February and Friends

February has been filled with time spent with our very best friends.  We spent the first Monday of the month at Get Air for some much needed bounce time. I think they were all pretty excited.  I am so thankful for the Schnieders.  My dear friend Suzanne, who I met when I was pregnant with Luke, introduced us via Facebook right before they moved to CA almost 2 years ago now.  Kierstin and I hit it off and so did our kiddos.  They have been such a huge blessing to all of us.  

We had another wonderful day spent with the Smiths.  Soaking up as much time as possible before we move in May.  They will be moving back east to Camp Lejeune.  To say we will miss them is an enormous understatement.  My heart aches just thinking about it.  

Valentine's Day was spent together at a family in the 90 degree weather!!!  Yep! 90!  We pulled out the slip n slide pool to get some relief from the heat.

We also had a very special overnight guest, Clementine.  She was so much fun and Hayely LOVED having a dog.  Maybe one day we will have one of our own again, but not in the next two years.   The desert is no place for a new puppy.  

An afternoon spent at our park with Daddy is always fun.  Flying remote control airplanes and roller skating are the best!

Happy 2015!

Ok.  So I may be just a tad behind.  For some reason, I just haven't found time to sit down and blog lately.  Maybe it's the fact that we have 3 children we are schooling.  Or maybe it's the swim, tennis, AWANA, piano running around that is keeping me from working on ye ol blog.  Or possibly there are 5,000 other things that I find more important these days such as spending time with my husband and children, cleaning out the house before the big move (gulp), chatting and catching up with friends.  You know, life.  I've been doing life and I have found it much more fun than sitting in front of a computer screen.  

But I am getting motivated to start things back up and document 2015.  Just last night I sat down and looked through some of our old family books and I figured it was time to get back on the horse. Or bike. Or whatever you like.  So here we go.
New Year's Day we took the fam to Benihana's for a lovely hibachi dinner.  We had not been to eat hibachi since Hannah was about 4 months old and Hayely hid under the table crying because of the fire on the stove top.  Fast forward about 5 and half years, and we thought we should give it another try.  They all loved it!  Especially the chopsticks and the volocano!

Next up we celebrated  J-man's 4th birthday!  When we moved to CA, Josh was 18 months old.  Crazy how much he has grown!

Hannah decided to do some gardening.  In January.  The warm beautiful weather never gets old.  Ahhhhh.

Our favorite night of the week.  AWANA!

Chris and I were able to spend his birthday weekend away in San Clemente right on the beach.  The view was ok :) HA!!!  We had the best time strolling the beach and pier as well as having a leisurely brunch and dinner out at Nick's.  We were able to drive north a bit and tour the San Juan Capistrano Mission and see the movie Unbreakable while we were away.  

We found a Mexican restaurant that had the same name as the one in Dahlonega where we had our first date almost 19 years ago!!!

We closed things out celebrating Sarah's 8th birthday at the end of the month.  

And now on to February!

Christmas 2014

Our last Christmas here at Camp Pendleton was just amazing.  Of course, having Chris home this year made it exceptional.  We tried really hard to truly focus on the meaning of Christ's birth, and really prepare our hearts and minds for celebrating the greatest Gift ever given which is Jesus.  We spent one morning with friends from Co-op singing Christmas Carols for an assisted living home.  Watching the joy in their faces as we sang and then stayed to chat with everyone went the singing was done is a memory I will not forget.  

Grammy and Big Daddy came to spend the week before Christmas with us.  Grammy took the girls shopping one day and treated everyone to lunch at Ruby's

We spent one evening at the San Diego Botanical Gardens Nights of Lights.  We roasted marshmallows, drank hot chocolate and took in the beautiful sights.  

One more visit to the Safari Park before we head out of town.  

Luke and Hayley are loving the new digital piano that Grammy and Big Daddy gave them for Christmas.  Hannah will begin lessons in a another year or so and enjoy it then too.

Christmas Eve

Hannah fractured her shoulder on Christmas Day while jumping on the trampoline at the Smiths house.  She was such a trooper.  I felt so badly that she couldn't ride her new bike she got Christmas morning for 6 weeks.

Aunt Holly came in town a few days after Christmas.  We shopped, went bowling and to see the movie Big Hero 6 while she was here.  

Just like we like it.  A nice quiet New Years Eve to reflect on the year that God has blessed us with and looking forward to BIG things to come in 2015!