It's Always Something

There are times that I don't realize my age. I wouldn't call it denial, but I would call it being forgetful. I work at a place where, if I had to take a guess, the average age is about 25. And I think I'm being pretty generous there. So yeah, I forget about my own age sometimes. That being said, I have those aha moments where I realize that I lack in the "keeping up with the times" department. I know that high school boys have long shaggy 'dos, but I still want to take Kyle to get a haircut. I know that Syd is going on 11 and is a girl, but I still want her to wait until she's 13 before she starts shaving her legs. I know that most of the world is doing their part to be just a little bit nicer to Mother Earth and be just a little more green. Ok, so that I'm doing, too. But one thing that kind of stopped me in my blog trolling tracks today was ..... (drum roll please).... bento lunches. Are you kidding me? I carry around Syd's lunch box from last year with whatever I can get to fit into the thing. Where have I been for however long? They are brilliant! I don't think I'm the last to catch some Bento Madness, but clearly I'm a little late. I'll tell you what, though, I'm hopping on the bandwagon! I did a web search and an image search, and I'm pretty excited! Hopefully it'll spark a little more creativity in my lunches since for the last 3 weeks or so, I've had a PB&J sandwich on some type of wheat or multi grain bread. It may be a little while, but stay tuned, I may surprise you with a pretty, edible concoction! Oh, and here's a another couple of pics I thought I'd throw into the mix. They were taken at Mission Beach a few weekends back. I love my family!

Flashback

I have been looking all over every computer and jump drive in the house to try to find pictures from the DE Disneyland/Catalina Island trip back in February. The good news is that I found some pictures from Disneyland. The bad news, I still can't find those darn Catalina photos. Still searching, though. What I was really happy to come across were some pictures from last year's holiday party. If memory serves me correctly, there were over 2000 people there (give or take). Looking at my pictures, I feel like I snapped shots with at least half of them. OK, I exaggerate. I won't torture you with too many, but here are a few from last December, along with some from California in February.

As Promised....

Cubs Spring Training game 2008; Tori, Me and Syd.

Spring Break; Rocky Point, Mexico; Mar. '08

Banana Boat in Rocky Point

Christine & Laudon's Wedding; May 2008

The Oasis at AZ Grand, Spring 2008

Karrin and Rich's Wedding; May 2008

DANCE GIRLS!! May 2008

They're HERE!! Kyle & Daryn arrive June 2008

Mags, Kalli, Me, Lori at Oregano's; May 2008

Bryan and Rod at Oregano's May 2008

Visiting Sedona; Kalli, Lori and Bryan; May 2008

Big Surf, June 2008

Kierland Resort

4th of July, 2008

It's early! D off to IA.

D leaving for IA.

OK, so not a lot of pictures, but it's a start. This is a (small) snapshot of what 2008 has looked like for us so far. Definitely more to come!

Another Weekend Of Aaahhhhh!

I guess you could say I have so much to share since my last post. Let's see.... 4th of July was fantastic! The 5 of us went over to M&M's house and there were people galore! If I had to take a guess, I'd say there were 70+ people there. Family, friends, neighbors and anyone else that decided they wanted to be a part of the patriotic festivities. Now, you might think.... "Where the heck would you put 70+ people?" The good news is that they were EVERYWHERE!! In the house, by the pool, playing in the yard, and out on the golf course. One of the really cool things about M&M's is that they are walking distance to the Mesa Country Club, which is where we watched the fireworks from. There was much fun to be had there, also! It was a great night!!

What happened next in the series of events that I need to share is quite sad. D left us to fly back to Iowa on July 6th. It was hard to watch her go, but I'm very thankful for the time that she was here. I might think I'm a pretty cool mom, but I've got nothin' on friends and a boyfriend. Oh, high school and teen years. I sure do miss her and all her drama. ; ) I love you, D!!

This past weekend, M&M went on vacation. This is their 5th year taking a vacay in Encinitas, CA at a quaint little place called Sea Bluff. Because they are some of the greatest folks we know, and also because the Sojkas are pretty cool to hang out with, they invited us along for a few days. It was SO relaxing!! We had a killer view and the sound of the ocean was constant as long as I was near a door or window. To back up just a little bit.... Last Saturday we got up early and drove to San Diego to spend some time at Mission Beach. I always love Mission Beach. I'm a people watcher, so it's perfect. We actually arrived at Sea Bluff around 4pm, unloaded the car and relaxed the rest of the night. I believe we were at the water less than 30 minutes from our arrival. We spent most of Sunday by the water, boogie boarding, snacking, having drinks and enjoying each other's company. As much as we all wanted to stay another day, we had to leave on Monday. We hung out as long as we could and ended up hitting the road by 3pm. I'm so proud of Kyle and Syd for going out and owning the boogie boards! I, on the other hand, got owned. Luckily there are no pictures to prove this.

Speaking of pictures, Rod was nice enough to (FINALLY) take over 600 pictures off my camera. YAY!! I'm not sure where he put them, but my next post may be nothing but pictures.

Hope you're all doing well!!