It's Been Awhile...

Where did the fall go? Holy cow, it's almost Christmas. Here is what we've been up to lately...

Dave trained for a 150-mile bike ride (fundraiser for MS) all summer with several friends in our neighborhood. Lots of bike riding was happening around here...hours and hours and hours of it!

Here's the whole group: "Team Most." They raised over $50,000!

Crossing the finish line in the rain. It rained the whole weekend! Dave and his bike were both full of mud.

Way to go -- he did it!

Grampy and Nana Judy visited for a week in October and came to cheer on Christopher during a tennis match.

These guys sure love a good read!

Ready for candy? You betcha!

Visiting the Happiest Place on Earth, courtesy of Uncle Arpad. Thanks, Arpad!

The kids got way into pumpkin carving this year. Fancy, huh?

And Christopher has been playing lots of tennis on the weekends, usually with Dave. They love it.

Here we are on Thanksgiving visiting the Hotel del Coronado before our feast at John and Irma's house. They always have the most amazing tree.

We took the kids skiing for a day over Thanksgiving weekend and they loved it. They especially loved the goggles we borrowed from our friends and wore them all the way there and back.

It was a gorgeous day, but COLD! In the teens and super windy. This is the view of Big Bear Lake from the top of the mountain.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school...finally! Christopher and Shayla both got great teachers this year and have lots of friends in their classes. They didn't seem nervous at all this morning, which was a nice change. I enjoyed a cup of coffee in a quiet house by myself after they left!

Kauai

We were invited to join our neighbors and friends, the Padillas, at their timeshare in Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. We spent the first week of August in paradise and none of us wanted to come home...

This was where we spent most of every day...the pool!

And this is where we ate every day, just outside our room and near the pool. Margie and Jerome are great cooks, and Dave and I are good at cleaning up, so it worked out well. The kids were good at eating, then running to swim, then eating, then running to swim, over and over.

Dads and kids at the pool working on their tans.

Kids showing off the leis they made and the sunburns they got.

My favorite snap of Chris and Shayla at Hanalei Bay.

Here we are at the end of a five hour catamaran tour of the Napali coast. We saw dolphins, sea turtles, beautiful beaches and sea caves. It was a great way to end the trip!

Happy #11 Christopher!

Christopher celebrated his birthday in style with lunch at the new Farrell's and then his first sleepover party with a few friends. We were so glad Grammy could be here this year to help us celebrate!

Woo wii! I think we were the only family in the neighborhood without one. Not any longer!

Christopher helped make the movie tickets on his cupcakes to go with the movie and sleepover theme. It was a fun time!

Summer is Here!

Here are the kids at Open House at their school in early June. They were quite proud to show off their hard work from throughout the year. And there was lots of it!

And here they are with Shelby at her high school graduation. She will be off to play soccer for the University of Michigan in August. Way to go, Shelby!

This is Christopher after his last 4th grade class play during the last week of school. It was all about California's Gold Rush, hence the neck attire.

First day of summer here, and off to a relaxing start, drawing out back in the shade.

Sheri visited for a week at the end of June. It was a bit gloomy and cool at the beach, but a welcome relief from Wisconsin!

Christopher is in the San Clemente Junior Lifeguard program this summer with his friend Rachel. He is loving spending many summer afternoons at the beach during the month of July...

May Days

Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated at Aunt Peg's house with four generations of women...again! Amazing. Check out Peg's fancy remodeled kitchen below...

Christopher had his piano recital in mid-May and got to play a Grand Piano at another student's house. It was a beautiful recital with many talented pianists, and Christopher played perfectly.

Here is Christopher in Sacramento on his 4th grade trip. One day flying up and back and visiting the Capitol, Sutter's Mill (where gold was discovered), the Railroad Museum and the One Room Schoolhouse Museum. It was a long but very exciting day!

End of the year Cub Scout meeting. This is Christopher's den with Dave as den leader. They have all been together for 4 years now, and some have known each other since they were babies. Time flies!

Shayla and I visited Shelby the day of her senior prom and watched her get ready. Check out those heels! Shayla was amazed by the whole process.

We visited Morro Bay with my Dad and our friends the Padillas over Memorial Weekend. Got to see beautiful beaches, sea otters, elephant seals, and Hearst Castle. Fabulous trip!!

April Happenings

Since I only seem to update this blog once a month or so, here is the scoop on some fun times in April.

First, Shayla's class play, "Rumble in the Rainforest," was in early April. Shayla was a toucan with a broken wing (notice the black sling). These second graders did a great job and had a lot of fun. Super cool painted backdrop, too.

Dave took Christopher to their first Lakers game on Easter Sunday, and they had so much fun they didn't even feel the earthquake!

Neighborhood friends on a typical Saturday.

Our annual one-night camping trip to San Clemente with the Greenbergs and Foster-Kennedy families. Notice what a great campsite we had, overlooking the ocean! We saw dolphins again this year.

Popie visited in April and liked Christopher and Dave's cub scout uniforms. :)

And finally, Christopher had a class play called "Pirates of Grammar Island" which was hilarious, and Chris had one of the lead pirate roles. I need them to come and perform for my law school writing classes. Seriously.

He's there in the middle, see?

That's all, folks!