Week 4

It's been another great week.  I'm so blessed to have so many great friends and co-workers.  My birthday celebration lasted almost 2 weeks in all with 4 different cakes! Am I spoiled or what?  It was all great but now back to healthy eating and exercise.

Here are the pictures from last week:

Day 22- Sunday, 1/22/12

Happy Birthday to me!  Unfortunately we had to leave the mountains and come home today, but we did stop at Cheesecake Factory on the way to pick up a chocolate peanut butter cake--yum! 

Day 23- Monday, 1/23/12

Brandon lost yet another tooth at school.  I love the little necklace holder they give them to keep the tooth safe.  He has a slight tear/dirt streak running down his right cheek because the blood freaked him out.  This is his 7th tooth--you'd think he'd know the drill by now, but I guess the sight of blood is a bit scary no matter what.

Day 24- Tuesday, 1/24/12

I'm driving with new tires today.  John was kind enough to take my car in yesterday and have them installed.  It was an unexpected necessity which hurts the pocket book especially after we just had to replace the tires on John's car last week--double whammy!

Day 25- Wednesday, 1/25/12

Tyler got a huge Mega Bloks Halo set for Christmas but over 100 pieces were missing--no joke!  We contacted customer service and luckily they were great and sent him all the pieces he needed.  The package came in the mail today so you know how he spent his afternoon.  Turns out during packaging they put in 2 of the same bag of pieces and left out the second required bag which means he now has duplicate extras.  We've had this happen with a couple larger Lego sets too and their customer service was also fabulous.

Day 26- Thursday, 1/26/12

Score!  Brandon had some GameStop money to burn and really wanted to buy Skylander figures but they are hard to find.  I just happened to check in Davis today while running errands and found the set he's been waiting for.  Now that's a happy boy!  The best part is the game also encourages him to draw and create his own characters and cards.  I love finding this kind of inspired work left on our kitchen table.

Day 27- Friday, 1/27/12

Here's our Bella girl eagerly waiting for some attention.  She knows that after work, school and homework its her time for some love and games.  I can't believe she'll be 3yrs old in a couple months.  Seems like just yesterday we brought the energetic bundle of fur home. 

Day 28- Saturday, 1/28/12

What a beautiful day in the city!  We headed to San Francisco and spent the day at the wharf before attending a friend's party not far from there.  You couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was so sunny and nice with no wind or fog.  We had a great time eating out, exploring the aquarium, visiting the sea lions, taking in a magic show and partying with wonderful friends-- the perfect way to end our week.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping by.

See you next week.

 

Week 3

What a whirlwind week we had last week.  We rented a condo way back in November for my birthday ski trip in January and almost didn't have enough snow.  Luckily at the last minute a storm moved in and gave me the winter wonderland I wished for in my escape from reality.  We had a blast and wished we could have stayed at least one more day.  Now it's back to work and the daily grind, but at least I had my winter snow and ski fix to help keep me plugging along.

Enjoy last week's pictures:

Day 15- Sunday, 1/15/12

Today I made a pepperoni and cheese bread loaf in my new bread machine that I got for Christmas.  It was a hit especially with the boys.  Love my bread machine.  It replaces my old one that I pretty much wore out and this one has lots of new bells and whistles.  Isn't technology wonderful?

Day 16- Monday, 1/16/12

We were home for Martin Luther King holiday, and the sun was shining so we all went outside to play.  The boys and the dog ran around while I did some more yard work.  Brandon is really the only one that still fits in this play fort out back.  It won't be long before we decided to take it down and maybe put some garden boxes here.

Day 17- Tuesday, 1/17/12

We are heading to the mountains for a ski trip in a couple days and I needed to get the most recent weight and height stats on my kids for ski rentals.  Justin weighs in at 72.5 lbs, Tyler is a whopping 106 lbs (he's so proud that he recently broke the 100 lb mark) and Brandon is 64 lbs.  I was also amazed that Tyler is now 5'8''.  Where have my little boys gone??

Day 18- Wednesday, 1/18/12

At work I'm running a lot of western blots--something I used to do all the time back in the day but not so much anymore.  Time to retrain and jog my memory.  At least the gel and blotting systems are more streamlined and take less time these days.  Yep- technology is a wonderful thing!

Day 19- Thursday, 1/19/12

We're heading to the mountains and it's snowing!  We just hit the chain controls.  They have not had snow in the Sierras since early November which is unheard of.  It's been an extremely dry winter so this is a welcome surprise even if it does make for a white knuckle drive.  Northstar at Tahoe or bust!

Day 20- Friday, 1/20/12

It snowed last night but rained ALL day today which really put a damper on our plans.  We were going to go snow tubing and ice-skating but all that was closed because of the rain.  The boys at least had fun playing in a small patch of snow at the village as their dad looked on while taking cover from the wet weather.

Day 21- Saturday, 1/21/12

The snow returned in full force so we hit the slopes!  We were so happy to wake up to a beautiful blanket of fresh powder.  It snowed on us all day but no one complained because it's so needed.  We just bundled up and enjoyed the well covered slopes.   HaHa!  You can't even tell this is John and Tyler.  At least the flakes were big and fluffy.  It was like skiing in a snow globe ;0)  The other two are in ski school which they have decided is way more fun than real school. 

Wait!  One More:

January's Family Photo

Our wonderful family at the Northstar Village in Tahoe just before heading home.  So nice of the sun to come out and send us off for an easy drive home.

That's it! Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.

 

Week 2

John was gone all last week which was brutal for me especially since ALL the kids' activities started back up.  It made for a really LONG week with some really LONG days.  I'm looking forward to a much easier week this week.  It will be a short one with MLK yesterday and the start of our ski vacation (with or without snow) Thursday.  Even if we can't ski it will still be nice to get away.  "Escape"--I think that will be my word for the year.

Here are last week's pictures:



Day 8- Sunday, 1/8/12

Justin is the only one left with Christmas presents still to build.  The other two got all theirs done during vacation but Justin is spacing things out.  Today he decided to tackle this Mario Kart K'nex set and was proud and excited to finish.  It's a pretty cool set with motorized cars and all. 

Day 9- Monday, 1/9/12

Before heading off to school the boys say goodbye to their dad who will be in Boston all week.  Lord help me!  I'm not used to parenting on my own.  We have a great tag team approach but when there is no one to tag with it all falls apart.

Day 10- Tuesday, 1/10/12

Today was one of those REALLY long days because karate started back up and we were there for 2 hrs right after dinner.  Plus Justin had a ton of homework that he had to finish while we waited for Tyler's class to end.  You can see Tyler in the background right between the door frame.  He volunteers as a helper during the younger kids' class and then has his class right after for teens and adults.

Day 11- Wednesday, 1/11/12

My boys are loving this new Skylanders game and are determined to collect all the figures.  I bought them 3 new ones yesterday (so hard to find) but they didn't have time to play so today they got to try them out.

Day 12- Thursday, 1/12/12

It's Tyler's turn to bring food to youth group and we thought we'd change things up by bringing hot dogs which is one of Tyler's favorite foods.  Pizza and tacos are his other favorites but they get that all the time.  I hope they liked the change.

Day 13- Friday, 1/13/12

One of the nice things about the winter trees having little or no leaves is that you discover the bird nests that have been there in secret all year.  This one was in a neighbor's tree hanging over into our backyard.  I love seeing all the interesting things they use besides sticks to build their nests.  This one had old packing tape, some white string, and Easter grass.

Day 14- Saturday, 1/14/12

Go Niners!  The boys were all dressed when I went to the store, but upon my return I found them re-dressed in football jerseys.  Can you tell John is home?  It was the first playoff game and the Niners won so we had some happy boys in this house--especially the biggest boy ;0)

That's it for this week.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

Week 1

Here we go!  Welcome to 2012.  I revamped my blog to give it a new look, and I'm excited to see what the year has in store for us--both ups and downs.  My boys are getting so big and accomplishing so much.  Where does the time go?  At least I'll have these day-to-day photo records to remind me of years past as time ticks on.  I plan to savor every moment with my family and enjoy how unique and special they are.

 

My goal for this year is to keep it simple and not over think it.  I'll let the pictures come as they may and not stress over having a perfect shot from day to day.  Life is messy and sometimes you just have to embrace that.  I know I do--with 3 boys its inevitable ;0)

Enjoy the first week of 2012:

Day 1- Sunday, 1/1/12

Here are my handsome boys excited for a new year.  I love that New Year's Day is on a Sunday and we all have Monday off so we can just sleep in, relax, and enjoy the day together as a family and with good friends.

Day 2- Monday, 1/2/12

It's not all fun and games.  Two of my boys are starting the year off with new meds both for nasal allergies.  At least they don't mind and even remind me when they need it.

Day 3- Tuesday, 1/3/12

Here I am behind the camera as usual. It wouldn't be a new year without new pictures taken by me ;0)

Day 4-Wednesday, 1/4/12

Tyler got a different backpack for Christmas and is loving it.  His old one had wheels which was nice, but he's too tall for the handle and it hurt his back more by bending down to pull it than to carry it on his back.  He thinks it's cooler this way too--teenagers!

Day 5- Thursday, 1/5/12

Brandon is playing his new 3DS game system after finishing homework.  He sold some old games at Game Stop and was able to purchase a new game for the system that he is playing for the first time today (Nintendo Dogs).

Day 6- Friday, 1/6/12

Haha!  Bella snuck in the picture.  John and the guys are headed to Tahoe for the night and to watch football tomorrow at Loren's place.  Too bad there is no snow for them to ski on.  So far it's been a very dry winter.

Day 7- Saturday, 1/7/12

Time to get some winter pruning done.  I've put  it off long enough and if I wait too much longer it will be too wet and cold out.  I wish I could say I finished, but after 2 hrs I had enough and will have to do the rest next weekend.

That wraps up this week. 

Thanks for stopping by and see you next Tuesday.

 

Week 52 !

That's it-- this is the last week which means another year in pictures done!  It's crazy how fast the year went and how quickly my boys are growing and changing.  I'm proud to be their mother and lucky to have the support and love of a great man as my husband.  Life is good, and I can't wait to see what next year's pictures will capture for our family--hopefully a lot of wonderful memories and good times with a few challenges or bobbles here and there.  Happy New Year everyone!

Enjoy the last week of 2011 in pictures:

Day 358- Saturday, 12/24/11

Happy Christmas Eve!  The boys get to open one gift before heading to bed and having visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.  How excited are they?!

Day 359- Sunday, 12/25/11
Merry Christmas!  Justin is the best kid to give gifts to, as long as it's the right gift, because he's big on expression.  Who wouldn't want to see this kind of reaction after giving a present to someone they love?

Day 360- Monday, 12/26/11
I got me some bling from my honey yesterday.  This is my new Pandora bracelet sporting a lovely winter theme.  Makes me smile every time I look at it.

Day 361- Tuesday, 12/27/11

I haven't been able to use my kitchen table all week.  Brandon and his brothers are building machines.  At least it keeps them busy in a good and constructive way while on winter break.

Day 362- Wednesday, 12/28/11
It's a lazy day at home with a late start.  Justin enjoys a bowl of his favorite cereal to kick off the day right.

Day 363- Thursday, 12/29/11
All good things must come to an end.  Time to put away the Christmas mess and get this house back to normal.  Everything is pretty much down, but now I have to get it all back in those boxes.  Lucky me!

Day 364- Friday, 12/30/11

Santa was naughty and got Tyler a phone for Christmas.  He's been a texting fool all week and loves being able to connect with his friends while on break.  He also really likes listening to music on it so when he's not texting he's rocking out.  Things are sure different from when I was his age.

Wait!  One more day and a few more pictures to end the year with a bang ;0)

Day 365- Saturday, 12/31/11

This family knows how to party on New Year's Eve!  John and I went to an adult party while each of the boys went to a couple kid's parties.  It was a fun and long night for all.  Goodbye 2011!

See you next week with a new look for the new year.  Bring on 2012!