cute, Shayli gets another Easter picture thrown in there!