Jersey Boys!!

We went and saw this last night here in Dallas with my parents. My dad is a huge 4 Seasons fan. It was SO great! A little too much swearing BUT my dad is from Jersey and grew up on these guys and informs me, "that is just the way it was." It was so fantastic and I just love their music! We were all up dancing..my dad especially doing the "mashed potatoes."..an old 60's dance.

Here is a little taste of what we saw. This was from the Tony's when it won for Best Musical. Thanks again to my parents for taking us! We had so much fun!

California Dreamin'

We just got back and had the greatest time in Cali! It was an eventful one at that but the it kept us busy for sure. Steve has family down in the LA area and then more of his family from Oregon, Arizona and Utah came also.

We went to see Steve's grandparents in Riverside on Wednesday. They have such a beautiful back yard and the kids loved playing and swimming. We adore them and were glad we could visit. Spence just loved his Great-Grandpa Goodwin! Lots of fun..











We hit Disney last Thursday which was great. We set our alarms to get up at 6:30 to beat traffic, check into our hotel and get to Disney relatively early...which we did..however, when we all got packed up from Steve's grandma's and headed out, the clock in the rental car says 6:30am..hmmmm? Steve had set his cell phone alarm for Alaska time so really we woke up at 5:30!! Nice huh..but it worked out because we graced the gates of Disneyland at 8:00 am on the dot. No lines, no crowds and we basically rode every ride we wanted before noon. We did however, forget our camera so not alot of pics to post for that. We came home during the day and headed back for the fireworks which never actually happened but it was still fun!


Here's us in front our our Hotel..

Friday was beach day which solidified my love of California. I would live at the beach if I could. My kids were entertained for hours. We went to Hunington Beach and the weather was beautiful. The kids played with all the cousins and I followed Spencer around while he ate sand. I think that kid ended up with sand in every crevice of his body! (sorry for the visual)



Scotty and his cousin Ethan
Covered in SAND!
All the Cousins!
Me and Spence Chillin' on the beach



We went to Steve's sister's house in Pasadena for a great bbq on Saturday and had so much fun there too! It was great to be with everyone.

Sunday was more family fun after church..Here's Spence with his cousin Gage's drum set..too funny




.. and then we left Monday. Steve and I were commenting on the way to the airport how smoothly things has gone and how we had only gone over our budget by like $2.00.

I was so proud of us, but we were back to reality real quick. Here is us feeling proud and happy for ourselves..didn't know what was coming!



The LA airport was a mess and it took us an hour and a half to get through check in and security.

We got on our flight and Spencer was of course, a nightmare because he was so tired! We get up in the air and the stewardess is bringing around drinks. Before she could hand me mine, the plane hit an air pocket and DROPPED 400 FEET! Drinks were everywhere, kids were crying, flight attendents freaking out, and Steve had been standing at the back of the plane when it happened. Luckily he sat down as we started to fall so he was okay but Spencer was just whailing!

I needed a serious Dr. Pepper and Advil after that! But wait, the fun wasn't over yet- My mom and dad picked us up in different cars and we headed home.. exhausted. As we exit the airport, my mom switches lane and runs over something metal in the road and my TIRE blows out! We cross like 18 lanes to get to the side and after a few choice words, I reach for my cell phone. It's dead and my mom left her in the other car with Steve and my Dad who are already ahead of us!

My mom flags down someone after 10 minutes which clearly was not safe but our only option. Steve and my Dad circle back and changed our tire, which is totally blown out..so much for staying in the budget right? Sooo, we got home FINALLY at 11:00 pm and fell into bed! Are you exhausted reading this??

Anyway, LOTS of fun and great memories made! Oh, and I almost forgot..our trip wasn't complete without a few stops at..
Are you jealous??

Happy 4th!

So here are our day's events for the 4th. We took the kids to a parade in the morning down in McKinney, which was my idea and I always have good intentions and think it will be SO great but alas, we missed most of it since it was like a 10 minute parade..Steve and I are arguing about where to park and it was hotter than you know what outside. After 10 minutes of walking, my kids were tired and hot so we went to get a sno cone but alas, the line was forever long so the only redeemable part of the morning was the cool car show which my kids thought was awesome. We took some pics and headed to the DQ for lunch..I don't think I can say DQ without a southern twang and I haven't been there in years but it was SO good.




All in all, it was fine. Then we all needed a nap, of course.

We then headed to a friends house for swimming and bbq'ing with the best hamburgers ever! Shout out to Brent and Nikki and as if our kids weren't tired enough we dropped off the babe with a sitter and headed to the biggest venue close to us, Pizza Hut Park, for an Fireworks spectacular!

It was great laying on the grass, with music blaring, and fireworks with my kids, my awesome husband and our great friends. We have so much to be grateful for. But wait..the night wasn't complete without the sounds of the "Temptations"! They were sporting the shiny white outfits and we had a great time dancing and having fun. My dad LOVES the Temptations and was supposed to go with us, but had to cancel because he wasn't feeling well so we missed you Pop Pop and Grammie!




Happy 4th to everyone!

I'm addicted!

My sister told me about this little restaurant in McKinney and I am now addicted to it. I just went a few nights ago with some friends and it was even better than the first time! We must have had 3 appetizers, all got big entrees and two big buckets of churros. We ate ourselves silly. Food, Folks and Fun..doesn't get any better than that.

Summer is in Full Swing!

I wanted to post a couple pics of the kids so far this summer..I can't believe how big they are getting! The first pic is one Steve took yesterday of the kids..turned out ok since it is so hard to get them all smiling at once!


The rest are of Scotty at his swim lesson "graduation". They showed off all the skills they learned. There is nothing here to do except swim, so they gotta be good at it!

Getting a deep breath!





Dove for all the rings!

Happy Birthday to Us!!

Yes, he has food hanging off his mouth on purpose!

So birthdays are so uneventful as I get older and since I was hitting the big 3-3 and Steve is 34 this week, we weren't doing much.. but our wonderful friends took us out to celebrate anyways!

We went to this great restaurant in Deep Ellum/Dallas called Monica's which was fantastic. The best part about it was the crazy live music. Of course, everyone let on to the server about the birthdays and so when the band ("Chilo and his Latin sounds") starts rolling with the music, the guitarist pulls me out of my seat and hands me a tambourine..classic..what am I supposed to do with that?! We make it up to the stage with other fellow birthday people and they are all three sheets to the wind. I started trying to hide behind the bass player..mind you, the tambourine still in hand..The song was literally 10 minutes long and as all the younger, less clothed girls and guys started a conga line, I headed back to hide under the table. Good Times.


Why does he always have to be goofy?
Getting up on stage
Hiding....
Feeling mortified!!


Can't quit laughing..
Still laughing!

Jeff's due in December..


Then we headed on to a comedy club called Ad Libs which is all improvisational comedy. It was so funny and we had such a great time...so thank you to our friends for planning it and celebrating with us! (even if we are getting old)

Day at the Lake

My parents took us out for a day at the lake for my dad's bday/ father's day. They are moving out there soon and wanted to have some fun with the kids and check out the new digs. We had so much fun!! We took out a pontoon boat and then also my dad's friend came with his boat to pull tubes etc. Despite getting a little rain now and then, it was great. The lake is so beautiful. It is called Cypress Springs and is out an hour and a half or so but it is nice to get out of all the mainstream lakes. This area seems like the place to retire for sure!





Abbey and her cousin on the tube!

We had a nice little party for my dad and I can't believe he is 65 WOW!




We all got some sun but I got a little too much! I was hurting pretty bad when we got home and I realized weird parts of my body for burned like my knees, the top of my hands, the top of my feet?? Whatever, I just needed a tan so I can suffer through the burn. It was a nice way to break in the summer..Good Times. Thanks to my wonderful parents for the fun day.