Keeping Busy

I know. It's terrible that I haven't updated the blog in months. I hope I have a good excuse. We moved!  Hooray! Buying this home was a giant emotional roller coaster ride. I didn't believe that we would actually close until we got the keys. But we finally did it!  We've had company almost every weekend for weeks. It's been fun spending time with family and friends. I'll post more on that later. Here are a few highlights:

 My mom came from CA to help us decorate. Yea for moms with decorating skills! Here is a picture of her and Brooklynn in the middle of arranging nick knacks on the mantle.

 Brooklynn started horse riding lessons again.  She just loves her teacher and the friends she is making.

 Mowing the lawn for the first time: not a small task. One of our next major purchases will be a riding lawn mower. Mowing with a regular lawn mower takes a big chunk out of Saturday mornings.

Last, but not least, cute neighborhood friends. These friends are our neighbors and some of neighbors' grandkids.  Yes, our street is nicknamed 'retirement row'.  Our neighbors are really friendly and have been great teaching us little things like how to turn on the irrigation water. 

Jeffrey, Brooklynn, and Malia  have a favorite thing too- the other kids in the neighborhood. They would stay outside all day playing if I would let them- jumping on the trampoline, riding scooters, running with the dog, building forts  with the trampoline, blankets and sheets, etc.

Well, that's a reader's digest version of life over the last few months. Now that we're getting settled, I'll start posting more.

A visit to the dentist

I have to say, I really, REALLY, hate taking my kids to the dentist every 6 months. I always leave feeling like a failure.  This visit was no exception.  Thankfully, Jeffrey only needed one filling.  Brooklynn had her first cavities, and so did Malia.

Malia was brave when we took her back to have the work done, but her gag reflex is so strong that the dentist needed to put her under general anesthesia. I was with her in the recovery room and it seemed to take forever for her to finally wake up.   Of course, when she woke up she was gagging because of her dry mouth and the sandy grit left in it.

I'm glad it's over with! Thankfully, the dentist created more space between her molars so I can get in there and floss better!! Hopefully she'll be cavity free for a long time.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Ready for the move

Boxes packed and ready to move!

Robo-box

Wrestling Season

Jeffrey signed up for city league wrestling this year. I had never taken the sport seriously until I sat at his practices.  It's really quite a physical and mental sport. He enjoyed learning offensive and defensive moves. He was banned from practicing his new 'skills' on his younger sisters. Here are a few pictures of his first meet.

Hula Hooping

Valentine's Cookies

We put together a Valentine's cookie party for some of our neighbor friends. Jeffrey and Brooklynn made a mountain of heart cookies to be frosted and eaten.

Our photogenic little friends.

Can my daughter please loan me those gorgeous eyelashes?

An Afternoon at the Beach