Tag You're It!

My good ol' pal Mary let me in on her blogging game of tag, and a few weird quirks of hers as well. Once tagged you are suppose to reveal 6 of your own personal quirks for all to see, so here goes...

1. I can't stand socks! As long as there are shoes covering the socks I am ok, but once the shoes come off my skin starts crawling. Seeing socks rub on carpet or socked feet rub together is equivalent to nails down a chalkboard for me. Bizarre I know but I can't help it!

2. I love organization too much...there are areas of my house you would never know that but for the most part I love to be organized. My label maker is my best friend! There is just nothing better than a freshly purged and organized cabinet/closet/drawer. I like things to be lined up and divided into categories, color coded if possible. I must say this is getting more and more difficult as the kids get older. Why can't they find the joy in perfectly lined up books on the shelf or toys arranged by type and size? Is there really a need to actually play with them?!

3. I am horrible at directions-taking them, giving them..it makes no difference I just plain stink. You would think after living in Visalia my ENTIRE life I would be able to get anywhere without thinking twice but no...I still need directions and even then get lost.

4. I am addicted to reality TV but especially the really dorky, can't believe I am watching it reality TV. The Hills, Real World, Real World/Road Rules, Tori & Dean....love it all! I record them and that is my nap time indulgence! I can't even tell you what intrigues me so much but I am hooked, plain and simple!

5. My dad got me hooked on this as a little kid and I still eat to this day - peanut butter and mustard sandwiches! I know that is sounds horrible but it is actually quite tasty! Granted I am a big fan of mustard...put it on sandwiches, macaroni salad even pizza! But this sandwich has to top the list...don't knock 'till you try it!

6. I am a closet adrenaline junky! Skydiving, bungee jumping, zip line through a jungle kind of adrenaline. But I will always be in the closet because I don't at all have the guts to back it up!! Maybe some day, when the kids are older I will do everything on my list...until then I'll just dream and live vicariously through those brave enough to do it!

OK, my turn to TAG and I choose: Jana and Crystal!!

Sami Starts Kindergarten

UGGGHHH!! My worst fear...I cried and she didn't!! OK, so not really my worst fear but a little bit of a blow to my ego. We had gone on Wednesday to meet the teacher and looked at the classroom. Sami's teacher is wonderful. She is very sweet and soft spoken. She was great with the kids and letting them warm up to her. When we left meeting with her Sami said, "I love my teacher, she is so beautiful!". So today Sami wasn't as nervous as I had anticipated. She was such a big girl walking up to that classroom. We were trying to take pictures of her with her friends and outside the school, she finally told us "only one more!". She was anxious to get in the room and have her day started. We went in, she put her backpack at her desk and sat down! The parents stayed while the teacher went over some information and went through how the morning would go. The kids all practiced lining up and where to go when the bell rings. When it was finally time for all of us parents to go, I kept trying to wave goodbye and was waiting for her to need one more hug or kiss. But no...she just gave a wave, blew a kiss and off she went. And I just stood there with tears streaming down my cheeks - I think Cory even got a little misty eyed! So it has begun, I am now the parent of a kindergartener. And I am so incredibly proud to be her parent!

First Waterpark Experience

What a blast! We had 4 free tickets for The Island Waterpark in Fresno that were due to expire next month so we decided to head up last weekend. The kids were both a little timid at first...we splashed around in the water, ate lunch and checked everything out. By about an hour into our visit, Sami was all over the place. Matthew still kept some distance but eventually went down a few slides on our lap. The biggest hit was the wave pool. I thought for sure Sami would be terrified when the waves came up but boy did she prove me wrong! She went out as far as they would let her without a life jacket and was body surfing all the way in. She was hysterical to watch. We came home exhausted but glad we went - and the fact that it was free was the cherry on top!

Soccer...finally!

Sami started soccer the beginning of this month! We are still doing ballet/tap but thought we would start trying some other activities to see what she likes. So far she thinks it is the best thing ever! We surprised her with pink cleats, shin guards and ball which she loved of course...they were pink after all. So far it's taking her a little bit to warm up at each practice. She starts out shy and by the end of it she doesn't want to stop. Their team is named "Girly Gators" which Sami think is hysterical. She tells everyone they are going to chomp the other team...I don't know where she gets that competitive edge?! Games start next month and it will be interesting to see if she actually gets out there or not. My hope, of course, is that she falls in love with the game of soccer. But if not, I guess I can suffer through more tutus and slippers :)

Hmmm...

After looking over our last post, I realized something. The last picture with Matthew playing the guitar seemed out of place. I made it look as if the kids were running around while the rest of us let loose! They were both spending the night at Papa and Granny's house - not partaking of the festivities! That picture was taken two days later while Matthew tried to play Guitar Hero with Mommy. Just felt the need to clarify...

Cory Turns 30!!

My husband is officially in his 30's. And I love the fact that for the next 2 months I get to gloat and beam that I am younger than him! This past weekend we had a small get together with friends at our house. I must admit I wasn't exactly thrilled when Cory said he wanted to have a Rock Band/Guitar Hero party with good friends and drink beer all night for his birthday. But what can I say...it is his birthday not mine! So - I cleaned, cooked, cleaned some more then cooked some more to get ready for the big night. And I do think we all actually had a blast! One of Cory's best friends lives up north and was able to come down and spend the night with us. It was so nice to see him and I know it made Cory's birthday all the sweeter. Several people stayed until well after 1:30am playing that thing! The kids and I surprised Cory and got him his very own Guitar Hero III as his gift. I know..we are a little late on the band wagon with this one. The worst part is I think that I enjoy it more than Cory does! The kids think that it is quite silly to see Mommy "rockin' out" on the guitar - Sami's new phrase has quickly become "You Rock." Hey - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

CELEBRATING!!

YAAAA!!! What a fun holiday we had yesterday celebrating all we have to be thankful for! We had Matthew's post op appointment last week at Stanford. Everything looked wonderful, he is healing well and can now go back to doing anything and everything! We have to go back for one more MRI and appointment the end of September but otherwise can put this all behind us. It made our 4th of July celebration all the sweeter with no more worries or stress of what will come next. On Thursday we drove over to Tulare and watched the big fireworks-we just threw a blanket on the sidewalk a few streets away and enjoyed the show. On Friday we swam the entire day away, took a nice nap and then ate, ate and ate until time for fireworks. There were 4 different families, including ours, that had fireworks so it was quite the show. Sami had a great time playing with all the neighbor kids and doing sparklers. Note to others (and self) - never let the kids wear flip flops or sandals when doing sparklers. Sami burnt the bottom of her foot when one of the sparks went on her shoe...OUCH! Matthew was hysterical! He sat on the curb or one of our laps and would say "Boom Boom" while covering his ears - you'll see the cute pics! Overall it was a fabulous day full of blessings and thankfullness all the way around.