A Berry Good Time!

We ended up having a 4 day weekend due to the poor air quality from the fires. It was an unfortunate reason to have days off, but I did get to relax with my family! We spent time watching movies, eating lunch with friends, shopping and just doing nothing. It was good for us! We ended the weekend at Knotts Berry Farm. We were just there for a couple of hours. Steve had to be there for work. It wasn't crowded, so we were able to hit several rides. The only problem was that Westin was about an inch too short to go on most of the rides. We hope he grows that inch before we go back!

I am actually looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. It was a nice couple of extra days off, but we need to get back to work! Our thoughts and prayers go out to the many people who have lost their homes in the fires.


Madalyn and Chad after a ride on the Sidewinder.


Steve and Westin after a ride on the Sidewinder. Westin loved this ride so much, that I went on with him next. I was scared to death! I was screaming like a crazy woman. The whole time, he was looking at me saying, "It's okay Mom, It's okay!" They video you on the entire ride, and sure enough, it all showed up on the video. In the end, I ended up liking the ride and will probably ride it again (someday).


Here is Westin's "whining" face. This is how he looked when he found out he wasn't quite tall enough to go on all those rides!


Just stay in Camp Snoopy and you can go on all the rides!


On our way out, we stopped to take one more picture with the "Peanut Gang"!

Something I miss

For those of you who have known me for a long time, you know that I have a deep love for Kenny Chesney. He is the only "famous person" that I am pretty much obsessed with. When I wasn't working, I would listen to him ALL the time. Now that I am working, I use the time in my car to talk to Westin or make necessary phone calls. When I am at home, I have no time to listen to music. Tonight, I was updating my playlist and listening to Kenny. I realized how much I miss hearing him everyday. So- I decided to dedicate this blog to him. I have been to his concert every year. This year, I flew to San Jose and met my friend Carolyn (from AZ) to see his concert. It was a great time! Madalyn and Steve usually go with me, and last year our whole family went. He is that good! He definitely earns his "Entertainer of the Year" every year. If you haven't had a chance to listen to his music, stay on my blog for awhile. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do!

I'm back!?!?!

I will try to better at updating my blog. I feel like things have kind of died down at work, but will probably pick back up again with report cards and parent/teacher conferences right around the corner! I love teaching again! It has been extremely time consuming with teaching in a new state and trying to learn the curriculum for two grades (I am teaching a 2/3 combo). I am so happy when I am in the classroom everyday. My own children have been great with all the changes in our lives. I wouldn't be able to do it without the extra help from my wonderful husband and friends. So many people have my back right now!

Thank you to all the concerned people who have called and emailed to check on us with all the fires. This beautiful state is just being torn down by fire right now. It is very scary. It is addicting to watch the news- it is all that is being covered. My heart goes out to all the families who have lost their homes. We have been safe so far. The fire looked so close last night- we could see orange above the mountain that we look at out our front door. Our children got very nervous. Fortunately, by this morning- it had died down. The winds have died down and now the smoke is settling in our valley. The air is thick and smelly. There are ashes everywhere. The school district is closed tomorrow because the air quality is so bad. So much has been destroyed in less than a week. I hope it is over soon. We have had a quiet week with football being canceled. The games and the cheer competition (in San Diego) have been canceled for the weekend. I guess I can have a relaxing couple of days! :)

The one thing that I have been really bad about since starting my job is taking pictures. I will update you briefly on our lives this past month. I promise to get better about bringing my camera with me. I can't play the blog game without pictures! (how boring would that be?).
Okay- here it goes!.....

Madalyn cheering- I noticed that this picture was a little fuzzy after I downloaded it.


I wish Steve would have gotten this whole picture- it is really cool- TVPW!


Here is Westin and his spectator buddy (again). At least he has a partner in crime at the games!



We tried to go to the Miramar Air Show. There was so much traffic that we were stopped on the exit for about 30 min. Needless to say- we had great seats for the show- but we never actually made it in. It was still awesome!


Afterwards, we went to eat sushi (yummy- our favorite). Chad had his friend, Nick with us.

Westin eating his favorite, octopus! (yikes)


I had the opportunity to fly to AZ by myself and visit my family. Ryan and Carrie were getting sealed. Their family is adorable. I am so glad that I was able to share this special day with them. (Thanks Steve for covering my back at home)!


What a perfect family!


The family with Nanny and Grampy (what is Kelan looking at?)


Afterwards, we went to Mattas (yummy Mexican food, brought back LOTS of memories). Here is Brandon, Taylor and Janie- my kids miss them so much!


Just had to throw this one in- Kelan is so cute- I wanted to put him in my suitcase and bring him home!

That night, we went back to Ryan & Carrie's house for dinner. It was so much fun to get to spend more time with everyone (especially the kids). We had a great time talking and laughing (and eating). The only person missing (besides Taylor) was RJ (and my family of course).


This is what I miss the most about AZ- being an aunt!!


Nanny and Janie, playing Polly Pockets!


Brandon- he was kind of alone all night- Taylor was at a slumber party!


Kelan in the highchair- can you tell he is teething?


A close up- isn't he precious???

Update (this is an old post I forgot to publish)

Madalyn is always so happy when she is cheering. Her screen saver on her cell phone says I luv cheer!

It is hard to tell in this small picture, but Chad is about to make a tackle. He is on the end, number 81.

Chad loves football. Here he is after a game.

Chad's first set of stitches. He was hit in the mouth with someone else's face mask. Gotta love football.

Ouch! He thought this was pretty cool!