The Nichols Loose Change

End of 2011

2012-01-08T20:21:00.001-08:00

As we said farewell to 2011 we paused to remember all the great things 2011 brought us. It was fun and exciting for all 5 of us to bring in New Years 2012 together! Lets do this!!!

Our Christmas

2012-01-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

We always love having Christmas morning at our house. We wake up and have a quick breakfast, make a fire and start with stockings and then move to the gifts. We stay in pjs all day and just play with all the new gifts. Its one of our favorite days of the year! One super memorable thing about this Christmas was that mommy and daddy bought each other the same gift!!! Mommy surprised daddy with a visit from Todd to ride motos and daddy surprised mommy with a visit from Tammie for a girls weekend! It was so cool!

Nichols Family Christmas

2012-01-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

The Nichols family Christmas on Christmas Eve is always full of such wonderful memories. What a blessing to be together with family all day and celebrate with each other.

Brunch, the nativity play, gifts and dinner, its a full day and sooooo full of love.

Gingerbread house time!

2012-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

It was the 2nd annual gingerbread house decorating party! We had almost 30 kids come over and decorate little graham cracker houses. What a fun afternoon and great way to start the Christmas break.

Deep Sea fishing

2012-01-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Josh's best frined Trevor celebrated his 10th birthday doing a deep sea fishing trip! What an amazing experience! The boys were out for 5 hours and learned so much stuff about fishing.

Happy Birthday Trevor!

Jack turns 5!!!

2012-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

OUr little Jack Jack turns 5!!!! He's been waiting to turn 5 since he was born! He wanted a party a party with his friends and cousins at Nickel City. So ona friday night in early December we all met for a night of arcade fun to celebrate this amazing boy. Jack is so amazing and has the greatest heart and tempermant. His sweet spirit adds so much to our family dynamic. His favorite birthday gift? His first itouch just like Josh and Mimi. It hasn't left his hands since.

Happy Birthday buddy! We love you "past words" (as you like to say).

Halloween

2011-11-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween you guys dressed up as Mario, a ladybug and a Illuminite guy. You all looked so good in your costumes. We had pizza at the Spikings house and trick or treated with them in their neighborhood. What a blast!

America's Got Talent LIVE

2011-11-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

We took the whole family to Vegas to see America's Got Talent Live!!! It was a show for the last 6 finalists to come back and show their stuff. It was at Ceasars Palace and was absolutely AMAZING!!!! What a great time! We also saw the Mandalay Bay Resort, the Bellagio fountain show, and Ceasars Palace. We drove the strip at night to see all the excitement and the lights. On the way home we took a detour to get fireworks and then when we hit traffic for 3 hours and decided to take break, we found a quiet hidden little steakhouse that was so quaint and charming. We ate to our hearts content, even Jack was so happy to have celery and ranch all to himself. We got home at midnite tired and ready for bed, but had such a great trip!!!!

Our Cross Country Runner

2011-11-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Creekside had a cross country run that was district wide for the elementary schools. Mimi signed up and ran the race with all the 3rd grade girls. She ran awesome and showed such school pride. She has some fast little feet with a runners form! Way to go MIMI!!!

Flag Football

2011-11-03T20:52:00.001-07:00

Josh played a season of flag football! He loved being able to play football again without all the pads of pop warner. The flag league was just to play and have a good time and he definitley had a good time. He had a great coach and great teammates. Thye had 2 tough first games but after that they played like rockstars. In one game Josh got a headbutt but he also ran in the extra point on a touchdown. He was awarded the game ball for that game! Way to go JOSH!!! It was also the same game that grandma and grandpa Terry got to see and Auntie Tara and Jared and Ellizabeth. So Cool!!!

Karate!!!!

2011-11-03T20:49:00.001-07:00

Mimi and Jack decided to start karate one day a week! They are doing great! It takes alot of concentration and discipline to learn all the moves. Their intructor Mr. B was daddys instructor when daddy did karate. Maybe Jack and Mimi will go farther than he did!!!

Josh turns DOUBLE DIGITS!!!

2011-11-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

This was a big brithday for Josh!!! He turned 10 years old. He has grown into such an amazing young man. He loves playing flag football, dodgeball, swimming, basketball and driving his dune buggy and tubing behind the boat. He has the most amazing heart and kind spirit. We are so proud of him! For his party, he had a cousin party and a friends party. For his friends party he went to Lazer tag and then had a sleepover! 10 boys for a sleepover was crazy fun! His bog gift for turning 10 years old was his own itouch!

Jacks first day

2011-11-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

Jack started his last year of preschool! He got to have the same teacher as Josh (she was his assistant teacher), Mimi, JT, and Jared! Mrs. Lair is awesome and Jack loves preschool!!!

First Day of School (again)

2011-08-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Summer is over and now its back to school for everyone! Jack still has a few weeks, but Josh and Mimi had to head in to school! Josh got Mrs. Bennett with Trevor, Will and Arliss in his class! Stoked! And Mimi got Ms. Charbonneau! What a great year awaits us!!!

End of summer

2011-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

The last week of summer we decided to end with the annual trip to Soak City!!! Jack even got to do the big water slides. He was so brave!!! Mommy and daddy also celebrated their 12th anniversary. We went 5th row to Miranda Lambert and dinner at Peohe's. Daddy also got mommy a Tiffanys bracelet and necklace. What a sweet gift!

The big 40!!!

2011-08-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

The amazing man that takes care of our family turned 40 this year!!!! He got a new motorbike and had an accident that dislocated his shoulder, broke his shoulder, broke his elbow and dislocated his thumb. It was craxy!!! He was so tough to handle it the way he did. He even rode to the hospital in the car. No ambulance. So his birthdya plans changed a bit. He hung out with us in the morning and then we got ready for a fun backyard bbq with all his friends. Then mommy and the kids left and they had a crazy boys night! What a blast!!! His gifts? nascar racing lessons, deep sea fishing, and some other small things. Turning 40 was pretty good!!!

Campland Again!!!

2011-08-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

We loved Campland so much the first time that we decided to go again! This time we went with the Spikings. What a great 4 days! It was soooo fun!!!! We boated, tubed and mommy paddle boarded. Daddy was amazing. It had only been a month since his motorbike accident. Even with a recovering dislocated shoulder, broken shoulder, broken elbow and broken thumb, he was out there driving the boat and setting up camp! What a trooper!!!

Campland

2011-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

In July we went to Cmapland on the bay with Trish and CHris and the kids! We also brought Trevor with us. We were supposed to camp sunday thru tuesday. But tuesday morning we all woke up and we were not even close to be ready to go home. So we packed up and moved sites and stayed another night!!!! It was awesome! We swam at the pool, boated in the bay (thanks daddy for getting the boat ready and for learning all the boating rules), rode bikes, took showers, and ate like champions!!! It was a blast. Only bummer was Josh got burned with hot butter when he was popping popcorn over the fire. But he handled it like a champ! It was an absolute blast of a trip!!!
(my computer crashed and we lost all the photos from the trip. such a bummer!)

Lake Skinner

2011-07-16T19:32:00.001-07:00

For Fathers Day the Nichols family celebrated by camping at Lake Skinner. What a blast to be with the family. There was a water fountain park, fishing, biking, etc. The kids brought their own tents and slept in them all by themselves. What a cool memory!

Fair Time

2011-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Del Mar Fair is the highlight to the start of our summer for sure!!!! We love to ride all the rides in kiddie land and we have some of our favorite fair food we eat too! This year the family favorite ride was the one that pulls you up and drops you down. Troy and I went on it 2 times and the kids went on it 4 times!

Our favorite food was potatoe spirals, grilled corn, mimi had a chili cheese dog too. Pineapple and cotton candy are a must too.

Love the fair and all the fun it has to offer! What a day!!!

DANCE DANCE DANCE!!!

2011-07-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

Our little dancer had her recital this month! It was a big day! She was in 2 numbers for 2 shows so we arrived at the performing arts center at 12 and didnt leave again until 10pm. It was a huge day and Mimi was absolutely AMAZING!!! She hit every step and beat right on cue even making facial expressions to match the feel of the song. We were so proud of her! She has teh fastest feet! Both her tap and jazz performances required her to move her feet at lightening speed and she can do it! We are so proud of her and her performance! Way to go Mimi!

24 hours in Palm Springs

2011-07-06T22:41:00.001-07:00

Summer was just starting and we were still wrapping things up before we were totally free for the summer, but we couldn't wait another moment. We had to get out of town! So we found a great deal at Rancho Las Palmas in Palm Springs and headed out for an overnight! What a blast!
We swam all afternoon, daddy brought in Rubios for dinner and we watched Mars Needs Moms. After a fun long day, we slept and got up in the morning to room service breakfast! Then back to the pool for a couple more hours of swimming, and then it was time to come home. What a great trip!!!

In the movie the charachter named Milo had to walk on the moon. When Jack was walking in the lazy river, it reminded him of the movie and how Milo looked when he walked on the moon. So he turned to daddy and said, "look dad, I'm Milo-ing!" So we now have a new phrase when we are floating/walking in a lazt river!

Visiting Princess Belle for Tea...

2011-07-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

I don't think the magic of meeting a Disney princess ever goes away.

There is a local mall in San Diego that has made meeting a princess and having tea with her a very easy and memorable moment in your daughters life. Mimi and my neice Mikaila got to join Belle for tea for the afternoon.

Belle came to introduce herself to each little girl, then the girls got to pick a princess outfit to wear at the tea, then get their hair done like a royal princess and then the tea began!!! The table was set with real dishware and the girls ate snacks, played games, and listened to stories read by Princess Belle. At the end you were invited to a quick photo shoot with her to commemorate this special day.

What an amazing time for the girls. It was so fun to watch them enjoy the time and attention from one of their favorite princesses!

Of course, being that we were at the mall, the girls had to make a stop at Mimi's favorite store Justice and do a small shopping spree together. What fun!

Diva Party and Mimi gets her ITouch!

2011-04-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Mimi decided she wanted a diva party this year with her friends. So we painted wood dolls, made bottle cap necklaces, diva bracelets and danced our hearts out!!! Our friend Claire Weede (11) made the cupcakes and we gave Kidz Bop 19 CDs and bubble as a party favor. But the highlights of the party were Jamie coming and putting feathers in all the girls hair and also Mimi and her friends and Taylor and Brinley do a dance routine they made up to a Taylor Swift song. Super Cool! I lvoe having a daughter to do all this fun girl stuff with!!!

A Visit from Family

2011-04-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Its not too often that family comes to visit besides my mom and dad. But this April, my cousin Grant and his wife Jessica came to visit for a while week with their 2 kids. What an awesome time to reconnect and talk about old times. My heart was so touched by remembering some of the things my cousins and I used to do when we were growing up together. Josh, Mimi and Jack loved playing with their kids and we loved sitting and talking old times. What a fun week. It ended with a big trip to California Adventure. At the end of the day it started sprinkling so we headed out to the car. Look at the beautiful rainbow God placed over Disneyland and California Adventure to help us remember such a fun week!

CRASH!!!

2011-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Jack and mommy TOTALLED the Sequoia!!! On our way to preschool one day, Jack and I got into a car accident. Mommy looked down for a moment and the lady in front her stopped to turn left on a 45 mile an hour road, but forgot to get into the turn lane!!! oops! Big crash, but everyone was ok. Way too busy of a day to get into an accident so Jack and I took care of business and got back on the road again! Grandpa just happened do drive by right after the accident, so he was a big help getting us to preschool and to a car rental place. 3 weeks later God gave us a new car better then our old car! We got a $5000 dollar pay out to use as a down and got an 02 Sequoia with 93000 miles, leather and DVD!!!! God is good!!!

Mimi;s birthday day! and a family race!

2011-04-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago, God blessed us with a beautiful little baby girl. She has become such a sweet spirited, lively, loving, and spirited young girl in her 8 years of life. She has developed a love for running and on her birthday wanted to do a run! On her actual birthday there was scheduled the Carlsbad 5000. Each age group was broken down and designated a distance. We registered with the Spikings and all ended up running in honor of Mimi's birthday. Josh and trev ran the 1 mile, Mimi and Taylor ran the 1 mile and little Jack ran the 1/4 mile. Then she got to go to lunch at Benihanas with just mom and dad and then go shopping with her friend Brinley at Justice. It was a super fun and fabulous birthday! What a blessing this little girl is to our family!

Dressin' Up

2011-04-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

The kids school has a fundraiser dinner every year and Troy and I finally got to go!!! The theme was Acaddemy Awards so of course it was so fun to shop and get ready for. I got my dress and shoes and jewelry for $120!!! What a fun night and the school was able to make thousands of dollars! Parking spots went for $1600 each!!!

Visit from an old friend

2011-04-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

We got to spend a weekend with one of my dearest friends and her family. I hadn't seen her in years, but no matter how long we are apart, we always just pick up like it was yesterday. It was so fun to spend time with her and her husband but also with her kids and get to know them and see glimpses in them of her. What a blessing to my heart to spend some time with this amazing woman!!!

Dinosaurs!

2011-04-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Every year in second grade the students work for months and do a Dinosaur musical for the school and parents. This year was Mimi's turn to perform in the Dino play! She did a FABULOUS job! She had to sing several grade wide songs but was also given a speaking part as well. She memorized the lines and spoke them very clear. Great job Mimi girl!!!

Ending an awesome year of Gods goodness and staring a new one

2011-01-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

We have had such a great year in so many ways. God has been so good to our family and the stuff in this blog is proof of His blessing. We brought the year to a close at Nana's house with stew and the banging of pots at 8:00. Then all the aunts and uncles and the Slushers and Spikings came over to our house and we celebrated until 3:45!!! The kids even made it to 1:45!!! We finally said they had to go to sleep! Then everyone was up and going at about 8 and we had a huge pancake breakfast with everybody. What a great way to start the year!!!

Our little Tarzan turns 4!!!

2011-01-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

Our little Tarzan with a sweet heart turned 4 on the 22nd! He insisted that he have his party at Chuck E Cheese. So we got all the family and cousins and some close family friends, 5 large pizzas, 30 drinks, and 1,000 tokens and partied it up at Chuck E Cheese. He was so happy. HE doesn't like cupcakes so we had cupcakes and glazed donuts to eat for dessert. What a sweet boy Jack is in our family. He is a true gift and treasure to us!!!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning is one of my favorite mornings of the year. Listening to the kids walk down the hallway and hearing them talk about the gifts and the excitement in their voices is sooo contagious and so fun to hear.

We got up about 8 and had doughnuts really fast and started opening the gifts. What a fun time! We played all day long with all the toys. We just went from toy to toy and played. What a great day! Josh's big gift was his new bike, Mimi's was justice luggage and $50 gift card to Justice and Jacks big gift was a mini trampoline. They loved all their gifts!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

We always spend Christmas Eve day with the Nichols side of the family. It starts with brunch at Nanas house. After brunch we opened gifts and then we played all afternoon with all the new toys. Dinner was amazing, the cousins reinacted the nativity and then it was birthday party for Jesus time. Nana always makes the time together fun and memorable. We got home early enough to get kids in bed and get our house ready for Christmas morning.

more desert photos!

2011-01-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

Dunes!

2011-01-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

School got out friday before Christmas and we were off to the dunes in Glamis saturday morning! We needed a break to catch a breath before Christmas hit. It was a blast. It was our family, plus Trevor and Taylor, the Boyers, Travis and Tara and family, Ty and J.T, the Avila Family, and then Nana and Baca and the Gibbons and Jones came for one day. It was beautiful weather while it was raining non stop at home. On Sunday we had 18 kids riding motos all around camp! What a site!

There was also a lesson learned about Gods angels being with us ALL the time. Troy and Dave Gibbons had Matt, Mimi and Taylor in the big buggy. They were coming in from a big ride and Troy fishtailed it. As he fishtailed the buggy flipped! We all ran. Mimi was first out and ran like lightning. Everyone else was climbing out of seatbelts and seemed ok except Troy and Taylor. Troy was pretty shook up becuase he didnt see Mimi get out and thought she was trapped under the buggy and Taylor had the wind knocked out of her and her side hurt. We decided to rush her to the hospital. She was a trooper. They ended up flying her home to San Diego and she stayed in Childrens Hospital for 2 days. All was good, but what a reminder that God is ALWAYS with us protecting us. The crash could have been much worse and we were grateful there was no serious injury.

Josh and Trevor drove the little buggy nonstop and took little ones on rides around camp. They were so good about taking care of their goggles, checking their gas level before rides, and digging themselves out when they got stuck.

What an awesome trip!

Nichols Thanksgiving Picture

2011-01-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

We were able to finally get all of us together for a family photo! It happens once a year and is usually by a last minute chance, but we got it!!! Everyone is getting so big!

Gingerbread houses...

2010-12-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

We started a new tradition this year with the kids friends. It went really well and was a lot of fun so we are definitely gonna keep it going. We had 20 kids from school come over after school and decorate gingerbread houses. I read 2 books to them before we started. One was about Jesus being born and the other was There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell. It was an afternoon of total fun!!!

Turkey helpers...

2010-12-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving tradition starts with cinnamon rolls at nanas house with all the cousins. In the afternoon I come home to get a turkey baking. This year Mimi and Mikaila helped make the turkey with me. They prepped the turkey, made the stuffing, and then stuffed and bagged the turkey. It was soooooo yummy! I was so proud of them for their willingness to help.

Hope it starts a new tradition!

Disney Afternoon with mommy..

2010-12-15T22:09:00.001-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving break I took you guys to Disneyland to see the Christmas parade. It was so fun to have some mommy time at the Happiest Place on Earth. You guys really enjoyed the parade and really enjoyed making your custom mouse ears. You guys are so fun! I hope you like playing with me forever!

Desert season begins...

2010-12-15T22:05:00.001-08:00

Day trip to Glamis with teh family, Carly, Trevor, Taylor and Uncle Ty and JT and Uncle Travis and Jared. What a super fun day!!!! It was so fun to play in the dirt and watch bikes and buggys go up Olds Hill all day. When nite came we roasted hot dogs and made smores. There is nothing like a day in the dunes!

Mommy turns 35 and celebrates all week!

2010-12-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

I love birthdays! I celebrate with the kids birthdays the whole month of thier birthday. To celebrate the life of someone special to you is such a gift.

That being said, my 35th birthday was this year. I tell Troy I am only gonna get better with age and so far he is agreeing! :)

I wanted to do something really fun this year so I got some of my girlfriends together to go out for a nite on the town. What I didn't know is that Troy was gonna surprise us with a hummer limo!!! SO awesome!!!
It was the best night!!! Then I got to wake up the morning of my birthday to surprise guests with balloons and cards and a gift (Spiking crew) and dinner that night with my sister in laws.

But that wasnt it... then a couple days later I got a whole date day with my hubby! We went to breakfast and I got diamonds for my birthday! Wow! Was I surprised!

I felt so loved and excited with all the birthday celebrations and it was a great reminder of how blessed I really am. I am so humbled.

Helping Haiti

2010-12-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Troy and I planned a school wide community service project for the kids elementary school. They have almost 700 students and it turned out to be a huge success. We had each student bring in $5 and each student, whether or not they contributed $, packed a backpack for the kids in Haiti to go to school. Some families paid more than the $5 and other families coudlnt pay at all, but the point was to give the kids an experience to make a difference. Between the familes at the school and outside donors we raised $2100 and we only needed $2189. God was so good. Troys real estate company donated $600 to give our students wrsitbands to remember this special day. It was so cool to see God provide financially and to see all the students, teachers and families join in. It really made a difference in theit lives and is saving the lives of kids in Haiti. If they go to school for the day, then they get to go to the school kitchen and eat for the day.

What an amazing experience.

Halloween

2010-11-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Our little monkeys had very definite characters they wanted to dress up as this year for Halloween. What a fun night! We went to Nanas for stew and then trick o treated at Nana's neighborhood with some of the cousins. Nana's neigborhood is AWESOME!!!! All the houses get decorated and the people are so friendly and kind.

Josh was the Swamp Monster, Mimi was Hannah Montana and Jack was Luigi!

The Backyard Birthday Olympics are back!!!

2010-11-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Joshua turned 9!!! It is hard to believe this precious gift has already been with us for 9 years. He is an amazing boy with the most tender heart. He is so smart, kind, thoughtful, loving and has such an infectious little personality. He has a true heart and is such a gift to our family.

His favorite birthday party is to have his buddies over and to have the Backyard Olympics complete with medals and torch cupcakes. This year was a blast! He then has a Disney day and we play hookie from school and the family goes to California Adventure. Then last but not least, he celebrates with all his cousins! What a fun week of celebrations!!!

Vising in Hannah Montana!

2010-10-31T13:52:00.001-07:00

We pulled the kids out of school and boarded a plane to Missoula, Montana! Our awesome friends the Dry's live in Missoula on the Blackfoot River. We hadn't seen them in awhile and tickets were $60 each round trip so we decided it was time to pay them a visit. We had such a blast playing, hanging out, fly fishing, riding the carousel, finding elk carcasses, seeing Todds helicopter and just being with good friends. The trip was one that will be remembered for a lifetime. We miss you Todd, Tammie, Owen and Wyatt!!!

Jack is learning how to swim!

2010-10-31T13:47:00.001-07:00

With the big kids in school, we decided to give Jack some swim lessons on his non-preschool days. He LOVES the water and by the end of his first 8 lessons he was completely water safe! By lesson 10 he was swimming! Now he can jump off the side and swim over half way across the pool! His first teacher was Miss Andrea and then he switched to Mr. Josh. HE and Mr. Josh have a blast playing during lessons.

First Day of School (again)

2010-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Every summer must come to an end to usher in the new school year. Josh starts 3rd grade and Mimi starts 2nd and little Jack starts preschool. Although it is bittersweet to say goodbye to summer days and welcome the new school days, it is a fun day to get all dressed up and see your friends and new teachers. Josh has Mrs. Windes, Mimi has Ms Weidetz and Jack has Mrs. Johnson. What a great year this will be! Mommy bette be on her toes to keep up with this new schedule!

Troys 20th High School Reunion

2010-10-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

How does life pass by so quickly that you are 20 years out of high school, married, kids, career, etc.? Wow!!!! Troy just had his 20th High School Reunoin this summer. What a fun night! It was great for Troy to reconnect with some of his high school friends and nice for me to be able to meet some of these people that he tells memories about.

Family Reunion

2010-08-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

We spent our 11th anniversary in Washington! We took the kids to the camp where we met, saw all my family at the Wells family reunion, and did the Northwest Trek, Science Center, Pike Place Market and Ferry. What a fun trip. I think we could've stayed for a few more days, but we were thankful for the days we had. We got to travel for the first time with no stroller and no pack n play and car seats. Woohoo!!!! Seeing my family was the highlight. Some of my cousins I hadn't seen in 15+ years. We all used to play together all day long at the family reuniuons and it was so neat to watch all our kdis do teh same thing too.

SOAK CITY

2010-08-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Even though it was summer vacation, the kids still had to do some school work, reading and chores. They had to make their beds and learn how to do their own laundry. For every 24 checks they got, there was a reward earned. There reward earned was SOAK CITY!!!! What a fun day! We splashed in the water all day long. Jack wanted to go on the big water slides soooo bad but he was too short. We found little ones for him that he enjoyed but, he found one a little bigger and when he got off he jumped up and said that was so fun and that he was "freaking out!!!" Sooo funny!

Troy turns 39 and Trisha turns 30!!!

2010-08-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

For Troys birthday we went to the Tobey Keith and Trace Adkins concert with our friends Matt and Cheryl. It was an awsome time to relax and dance and enjoy some good old country music.

For Trisha's big 3-0 we did a spa day at Glenn Ivy and then met all the hubbys at dinner! What a fun day to celebrate such a special woman!

Big Bear Lake

2010-08-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

After Carmel we took acouple days and relaxed at Big Bear Lake with the Spiking Family. What a blast!!!! We relaxed, we jet skiied, we ate, and we laughed.

Nichols Family Trip to Carmel

2010-08-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Nichols crew were given a vacation home in Carmel for a week!!! It was a beautiful home and we had so much fun! We left July 4th and stayed the night and watched fireworks in Cambria and then saw the elephant seals. Then we made the rest of the drive to Carmel. What an awesome week with the family. We went to the aquarium, to Pebble Beach, to some parks and had lots of fun just playing with the cousins at the house.

First Trip to the River!!!

2010-06-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

We got invited by a Moms In Touch family to spend a weekend at the river with them at their river house. We had a blast!!!! The kids all got along great and the adults loved all the time too! The kids learned how to boat, ride a tube, float down the river, and ride wave runners. Josh even drove the wave runner! It was a great expereince and we made some new friends too.

I think the river is going to become a family activity for us in the summer. THe family we went with was very cool and shared all their water toys and were just a really sweet godly family to be around.

What a blessing and what a memorable weekend!

RB LIVE

2010-06-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

Mimi did a test recital at the RB street fair. It was so cute and she did such a fabulous job! She hates all the make up and hair but loves to dance!

My Big Girl Turns 7!

2010-06-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

My sweet spirited girl is 7 years old now! What an amazing girl she is becoming. Such a spirit of strength and courage. She loves to dance, sing, do arts and crafts, and read. She is such a jewel in our family and we would definitley be missing something if she wasnt with us!

I get to horseback ride!!!

2010-05-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

A new hobby that I have found is horseback riding. I love it!!! This is the first time in many years that I have the opportunity to explore and devote some time to a passion that is just for me. Every friday I get to go ride in Ramona with Barbara Hughes and enjoy her company as well as learn how to ride. I ride her horse Amanda and love every minute!

What a renewal to my soul to get to go out to nature and walk quiet pastures!

Last trip of teh season...

2010-05-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Its the end of riding season. We all wanted one more trip so we braved the heat and the Boyers and the Spikings joined us for one last weekend in the dunes. What a blast!!! We swam in the canal, tried to do fire bombs (we couldnt get them to work this time), had a silly string fight and played alphabet games around teh fire. It was a great weekend and it was a great way to celebrate Mothers Day.

There is something relaxing, natural, slow and happy about being in the desert. I guess it is being away from all the distractions that helps, but my soul gets so renewed when we are there.

Our Big Girl Turns 7!!!

2010-04-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Jessica Joy Nichols entered the world APril 2 2003! The world and specifically our family has never been the same since. She named herself Mimi at 18 months and will now only answer to the name Mimi. She just had her 7th birthday party and what a wonderful day to celebrate this amazing gift from God! She is the true definition of her middle name JOY and what a JOYous day we had celebrating her. She wanted an American Girl all crafts party. SO crafting we did! The girls had little baskets and we made picture frames, sugar cookies, tube sock bracelets, pins, a set of notecards, and a headband. Mimi has the sweetest girls in her life and I hope that many of these friendships stay with her as the years pass.

Happy Birthday Mimi!!!

Spring Break!!!

2010-04-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

What an awesome trip to the dunes. The Spiking family came with us and we had the most amazing time out at Ogelby.

Fire bombs, hot seats, fire lines, rides, running out of gas, and of course Mrs. Spikings bee sting and moms crash! Cartwheeled 25 feet with my quad but got back up and kept riding!!! 48 hours later I had a hurt shoulder, bruised collar bone, and charlie horse and bruises everywhere. It was such a fun time to hang out, relax, make some memories and deepen friendships.

Easter with the family...

2010-04-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating Easter with all the family and cousins! What a celebration! Everyone was here and uncle Ty did a great devotional and we did "jesus in the tomb" crescent rolls. All the kids just played and played and rode quads around the yard. It was truly a blessed day. We did actually have 2 surprises though! We had 2 small eathquakes in the afternoon that got us a little shook up.

We also got to celebrate Mimi's 7th birthday with all the family too! Mimi is becoming such a amazing young girl and is soooo full of life. What a privilege to be her mommy!

The Beach in MARCH!!!!

2010-03-24T17:26:00.001-07:00

It was a warm lazy saturday so the kids and I decided to pack dinner and head to the beach. Surprisingly we got to enjoy the water, it wasn't too cold, dig holes, and daddy met up with us for dinner. Josh looked so old carrying his bogey board out into the water. I realized I have officially raised Cailfornia babes!!! What a great night to relax, enjoy Gods creation and get our hearts ready for summer!

Dinosaur School Performance

2010-03-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Josh got to do a Dinosaur school performance this month as well!!! He was given a talking part and had to learn quite a few songs. It was so fun to watch him perform.

Barnes & Noble Singing..

2010-03-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Mimi got to sing at Barnes & Noble with her class this month! So cute to see all the songs that Mr. Lee had taught them. She loved practicing the songs at night while she waited to fall asleep!

Thumpers!!!

2010-02-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Little Jack Jack is now finally old enough to do the Little Kickers program at the North County Soccer Park!!! Josh and Mimi both took soccer classes when they were little and loved it. So now it is Mr. Jacks turn to kick the ball around.

After his first class was over, all he could say was that he loved it adn wanted it to go longer!!! He loves kicking goals and building cone towers and kicking the ball all over the field.

I love this special time with him each week. Just to focus on him and something he loves and is learning all at the same time. He just smiles and laughs through the whole class.

Monster Truck Show

2010-02-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

At the end of January we got to go to the Monster Truck show with our friends Matt and Cheryl. It was the first year we went as a family. It was so loud but soooo fun. Those trucks are amazing! There was a woman driver and I must say she was a very good driver. Maybe I should try that one day?

Flood!

2010-01-22T17:55:00.000-08:00

We had the worst storm hit Southern California! L.A. had areas of flooding and our creek rose and flooded the backyard! The water came up to the base of the back wall and flooded up to the middle of the backyard! What an adventure!

Jawbone in the Mojave Desert

2010-01-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

We got invited to join a group of about 7 families and spend a long weekend in the Mojave Desert. Jawbone to be exact. We were 7 miles off a main road on a beautiful plateau and rode our little hearts out. The kids made tons of new friends, chased rockets, did some small hikes and drove the buggy into the ground. We stayed in the rv and had to leave a day early because of rain. We drove to L.A. and had dinner with some friends while the kids played for hours. Then we drove home to San Diego in the RAIN. Daddy is amazing driving a 37 foot rv adn towing a flatbed trailer. The kids slept on the way home all cuddled up in a bed. What a TRIP!!!!

Jack has a special day with mommy and daddy

2010-01-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

At each of the kids birthdays we do a special Disney day to celebrate. The kids were very busy at school and Jack just wanted to go to Downtown Disney, so we broke tradition, and did a mommy daddy day with just Jack to Downtown Disney. What a FUN day! We went to the Lego store, he got his face painted and made daddy do it too (mommy got a way with a tatto ring) and then he spent $50 at Build a Bear. It was a very generous gift from the Rios and he loved picking out his T-rex adn picking one for Josh. Mimi and Carly. Then it was off to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It was such a great day. HE is such a sweet boy and so full of life and fun! He is a TREASURE!!!

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T16:36:00.001-08:00

Our New Years Day tradition is to sit down with the kids and talk about the fun in the orevious year and talk about the new things to work on in the new year.
Here is what the kids said,
Josh
2009 highlight was the family trip to Seattle.
2010 goals are to help run the dog, take better care of his ds, pick up his toys and learn how to fold clothes (hmm? I can;t figure that one out, but i am stoked)

Mimi
2009 highlight was this Christmas. She loved all the season had to offer as well as her gifts.
2010 goals are having a better attitude, being nice, not getting stressed and learning to fold clothes (again, not sure why the clothes thing but I will take it)

Jack
2009 highlight was Christmas and all his gifts
2010 goals being a first time listener and being better about drinking less milk and eating more food.

How cute are those? Loved the family time around the table talking with them and hearing their goals.

Desert Time!!!

2010-01-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

We are all geared up and ready to ride!!! Troy worked out a real estate deal with a client that resulted in us using his 37 foot rv for a few days to do our first trip of the season out to the desert.

Our friends Matt and Cheryl joined us as well as Uncle Travis and cousin Jared.

We had more fun that we can share and made some amazing memories. Josh and Carly got to drive the other kids around in the little buggy all by themselves and I got to go to the desert in style and ride my new quad. It was such a blast!

I just had to post a video of Josh tearing it up in the little buggy. He got to jumping so hard he broke one of the shocks!

The Nichols Family Christmas

2010-01-01T16:14:00.001-08:00

The Nichols always do Christmas on Christmas Eve, but this year we had 2 family members with the flu. So sad! So we decided to wait and do it the day after Christmas.

Nana always makes it special with yummy cinnamon rolls for brunch, the Christmas story acted out by the cousins, singing carols, and eating a delicious dinner. Even the gifts from the family are always sooo fun. We draw names between cousins and nana and papa spoil all the grandkids.

What a fun day!!!

Christmas Morning

2010-01-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas morning!!! I love the tree with the gifts and I love hearing the kids gasp at amazement when they come down the hall and see the living transformed with surprises. It was such a fun day to be together and play play play with every new toy.

The kids loved every gift and loved being in their pjs all day!

Halloween!

2009-11-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Just a quick photo of Halloween!

We had chili dinner at Travis and Tara's house which was delicious! Then it was off to trick or treat in Nana's neighborhood. It was a blast! This is the first Halloween that Jack rememebers and could really participate in. He was so cute running from house to house. After every house he would find me and say, "Mommy! I got more candy!" It was adorable. He would also tell each house Happy Halloween until they said it back to them. He was the hit of the show!

What a fun night! And during the day Joshua had the Chocolate Chip Bowl for football and his team won! 28-8! Go Gators!

A few of Joshua's birthday photos

2009-11-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

Joshua turns 8 years old!!!

2009-11-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe he is 8 years old! We have loved every moment of this little mans life over the last eight years. I have no complaint about this gift from God. From his birth to his big 2nd grade year in school he has been a joy to parent and watch grow. God has given him such a sweet heart and amazing spirit. He is so tender and very sensitive to others. He has amazing patience and a giggle that is infectious. He is loved by his brother and sister and his cousins and all his friends.

This has been a big year of growth for Josh too. He is doing great in school, has worked very hard at tackle football this season and still finds time to squeeze in his favorite love of xbox and nintendo ds.

We are so proud of him!

He got to celebrate in style this year. You all know how the Nichols love birthdays!

He had a friends party that was the Olympics theme again and then his party with his cousins, followed by a trip to California Adventure the day of his birthday and then a team cupcake and class chocolate lollipop celebration.

I think turning 8 willbe in his memory for a long time. What a fun celebration and

First Day of School!!!

2009-08-23T00:05:00.002-07:00

It is amazing the extreme spectrum of emotions you feel as you see your kiddos start their first day of school. I thought it would get easier eacch year, but am finding that the emotions just stay the same each year. You experience total excitement for them but also worry about how they will navigate their day, who will they make friends with and what is their teacher like.

With my 2 school age kids being so different in temperant, I found my emotions all over the place the first day of school. We started the morning with letters from their teachers from the previous year, which were so awesome and encouraging to read to them. We got dressed and packed up and drove 1/2 to school. We walked in and made our way through the people to their classrooms. Mimi was so blessed to get Joshua's teacher from last year, but Josh had a teacher that was new to us. She has proven to be a jewel and Josh loves her already but leaving him with a stranger was a little tough. He was totally ready and not nervous at all. I was so proud of him. Mimi was very brave and went right in to her class as well with not a tear.

As we walked back to the car with just Jack, we realized how quiet our days were gonna be and that Jack was going to miss his big brother and sister alot. He just lay his head on Troy's shoulder and was very quiet. We of course went to Toys r Us to pick out surprises for everybody to celebrate their first day accomplishments which helped distract Jack and mommy from the bit of lonliness we both were feeling. I will love my time with just Jack and have already been savoring every moment because he will be in school in a year too. I don't want to miss one moment of their childhood. So Jack and I are having fun, but also love it when it gets to finally be 3:20 and we can go pick the big kids up!

First

2009-08-23T00:05:00.001-07:00

Disneyland but not Disneyland...

2009-08-22T23:53:00.000-07:00

Our very last event of the summer was to take the kids to the Disneyland Hotel for some much needed relaxation. We had an absolute blast this summer, but were in need of a little down time so we decided to do an overnight at the Disneyland Hotel. Whenever we go up and stay we are so involved at the theme park that we never really get to enjoy the hotel so we skipped the park and did the hotel! What a blast! We swam in Captn Hooks pool for 3 hours! Then we went to our room and showered and had a little rest before we took off to dinner at Goofy Kitchen. That was a while fun event in and of itself! Then we attempted the theme park but it was so crowded we just went back to our stress free room and got snacks! The room server surprised us and brought the kids up 4 huge mickey mouse cookies. What a treat! After a good nights sleep, we were of course awakened by our Mickey Mouse wake up call and breakfast in bed. The kids loved the special treatment! It was a great end to a great summer!

As a mom sending 2 of my 3 kiddos off to be at school all day it was so nice to reflect on the summer and see all the time we had playing, hanging out and going on adventures. It was truly a summer to remember and I will never for get the last 8 weeks I had with them. What a TREASURE!

End of summer road trip!

2009-08-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

We decided to take another road trip before school started! It was going to just be the kids and I but daddy surprised us when he came out to the car to tell us good bye and told us that he couldn't bear to see us leave on a road trip without him again so he packed a bag and JOINED US!!! We went to visit our firends in Atwater, CA. We learned all about sweet potato farming, drove a John Deere tractor that had tires bigger than us, learned all about a dairy and saw a calf just after it had been born. It was one of the most educational trips I think we have ever taken.

The best part though, was seeing our friends. We had so much fun visiting our friends and felt sooo loved! They loved on us and made us feel so special. They are the most amazing people and give of themselves so much. Thank you to Dr. Susie, RObert and all the kids, Christina and Brent! It was a very special time with all of you!

The treasure of Gods word

2009-08-22T23:35:00.001-07:00

I had an awesome Moms In Touch group to pray with this year. We decided to plan a one day VBS for our kiddos since we had so much enjoyed praying for all the kids through the school year. We had 10 kids total between all of us and picked "The Treasure of God's Word" as our theme. We made t-shirts, did a story, a treasure hunt, made verse packs, painted treasure boxes, had lunch, and ended with a big swim party.

The kids had a blast but us moms did too. It was so fun to plan a day that was going to teach them about the treasure of Gods word and hiding it in their heart. After all, that is what us moms did each week as we sat and prayed Gods word over them. It was a really fun day!

Soak City

2009-08-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

One of our summer days was spent at Soak City! We have never done this theme park, but it will definitely be added to the summer vacation tradition list. It was a blast. We rented a cabana for the day which included a waiter and we spent ALL day playing in the water and coming back to the cabana to take a snack break. Josh and Carlys favorite was the wave pool and Mimi and Jack loved the wading pools. It felt so good to just soak up the sun and be in the water. But the best part was being together as a family all day!

Say "Good Bye" to 7 1/2 years of diapers!

2009-07-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

The newest news in our house is that Jack has decided he wants to wear big boy pants and not a diaper. Out of the blue on friday night he followed me into the bathroom and decided he was going to take his diaper off and start peeing on the potty! I hadn't planned on potty training for another 6 months but he had another idea. He was so proud of himself! He has done so well! I offer treats after he goes as a reward, but he isn't interested. All he wants is to take his die cast cars Lightening McQueen, Chick Hicks and The King in with him for them to see. He sets them up on the counter and says "watch guys". Then when he's done he says "did you see that?" and out he walks with his buddies in hand. Feeling that he needed some kind of reward, I made a sticker chart and every 5 stickers he gets to pick a toy out of a toy basket. He seems to like that. So... here we are. 7 1/2 years of diapering and it has come to an end. Although I never minded changing my kids diapers, I must say that there is something accomplishing and completing about the diaper era ending. My little man is turning into a big kid. Am I really ready for that?

Here Comes The Bride...

2009-07-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week vacation to Seattle, Washington visiting my (Bonnie's) family. My brother got married to my new sister in law Dana and we had a ring bearer to provide for the wedding. Joshua was asked to be the ring bearer and was so honored and proud. He stood up front like a grown man. It was precious to watch Troy teach him how to shake hands like a man so he could do his duty in the recieving line after the ceremony. Seeing that handsome little 7 year old in a tux and watching him act like such a young man made me realize how much he is growing up. He is a very special and unique little man. I am so proud of the boy he is.

We also had 6 days of a vacation while we were up there. Every day held a new adventure and the kids were just "awe" struck the whole time. They loved seeing moms old stomping grounds, seeing the camp where mommy and daddy fell in love, being spoiled by grandma and grandma and Aunt Gayle and Uncle Denny. They loved the Space Needle, feeding sea gulls, the Science Center, the ferry rides, the clam chowder, feeding buffalo from the car, the adventures were endless. They even got excited about seeing a slug and learning how to flip over rocks to find crabs. Grandma and grandpa had all kinds of fun toys and special things waiting for them when they got there. We weren't sure they would want to come home! All in all it was a very wonderful vacation and full of memories. (I can only put a couple pictures on the blog, but you can see them all on facebook.com)

Five Day Road Trip with Mom!!!

2009-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

After the fair we took off for a 5 day road trip with just mommy. I took the 3 kids and their friend Calry to Santa Cruz to meet up with our good friends from Montana and spend 3 days in their family cabin. It was awesome. The kids were perfect car riders. We stopped on our way up to visit my good friend Diana and her family. She has 5 kids and they all hit it off with my kids right away. after a 3 hour lunch and swim with them it was back in the car for another 5 hours to get to the cabin. Once we got to the cabin we had all kinds of fun there too. We explored some wilderness, we learned about "leaves of 3 let them be" and "if it's yellow, let mellow.." and went to the Santa cruz Boardwalk, the marine reasearch center, the Redwood Forest and just relaxed and hung out with friends. On the way home we stopped by Diana's again and stayed a night in the hotel and then came home. But we finished the trip off with a celebratory stop at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Then it was time to unpack, repack, and head out camping for one night in Wrightwood with some friends. It was a crazy week, but sooooo very fun! One the kids and I will never forget. We did miss daddy, but we had a lot of FUN!!!

All the pictures are on facebook. There was too many to put on the blog.

County Fair

2009-06-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, school got out thursday the 18th so what better way to celebrate than to do a day at the San Diego County Fair! We had a blast and spent all day on rides and rides and more rides! Jack and Carly got their faces painted, we made frisbees, ate funnel cake and rode more rides than we could count! It was a perfect day. Even Jack could ride almost everything and as we found out has no fear of any ride, drop or spin! He woudl scream AGAIN, AGAIN as soon as the ride finished. It was such a fun day to focus on one another and just laugh ourselves silly!

Surprise!!!

2009-05-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a big surprise! I was getting the yard ready for a big playdate with a bunch of kids and their mommies. I was filling swimming pools, setting up the bouncey and next on my list was to get the sandbox cover off and make sure the sand was clean. As I took the cover off I saw cuddled up in a ball 4 wild baby bunnies! SURPRISE!!! At first I was worried they were rates! We have rats on our property, but then I saw their cute little ears and was so happy to see they were bunnies! So here are some photos of our new little temporary visitors.

Our little Jack Jack

2009-05-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were little and something new would just be the center of your universe? Well Jack has had 2 weeks of new loves that he just couldn't part with. Not even during his nap. It all started with Mimi's pink mittens. We don't know totally why he was in love with these mittens but he was. He played in them and slept in them. A week later the newness wore off and we were back to seeing his hands again.

Then he decided he wanted to be just like daddy. Daddy wears hats alot so he decided he was going to wear his baseball hat all the time too. He took an entire nap in his baseball hat.

Just the other day he decided to nap in his new Reef flip flops.

He is such a delight to share life with and watch grow up.

Strawberry fields

2009-05-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

What coudl be more fun than picking berries with your cousins?

Mimi and Jack and their 2 cousins Jared and Elizabeth got to go strawberry picking the other day. It was so fun! It was quite an experience and one we will do again! The kids couldn't wait to eat their hard work so we ate strawberries the whole way home. I never knew strawberries could be so messy!

Mimi is 6 years old

2009-05-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of Mimi's 6 year old pictures. She is such a beautiful girl inside and out.

A day to feel loved

2009-05-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

I awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of my kiddos running around in the house and my husband bustling around. Could it be? My family is up before me? That means I got to SLEEP IN!!! What a great start to Mothers Day. Next was a beautiful pancake breakfast and homemade floral arrangements. Troy read a list of the activity ideas and gifts that he and the kids had come up with. The kids favortite though was that I was not to do a bit of work all day. I couldn't even wipe the table after breakfast. Then it was off to the mall to do a little shopping. I got an awesome kitchen knife and a new workout outfit. It was fun just to have everyone at the mall with me. How cute! We finished off a really fun day with dinner at the park with all teh cousins and then banana splits at Auntie Pattis. What a glorious day. I couldn't have planned it better myself.

Mimi's school had a tea for Mothers Day. We did a statio rotation and go tto make things together, listen to a story, have a snack and take pictures. They say some really cute mommy songs too.

Joshua made me a portrait of me. It was so cute with all of its details. He was very proud of his artistic abilities.

It was truly a fantastic day! I love being a mom!

Oh where oh where have those little eggs gone...

2009-04-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

Easter evening we went over to ourneighbors house for a bbq and egg hunt. It was a blast! There were 120 eggs to find and they all had money in them. Then the kids got to go the "store" to spend their hard earned money. They had so much fun! It was so nice to hang out, hunt for eggs, eat really good food, and just laugh and have fun. What a day of celebration!

That Silly Bunny...

2009-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

The kids love to wake up on Easter morning adn hunt for their baskets of surprises. The older they get, the more excited they get which correlates to early holiday mornings to start the fun.

Jack on the other hand was having nothing to do with his basket until he had his morning bottle of milk. We had a special treat this year too because my parents got to be herw with us this year.

Easter with the cousins

2009-04-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter a day early with all the family. The cousins were so cute and excited about every little detail. Grandma had crafts, we did an egg hunt (it was wet so we had it in the house) and we all got to hold our new baby cousin Elizabeth. She is a doll.

It was a wonderful time for the family to be together and enjoy the resurrection of our savior!

Coloring Eggs!

2009-04-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

The kids loved to what the eggs drop into the cups of colored dye as white and plain. They woudl sit and wait the painstakingly slow minutes tick by as they waited for the eggs to transform into their new bright colors. When they couldn't stand it another minute they woudl reach in and pull out thier egg with its new found color and everyone would have to stop and ohh and ahhh. It was so fun to watch them get such a thrill!

Mimi's last birthday celebration!

2009-04-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

We LOVE birthdays at our house and we take every opportunity to celebrate our kids and their lives. With Spring Break in the schedule, Mimi hadn;t gotten to do her preschool party for her 6th birthday. SO yesterday we came to school with grandma and grandpa and ice cream cups and Mimi got to have her final 6th birthday party. What a sweet time to see her friends celebrate her and her life and to see her relish in the moment.

If only we could love our own birthdays just as much as the kids do. It is a day to celebrate "YOU" and the creation of "YOU". It actually is a praise to the creator himself for the masterpeice that he created when he formed you in your mothers womb. Looking at it that way, shouldn;t we all be more excited to celebrate our birthdays, no matter how old we are?

Time with friends...

2009-04-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

The kids I had to go to LA for a funeral. We got to stay with some very special friends. They made our visit so special and added such sweet little touches to our time. We lwft feeling so loved and cared for.

It is amazing how special you feel when someone embraces the moments they have with you. We talked, relaxed, made pizzas, had lunch at mcdonalds, went to the park, colored, fed fish, and just enjoyed each other. It was a treasure that I will never forget.

Princesses!!

2009-04-09T22:19:00.001-07:00

Princesses!!!

2009-04-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

The actual day of Mimi's birthday is April 2nd. Tradition is that we go to one of the Disney parks on the actual day of the childs birthday. This year Mimi picked California Adventure and mommy and daddy decided to surprise her with lunch at Ariels Grotto so she could have some princess attention.

What was about to happen was one of the funniest eating out experiences we have ever had. When we go to do something fun, I always ask God to give us a special touch to make our day even more memorable. I hadn't quite expected this to be His special answer, but it did at to the memory.

The lunch unfolds like this....

You go in to the restaurant and while you wait to be seated you get a quick photo shoot with Ariel. Special right? The girls thought so. Then they seat you and bring an appetizer tower and take your meal order. While you are eating, one princess at a time comes to your table to sign autographs and take photos. You expect 3-4 princesses to come. It is really special and fun.

As the princesses begin to come we see the girls faces light up! Then we look at Josh who's face is as red as lipstick. But what we didn't expect was little Jacks response. He was so excited and in love with each princess. As each one came he had his own photo shoot after the girls and hugged and kissed them, of course after he showed off a few hopping tricks. It was sooo funny.

The princesses were all so enamored with him that they came back out for more Jack love and even hung out with us at the elevator while we were waiting to leave.

It was truly special and memorable. The girls were so honored and didn't mind sharing the spotlight. Josh on the other hand just kep his face hidden the whole time. Poor guy!