Our New Pad

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After closing on our house yesterday, Ryan, Kierce, Merrick and I all went to eat at Subway.  The feeling that Ryan and I had was indescribable.  At one point Ryan and I had thought we might always stay in this house.  We are happy for this new adventure, and opportunity.  Yet, we will miss this house we put so much time, energy and love into.  This house was full of life lessons for all of us, it was a host for Merrick to be born, it was and still is full of life and many memories with family and friends, but its a material.  Its served its purpose in our lives.  While sitting there, both of us not knowing what to say, I had a thought, "Hey, why don't we talk about some of the amazing aspects about our new home."  Of course Ryan brought up probably one of the best things...the beautiful sunsets!  We were all smiles again, who wouldn't smile at the thought of a gorgeous sunset over the pacific ocean!  Well, needless to say, it was hard to top that one!

    
We we so happy that we found the school that the kids will attend, and decided on an apartment as well!  Here is a picture of the heated pool and hot tub area right outside our door.  The two days we looked at apartments and homes, the sky was overcast in the morning, which is common through May and June and typically burns off at noon.  I'll be sure to post a sunny picture of the pool later ;)    

I am trying to determine whether our dining table will fit in this small dining area.  Since we are going to use our table for just about everything, I am happy to report that we are bringing it.  Ryan had the genius idea to push one end of the table against the wall since we only need 5 place setting!  Go Ryan!

This is our new and modest living room, measuring in at less than half the size of our current living room.  But, it will certainly be a wonderful and cozy meeting place for our traditional Friday family movie nights, playing skip-bo and of course hosting guests!  

Can anyone give me a woot, woot for our non-pink bathroom??  Yes, the fact that this bathroom is white and not pink like our current bathroom calls for a shout out!!

Here is Ryan standing at the end of our block.  Yes, this gorgeous ocean view is only one block away from our pad!  I can imagine a nightly tradition of walking down to see the sunset in the evenings.  Yes, I will take pictures and share!

Another photo of my honey standing at the ocean, by our place.  He is such a cutie, isn't he??

We needed a little break from all the home hunting, so we took a much needed walk on the beach.  There are many uncertainties in life in general, and especially with this adventure.  ...one thing is for sure, my family is going to have a blast enjoying the breath this world has to offer and cherishing our time with each other, as well as our memories with our loved ones!

Finally get to Meet Eva Bear and our New Town!!!!

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Last week we flew into San Diego to find the kids school they will attend, and to find our new home.  We were lucky enough to be successful in both areas, but you'll read about the highlight of our trip below!

It was really an amazing moment when I finally got to hold Eva in my arms for the first time.  Yes, my new niece was nearing on six months old when I was able to meet her for the first time!  What an incredible creation my brother Dana and his wife Brooke have brought to life.  Eva is such a happy baby, so full of life and bounding with smiles!  Meeting her for the first time brought tears to my eyes.  Here she is with her Daddy!

Usually I take so many photos I have plenty to choose from.  I think my brain was so focused on the mission I was on to find our new place, that I was a slacker photographer!  I will fess up to that, although Brooke will agree that part of my issue was little Mr. Rocky.  He wanted to be the center of every picture and would specifically try to be right in front of his mom in EVERY picture, at least in this particular session!  I just love how this picture shows just how much mutual adoration they have for one another.  Hey, if I was Rocky, I'd be a little jealous too!  lol  On a serious note, Brooke is an amazing Mom to both Eva and Rocky.  She loves them both so much, that is evident.  The title Mom fits her perfectly.

Ooooh, I just loved being able to cuddle up to Eva Bear!!  She is such a sweet and happy baby!  So ready to smile and bring life to this world!  ...so full of wonder!  Just wait 'till her cousins get there hands on her!  They are going to fall in love, just like I did!

Dana and Brooke took us out to dinner one night to a clients restaurant, named Rockin' Baja's.  Here is the couple in action!  Boy was the food yummy, and it was really nice to finally sit down with them and one of Ryan's coworkers Paulette and her husband Bo.  It was so sweet to see just how much Paulette and Bo want to hold and play with Eva.  She is the little princess, to say the least!

Here we are with Paulette and Bo!  We are missing Dana, Brooke and Eva in this picture :(  so we are going to have to schedule a retake on this photo!  Hey, I know Ryan and I wouldn't mind doing this night over!  We had an amazing time with family and friends when Ryan wasn't working in the office, and we weren't working on getting things ready for us to move in a few weeks.

Just had to add this adorable picture of Rocky laying right underneath Eva's Bouncer.  Such a cute little guy!

Merrick Graduates from His First Year of Preschool!

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Merrick and I have a proud moment to share with the people we love!  He graduated from his first year of preschool with honors this last Tuesday ;)  Merrick eagerly awaited the moment he could step foot in school just like his big sisters.  And boy did he enjoy every minute of his school days this year!  Of course riding a school bus is something he was very much looking forward to experiencing someday as well.  Since they don't typically bus children to school in Sad Diego, Merrick is just going to have to suffer by riding to school on his most favorite vehicle, his scooter ;)  With a multitude of schools, they consider all children within walking distance from the nearest school.  We are all excited about being able to walk and ride bikes everywhere!



Merrick received an award and medal for being the most gifted in the area of curiosity.  He is definitely always eager to learn all about his world, and everyone elses for that matter.  He is a great conversationalist and loves to ask questions and share his ideas about life freely!  It was really neat to watch all of the kids receive their awards and hear all about the areas in which they are gifted by God.  Each child is so precious and has special gifts that they do and will forever use in this big world of wonder!

Here is Merrick holding his award and wearing his medal, standing in one of his favorite places to play at preschool.  He will definitely miss his wonderful teachers and friends from his first year of school

Ryan and I were lucky enough to get a little special time alone with the graduate a few days prior.  We took him to dinner at Cinco de Mayo.  He definitely kept us entertained, while eating a family favorite...quesadilla!  We are so proud of this little guy!  He is an achiever now, and always will be!

The Kids Go Shopping!

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Dad decided that we should all go to the mall for "Lunch at the Mall" with the church.  Although we never caught up with anyone from church, it was really nice to have lunch with the kids and my parents.  The girls were VERY excited that they remembered thier money, and pleaded to go to Justice to do a little shopping!  It was neat to watch the girls budget their money and weigh their purchases wisely.  I think its important to give them a certain amount of freedom to decide how they spend their money.  Neither of them wanted to spend all of it thats for sure.  In the picture above, Rowan is holding her "ultra rare" Squishlander.  I am certain she was sold on the ultra rare factor ;)

Here is Rowan with her Webkins dog.  A Webkins is a stuffed animal that you purchase and then reginster online, and are able to take care of online.  She has wanted to have one of these for years.  It was really cute.  None of the webkins had price tags, so Rowan took about five of the Webkins to the sales person to find out the price of each one.  She definitely has some of her Mom in her, because of course she chose the one that was on clearance and the most affordable.  Although, I do think that this Webkins was the best fit for her.

At one point Kierce was looking at clothes, then cute pillows in the shape of a K.  We decided that it would be fun to just make a "k" pillow at home since they were over her budget.  She was in heaven once she noticed the rack full of journals, some of which were monogrammed.  She has always loved writing in journals, notebooks, etc.  She has a thing for writing lists, just like her Mama.  Of course she pulled all of the K's out and placed them all in a row to examine.  She thought for a moment, picked each one up, then did ee-nee-mee-nee-mi-nee-mo to decide on a journal.  Then, once she saw that Rowan was holding the recorder, her love for music, just like her Grandma, won out :)

Merrick on the other hand went with his "biggie-me" (Dad of course) to Dicks sporting goods to look at bats and other baseball gear.  He definitely loves baseball and checking out baseball gear, just like his Dad!  Yeah, a lot more fun than going with the girls, although he debated which direction to go for a good while.  It was cute, you could see that he definitely didn't miss out on either opportunity.  He was going with Dad, then started coming with us, before you know it he starts running after Dad, "I wanna come with you!"  Once we met back up with them, Merrick told us all about how he spent his money riding rides and getting the most out of his time with his Dad!  Merrick is wearing his spider ring in the picture that he got from church!

 

Swimming, Birthday and Blessings

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Here is almost the entire gang that came to our Pizza, Pool and Birthday Party!  Aunt Lynn and Aunt Dawnie were sweet enough to give us this gift for a pool party at the YMCA.  Aunt Lynn is behind the camera here and I think we are missing Trin in the picture.

We definitely had a great time swimming and just plain being in the moment!  This was just what we needed.  Daddy was so proud of Merrick, who warmed up to the idea of being in the water.  They are in a pool in which they are able to raise the floor to accommodate wheel chairs.  They raised the floor just for our little ones, to the depth of two feet!

Here is my nephew Reese, the birthday boy!  What a creative kid, making use of ALMOST all of his resources.  Great picture Aunt Lynn!  Oh, I didn't mention that I lost my camera the entire Mother's Day weekend, did I?  Thank you Aunt Lynn for coming to the rescue with you photographer skills!

This year I couldn't believe I received a Mother's Day gift from all of my children!  They made me melt when they started pulling out the gifts they had made for me.  Here they are with their Mother's Day gifts to me sitting in front of them, along with these very precious eggs which have a story.  On Mother's Day our whole family went to church.  After church I dropped Ryan off with our beloved Aunt Lynn, to enjoy some Mother's Day time at the 5th Third Field watching the mud hens play ball, while the kids and I were treated to a steel of a brunch by my thoughtful Dad.  The day keeps getting better...

Then, we decided it would be the perfect day to visit Grandma Long.  Grandma lives with a lovely lady named Michelle who raises chickens, ducks and geese.  The kids had a blast helping her go on her daily egg hunt.  As you can see, they were thrilled to bring home some of their findings!  They were enthralled with these eggs for several days.  Kierce was attempting to sit on hers, love her humor.  Merrick ended up smashing his the next day because he forgot he put it in his pocket.  Hey, thankfully we were in the garage!  Rowan's duck egg is still happily sitting on the top shelf of the fridge!  The kids said that these eggs look like colored Easter eggs ;)  This was definitely one of the best days ever!

Mother Daughter 50's Dance

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Sami, Marci, Rowan, Kierce and I all dressed up in outfits for the Mother Daughter 50's Dance.  This was such a fun night!  Previous years, this dance was themed "Hollywood Ball" and believe me there were prom dresses galore!  This years "50's" theme was a fun change!  We were blessed to be able to attend the event with our close friends Marci and Sam! 

My beautiful Rowan looking so sweet for the camera!  We had so much fun putting our outfits together for this 50's dance!  The only item we purchased was Rowan's striped shirt, and got that for a steel!

Upon arrival we met this turquoise car from the 50's that was the perfect backdrop for pictures and unique jewel for the kids to explore!

Fun times pretending they were driving this car!  How Kierce got in the drivers seat, thats a mystery ;)

Kierce is so good at stopping to smell the roses, or tulips in this case!  I need to take a lesson.  ...think that will be my half year resolution! lol

Before the night ended, the girls got a chance to sign their name on this 50's decorated sheet with their friends to create memories for years to come.  Since we are moving, this was probably our last year to attend this sentimental event, so that made this year that much more special to us.   

Ryan's Birthday Weekend

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Look out, someone is celebrating his 34th birthday today!  Yes, here is the May day birthday boy himself!  

Here I am with the main man himself on the famous El Camino patio.  Warm weather in Ohio equals a DJ and a very crowded patio at El Camino.  On a serious note- I am so lucky to be married to this incredible man.  He is such a strong, stable, loving and healthy provider for our family.  He is definitely the ying to my yang, my perfect fit ;)  I love you honey for all that you are and all that you do for our family.  Thank you for allowing us to depend on you!

We also got a chance to celebrate our friend Tammy's (in blue) birthday as well.    

Here is the Birthday gang, Candi, Marci, Ralph, Aunt Diane, Rowan, Kierce and Aunt Lynn!  Each of them hoping for a big win!  They are so adorable aren't they?????  

Here is a video of the action!  I am talking to our friend Candi's son during this video to get his expert opinion, as well as capturing the horses and hopeful crowd!!

Our neighbors Todd and Abby even made it out to celebrate Ryan's big day!  As you can see Abby loves having her picture taken, and Todd and Rowan love being silly! ;)

Here I got to sneak a picture with the Birthday boy!  Don't you just love his shirt???  I do!



In this short clip above, Ryan shares with you what he will do with his BIG win!  Woot Woot!

Here is Ryan with the expert horse race queen!  Aunt Lynn only lost one race out of several!  She even called Grandma Texas to get a winner!

We met this guy at the races and he was so nice!  We found a lot out about the guy in about 5 minutes.  We were lucky enough to get a hug and send him off with some cake!  Oh, and the guy insisted on giving Ryan two dollars for his Birthday! lol lol  I just love strangers who are nice!  Since we found out he was a Gemini, his quote was entertaining, "Gemini's love chocolate and nuts!"

I just had to end with this silly picture of my brother Chris and nephew Brett being silly at church earlier today!  What do you think Brett looks like??  I think he looks like a bunny with whiskers!

Big thanks from Ryan on this birthday weekend of his.  He is so grateful to everyone who made this weekend special!  He definitely feels spoiled by all of the love, cards, gifts, phone calls and birthday wishes.