The Sleep Over

So we decided to brave it again - this time Zachary got to invite his friends over for a sleep over.  Turns out a sleep over with 12 year old boys is a lot easier than with 8 year old boys!  They were pretty good - we told them they could stay up as late as they wanted, as long as they were quiet and in the playroom.  Parties like this are easy - make some hamburgers, bring their DS and PSPs, play the Wii, watch a movie, eat some cake and you're good to go!

Shooting some pool

Dad had his friend Dave Wiess come over to lend moral support - and help with the cooking

These boys can eat a lot - we couldn't believe it, but Robbie (far left) had 2 double double burgers and ate them all - yikes!

Mom made chocolate mousse filled cupcakes - yummy!

Love those cheeks!

Zach - Robbie and Vidal - the way 12 year old boys play these days!

The crazy gang!

And finally - the little sister hiding from the crazy boys. (And if you are wondering where the little brother is - well, we shipped him off to a friends house for his own sleep-over.  Given the choice, what would you do if your older brother was having a sleep over?  Get out of Dodge - for sure!)

Universal Studios

For Zachary's 12th birthday we went to Universal Studios.  Even though it was the middle of summer and pretty darn hot, we had a great time and got to go on a lot of rides.  They have a neat feature for most of the roller coaster rides where there is a "child-switch" room so while one of us waited in the line for the ride, the other waited with Katie in a room, usually with a TV and toys.  Then we could cut into the front of the line and ride without waiting again.  And since you could bring one person with you, Zachary got to ride most rides twice!  They also had a lot of misting stations in the park to help cool you off.  We parked close and brought a picnic lunch which was nice.

We ran into Dora the Explorer - which is Katies FAVORITE TV show in the world (I mean, there is a serious obsession here) - but I think the giant Dora whose head is larger than Katie herself freaked her out a little ... bummer

Here is Zachary waiting with Katie in the child swap room, and then Katie in the room while waiting for the boys to ride on Jurassic Park

You can't go to Univsersal Studios without going on the tram ride - Zach and Nicholas wait in line, while Daddy gives Katie a better view

While on the tram ride, I had to a take a picture from the set of Desperate Houswives - we love that show and got to see Wisteria Lane!

In honor of Grandpa and Aunt Irene who are big time Dodgers fans, the boys sat in the set that looks like they are at a game.  This is as close as this Angel family will get to being in Dodger Blue haha!

 

Zachary shows that he is 12

The last ride of the day - Jurassic Park - man, that ride gets you really wet!!

While the boys got drenched, Katie and I got some dippin' dots which she shared (a little) with her brothers

Baby Neveah arrives

Steven and Susan brought Neveah into the world on July 26th.  Her name is Heaven spelled backwords - neat isn't it?

The Proud Daddy -(and she makes Johnny a Great-Uncle!!).  I know Johnny remembers running to the hospital (because he didn't have a drivers license) when Steven was born - and to think now he has his own child.  Amazing

I love newborns - they are so precious.  I like to look at them and wonder what they think of this new place they have found themselves in

Tia Yancy sees her godson and first born nephew having his own baby - similar feelings to Johnny I am sure

Nicholas is a pro at holding new babies by now - Katie and Alina have taught him well

Vacation Bible School

This year, Cornerstone Stone Retreat Center, owned by the Dulac family of our parish, hosted their first all Catholic VBS week.  Their facility is in Silverado Canyon and is simply breathtaking.  It was cool to get to go to a VBS that was all outdoors.  I took the week off of work and volunteered, and they had places for all three kids.  Zachary, as a middle school student, was a "Captain" - meaning he helped the adult volunteers with the younger kids, with set up etc.  Nicholas was an actual VBSer, or camper.  And Katie was in the pre-school area.  Now this place was set up great - they had built sections for each part of the day - the music area, the craft area, the teaching area, snacks and sports area, out of pallets, tents, etc.  There was a big stage under some large trees where each day started with group songs, skits, etc.

Here are the kids on the first day.  We all had the same shirt, but in different colors to designate our roles.

They sang songs every morning as a group, and the older kids put on skits

I love this view of Katie and her yellow ribboned pigtails!

Momma and Katie in the Saintly Snack Area!  Even the snack time was a craft, a teaching opportunity as well as a yummy treat.  The group that put this week on spent a ton of time working on it, and it really showed how well prepared they were.  The whole week went really smoothly and made it so everyone could really have a good time

The learning tent - or Missionaries in Motion - is where I volunteered.  Each day the kids would rotate though the different activities.  I got to work with them all on scripture lessons, etc - as well as do some really fun crafts and activites.  Nicholas liked when he got to my station and could give me a big hug!

Craft time, music chapel, snack time - all of it brought the Lord into the day's activities.  It was spiritually rejuvenating for all of us to be living and breathing our Catholic faith together in such a special way this week.

And in the afternoon, each day we brought a picnic lunch.  We had lunch under the trees and then had activities for those who wanted to stay.  We of course particiapted in everything!  We went swimming in the retreat center pool, went for a hike and did water play.  My favorite was the hike as it is on trails that I run on during my long runs.

Katie is ready to go on the hike!

Zachary helps her along, while Nicholas and his buddy Geordie have some good conversations.

Zachary and I went deep into the trails

But Katie liked the water day the best.  There is something magical about a hot summer day and a sprinker on a large grassy lawn that every child loves!  Brings back memories for me too.

The last day was bittersweet - we were sad to say goodbye to the new friends we had made (and I was sad that my week off playing stay-at-home mom was coming to an end!)

Karen and Tabitha and I taught in the Missionaries in Motion tent all week and really got to be good friends.

4th of July 10k

Every year on the 4th of July I get up early and head down to Irvine to run in the Woodbridge 5 and 10k race. This year I ran the 10k, and my friends Nancy and Cindy joined me. Woodbridge is a cute little community that puts on fun 4th of July events ... a parade, the race and other local events make it a fun day.

For me, running in the morning means more BBQ, brownies and beer in the afternoon! But it's a nice flat course, and this year I got to enjoy it with Nancy and Cindy, which was a treat. Here we are before the race.

And after the race we like to go to Ruby's for breakfast ... it's usually super nice outside, still early so not too hot. Time to just relax and start the holiday off right

Angel Game with Tim Salmon!

Last fall, Johnny and I bid on a event where we would be going to an Angel Game in a suite with Tim Salmon as our host, followed by a few hours playing catch at the beach with him. Well, as avid Angels fans, and with Tim Salmon being my favorite player, we jumped at the chance and won the bid!! He is the nicest man, very friendly and humble. He signed autographs for everything we brought (and as a group of 12 we sure brought a lot of stuff!), and took as many pictures as we wanted.

Johnny in heaven with a favorite Angel

Couldn't miss out on a photo myself ... love our Angels gear!
Deb, Sandra and myself

And the ladies with Tim ...

We had a great time - and the Angels even won!  Tim stayed with us until the end of the game, and they had to kick us out of the suite, because we were still hanging out and talking.