The past month....

We've been to Wild Rivers at least one day each week with our friend Claire and her son Jaxson...

The kids love it!  Believe it or not we haven't been there since, well, since before we were married, or even dating for that matter...and we never went at the same time even back then!! People always wondered why we had that whole waterpark at our disposal for free and never went....well, now we know how much the kids love it and will be going again before they close for the season, and will be there next season!!

This is what happens when you let your child pick out their own outfit....As she pointed out to me "mommy, at least the boots and hat match"

Our passes expired on August 22, so we went on Friday the 20th to get one last round with the park before we couldn't go anymore since we aren't renewing our passes for a few years.

We had so much fun...and I got a picture of myself that I actually approve of.

You can actually see that I'm losing weight in this picture in my face (that's the first place that shrinks in the rare event I start losing weight!).

We also had a blast going on a shopping spree with all the Disney Gift Cards we had from our birthdays in 2009.  Since we weren't renewing the passes we didn't need to use the money for the renewal costs and it was all ours to blow on anything and everything Disney!

And LOOK...

Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you...

There is CEMENT in our backyard again!!

Greg, David and a friend from work laid all that cement down, on one of the hottest days of the year.  At one point it was over 105 degrees out there, but they stuck to it!!

And before you start thinking Greg is crazy...those pillars are the base of the posts for the deck/covered patio he's putting up.  It was easier to start the posts now so they could pour around them and get them in the foundation - then he can finish them later when he gets to it!

So, that's our lives for the past month...along with a few Kid's Clinics that we have been lazy about taking pictures at, a lot of extra blood shed from all the construction, and my 10 year High School Reunion back in July that I helped plan and actually, despite a few whiny people, ended up being not too bad (we had twice as many people show up than we had originally thought would be there). 

I'm not posting any pictures simply because to all of you reading this I wouldn't look any different...and honestly, I really didn't take more than 3 or 4 pictures.  I did have a great time seeing some old friends, most of which I had already been in touch with and seen a few times in the past 10 years thanks to the magic of Facebook.  David came as our required "Security" so he and Greg were able to entertain each other for a few hours and we ended up leaving early anyways with our friends Claire and Sterling to get Golden Spoon.  Funny enough, the time AFTER the reunion was the most memorable part of the night.  I swear we all laughed more during that short time than I have in a long time....even David came with us and had a blast!  And the guys got to talk about guns and motorcycles and explosives in the desert...I think that made up for having to sit through those few hours at the reunion.

Oh, and a tip for all you parents out there...when doing laundry always check the pockets of your kid's pants.  Otherwise you could end up washing, drying and subsequently melting a RED crayon all over your children's clothes.  Luckily we recently started washing Karyl's clothes with Freddie's and not with ours....otherwise all our clothes would have been streaked with red crayon.  We only had 2 white shirts (one for each of the kids) that were total casualties, everything else is just kids of oddly tinted or streaked.  Luckily a lot of their clothes get put in the laundry inside out, so that helped A LOT to minimize the damage.  Although the drum of our dryer is now a red hue....

Our newest addition.....

This weekend Greg and his sister decided to kick things up a notch and make life a little more fun...

So they went out and got themselves one of these....

Which means that now, I have one of these.....

I don't know about you, but I like the view!!!

OC Fair 2010

OC Fair 2010

We had a blast!! We were there from 3:00 p.m. until about 8:30 p.m.

The kids were great, the food was good and the family time with just the 4 of us was PRICELESS!!

I now present "Our Day At The Fair" a picture blog....

One of my favorite pictures ever!!!

My other favorite picture EVER!!!

Even Freddie got into the sandbox and got dirty!!

She shoots.....

She scores!!!!!

She picked the pirate ships over the bees...that's my girl!!!

She was stoked about the fake Dumbo ride....

She was loving it!!! And she is big enough to do it all on her own!!!

Down the mega slide with Daddy...WWWEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Yes, your eyes are working just fine...that is in fact me in front of the camera!!  I know, rare and shocking, isn't it?? Someone had to ride with her and I got nominated....

Daddy helped her throw the darts and she won a snake...his name is Snakey....Keep looking at the pictures, you'll see him....

Karyl - "Mommy I want to be a lemon...take a picture"

Can you spot Snakey??

She thought this was the greatest thing ever!!

Karyl showing off Snakey while Daddy takes a picture with his phone.

Watching some acrobats on the stage...I think there were like 10 of them on a bike when this picture was taken...

And here's our little stud!!! He was napping for a while and was too small for the rides so he was lacking in picture until this point.  Check out that smile!!!

Our beloved oversized books...this booth gives away free books every year to kids to encourage reading...Karyl LOVES it, they gave her like 3 books and even gave Freddie a few!!

Karyl insisted we read her 3 books before we moved on...I think she just wanted to sit in the little beanbags they had!!

Even Freddie can appreciate a classic!! Do you all remember Golden Books (the originals, not these new weird ones...)???

Karyl's favorite part of the fair...riding the horses.  They let her ride that horse for at least 10 minutes!! We definitely got our $7.00 worth!!

Nope, there are no hidden children in the picture...just wanted to share the cute piglets with you....

Getting ready to head out from the fair...the kids were pretty stoked about their loot.

Oh, where did Freddie's dog come from you ask??

Greg won that minutes before we left...he's REALLY good at the basketball games they have there, every year we walk away with an overstuffed animal.

This year he was low on cash and it was getting late...the dog's name is Pity...you do the math!!

Overall it was a great day at the Fair!! I'm so glad that we can carry on a tradition of something we did as children to something with our own family now!!

Until next year!!!

Updates on Life After Diapers

I have updated my other blog with recipes for this....

and this....

Enjoy!!!

Just July....

Alright, I've been bad about updating....I know....but here goes nothing!!!

Bye-bye spa!!!  Didn't the guys do a great job??

A picture of my loot from Harvey's in July....the black purse is the one Greg bought for Christmas a few years back (and it's my favorite), then my Topaz Boxy I won from the Harvey's Facebook raffle ($104.00 value!!) and the Tote Bag I won off the Harvey's blog a few days later ($48.00 value!!).

Oh Freddie...that's Karyl's doll!! But they are wearing matching white onesies, I couldn't help myself because he looked so cute carrying around a mini-Freddie!!

P.S. - Can you spot the scar?? He had JUST had a haircut (we just buzz his blonde little head) and that scar is always super obvious for a week or two after haircuts!!

Karyl's new haircut!!! A HUGE thanks to Claire for her hair styling, Karyl loved her "Princess Hair!!!" She did so well, she let Claire wash her hair and even use the blowdryer!! And after we left she kept asking what my friend's name was that gave her Princess Hair because she wanted to do hair just like her....(see the next picture...)

Karyl decided she was going to be a hairdresser on Thursday and she put about 20 clips and barrettes in to Ariel's hair while Ariel sat in a chair....on Friday she then took all those clips out and put them in my hair (no, there will NOT be a picture of that!!).

And then this morning, I had to take a picture.....this was what Greg found when he came in from working in the yard this morning.  He was watching Yo Gabba Gabba and some song they were singing.

So, that's what's been up with us!!!  I will try to do a few posts on Life After Diapers...I made Scotcharoos last night and they are delicious!! I have been giving bits away to Home Teachers and anyone else that comes within 10 feet of our front door because I don't want to be tempted to eat them.  I LOVE baking, but I've started watching what I eat, so when I make things I need to make sure they have a home to go to when I'm done!!

The awesomeness that is Karyl.....

On Friday we were driving and Karyl was just checking out everything around her on the road....normally she will point out convertibles, motorcycles and FedEx trucks (among MANY other things, these are just her favorite).  But this afternoon as we were driving a smaller sedan drove past us with its trunk open and a large upholstered chair roped into the tinky trunk.  I thought nothing of it until I heard this from Karyl's mouth:

"Really dude?? Close your trunk!!"

Yep...I bursted out laughing, I couldn't help it.  She even said it with the pitch changes for the question (higher at the end)!! 

Now, you're probably wondering "why is this so funny"...Because right after she said it I realized where she got it, and I heard myself saying it in my head.  I have a habit of saying "Really, dude" in a sarcastic/annoyed tone when someone does something stupid, especially in the car, and apparently she has heard it enough times to feel confident using it in her everyday vocabulary.  On the plus side, this was proof that I don't stoop to name-calling when road rage strikes and everyone can see how well I handle my anger while driving.

I still think it was hilarious, but maybe that's because I saw a tiny version of me saying the same thing.  Gotta love these kids, and this is one of those times that I feel truly blessed to be able to stay home with them because kids pick up on everything, from habits to sayings, and if my kids are going to learn little comments like this from anyone, I'm glad it's from me!!!

Harvey's Heaven....

OK, so as I said in the last post announcing my Seatbelt Bag win, I NEVER WIN ANYTHING.....

Apparently, when it comes to Harvey's and their Seatbelt Bags I CAN'T LOSE!!

I haven't checked their blog in about a month and I checked this afternoon and while scrolling down saw this written underneath this picture, on a post titled "WINNERS"

So here are the winners for last weeks contest. I selected 6 winners at random from the list of our Seatbeltblog followers and here they are:



Congratulations,
Greg and Dianna  (That's our blog!!!!)
Angrie Julie
Erin Hardin
Amanda Hawley

Heidi Sweeny

Beth Wong
Congratulations and thanks to everyone else who follows the blog. I'll be having more giveaways soon.

That's right...I won yet another Harvey's treat...and this time I didn't even know there was a contest, or that I was automatically entered because I "follow" their blog from this one....or that I had apparently been chosen to receive one of their cool "We're 10" Tote Bags!!!

Seriously...I may have never won anything before in my life (other than an amazing husband and beautiful children), but if these are the kinds of prizes I am meant to win, I think I'll forgive all the other contests that I entered and lost in the past!!!

Oh for the love of a purse....

I NEVER win anything in contests, or raffles, or sweepstakes.....

But today was a turning point....I WON!!!

For those who aren't aware, I LOVE Harvey's SeatBelt Bags!! Greg bought me one for Christmas a few years back and I take it everywhere!! I even bought a wallet to match my purse a while back.

Harvey's had a raffle on Facebook this afternoon.  It was a raffle from the list of all 7,500 fans they have on their page...I figured I had no chance but decided to check back anyways "just in case..."

And I won the bag above!!! I am so excited to get it in the mail!!

For those of you who haven't discovered the awesomeness of the SeatBelt Bag, do yourself a favor and check out their site.  The purses last forever because they are made from seatbelts and the design is timeless, my basic black purse will never go out of style!!

And now I have this neat Topaz one to add to my collection!! What's neat is that this one is smaller and a "boxy" style, so I have two different purses -

Of course, the large black one Greg bought me will always me my favorite!!!

Spa Demolition - A story in pictures....

This is how it started this morning...Greg sucked whatever water was left in it out and left it dry for demolition

David using the death saw to cut a straight line in the concrete separating the spa from the pool

Here you can see that they've already attacked it with the jackhammers and sledgehammer

Taking a quick breather....that sledgehammer does a pretty good job!!!

A few hours later.....

This is the most recent picture, taken around 4:30 pm....

It is an absolute mess back there...but it will all be worth it when it's gone.

I'll post more pictures later tonight of what they've accomplished!!

Its fate is sealed

Thank you for all your votes regarding our spa dilemma!!!  Greg has made up his mind, and this Monday the pseudo-spa will bubble its last bubble from its jets.

He has decided to tear it out.  Honestly, I am SUPER thrilled!! Once I allowed myself to picture that backyard without that spa in the way I fell in love with this house all over again!! That backyard will be AMAZING with all that space, perfect for bike riding and running and ball kicking!!!

That being said, I will post pictures on Monday of the demolition.  There will be jackhammers and cement saws and sledgehammers....and I'm sure many other tools I didn't see coming.  Uncle David lucked out and he and Greg have the day off together, naturally that was why Monday was chosen.  It's not a real demo unless Uncle David gets involved!!

So, the spa's days are numbered....I can't wait!! Once it's out they can start laying the cement for the rest of the yard!!! It is entirely possible that by the end of the summer we will have a functioning backyard!!!! Oh I can't wait!!!  I promise, once it is all cemented, and the BBQ is in we will have a huge party!!