So long 2008

We hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year!

First Comes Love

Here is a picture of Kate with Dominic dancing. After this picture was taken he left her for an older woman and broke Kate's heart. I don't think he knew it but Kate's dad and Ashley's dad work together and there were about 5 co-workers at the wedding. Lets just say Kate has a lot of BIG guys there for her to mend her heart. I took some more pictures but they did not come out very well so I will post more pictures when I receive them.

Flower Girl

Yesterday my niece Ashley married her boyfriend of 2 years Josh! First off I have to say I am so happy for both of them and I wish them all the love, happiness, and joy in the world. Josh is a great guy who fits into our family perfectly and is the best thing that happened to Ash.

They asked Sean & I if Kate would be their flower girl and yesterday was "Princess Kate" (as my niece and my sister call her) to be the princess flower girl. At the rehearsal the other night it looked like she was not going to do it and would not cooperate at all. I was getting a little nervous because my sister went out and bought her a lot of stuff to be the flower girl. Typical Kate surprised us all and walked down the aisle (though she did not throw the pedals) with no problems. It helped that the ring bearer was only a year older then her and was a little ham with her. Kate fell in love with him and told us that he was her new boyfriend and she was going to dance with him all night!

When it was time for Ashley to throw her bouquet Kate went with our other niece Leah to "try" and catch it (there was a bit of competition for them). Here is the picture below to show you who caught it ! Kate with her cousin Ashley.Jake and Leah waiting for the ceremonyKate and Dominic (her new boyfriend) walking down the aisle.YES little Kate caught the bouquet and NO she will not be the next one to get married.

Christmas Day

As sad as I am that Christmas is over I am also happy that it is. Sean was able to get off work early so the kids got to open all their presents that Santa had left for them, and were very happy for everything they received. They had a great holiday with their cousins and enjoyed hanging out watching their aunties sing to Rockband (I video taped them to use against them if needed ;}). We hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!Kate playing the drums with Shea while Auntie Laura sings and Kyle plays guitar to Rockband.Jake hanging out with Kyle, Leah, & Jordan.

The kids opening up some of their presents!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and your love ones.

Jake Update

Today was Jake's post op appointment and the Dr. said everything is looking great. He has very little swelling and his stitches and surrounding areas look good. Jake started walking Saturday night and is only getting around better. His doctor also said that he needs to stay off of it as much as possible. He still has his stitches until the beginning of next month. I am so grateful that everything went well and that he is healing great. Hopefully next year we will be surgery free!

Here is a picture I took with my camera phone (it kinda sucks) but that black mark is the 2 stitches he has and where they inserted the cone. As you can see it is a small incision (it's about the size of a pencil top). Jake could not believe that it was that small, he said that all the pain that he was in it seemed a whole lot bigger.

New patient another surgery

Almost 7 months to the day after Sean's surgery it was Jake's turn for his surgery. On Weds. morning we took Jake down to Sutter's Outpatient Surgery Center (same place Sean had his) to have the cone inserted into both of his feet. He was such an awesome patient and was so great through the entire process. He went through the same process as Sean where they ask you a million questions and he even scored 2 stickers versus the one his dad got. All of the medical staff commented on his attitude and his maturity (a few said he behaved better then his dad). The procedure only took 45 mins. and his doctor told us that everything looked great. Once he informed us on how Jake was doing we went to see him in post op. His only response to us was that he could not remember anything and that we lied he did not have any dreams. He was more awake 5 minutes later and was ready to take home just 30 minutes after the surgery was done!
Jake is going to be sore for a while and has to stay of his feet for at least 2 weeks. He is having some discomfort and pain but is doing good. Unfortunately Jake still can not out any pressure on his feet because the pain is too much (but is barely complaining).

I am so amazed of his attitude and how strong he is and has been through out this. He is growing up and as much as I don't want that I am so proud of Bubba and all of his accomplishments. He told me yesterday that he wants to be just like his dad and his papa and now he is more like them because he too had to get surgery ;)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate all of them!

Jake prior to the I.V., the nurse warmed his left arm so the put the I.V. in that arm.
Jake after the I.V. notice it's in the right arm instead of the left. His veins were playing hide and go seek. Obviously the veins hid very well. But the ones on the right were were found!
Here is Bubba's feet after the procedure. He has to wear the "ugly" shoes for at least a week.

Jake enjoying the good life! Video games, recliner, & a big tv, ahhh what more could you ask for:)

Out with the Old in with the New

About a month ago I took my digital camera in to get repaired (it was slower then usual and was not focusing). The repair company finally called over the weekend to let me know that it was ready for pick up. So I went to the store to get and when I came home Sean and I noticed that there was some damage to the outside that we have never seen before. I called the place and told them what was wrong and the manager said to bring it in and that they would replace it! I brought it in and thought that I would get an even exchange..... was I wrong. I had a Nikon S51 and had that replaced with a Nikon S60 (the camera that Ashton Kutcher uses in the commercials). I LOVE my new camera, it has the touch screen functions, bigger screen (good thing since I never wear my glasses), and I can write on the pictures too which is great because of the kids and their moments. So I will be uploading new blogs and pictures soon!

In Memory

It has been 2 years ago this day since my dad has passed away. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about him or miss him. I was very blessed and lucky to have him as my daddy, Sean as a father in law, and for Jake and Kate to have him as the best Papa ever. We are lucky to have the best reminders of him, with Jake is his mini me with looks and his ever so present personality. He has many of his characteristics and antics. Jake was the one affected most with my father’s passing (he was extremely close to Papa) but is now doing better. He has his moments but he now talks about my dad with a smile on his face instead of tears. Kate posses my fathers temperament and humor. She is as stubborn if not more so then Papa. She has his curly hair and his antics which as you can see is past down from generation to generation.

Dad~ I miss you so very much! I miss hearing your recliner squeak when we come over and hearing say "hello" to the kids. I did not know how much I would miss hearing you say Lansey in your southern accent (Sean does a great imitation of it). You were the best dad I could have asked for. I know we had our moments but I realize why (we are very alike. I know your there watching and guiding us. You are never and will never be forgotten. We miss you and and love you very much!

How time Flies........

I was going through some files in our email account and found these pictures that my dad sent me (obviously I don't go through them often) at least 3 years ago. I thought I would share them with you since these a few of my favorites with the kids.
Above is Kate at 6 months old. She had such a churbic face, this is when her hair really started to come in. Too bad you can't see the pretty red hair she had under her beenie! The one above was taken for Sean as a Father's Day present in 2005. This is one of my faves because they are so happy and that they are so darn cute:)

This here is another fave of Bubba. Anytime he saw his Papa with a camera this is the smile he did everytime. It's funny because that is the same smile my dad has! This was our last trip to Disneyland with my dad and my favorite one.

Another Kate Moment

Oh that little rugrat, but I love her so much. Well I was up here in the office checking emails as Sean was downstairs watching one of his movies. When I last checked Kate was with Jake in his room playing video games. When I was done I went in the living room to talk to Sean about dinner. I heard Kate come down the stairs and when I was about to ask what she would like with her dinner I saw that she committed the ONE thing I have feared especially with her being a girl with her beautiful, long, soft, wavy, red hair............................ She CUT it!!! In my "why did you do that tone" I asked what was she thinking, her response was that she wanted to look pretty. Sean (this is the man who will NOT let me even trim her hair, I had to sneak a trim..shh) started to laugh and say it will grow back as I am trying to decide if I rush her to the salon or fix it myself. Though she only cut her bangs it could have been far worse, I felt bad that I over reacted and ended up fixing it myself. I know find the humor in this and how truly blessed we are to have her in our lives and family. I was growing them out but since she is the flower girl for my niece's wedding I guess Kate decided she needed a little trim!

Kate's work before the fix, you can see she really chopped up the middle.

Another view, I got to say not bad for a 4 year!

This is after I re-trimmed it, she was not happy that Ifixed but told me I did "otay" work :)

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

We wanted to wish all of our family and friends a Happy Thanksgiving ;) We love you all......


s,l, j, & k

End of the Season

Jake's soccer season has finally come to an end and we are all actually sad about it. This was his best season so far with a record of 4-1-4, so the boys did pretty well. We also had 2 scrimmage games against another u10 team ..........which happen to be girls and most of them are classmates/friends of Jake's. It was an odd feeling to wake up Saturday and not have a game to go to. I know next season is going to be a little more busy with Kate starting and Jake going select our plates will be full, but well worth it.

Great job Bubba and to the other Original Misfits!! Good luck next season as U12B select!

He shot my ear!

Yesterday my mom and I were shopping at the outlets in Folsom to well get of the house. We walked by Claire's and I thought I would look into getting Kate's ears pierced. Well 20 mins. later she had pretty ears and many tears. When Sean got home last night she ran up to him to show her Daddy that she got new Mary Jane's and then all of the sudden she started crying and said that some man shot her and he hurt her. Sean's face went from a smile to anger in 1 second flat and asked who the bleep shot his daughter. I then showed him her "pretty ears" and explained why she was upset. I felt bad for her because of the pain and for Sean because he thought she really was shot. About 10 minutes later Jake came and told me that Kate was fine........... he caught her in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror smiling and saying that she is a princess with pretty ears!

Daddy's in BIG trouble!

Sean has been talking about cutting a hole in the downstairs closet (next to the stairs) to see if there was any room to store our holiday stuff. Just his Halloween stuff alone is located in 4 different storage areas throughout the house. He finally decided to cut the hole yesterday and we found out that there was a good amount of room. Kate had come out of her room to see what all the noise was. She placed her hands on her hips and told Sean he was going to be in BIG trouble because you can't put holes in the walls. Kate also informed him that Mommy is gonna be so mad at him that he would have to go to time out! I was laughing so much along with Sean that he had to stop what he was doing just so he could catch his breath. He told what he was doing and what it was for. She asked if she could help and did so by holding the flashlight. When he was all done she went in there a told us that this is her and Bubba's new hide-a-way. Sean & I decided that once we sheet rock & mud it that they could paint it what ever they wanted.

Here is the picture that was taken after he took out the sheet rock out of the closet! There is some more room to the right which you can't see. There is enough room for 3 kids to sleep there comfortably! I don't know if I like the idea of having people under my stairs!

Halloween... No Camera

Yep..... My camera decided that on Halloweeen it would not work anymore! This is Sean's favorite holiday and he spends most of the months before halloween making his decorations for the front yard and the foyer. All day long he was waiting for the rain to stop so he could put his dtuff outside, which finally happened right before the sun went down. As he was setting up I was getting the kids ready, and was going to take pictures when the darn camera decided not to work (YES I had charged it!!). So I went to get Sean's Nikon, but come to find out we did not have any film! Well once again my Mom to the rescue and she loaned us my dad's digital camera! In case you have noticed my mom ROCKS......... as for our camera it is back to Best Buy for them to fix. The kids and I went trick or treating with our family friends Chris and one of her sons Nate (who happens to be one of Jake's best friends and Kate current boyfriend, per her). We had a lot of fun in her neighborhood and seeing all the deco's. Sean opted to stay home and hand out candy and watch all of his horror movies, though he only was able to watch 30 mins of one due to Kate getting tired.

We hope all of you had a great Halloween :)

Sgt. Bubba & Tigger (who was half Vampire)

Sean and some of his creations

Disneyland Pictures

Kate driving on Autopia (hmmm.... not sure if she can drive)




Sean & Jake on Autopia (again not sure on his driving either!)




Jake, Kate, & Goofy!




Kate on Mad Teacups (I don't have the stomach for this one anymore!)



Leah & Jake on Teacups (watching them made my tummy turn!)

The Misfits

We are half way through our soccer season this year and our team the Sunrise Misfits are doing great! So far we are 3-0-1 and we are only getting better. The boys this year play very well together and are a great team. This season we have 7 returning players and 8 new. It is so much fun to watch them all play. I think having Jake is all of those soccer camps this summer really paid off. He much more confident and assure of himself that no matter what happens in the game he is proud of himself and we are too.Next year we will be twice as busy with soccer since Jake will hopefully go to U12 Boys select and Kate will be U6 mix. She is already Sean's 3rd asst. coach and has been practicing with the boys. We are so proud of Misfits especially our #9!

Disneyland A GoGo

So our trip to Disneyland was AWESOME! We had a lot of fun there this year as we do every time we go but to see the kids excitement made it so much fun. Sean & I were talking the night before we left and I told him that I think we may have a little daredevil on our hands with Kate. "Price" is always right ;) Jake tends to be like Sean with roller coasters (does not care for them) where Kate is like me (loves 'em). They both loved Star Tours, Pirates, & Haunted Mansion (which was done up as A Nightmare before Christmas), among many others. But little Tink (Kate's nickname) wanted to go on BIG rides so we decided to take her on Big Thunder (Jake opted to sit out with his Taw, my mom). She LOVED it so and told us along with our niece Leah that she wanted to get wet on a ride. Well an employee heard her and told us she is tall enough for Splash Mountain..... my first thought UMM NO! But the lady said that she would be safe and would really like it. So Sean limped his way over to get fast passes for myself, Leah, Kate, and himself (again Jake hung out with his Taw). So this time "Price" was wrong. The entire time we were in line she kept telling anyone and anyone who would listen that this is so exciting she is gonna get really wet! So we get on and Sean sits in the very back with her while the niece and I sit in front of them. For most of the ride she was standing up because of her height and was squealing with delight. When the drop came all you can hear is Sean saying "Sit Down" and Kate yelling "wee dis is so great and I get all wet I LOBE this ride". They take a picture of you when you go down the drop but every time we went on it all you see is Sean and this little patch of red hair in his armpit! Not much of a picture. Jake had a great time as well and faced his fear of heights and the unknown. He went on more rides then we thought he would and told us that he will go on more next time we go. He love Buzz Lightyear the most since he was able to shoot against his dad and a few times beat him. We promised Sean we would not tell anyone (oops). But poor Sean and Jake they both were having some discomfort with Sean's knee and Jake's feet. But all in all we had a great time. In fact Sean & I were talking today and we thought that we would try to again next year. It was the best time to go and enjoy with the kids!

The Police Concert Picures

Here are a few pictures that were taken at the Police show a few months ago. As you can see the drummer is my favorite though Sting is close! Thank You Carl for taken these (the ones I took look horrible)! The one on the left is the one I took to show Carl that I won our bet. Before the show we were talking about what songs we wanted to hear. I said that I would love to hear Demolition Man, but Carl said that was a Sting song not a Police. I told him that it was originally a Police song but Sting re-mixed it for the movie under the same name! This is just one of many times that I again was RIGHT and he was W-R-O-N-G!

Catch-Up

Well life has been busy for all of here! Jake is back at school and is doing great. It helps that he loves his teacher too! Kate is finally potty trained (YIPPY), and is still sassy as ever! Sean hours changed at work and now he is back home in the evenings again. Jake has had 2 soccer games and is playing better then ever. Kate is even starting to participate in the practices, she is not happy sitting on the sidelines cheering. It will so exciting to see her play in micro soccer next year, we all think she will be the first U6 player to receive a red card. She is known to not play very nice!
We also paid a visit to Jake's foot Doctor and it was decided by all 4 of us (including Jake) that he will get the surgery to fix his flat feet. He is experiencing more pain and now it's growing more constant. Plus the Dr. noticed that his heel bone is now being pushed put by the other bones in his feet. His surgery is scheduled for Dec. 17th and he will have to stay off his feet for 2 weeks! At first he was not happy since he can't be on his feet for that long and because he can't walk on Christmas. We told Jake that he would have the down stairs to himself (along with the big TV) and that he will get sick pay just like his dad did when he had his surgery! As you can see our Disneyland Vacation is only a week away!!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry it had been a while but we have been busy! Sean is back to work and it happy to be. He is being careful and taking it easy, luckily he has an easy shift. Jake is busy with soccer camps and hanging out. He has been at my mom's house a lot this summer. He says that she needs someone there so she is not alone! But when he is there we do miss him here! As for Kate she is now literally climbing the walls (or tries to), she says that she is a monkey and that's what they do! As for me it's soccer, soccer, and oh more soccer! I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. We just found out who Jake's teacher will be this year and he was happy when he got who he wanted. Sean and I will be going around pre-schools to see which one will be best for Miss. Sassafras! Well it's on to more soccer entry. I will put more pictures and blogs up in the next week or so ;)~

DeDoDoDoDeDaDaDa...............

Is all I want to say to you!!! I got to see STEWARD COPELAND LIVE ( along with Sting, Andy Summers, & Elivs Costello) and I was so on cloud 9. It was one of the best shows I have ever been to (not that there is a lot). Seeing them play live was the best present Sean has ever given me. My nephew Carl and my sister Laura probably looked like a bunch of school girls, we were so happy to be there. Thanks to Carl I got some great pictures from where we were sitting. He knows my love for Stewart. They played all of my favorites i.e. Demolition Man, Message in a Bottle and my personal favorite Wrapped around your Finger (yes another song of Sean's and I's). I will post the pictures up soon. Turning 30 was not a bad thing............... and to answer your question (you know who you are) YES I plan to go see New Kids on the Block (or is it Old Boys on the Block)!

Happy 4th of July !!!

We hope all of you have a safe and wonderful 4th of July! I promise this weekend I will put some more post up........... it has been a crazy week! Enjoy the long weekend oh and uhh Carl HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY! Now you can't make fun of Sean & I anymore... hehehe

Back to Work

After 3 months home and not working Sean (as of now) is going back to work on the 7th! He was so happy to hear that his doctor is letting him go back that he already has his stuff ready to go. I was surprised at how well he handled being home for that long recuperating, (he is not one to sit still and RELAX). He did get a lot of his Halloween crafts made and fixed the little things that he could around the house. He promised that he would be as cautious as he could at work not re injure his knee (we'll see). But I just want to say THANK U to everyone for all the thoughts & prayers (even a little manual labor), we truly appreciate all of your support!


** even his boots are waxed!!

Whipped

Ever since Jake was a toddler my dad would squirt whip cream in his mouth, and for some reason it grossed me out. Well when Kate came of age my dad did the same thing with her and he would get the same reaction from me. My dad loved to gross me out when ever the opportunity came, so during the summer this was a common sighting. I have been thinking of my dad a lot lately and I wanted to share this picture with all of you and the story behind it. I know if he was still here he would have a HUGE smile on his face with this picture of his Jakamike and his Kaytee!

Paid For ?!

Well you would think by now that I have learned my lesson with putting things away! NOPE!! Our dear little inquisitive Kate decided to play secretary in the office while I was doing dishes (she is not allowed in the office without an adult). She was on the computer, writing notes, & talking on the phone (she may have sent a fax or two). When I found out that she was in there I told her to go downstairs to get dress. As I was changing her I noticed on her toosh that she had used my "PAID" stamp and not only stamped her bottom, she stamped her feet, legs, and even her neck! Lesson to myself put thing back where they belong!! And no Jake did not tell her to do that he was outside the entire time, and Kate has been bought and paid for!

happy daddy's day

we just want to wish everyone a happy father's day!!!

Bye Bye 3rd Grade!

Jake's last day of school was yesterday and for the first time ever we all were sad to see him move up to the next grade. He had the BEST teacher ever this year Ms.Sather who happen to be one of my teachers. She was hands down the best thing that happened to him. He started out the year on a rough start, but with her help and compasion he came out of it doing better then ever in school. Ms. Sather was great not only with Jake but us as a family. She invited Kate into her classroom every morning and even had her help her out with the students. Thank You Ms.Sather for all you have done for us, you are the best past, present, and future teacher ever!!!

Congrats Grad.......

Our little Leah (she's not so little though, she is taller then me) graduated from high school Tuesday. We are so proud of her (even Kate) and to see her walk was a happy moment for me, I can remember picking her up from elementary school and helping her with her homework! So we just wanted to say that we're very proud of you Leah-Peah and congrats on your success! As Kate has been saying "WooWoo Yeah did it, her done wit school!"

Post Op Take 1

The news on Sean's knee is so far so good. He has been in p.t. 2 to 3 times a week and all the doctors are telling us that everything is going well and he might be able to go back to work the 2 week of July! The pictures below are after they took the wrap and staples (yuck) off. He had a lot of bruising all over his entire leg and the yellow is the benidyne. Sean's doing good (he still has a nagging pain-no not me!) and is sore but with time and patience (I had to explain to him what that means) he will back to normal!

A Bubba birthday!

Along with the nubbin' incident we celebrated Jake's birthday! It's hard to imagine that he is almost into his "tween" years. Jake said that he wanted a family party and an ice cream cake, so we had the family come out and help us celebrate. He had a great time hanging out with a few of his cousins and family. In the last year he has gotten closer to his oldest cousin Carl, and was so happy to see that he came over just for him. Jake was estatic when he saw that he got a Nintendo DS and over $100 in gift cards for Target alone. It was a great weekend not just for Jake but for us as well. To see Bubba smile and laugh again is a wonderful gift in itself! So Hippo Birdy and Two Ewe's Bubba (that's for you too Daddy) we love you!!!!

Nubbin'

Jake got to spend the night at school with some of his classmates for reading 30 minutes or more a night. He was so happy to go and hang out with his friends (and I think to get a night away from his sister). So Sean & I thought if we get Kate down early to bed we could have a quiet night and watch a movie or two. WRONG! After I dropped Jake off at school I came back home to help Sean move some stuff in the garage. Our dog Guinness wanted to come out which was no problem so we let her out. She saw our neighbor and started to bark and growl so Sean told her to go into the house. She went in the house but tried to sneak out the door before it closed. All of the sudden we heard a horrible howl and knew something was wrong so I ran to the house and Sean limped behind and that's when we noticed that she was bleeding and needed medical treatment. So we put Kate and Guinny in the SUV and drove to the pet er. It turned out that Guinness' beloved tail (it was known to cause great pain if smacked with it), had to amputated all to a nubbin'.

My nurse thinks I am TERRIFIC!

Wednesday was Sean's surgery and I am happy to report that it went well, with no complications. He did a great job through it all this being his first time being the patient. While in pre-op they ask you a ton of questions and it's the same questions 20 time,but the funny thing was the nurse (during the questioning ) made a comment on how it was his "first" time and for those who have never gone under they get a special present.................. a sticker saying "My nurse thinks I'm terrific" and she placed it on his gown! I thought that was funniest thing I've seen yet, so of course it was pic. opportunity. I did ask that they be gentle with him and to watch over him and they did. The whole staff was wonderful and made us feel comfortable and relax (we both dislike hospitals). After the procedure Sean was feeling very good, but in a lot of pain. The nurses pumped him up with so much pain killers that he maxed out and could no longer take anymore. We got him home and placed him on the sofa where he still is! He is feeling good considering what he has been through. I am just grateful that he came out out of it fine and is doing good. Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and concerns we really appreciate it!

Happy Momma's Day

We just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!!!