Soccer Season Begins!

Riley is starting on a team league this year. I'm so excited to see her first game! She was so excited to begin her practice. I think she got a little intimidated, because some of the other kids are a bit older and didn't give her a chance with the ball. When we left she said "I'm the worst kicker ever" poor girl. We've had to talk about not giving up and just run and have fun, oh and not to let the kids take the ball away - GO AND GET IT BACK! Mike especially, because he is assistant coaching.

We should be in for an exciting season!! Go Riley!

A visit from my parents!

My Mom and Dad came out from St. George last week. They split their time between us, and my sister Traci in Modesto. We had such a blast! We were constantly going and going, except at night when we konked out, because we had so much fun!

Here are some fun pictures of just a few of the things we did:

The first day we went to Capitola. We watched all the surfers, walked all the village shops, and ate at a yummy lunch there.

(this is the only pic I have its from a phone - can you see us?( its Traci, me, Dad & Mom)

My parents stayed in a hotel. The first thing my girls did when they went in, was climb in the bed and ask to watch a show - not surprising.

We went swimming in the hotel pool. We were so happy it was heated! Its been a really cool August for us here, which is nice, but not when you want to get your swim on!

Every time my sister visits, we have to make a trip to Powells Sweet Shoppe. I wish I had a picture of it, its the coolest candy/ice cream shop ever. It has every kind candy imaginable. Its in our little downtown area. Then we walked down the streets to look at all the cool little shops, while the kids ate their candy - and Chloe stopped to climb trees.

I love Conner's face, while Chloe is trying to climb down.

We had a great trip. I'm so glad my parents came. Riley and Chloe adored them, not to mention, they bought us all kinds of goodies while they were here. I hope they can come back soon!

Micke grove with my Sister

My sister Julie is moving to England for 3 years!!! Her husband, James got an assignment there through the military, so off they go. They took a tour through Cali, visiting all their friends & family before they left, and we were one of those stops. (not quite in san jose though)

We met them in a little place called Lodi, CA. There is this zoo called Micke Grove, and its just perfect for all our little toddlers. We used to go there when I was growing up, so it brought back a little nostalgia. They have this beautiful Japanese garden, that I remember my Grandpa Klingman loved when he came to visit.

Here is our day:

The Japanese Garden

The Zoo

The Kiddie Train




( I love this pic of my sister and me. I'm closing my eyes, and Jules doesn't look quite ready, I had to post it, because its the only pic of her little guy Carson)

It was such a a fun Day! I'm glad we got to spend one last day with them before they left. We're going to miss their family for the next 3 years!!

My Riley

A friend from the ward took this at an activity and I just thought it was so cute, I had to post it. We adore this little girl.

I love this guy

Who else would want to spend eternity with ME??

Independance Day 2010

I'm not putting my pictures in any order. I'm just going to "journal" what we did this past 4th of July.

July 3:

Went to see Eclipse, the big movie! We thought it was pretty good.

We drove to Manteca (have you heard of that place before?) Its a small town in the Central Valley. My sister Traci, said there was a good fireworks show. So we met her for a delicious dinner at Red Robin. Then we headed over to the stadium for some fireworks. It was a pretty cool setup, they had all the regular concessions, kettle korn, shaved ice, hot dogs, margaritas - no thank you for obvious reasons :)

Anyways, we just had a blast hanging out, playing, and talking.

The best part of our night was Chloe. She is sooooo afraid of things. The kids were all playing a little way off and it was getting dark. They let off a firework to let the crowd know the show was starting, and all the kids screamed an ran back to their parents excited to see the fireworks.

Poor Chloe had no idea what was going on! She burst into hysterical screams, not sure where to go with all the kids running everywhere. When she got to us, her little heart was beating out of her chest and she was just shaking! She kept saying " wanna go home, wanna go home"

Oh my! She finally calmed down, and by the end was saying oooh and aaah like everyone else.

We made it home safely at midnight!

July 4

Made it to 9:00 church after getting home so late. Had some great lessons. As I get older I appreciate more and more just how lucky we are to be in this country! I was touched by the words of the songs Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. It is so wonderful to be in a country where I can make my own choices and believe what I want to believe!

Went to a rad BBQ with some friend in our ward. Good food and good laughs, you can't beat that!

July 5

My first nephews birthday! I just had to say that! Happy Birthday Conner! Went to a ward pancake breakfast. Riley decided it would be fun to kiss a boy on his cheek. twice. Seriously?

Anyways, we had an awesome weekend of celebrating America!

Who needs Raging Waters?

We've got our own mini waterpark back here!

This was Riley and Chloe's first time with a slip 'n slide. I'm not sure they were fans. I was! I showed them exactly how to do it, when I got up Riley says,

"but Mom you're all wet"

Uhhh, ya, that would be the point

Maybe they'll appreciate it a little more next time

Concert in the Park

There is a really great park in San Jose area called Vasona Park and all summer they do free concerts. I used to go to them back in my old home town of Modesto, but I haven't been to one in seriously years!

So we rounded a few friends, put a little picnic together and headed over! Not to sound all old, but it was just lovely! Great weather, good food, and good company!

The girls dancing away to the music!

The lead singer had this big furry hat, and let the kids take turns wearing it. funny.


Anyone else in San Jose wanna come next time??

Our Weekend

We had a pretty fun weekend planned. It was Fathers Day, and I had the perfect present and the perfect dinner. The weather was going to be nice. Toy Story 3 was coming out.

Here's how it turned out.

Friday Night:

Mike was questioning me on why I had spent that much money (what? he never does that? sense the sarcasm). So, I decided I would show him what I bought for him for Fathers Day, knowing he might disapprove, because he usually does. I think my husband is the hardest person to buy for, I rarely get it right.

When he first saw the new Barbecue I got him, he smiled and said "Thank You, but I think I'm going to return it." boo. Why? He says that this particular grill got horrible reviews, yes, he's been studying up on them, which is why I bought him one, it should've been perfect! I'm bummed.

Saturday Morning:

Mike found a similar grill for not much more that got much better reviews. He takes both girls with him to go get it. So sweet, I really, really wanted to exercise, I did, it kicked my tush. Now I feel better, because he got his gift!

First showing of the morning, Mike and Riley get to go on a Daddy/Daughter date to the new Toy Story Movie. So cute. Riley got to pick out her own snack and everything.

Saturday Afternoon:

Riley has a primary swim party to go to. She is very excited to see all of her friends there. It was really fun, I got to chat with friends and Riley got to swim, swim, swim, and do bubbles. I wish I had a picture of her eating blueberries, because the amount of blueberries she ate at this party was going to haunt us the next day. (she was eating these blueberries, like they were going out of style, holding them in her hand while swimming, going back and forth to grab a handful, over and over again, I should have been a better Mom and realized what was going to happen) She was just having so much fun!

Sunday Morning 4 am

I get woken up to a child with a very upset stomach, she says its because she's hungry, so I bring her some crackers and a drink of water. Well this wasn't enough. She came back to room 5 minutes later, and says "Mom can you sing me a lullaby song and rub my tummy" I let her crawl in bed with us and we fall asleep.

7 am

Tummy still hurts and the diarrhea starts (sorry if that grosses you out) but my poor little girl was not doing so hot. After some food, she says she feels better and we go to church. Well it doesn't get any better, she sits by my side for all 3 hours of church. Tried to go to her class, she came back 5 minutes later. She naps after church is over, wakes up and pukes, uugghhh! And still running to the bathroom all day after. Poor baby, that's the worst feeling ever. She starts feeling better, and the rest of the day goes great!

I made Mike stuffed salmon, a yummy wedge salad, and some tasty buttery rolls, with a Key lime pie from scratch! A beautiful dinner, if I do say so myself.

We end the day with candyland, books, tickle torture, and the kids don't make a peep going to bed. Now Mike and I can enjoy a quiet evening.

Sunday night 9:30 pm

Riley's up. She has thrown up all over her carpet and herself. I think you can picture the rest. Darn Blueberries.

The girls decorated a mug for their gift to Dad.

Happy Fathers Day Mike! We love you! Hope you had a great day! I'll buy us a crate of blueberries next year!

Shrek at the Drive-In

At our camping trip last month, Riley's friends had brought those happy meal Shrek toys. They say funny things, and ever since, Riley has been begging to go see Shrek.

Well the drive-in (while not totally in the best area) is the only place we can go as a whole family to a movie. We just put the back seats down, bring our blankets, pillows and many varieties of snacks and wait for the movie to begin!

We of course, needed to go with our friends (the ones that had the toys)!

It was a little cold that night, but overall a great time!