I grew up riding bumper cars on the Santa Monica Pier. Sad to say they are no longer on the pier but replaced with a whole bunch of rides. My kids had a blast on the pier! Sarah spotted some "hotten candy" and had to have some! Here we are eating at Bubba Gumps right on the pier.
Ian got his grub on!! 
Here is the gang at the bar. They arrived two hours before our reservation. The bartender LOVED them!! He also totally laughed when I showed up at the end of two hours and ordered a "virgin" pina colada! 
Here we are on the very end of the pier! I was seriously in Heaven! I had such a great time!
LOVE this shot of Ian.
Uhm here is the guy that does not move until you give him a dollar! The kids were a little scared of him and he tried to get fresh with my dad and myself! Jeff was hiding in the crowd.
Dad with kids and Bubba shrimp guy! It was so fun to see my Dad so relaxed and happy! I think he really enjoyed spending time with his side of the family!
Sarah is hugging the shrimp's tail!
Jeff and kids at beginning of the pier. It was Jeff's first time there and he had a good one!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Santa Monica Pier
Fair Well Aunt Sabel
One of the main reasons for our summer Cali visit was to be there for my aunt Sabel's ash spreading ceremony. She passed away a few months back from cancer and it was her wish to have her ashes spread over the cliffs of Palos Verdes. Above are my cousin's Allie and Christian. They lost their mom way to young if you ask me. The fly over after our moment of silence. The timing was impeccable.
Here is a picture of my Dad and his sisters, Ronni and Corel! They are so awesome!
Spreading the ashes over the cliff!
My aunt Ronni read a very sweet poem on the cliff!
My Dad and I. 
My auntie Corel and her boyfriend Glen! 
Here is the house my grandparents lived in, in Palos Verdes. I remember coming here as a small kid. I used to love winding up the hill to get to their house. It is such a beautiful place.
I was not sure what to expect for my aunt's ceremony, I have never been to one before. It was very sweet and nice to be a part of. My aunt Sabel was a great lady with a great sense of humor. She will be missed much by all of her family.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
A Favorite Childhood Memory!
This is where my Grandma and Papa lived when I was a child. This was the highlight of my summers! My mom would put my brother and myself on a plane and we would stay with Grandma in Santa Monica for a month or so. Papa always picked us up in his Cadillac with their dog Buffy. He would drive us home and Grandma would be there waiting! Of course she immediately made us her famous yummy pancakes! Well they weren't famous they were just Bisquick but they never tasted better! 
Every time I am in LA I take a trip by Marguerita and 18th Street. It is a walk down memory lane. It always feels a bit odd that someone else lives in my Grandma's house, but I could sit for hours taking in the memories! I love the picture above because it is on the front side of the house. It is the color of pink that the whole house once was. It is fun to show Britten and Sarah where I used to come as a kid. Below they are sitting on the front step.
Here it is! My mom has the building plans and I think it would be cool to build someday! Good thing I know a builder...
We had such a great time in California! More pictures and stories to come! I decided next summer we are going to rent a condo on the beach and live there for about 6 weeks! Love the California sun!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
BBQ Chicken Salad!
Warning! This salad is highly addictive! (This is the salad I referred to in my previous post!)
Canning Beets and Cutting Hair!
Yeah to first hair cuts!! and good bye to mullets!! I'm not sure what it is about my kids and mullets but Sarah gave herself one last Christmas that has finally grown out and Ian has been sporting one for a few months!! They can so get away with it though...
My friend Kjirsta's sister gave us all haircuts while we were canning beets! I was seriously surprised that Ian sat so still the whole time.
I think he was afraid to move! Here is the finished product! A handsome little guy that looks a lot older now. boo hoo!
About the beets... I love beets! My girlfriend and I have been making this BBQ chicken salad ever since we met! It is a tradition when we get together! One of the yummy ingredients are her mom's pickled beets! Needless to say over the years we have eaten all of her mom's supply. So this past week her mom made some more and let us be part of the process! It was fun to learn how to make them and I am excited to make more! Her mom recommended we wait about 2 months but I could not wait! I ate a jar already and they were fabulous!! 2 jars are left so I better start making some more...
2 of my favorite guys!
Britten loves going with Jeff to get his hair cut! They both came home with the same do.
um could they be any cuter?? 
I LOVE my boys!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
3 Friends from long ago = 11 kids playing at the park!
Jacob R., Spencer K., Britten, Ian, Sarah B., Sydney K., Shayla K., Claire R., Kate R., Saryn K., Luke R! I got them all! Don't know if I spelled them all right! Here are the girls below!
The newest additions! Aren't they cute!
Stacy, Melissa and I! So I met Melissa through a mutual friend in high school and met Stacy through Melissa! These girls are amazing and were such good friends to me in high school! They were such great examples of Christ! They will be friends for life I'm sure! It was so fun to get together and see all of our kids playing! Man time flies by when you are not looking!
Check out the playground at this school! sweet!
Ian had fun hanging out!
Sydney and Britten go way back! We did a preschool playgroup together when they were 3! I'll never forget the wrestling match they had back in the day. (Stacy and I laughed so hard watching that one!) I think Britten might have a little crush on Syd too!
Thank you Stacy and Melis for the fun day at the park! We love you guys!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Fun day at the SPLASH park!
This was a hot day!!! But the kids had a blast running through the chilly water! Ian also loved eating some watermelon! Thanks Michelle for sharing your watermelon with us!
We spent a few hours at the splash park with my girlfriend Michelle and her kids and her sister's kids! They had a blast! Here are the girls...
And here are the boys... pretty handsome if you ask me.
Britten loves hanging out with Jake!
Good bye Oreck. Hello Dyson!
Here they are... out with the old, in with the new! I must say the Oreck has been good to us over the years but along the way it stopped sucking up the dirt and just made lines on the carpet! I had been looking at the Dyson at Costco for a few months when we finally decided to buy it! It seems like Jeff and all of my kids suffer from allergies so we thought it would be a good investment.
This is the dirt and dust that we vacuumed up just from the living room carpet area. The container was half full and I was totally sick by the dirt on and in the carpet. I kept thinking Ian has been crawling all over that... GROSS!
Now I love to vacuum! Thank you Jeff for the Dyson!
