We're back

and life is starting again. School starts in a few days and I'm excited but also not willing to let summer go!

We had an amazing vacation in Southern California. I have the best extended family! We packed so much into our 2 weeks, it's no wonder that I was exhausted when we got back!

We drove down on a Saturday morning. We arrived at my wonderful aunts house around 9 that night. We spent Sunday just trying to recoup from the 16 hour drive.

Monday Mike flew to Costa Rica for work, so I was on my own for a few days with the kids. We spent Tuesday at Huntington Beach. It was amazing! I loved playing in the water. There were so many of my relatives there, that I could leave the little girls on the beach playing and I could go play in the water with my cousins or with the older kids. Such fun! I think that was the first time they had ever been to a beach that they could actually play IN!

We spent a lot of time visiting with family. We were fed well and loved seeing everyone. I also had all of the older kids get their hair cut while we were down there.

We spent 1 night at a Dodgers game. That was a blast! They ended up losing by 1 run, but the experience is on to remember!

We also went to Raging Waters one day. We took Adrie with us but left Caile with my dad. Adrie didn't really enjoy the rides, but she loved the lazy river that they had. I was very proud of Conner. He went on every big ride and even took a spin on the "Drop Out". Good for him!!!

My cousin is one of the "Ariel's" at Disneyland and when we learned that she was working on one of the days we didn't have anything planned, we headed to Disneyland for the day. We just went for the day, but it was a blast. There were a ton of people there and it was warm, but I loved it! To watch the little girls faces as they experienced things for the first time was well worth the tired and cranky kids at the end of the night!

Well, there were a ton of other things that we did, but I need to get dinner going. So that will have to do for now!

It has come to my attention...

That it has been exactly 2 months since I last blogged.  It just seems that facebook is so much quicker and easier to do updates on!  But since I'm here in beautiful sunny California, I don't have any pictures to post.  So, I'll do a quick update on what's going on in our lives...

Conner finished baseball season with Mike coaching him.  We had a great year.  An Awesome team.  And fabulous parents!  I always have a bit of depression when the season is over and I don't get to see my baseball friends for a while.  They finished their season placing 5th in county.  Not too shabby!  We missed the state tournament by 1 game.  Oh well.  Maybe next year!

Ann-Elise finished her softball season and had a great time.  She is turning into quite the player.  However, she is still undecided as to whether or not she'll continue to play.  

Alia and Ann-Elise (well, and I) am gearing up for cheer season which starts in just over a week.  That should be a lot of fun.

Adrie is signed up for fall micro soccer for the young kids.  She is pretty excited about that.  I'm sure it will be quite comical!

Caile and Adrie both will be attending preschool in September.  Adrie will be returning to her same teacher and Caile will be starting with a new one.  They are both VERY excited!

Alia and Ann-Elise are starting school at St. Luke this year.  They are really excited and it's fun to see them work through their anxieties about going to a new school.  I know that they will do great and make some great friends.

Mike just got back from a trip to Costa Rica.  Maybe next time I'll get to go with him!!!

Well, that's us in a nut shell.  I'll post pics when I have them!