Happy 40th Birthday Scott!

Scott was definitely SURPRISED for his 40th birthday. I had played the bad, I'm too busy for you wife all week and Scott was convinced that his birthday had just fallen at a busy time so a quiet family dinner would be the extent of his birthday festivities. He even came home from work and said, "I was thinking maybe after dinner you and I could go out to the movies or something like that." I agreed and even packed my Harkins cups and popcorn t-shirt when we left.
SO much to his surprise when we finished eating dinner with the Carvers and drove to their house for presents and gifts, awaiting us was 25 of Scott's friends from church and work! They got to see him turn red and look at me saying, "Are you kidding me??" I then swooped him off to put on his 70's costume because this was a 70's disco party. We had a great time doing "Scott Trivia", Name that Tune, and even a hilarious round of the Newlywed Game!

Happy Birthday to Scott... I just couldn't let the 40th go by without an adequate celebration!

Back to School

What a summer! We had great times together as a family and are sad to see it end with the start of alarm clocks, homework, carpools, AKA school starts!

This is a milestone year for Brandon as he begins junior high. He is going to school only knowing Tyler and Tyler's friends. We know Brandon's warm personality will gain friends soon but it's a bit nerve wracking at the beginning.

We are thrilled to have the boys at the same junior high that their Grandma Nancy works at. It's a treat for them to see her in the halls and always knowing where help is if something comes up.

Check out the pictures of these young men on the first day of school. I can't believe Scott and I are old enough to have kids this big - both in junior high! And YES, Tyler is definitely taller than me!! Where did the time go?

Running with a purpose

I am not a runner. I have never been a runner. I ran for many years when I played soccer. I ran to get the ball or defend the goal. But I never ran just to run. There seemed to be no purpose and certainly I didn't think it was fun to just run for the sake of running.
However, I have found myself on Day 1 of an 8 week training program for a 5K run. My aunt Cindy was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and our family has decided to participate in the Susan G. Komen 5K in October. So I now run for my aunt and with a purpose.

I completed my task for today. I actually ran 1 mile without stopping. I haven't done that since high school. Tomorrow I go 2 miles and I'm actually looking forward to it and think it might be fun!

There is a TEENAGER in the house!

Tyler turned 13 on July 8th. He did not want a lot of fanfare to celebrate. He opted for a mellower celebration with his cousins and friend. In true 13 year-old boy fashion, he enjoyed a Terminator marathon at our house. Scott brought home a projector and big screen from work and the group watched Terminator 1 -3. (They saw a whole lot of naked Arnold but still enjoyed all of the shooting and action.) After watching 3 movies, eating a ton, playing ping pong in between movies, they headed off to the movie theatre to watch the 4th Terminator and it did not disappoint.

Food is always important when celebrating and I let Tyler choose the food for the day.

Breakfast: chocolate donuts and chocolate milk
Intermission Snacks: Gummi Worms, M&M's and Goldfish crackers
Lunch: Papa John's pepperoni pizza with extra garlic sauce
More Intermission Snacks: popcorn
Dinner: In-N-Out Burgers, Fries and a Shake

What a feast!
Tyler was very happy to get a cell phone from us for his birthday. We certainly hesitated and really debated this decision but ultimately decided to go for it. Tyler was as surprised as anyone when we gave it to him.


Although, Tyler wasn't looking for a big "to-do" on his birthday, he had some friends (girls of course) from school, who surprised us all in the morning by decorating the front yard. They worked very hard to place 30 - 40 cut out balloons with Tylerisms or memories about Tyler written on them. They had streamers and even a box of chocolate chip cookies on the porch. Anyone driving down our street would have no doubt that there was something special going on at our house!

You are the peanut butter to my jelly!

On July 14th Scott and I celebrated our 19th Wedding Anniversary. We had an anniversary date the week before because I was out of town for work on the 14th. When I woke up in Chicago on the 14th I was surprised at how sentimental and emotional I felt. I texted Scott early in the morning and told him not to call me because I knew I would burst into tears. He texted me back with an anniversary message saying I was his dream wife, he loved me, etc. Then he ended the text by saying, "You are the peanut butter to my jelly!" I smiled all day when I thought of that. It really is a sweet picture of the teamwork we have in our marriage.

Scott and I love to laugh together. Silliness abounds at our house. We have even learned to laugh when things don't go as planned. (The family picture photo shoot where Scott dropped me in the freezing cold fountain has brought many laughs at our house!)

Finally, I love being a parent with Scott. We enjoy our time just the 2 of us but also make our boys a priority. It's great to talk about them at the end of the day to someone who loves them and thinks they are just as incredible as I do!! Quite often when we are enjoying a family dinner or a card game together, one of us will say, "I love US!"

I look forward to many more years of being the peanut butter!!

Life is a Beach!

The love of the beach isn't something that ever goes away even when you move to the DESERT! Camping for a week on the beach is a huge treat which is why in January when you have to reserve your spot, Scott told me, "Do WHATEVER it takes to get a spot." No pressure... me and 100's of other people are fighting over coveted beach campsites in Carpinteria, CA all at the stroke of 8AM on the first business day of January. My efforts were not in vain because we did get the coveted spot and enjoyed a wonderful week beginning June 30th.

Our campsite was literally 15 steps to the beach. In spite of the great beach spot, we were pretty shocked at the layout of this site. We have determined it is probably one of the "worst" of the best sites you can get. Our campsite (I say that very loosely) was literally the width of 2 cars and about the same depth. Regardless this was our LITTLE slice of heaven and we were determined to make our 6 days memorable and happy.

Our good friends from CA, the Vieyras, also joined us camping in Carpinteria. The week was spent digging in the sand, splashing in the ocean, playing volleyball & soccer for the boys and reading books and chit chatting for the girls. Everyone was happy and how couldn't you be?? Beach, NO HEAT, and good friends! There are already plans for a repeat next year.
However, we will be avoiding campsite #41.

The boys loved playing sand volleyball. Tyler got in a great spike during a family game. Brandon begged Scott to practice volleyball with him each day and by the last day, his hard work was paying off.

It's good to know that you are never too old to enjoy digging in the sand. Both Brandon and Tyler loved digging deep holes. They made holes big enough to sit in. Caleb and Ethan dug literally all day.

Christina and I did what we do BEST... we chit chatted and sipped soda!! What a week!