Saturday, July 23, 2005

Kayla Is Seven!

My little baby is seven years old! I feel like she's still a toddler. But I guess she's a full blown kid now. It makes me sad to think she's nearly half way to driving, over half way to her teens...

We threw her a party last weekend. Funny, I didn't really let her invite anyone from school, with the exception of Emma, because I wanted to keep the party small and have it at home. I wound up with 15 kids in my house (four of which were barely two) and about 15 adults... Well, at least we broke the new house in! We had a great time. Kayla and I decided to throw a Princess Tea Party. We made princess (and prince)crowns before we ate. Kayla and her brothers set up her tea sets on the coffee table and we baked mini cookies, mini cupcakes, and made mini sandwiches. It was a great idea I pulled from a magazine. A little tedious, but fun. The kids were a big help with the prep work. Kayla served her guests apple juice along with the little treats. It was so cute to see them all sitting around this little table acting all classy and social. Kids are so cute! Later we let them play out in the back yard with water balloons and squirt guns, it was over 100 degrees here! Plus it helped to boys feel like they weren't having to do "girly" things for the entire party! Everyone had a blast, but boy I was tired afterwards. It was so peaceful with just our four kids! I fell asleep on the couch about ten minutes after the last guest left. When I woke up, Phil had pretty much finished the clean up. What a guy! I finally feel like I've caught up on rest, a week later!

I have the kids to myself most of this weekend. Phil went to San Fransisco with his friend Eddie. They are having a guys weekend of golfing and baseball games. They both need it. Work has been stressful lately. They are both UPS drivers in Lake Tahoe and this is the busiest time of the year with the swarms of tourists and the road construction. And unfortunately, Tahoe is small and there aren't many backroads to avoid the traffic. Phil has had it especially hard this week because a golf resort he delivers to was holding it's annual celebrity golf tournament. It attracts a lot of people hoping to see someone famous. Phil saw Donald Trump. (Not that he cared! He just wanted to get out of there!) So, the boys needed a little time away from home. I'm holding down the fort here. The kids have been great. Very minor squabbles. Tomorrow they get to help me clean house and do laundry. I'm sure they'll be thrilled!

Anyway, enough babbling. Hope everyone is well. Below are some pictures of the party. Love to all...

Opening presents Posted by Picasa

Blowing out the candles... Posted by Picasa

Seven years old! Posted by Picasa

Mason "flying" with Grandpa Posted by Picasa

Fun in the sun... in our new back yard! Posted by Picasa

Andy & Hailey Posted by Picasa

Mason, Brittany, & Hunter enjoying the mini cupcakes... Posted by Picasa

The Princess Tea Party... Posted by Picasa

Mason decorating his own face... Posted by Picasa

Monday, July 11, 2005

The Neighborhood Hangout?

Hi everyone,

I'm happy to announce we're all moved in and finally online again. I didn't realize how much I used the computer until I didn't have it for over a week! We've been busy, busy unpacking and getting settled in. We've had a few problems with the new house (nothing the warranty doesn't cover, thank God!), but I think things have finally come together enough to let us relax a little bit. The kids are enjoying the extra space and are excited about picking out the new paint colors for their rooms. Right now Kayla wants "purple, pink, and yellow" and the boys want "just a sky and grass" ... we'll see! (First they wanted an ocean scene and when I told them I wasn't artistic enought to paint whales and things they said, "oh, that's ok. We just wanted sharks and sting rays...").

So, this weekend we met a lot of neighborhood kids. While we were moving in last week a couple of boys from across the street came over and introduced themselves. Sweet boys, except for the fact they tend to barge right in without being invited! Well, to get back to this weekend, Kayla was allowed to have a friend from school come over for a couple of hours. She's a sweet little girl named Emma who Kayla knew from church even before we moved to Carson. They seemed a little bored (since Kayla's toys are mostly still packed) so I let them play out in the backyard. Almost immediately we had a little girl pop her head over the fence and say hi. We met her parents and she and her sister climbed into our backyard to play with our kids. (The old owners had cut a piece of the fence out and added a pool ladder so the kids could safely climb back and forth, since their kids were friends). So, anyway, here we are with seven kids to watch. Eventually we had to send them home and go shopping. When we got back from shopping, the little boys from across the street, along with their older sister, came right over and right on in as we were unloading the car. The next thing we knew the girls behind us were climbing over the fence again! 9 kids! We were a little overwhelmed to say the least! Somehow we managed to kick everyone out without hurting any feelings and got a peaceful dinner. I hate to say it, but the next day we kept the shades drawn and didn't let our kids go outside. It's definitly something we'll have to get a handle on, fast! However, it will be wonderful for out kids to grow up in a neighborhood like this. It just a half a block down from where we lived before but a world of difference! Kayla now has a few more kids added to her birthday party list! We're celebrating it Sunday. I'll post some pictures afterwards...