The Turner Family

More Family Fun

2010-01-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

A fun visit from Grandpa Steve, Grandma Kathy, and Aunt Barb!

Happy Birthdays!

2009-12-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

To help keep the germs away from our house with the new baby we had Lauren's 6th birthday at Kids Gone Wild-bounce place (thank you Mom and Scott!) Lauren had a mix of friends from Lincoln and some school friends. It was lot of fun!

Daniel and Lauren sharing a birthday sunday at Red Robin.

Daniel with his favorite cake-ice cream! We were able to sneak out for a movie while my dad entertained the little man and Paige and Andrew entertained the girls. Thank you guys!

Family Fun

2009-12-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

A fun visit from my Dad, Paige, and Andrew!

Christmas

2009-12-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

The newest little Turner...

2009-12-07T19:03:00.001-08:00

...Nathan Daniel Turner!

November 30th 2009

8:01am

7 pounds 12 ounces 21 inches

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

Shannon's Feast Day at Preschool

Thanksgiving Performance

So this year was not a traditional Thanksgiving for us. Daniel got the H1N1 shot the day before and came down with an 104.o degree fever and was sick in bed, so it was just the girls and I as my mom and Scott were not due to come in until the next day to help the week of little Nathan's birth. The plan was to wait to cook the turkey until they got here but decided (out of bordom and tradition) to cook the feast at almost 39 weeks pregnant and with a cold. Probably a bad idea as I had some back labor that weekend while visiting with my family and ended up with a fever in bed the Saturday before the scheduled c-section. Even though our family was fighting off infection and germs we had a lot to be thankful for and a lot we were anticipating to be thankful for.

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

My Great Escape!

2009-11-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

My friend Anne since the 7th grade was able to escape and fly down to spend the weekend with us! The girls LOVE her and wanted to keep her! After a night at the homestead we headed into San Fran the next morning and enjoyed a busy day of sight seeing and shopping. You'd think I could have gotten a decent picture of the 2 of us but maybe I can find a good old pic to scan :) We rounded the day w/ dinner at The Stinking Rose which turned out to be garlic overload but washed it down with some gellato on the walk back to the car :) Thank you friend for the memories and a much needed break before my life becomes crazy wild with 3 kids!

Duck Park Adventures

2009-11-11T15:41:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying some mild November weather so every chance it's not windy we try to head outside and get some sunshine! On base there is a great duck park/playground. Here are some pictures from a day Lauren was at school and Shannon did not have preschool.

Here ducky ducky....

...oh you are getting too close I think.

And she's off.....

Fall Projects and Prizes

2009-11-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

Lauren's school had a coloring contest for Red Ribbon Week and she got 2nd place out of over 100 kindergardeners! Can you feel her excitement?

The hospital offers a free Sibling Class so the girls got baby care 101 and enjoyed diapering their stuffed animals and learning how to be big sister!

For fun we made Monster Cookie Jar Mixes for friends and Lauren's teacher...

...and made some messy (I mean fun) pinecone birdfood treats

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Caleb, Tyler, Lauren, Shannon, Evan, and Justin

The girls trick or treating with Laney, Phoebe, Claire, and Brandon

A quick hello to our friend's the Lokowich Family.

Halloween Day we headed to Lincoln to visit with friends before trick or treating only to be suprised with a suprise baby shower at the Matthiessens!

...more pictures to come!

Pumpkin Patches and The BIG Corn Maze!

2009-10-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

We invited friends down to experience the "world's largest corn maze" at Cool Pumpkin Patch in Dixon, Ca....I assumed we would take the shortest route and tool around considering it was 6 kids, 3 moms-including my pregnant belly, and one navigating Daddy! Silly me....Daniel had us trucking through the corn maze for what seemed like FOREVER only to find out were were 1/3 of the way through and the little kids (Phoebe and Shannon, including myself) were melting and running out of steam) so we had to make a grand escape and walk around the outside of the maze near the main road to get back to the car :) The older kids had a GREAT time and wish we could have taken them back but the corn maze blew down in a crazy wind storm a week after we went so that was our exciting corn maze experience for the year :)

...unfortunately you could not take the wagon's into the maze but the kids enjoyed the ride to the pumpkins!

The day of that crazy sideways blowing rain storm (which I guess is "normal weather" down here) the girls got to try out their new raincoats from Grandma Lee and boy were they much needed! Just getting out of the car to meet Lauren off the bus had my jeans soaked that day with a raincoat on!) Living near Troutdale Oregon I knew rain could blow sideways but this is monsoon weather...like a wild tropical storm....should be good times when baby boy joins us!

Shannon's preschool visited a cute rustic pumpkin patch called SilverBend in West Sacramento. Since Daniel was at work Lauren had a "sick day" and joined us (so worth it!) The highlight of the trip was trying to carry 3 free pumpkins from the patch to the car pregnant w/o a wagon. One of Shannon's classmates dad was kind enough to carry his families pumpkins plus one of ours. His wife was even more pregnant than myself and they had a baby in stroller in tow...made for an exhausting hike to the car....if labor was going to come early that would have been the day!

The girls LOVEd this hay maze you could walk on or inside.

Shannon and one of her new friends Nicholas (whom she makes paper hearts for weekly) :)

Getting ready to ride the train!

Awanas!

2009-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Since our new church in town has Awana's I thought it would be a great way for the girls to make some new friends and learn some more bible verses! Each Tuesday night they go to their classes and play games, do crafts and recite their verse for the week which helps them earn badges for their vests. Lauren is in Sparky's and Shannon is a Cubbie (Bear). Lauren decided Baby Bear needed a vest too so here she is posing the morning after getting her vest with the vest she made for her favorite toy (still) Baby Bear!

The girls modeling their new vests.

www.vvcrossroads.org

Lauren Rides the School Bus!

2009-09-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Where is that bus?

Shannon enjoys running around the grassy area waiting for the bus and collecting leaves :)
There she is!

Lauren is the only kindergardener on her bus so she gets to sit up front and be the first off w/ her bus driver :) She was SO excited to ride the bus home! Wednesday is early release for 1-6 grade so I found out the hard way that if she rides Wedesdays it's a different bus and a different route that would put her sitting on the bus an hour! We only live 15 min. from her school so Wednesdays I pick her up :)

Llamas and Grandmas...a visit from my Mom

2009-09-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

For national alpaca day (who knew?) we stopped by a local alpaca farm and enjoyed visiting with the locals :)

We took Grandma to San Francisco to see the Sea Lions at Pier 39,

It was a bit windy! Alcatraz in the background.

A trip to the mall in Fairfield :)

Time to play catch up!

2009-09-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random pictures from early September.

Shannon and I enjoying a non-preschool afternoon.

Shannon's band practice :)

... behind the scenes of the magic show the girls were putting on for Daniel and I

All clean after baths posing in the playroom.

Reno Balloon Races 2009

2009-09-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

This year was our fourth and probably final year watching the balloon races with Daniel's aunt Barb and uncle Harold in Reno as they recently moved back to Oregon :). Since Barb use to work for a company that sponsored a balloon and she helped each year get the balloon up we were able to share their great parking pass (versus walking with the masses at 5am to see the dawn patrol) and were able to enjoy sitting in their warm tent until the sun came up and we could walk the field. We will miss our annual trip but cherish the memories :)

Posing with my girls

A quick picture before the balloon inflated and took off (then Barb was off in the chaser car to follow the balloon and help get it folded up and put back into the trailer)

The girls watching Aunt Barb's balloon get inflated

Shannon showing signs of waking up at 4am :)

The girls and aunt Barb wearing their balloon race t-shirts...

...and showing some love to uncle Harold.

Our first amazing time in 2006

Firsts...

2009-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Lauren's first time riding her bike without training wheels!

One goal we had for the summer was to help Lauren ride her bike without training wheels. She is confident on her bike but with the move and summer vacation that goal got put on hold a bit. So finally this past weekend we made a day out of it, packed a lunch and hung out at the park for a laid back day of learning!

First Daniel took the pedals off Shannon's smaller bike and let Lauren get use to balancing and coasting around and using her feet to balance, then once the wheels were back on she was less nervous and we held onto the back while she got the feel of the pedals again and using her feet to balance. She was still very wobbly so by the end of the afternoon I asked her if she thought she could ride a short distance to the grass then if she fell it would be a soft fall and that seemed to motivate her so each time she made it to the grassy field she started further and further back until she was riding across the park to the grassy field all by herself!

Probably just a few more days of practice getting comfortable and I think she will be confident and steady enough to be training wheel free :) The best part was her smile and laugh...during the entire day she was happy and determined, enjoying each moment of instruction while striving to meet her goal. Good job Lauren~we are SO proud of you!!

All the while Shannon was quite the sport, cheering on her sister, playing at the park, and going between riding Lauren's big bike with training wheels and her all time favorite tricycle.

Lauren's First day of Kindergarten!!

Lauren showing off her new backpack all smiles before heading off to her first day! This was the first year she had an opinion about what she wanted to wear for day 1. :) Even though she was nervous since her buds from preschool would not be with her she had a great attitude! She was pretty nervous when Daniel and I dropped her off but by day 2 she had made a few friends and was happy about her class and teachers.

Lauren you are such a big girl! We love you so much!

Shannon's First Day of Preschool! Monday August 24, 2009

Shannon Alyse getting ready to head off to her first day!

Where did the time go my little one? It seems like it was just yesterday you were a baby and now you are off to preschool just like your sister did last year. I cherished our special times together last year at home and pray you make friends and have a wonderful experience growing this year. Shannon we love you so much!!

Even though Shannon is very social and was never shy at Lauren's school or even Lauren's first day of school when we dropped off sister, I could tell she was a bit reserved as we helped her find her name and seat on her first day. So precious :) The week before I took the girls to get their hair trimmed and it must have given Shannon the grand idea to come home and cut her own hair as the left side has a nice large chunk shorter than the rest :)

Our transition to the district was not a smooth one to say the least. Even though we had come down to Fairfield in the spring to check out schools, we were not able to register Shannon until Aug 18th because that is how long it took the district to tell us if Lauren was in am or pm kindergarten. In addition to this we missed kinder orientation because the district failed to tell us our intra district transfer to the school I wanted was approved so almost headed off the the wrong school for their orientation :) I knew the school fiasco was out of my hands and that if God wanted Shannon to go to preschool He would provide so all summer I left the issue in His hands and prayed it would work out with both girls going at similar times at good schools. With baby boy coming this fall I also knew I could not spend the days shuttling the girls between mornings and afternoons. So finally once I got word that Lauren was pm I called preschool after preschool and was told over and over again they were all full. I even contemplated a morning coop preschool for Shannon but found out they would not allow siblings under 2 to be there during the parent's work shift. Finally as a last effort I called my first choice school again. One that had told me the week before there were no spots open (and had been full for months) but felt compelled to try one more time. To my pleasant suprise I was told they decided to add 1 more pm preschool and there were spots open! When I got off the phone I sat in amazement and cried. Not only had God provided like He promises, it was the perfect time and perfect location so that I could drop off Lauren at 11:25, then make it to Shannon's with time to spare by Noon and the same pick up scenario with getting Lauren at 2:45 and Shannon at 4. No other preschool would have worked for us this year. Our God is so good :)

Phillippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

A visit from Aunt Babs

2009-08-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Daniel's aunt Barb decided to spend her 2nd week of retirement helping us settle into our new house :) Doesn't that sound like a fun way to relax into retirement? :) The girls enjoyed her company (especially since Daniel was gone all week at the other base) and the oodles and oodles of bead necklaces she brought. Lauren decided to make a person out of some of the necklaces.....

While Shannon decided she wanted to wear them all for a moment.

One of the many projects she helped me accomplish was sorting through 3 bins of girl baby clothes I was holding onto just in case we ever had another and it turned out to be a girl. This pile is probably 1/3 of what once was before I consigned at the JustBetweenFriends Sale 3 seasons....imagine what that stack would have looked like!

As a thank you for all her hard work (hanging pictures, curtains, endless laundry, sorting clothes, carpet cleaning our entire upstairs, organizing cupboards, the list goes on and on) we decided to take her to brunch Saturday in nearby Suisun City at a restaurant I found online that had rave review and was called Bab's Delta Diner (perfect for Aunt Babs!)

Bab's Delta Diner

Amazingly she survived a week of drama from the girls (end of summer break and still recooping from being up in Oregon all of July). We were even able to utilize the last free hours of our military move's free childcare before it expired and enjoy an afternoon getting massages and lunch (much needed after all the projects we accomplished)!

Shannon's 4th Birthday Party

2009-08-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Shannon's 4th Birthday 2 days after getting back from Oregon at Funderland in downtown Sacramento with some of the girls friends from Lincoln.

Luckily it was not that hot out so the rides were still fun for the kids :)

Lauren and Evan on the Log Ride

Shannon and Maddy posing after taking the car for a spin.

Shannon and Justin driving tandem.

Lauren and Tyler on the dragon coaster (her first time w/o mom or dad)

Phoebe, Laney, and Shannon on the swan

An almost complete crew (minus Kaitie for the picture)

Shannon blowing out candles on here way too big cupcake from costco

It was a perfect place to celebrate my baby turning 4!

Happy Birthday Shannon Alyse~we love you!!

Oregon Coast

2009-07-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Can you say Brrrrr?

Devil's Punch Bowl (2 former collapsed sea caves)

Mo's at the Devil's punch bowl
(but Mo's in Lincon City was so much better since they have fish and chips!)

Otter Rock coastline

Day 1 at the beach....a little chilly, windy, and sunny.

Lauren wanted the moat to hold water so the
sandcastle didn't last long here at the shorline.

Shannon's new pet. ;)
She wanted a kitten but instead we got her a sea snake (seaweed)

My mom and I trying to stay warm

Day 2 was warmer but even windier than our first day.

Lauren posing on one of the many great pieces of driftwood.

Depot Bay, Oregon....a childhood favorite summer memory. Note to self: it is not so relaxing taking a 5 and almost 4 year old into little beach trinket shops where everything breakable and cluttered is at kid level. A not so relaxing stroll through the shops before hitting the salt water taffy store.

Here is a fun fact.

Did you know Depoe Bay is the site of the world’s smallest navigable harbor?
more meaningless trivia facts :)

Oregon Coast and Aquarium

2009-07-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Otter Rock, Oregon

A rare site at the Oregon beach....a sunset!

Lauren's tiny leaf

Cooling off at Blue Lake

2009-07-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

One hot afternoon Grandpa Scott and I took the girls to Blue Lake to paddle boat and get their wiggles out. It was great fun and a good workout for my legs since Shannon could not reach the pedals.

Portland Zoo cont.

2009-07-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter

Polar Bear playing with his toy

The orangutan and Shannon sharing a moment

Monkey peek a boo

Petting Zoo

Oregon Part 5: Fun with Friends

2009-07-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

3 Monkeys at the Zoo with my friend Nicole and her girls Kaitlyn and Natalie
Lauren cooling off at the water park in Wilsonville with my friend Anne and her boys

Shannon and Collin enjoying a cool jog down the chute.

The girls checking out the shooting water feature

Dinner one lovely summer night with the Wilson family

(Wendy, Eric, Trevor, and Megan)

There was also a dinner with Art and Angela Domer and Braxton but I forgot to take a picture.

I also enjoyed a few fun evenings out alone with middle/high school friends. It was so fun to hang out Anne and Shannon!

Oregon Part 4 continued...

2009-07-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

Spending time with my dad, Aunt Paige and Uncle Andrew

This year was Shannon's first year of swim lessons and Lauren's second year at MHCC. It was great since they were both in the same learner's pool, different classes but the same time slot but made for exhausting after class clean up (showering and washing the hair of wto girls quickly, dressing, and hair drying....all tiring on a pregnant mama) but worth every ounce of effort :)

Here are a few pics from the last day of class.

Oregon Part 4

2009-07-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

A trip to Laurelhurst Park with Grandpa Mike, Aunt Paige, and Uncle Andrew. We also got to see my cousin Melissa and her cute kids.
A quick stop for sorbet and ice cream with Grandpa Mike

And a quick visit to Grandpa Mike at his work at the bank.

Oregon Part 3

2009-07-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

The girls with Grandma Kathy on her lunch break

Shannon and Grandpa Steve

Lauren and Uncle Adam

Mom, the girls, and Great Grandma Shirley after a hot morning in the park

Oregon Part 2

2009-07-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Let the parade begin!

Since Grandpa Scott is the chief we enjoyed the parade view from the police car while he passed out candy.

Lauren enjoyed riding up front and waving while my mom, Shannon and I roasted in the back of the police car.

It was a HOT day and being pregnant I highly recommend never riding back there as the seats are plastic and hard and there is no A/C but it was sure fun this day.

Thank you Grandpa Scott for an unforgetable parade experience!

Trip to Oregon Part 1

2009-07-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Oregon was jam packed full of family visits and friends. Here is a snapshot of our time in Oregon.

The girls with Aunt Shelly

Lauren, Aunt Shelly, and Grandpa Steve

Playing with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Steve

Latourell Falls, Columbia Gorge

Daniel and Shannon enjoying the view of the Gorge

A view of Women's Forum from the Scenic Lookout Pointe

A view from the Scenic Highway that takes you to Multnomah Falls

Downtown Troutdale after visiting Grandpa at his police station

Lunch with Grandma Lee and Grandpa Scott

Painting with Grandma Lee

The girls with Grandpa Scott

Lauren taking Shannon for a ride in Uncle Adam's new car

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

This year we joined our friends the Bellezas and Pavanos at Christian's parents house in La Selva Beach for their neighborhood 4th of July extroganza.

The town has an adorable parade that lets the kids participate so the kids decorated their bikes and off the kids and dads went while the mom's took pics and enjoyed the short parade.

After the parade the neighborhood party got started with a band, jump house for the kids and what else but a roasted pig (let's just say the girls were not thrilled the day before to see a dead pig show up in a cooler).

The manly men

Daniel with Christian's mom Marsha at the party

The Pavanos

Michelle, Christian's siter Nicki and I (and yes that is a root beer in my pregnant hand :)

The band did a great job entertaining the crowd

Lauren not even pausing for her drink from the jumpy house party

Lauren and Shannon only stopped for dinner and potty breaks. I had to pry them out at 8pm for a bath before the fireworks show which suprisingly they did stay awake for.

The Belleza family

Here is a picture of Daniel from our day at the beach. After a trip out on the body board w/ the guys he came back swollen and with hives and refused to let me take him to an ER so he took a little rest and worked it out....(I think he was stung by a jellyfish but we could not figure out where)

Shannon and Kaitie

The girls with Maddy
Thank you friends for another fun weekend at the beach!

Our 10 year Anniversary trip to Napa

2009-06-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday Daniel and I were meeting for the first time at Western Oregon University! Since I am pregnant and was pretty nauseated for the first part of my pregnancy and we would be in the middle of a move, we decided to take the celebration to a local spot. A fun perk with our new location is it's proximity to the Bay and Napa so for our anniversary we were able to use some free childcare credits provided by the base with our new duty move and enjoy a lovely Friday in Napa together.

Our trip began with lunch at a local favorite I found online called Gillwoods. It was mostly locals and boy was it yummy!

We went on a castle tour at the Castello di Amorosa and spend the entire afternoon exploring the grounds and doing a little wine tasting (and yes I am 4 months pregnant but Daniel was kind enough to finish off my glasses after I took a taste) :)

Vineyard View

Wine Cellars

Daniel in the dining hall

Happy 10 year anniversary Daniel! I love you~

Exploring Around Town

2009-06-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from around our new area and the beginning of summer vacation!

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is 25 min from Fairfield so season passes were in order since they pay for themselves in 1 visit.

Harold the Helicopter in Thomas Town

The girls having so much fun they were skipping with dad :)

Boarding our Jeep Safari ride.

The white diving tiger Odin

Another day trip with friends

Lauren loving time with friends while Shannon was tuckered out by the Dolphin Show

Shannon helping with dishes at our new house.

Lauren's Preschool Graduation Ceremony

2009-06-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Lauren with Miss Tammy

We took this pic the first day of school in August (from an older post) to see how much the girls have grown

Last day of school at park play day! What a great school year. Lauren learned so much and had such wonderful and compassionate teachers. Thank you Little School House!

Hotel de Lincoln and our final 2 weeks of school and fun

2009-06-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Another bbq and dip in the pool

Wacky Tacky with Abby and Jacob

Swimming at the hotel with Dad

A few days with the Matthiessens

Resting after a swim

Lunch with the Husted's

And of course more swimming with friends. Tyler and Caleb joined us one day as well but guess I didn't bring my camera to the pool that day.

Lauren and Evan

Lauren, Justin, Laney, Phoebe, Evan, and Shannon

Time to move!

2009-06-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

The week before the big moving day came, Daniel took loads over to the new house so that our friends only had to help with the furniture. Thank goodness he did because the uhaul was filled and they only had to take one large load that day. While the guys loaded and unloaded at the new house, Daniel's aunt Barb and uncle Harold and I cleaned the house to get it ready for final move out inspection while the girls enjoyed a nice day swimming at Laney and Phoebe's house....thank you Patricia for watching all the kids so the guys could help us move! Thank you Barb and Harold for the exhausting cleaning and spackling and to all my wonderful friends and the strong men in their lives :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend this year consisted of, you guessed it, more packing and a fun visit from my step sister Tracy and my niece Daisia. We took the kids to the water park on a brisk and windy morning with a picnic lunch and entroduced them to a favorite restaurant in town Lucille's BBQ. The girls had a great time playing and Tracy helped me to box things up.

Sunday our friends from the neighborhood planned a farewell bbq for us with many of our friends from town so we also had a great time enjoying their company....oh how we'll miss them!

We love you guys!

Mother's Day Tea

2009-05-19T15:54:00.001-07:00

Lauren's preschool class hosted a Mother's Day tea and sang an adorable song~"thank you Lord for my mom, because she's so good to me"~just precious.
I got to wear a beautiful hat Lauren made for me out of paper plates

...and recieved the most adorable spoon replica of myself...love the long thick braids!

my placement from our special tea.

Since the school had a strict no sibling policy Shannon was able to join my friend Lindsey's twins at her old playgroup....she had a blast since she got to ride in their car and be with her buddies Abby and Jacob while we were at Lauren's school.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from Mother's Day to post as we woke to Shannon throwing up at 5am and the girls and I had a stomach bug all day. There is a picture of me in my pj's and the girls giving me a present but it is not going up. :)

I love you Lauren and Shannon! Thank you for your unconditional love and beautiful hearts....you make me so proud and I thank God for you each and every day my dear daughters.

Packing and taking a break with the boys

2009-05-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

Getting the garage ready and sorting....

Shannon taking a break from the hot day in a box

A water day with Tyler and Caleb

water fight!

Our newest suprise!

2009-05-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Our newest suprise is that we're expecting! A suprise to us all but it never fails that if we are about to move I am pregnant or just gave birth...makes for a "fun" move :) Baby is due December 5th!

A fun suprise at our door after one of my newly needed naps...a fruit bouquet from my dear friend Anne....she always knows how to make me smile :)

..the girls enjoying chocolate covered strawberries

Random

2009-04-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from this past month

after school at the park
shannon is finally interested in coloring and drawing these days

busy girls building towers

...and painting with stamps

lauren posing with her lauren o'saurous shirt for school with sick shannon (you'd assume they'd rest after throwing up but not when you are busy and little!)

shannon being silly on a sick day

what to do when the crakers and water are all gone

kung fo panda training. check out the outfit lauren dolled shannon up in

kung fo fighters in training :)

Fun with Aunt Barb and Uncle Harold

2009-04-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Trains, trains, and trains!

Bedtime stories

Shannon's first trip on the roller coaster

..just tall enough!

Lauren's friend Ella from preschool who happened to be there the same day

Log Ride!

Lauren and Harold on the dragon coaster....anything fast and she loves it!

Barb and Shannon on the merry go round

Lauren flying

Sacramento Zoo

Since it was the weekend of the airshow on base, Daniel had to work all weekend. It was great to have company and get out and enjoy some sporatic sunshine even though Lauren was not feeling so well we later found out. :)

Slow Dance

2009-04-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

By David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short,
The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running
through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Ever told your child, "We’ll do it tomorrow?"
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time to call and say "Hi?"
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift…
Thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before your song is over.

He is Risen!

2009-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."
-- John 11:25-26

"The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."
-- Robert Flatt

Ballet Lessons

2009-03-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

Since taking a long break from gymnastics (over a year) we decided to let the girls try a few weeks of ballet. Lauren has been persistant that she wanted to do ballet and karate so thought we'd give ballet a try first since I was not sure what they would think of it. I tried to talk Lauren into tap since I took tap for 8 years and got them cheap tap shoes at a consignment sale last year but she was set on ballet (so I will just show them myself at home :) Here are a few pictures from their first day today.

Lauren, Shannon, and a friend Martine from preschool

Thank you Mrs. D for letting me borrow your camera!

And our next base is...

2009-03-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

...Travis AFB!

Wow has it been a long year waiting to find out our next step. Over a year ago Daniel was interviewing with Providence. One time they flew him up and a few others we were in town for. Each time I was so hopeful it would come to be as we prayed for God's will for our family. Moving back to Oregon has been a desire of both Daniel and myself since we started our military journey back in 2004. I was certain we would do 4 years and be DONE....but here we are in 2009 and content in our next base. Even though we hope to move back to Oregon and can't wait until that day, we are accepting our next assignment (2-4 years) with gratitude. God is so good. We are thankful that Daniel has a stable job and we are still close enough to visit friends and family in both states.

We trust God's perfect timing and that He can see the big pictures for our lives and decided we rather wait for that day then make it happen on our own. I have no problem trusting and waiting for that day. Until then we are embracing our next adventure and counting our blessings.

Another birthday and a visit from my mom

2009-03-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what the difference a year can make. This year as I celebrated my 32nd birthday I could not help but smile and thank God for such a good year.

Now that my thyroid is in check and am getting my energy back I feel so much better! Somewhere while raising babies and getting my masters degree I wore myself out. Even though my lab results did not show a large imbalance for my thyroid I knew the numbers were still high and did my research...and after 6 months of working with a naturopathic doctor who looks at your whole overall health and adresses the areas out of balance, I feel like my old self again.

The week proved to be extremely rainy so all of our activities turned indoors. My mom and I were able to enjoy a quiet (kid free) trip to the mall, Daniel and I enjoyed a movie, and the girls had many fun indoor outings to get their wiggles out :)

The girls, my mom, and Daniel at "old mcdonalds", as Shannon call it, climbing in the play area while I fought a headache and took a few pictures.

beautiful flowers from the girls (grandma :)

Lauren enjoying cake

breakfast at our favorite spot in town

and de-wiggling at pump it up.

Thank you mom for the great company~we love you!

South Lake Tahoe Trip

2009-02-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we enjoyed a wonderful weekend with the Belleza Jr. and Sr. , Doney, and Pavano families. Christian's parents have been more than generous with us as we have spent a few weekends with them at their house near Santa Cruz and now inviting all the "friends and families" along for a weekend escape. Here are a few picture from our weekend.

Lake Tahoe

nature hike adventure

first night's dinner hosted by Mark and Tracy

7 of the 8 kids at dinner

relaxing after playing in the snow

Superbowl!

tropical theme night

Shannon sledding on her tummy

Daniel and Lauren posing before a ride down in the tube

Michelle, Darcy and I after a morning of sledding and tired kids :)

The girls with Kaitie

The girls and Caleb

Lauren trying out Tyler's sled

The guys before snowboarding

Building with Daddy

2009-01-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last week Lauren informed me she wanted to build a dog and cat house "using eleven pieces of wood, nails, a hammer, and some pink paint" :) Instead of helping her with a quick fix answer and creation, I had her tell Daniel what she wanted to make. Knowing my husband I should have been prepared for the time and detail he would then put into the project.

So after long hours spent in the garage helping Daniel they now have their wooden pink dog and cat house. Priceless.

A busy day at the Bay

2009-01-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

Since Monday was a holiday for both Lauren and Daniel, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and there were sunny and clear skies, we decided to spend the day in San Francisco.

Here is a view of the city from across the Golden Gate Bridge

I think it was something like $6 to cross the bridge (plus we had to pay $4 each way to take another bridge into and out of town)...gotta love toll bridges.

We spent the afternoon enjoying some crab and exploring Pier 39

Alcatraz

..a little carouseling..

...then we rode the never ending cable car which took over an hour. At one point we had to hop off to find a bathroom for Lauren then hop back on... at least Daniel picked up on the fact that we could just avoid the long line to get back on a train by going up a few blocks and hoping on with the locals :)

The last time we were in town was 2006 with Scott and Adam. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that trip.

San Francisco Zoo

June 2006

Ghirardelli Square

..and ice cream sundays with Uncle Adam and Grandpa Scott

Date Night for the Birthday Boy

2009-01-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

While up in Portland we went downtown with a few of our friends on the 27th to celebrate Daniel's upcoming birthday...

Nicole, Art and Angela with Daniel

Daniel and Paul

Since we spent D's birthday at my grandma's to celebrate Christmas and had focused mostly on Lauren that day (since they share a birthday) I wanted to suprise Daniel with a nice dinner out on the town. Happy Birthday you 31 year old you~I love you.

http://www.crush29.com/

Star of the Week

2009-01-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Spider Cookies

This week was Lauren's turn to be "star of the week" at school so she was able to put in a favorite book and toy into the share bucket, bring a snack to share, and fill out an "all about me" page. Oh it's fun to be five! Life is good :)

...more celebrations!

2009-01-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

Daniel's Aunt Barb and Uncle Harold came to visit this past weekend and we celebrated a little more christmas, L's b-day and Aunt Barb's upcoming birthday. The girls always love it when we have family come to town and are especially excited when Barb and Harold bring their 2 dogs along for the visit!

Fall Photo Shoot

2009-01-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Darcy took some cute pictures of our family on a brisk day in November. She does an amazing job....thank you friend for more adorable pictures for me to cherish of my family :)

http://darcybellezaphotography.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas

2009-01-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the pictures from our trip to Oregon. Finally after days of snowfall it was solid enough to build a snowman!

Due to the weather we had to move our Christmas Eve time with Steve and Kathy to a restaurant in town since they had no power at their house and our van would not have made it to their place.

...After dinner we headed back to my mom and Scott's to open presents and I got this cute picture of Daniel with his mom :)

Christmas morning

Grandpa Scott with the reindeer

Stocking Stuffers

Snow Princless Lauren

Lauren and Daddy

Downtown Portland with my dad, Paige, and Andrew

A photo by Lauren

Mom and Scott

Happy New Year and God Bless ~

Over the meadow and through the woods....

2008-12-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

Our drive from California to Oregon was pretty uneventful. We let some people borrow our car jack for their flat and were smooth sailing until about 10 minutes from my parents house. After we arrived it started to really snow, and snow, and snow...around 12 inches on top of the few already here.

Shannon loving on Whiteney

The girls watching the snow.....so precious :)

Lauren wearing Grandma Lee's old snow hat and drinking hot cocoa after our first day of sledding.

Shannon and Uncle Adam

The girls with Scott and my mom

Lauren and Grandpa Scott

Shannon and Daniel (can you tell he LOVES to be cold :)

Today we lost power for 4 hours so to pass time I shoveled snow and the girls and I made paper snowflakes for the windows. :) We will see what else is in store with more snow on the way!

Christmas Book Exchange

2008-12-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Monday after school we headed over the the Mattiessen house for the kiddie book exchange. The kids had a fun time frosting (more homemade) sugar cookies and reading their new books.

All 11 kids!

Laney showing a book to Phoebe and Evan

Shannon looking at her new Cinderella book.

Lauren's 5th Birthday: Part 2

2008-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

On Monday Lauren celebrated her birthday at preschool, so along with the season's sugar train tradition we made pink cupcakes. I felt better knowing they were at least mini-sized and homemade even though with all the baking the last few weekends I am baked as well :)

Lauren standing proud with her birthday crown.

Lauren's 5th Birthday: Part 1

2008-12-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

Since we are going to be in Oregon for Lauren and Daniel's birthday we had Lauren's friend party a few weeks early. Over the summer while looking through a magazine we came across a candyland cake which Lauren decided right then and there that would be her birthday cake! (Not sure what I was thinking showing that to her) but made for a fun themed candyland party!

Gumdrop Guessing Game

Lauren with her gingerbread creation

Gingerbread forest station

Musical Chairs Candyland Style. After each elimiation the kids were able to try one of the treats from the candyland board (licorice, peanuts or brittle, and peppermint sticks).

Shannon between both Delaney's and Tyler

Caleb, Maddy, Shannon, Tyler, and Kaitie

Darcy, Tyler, and Patricia

Lauren's Preschool Christmas Performance

2008-12-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Lauren's preschool Christmas performance. Her class sang "Oh Christmas Tree" in full costume. They were absolutely adorable :)

The kids had to be there 30 minutes early so the little Christmas trees were pretty squirmy and hot by the time it started.
Towards the end of the performance Lauren took off her costume and finished the concert without it :)

After the performance Shannon gave roses to her girls (Lauren and Laney) for a job well done...

...and to celebrate we stopped by TCBY for what else but pink ice cream!

Tis the season...

2008-12-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

Time to breathe after a long weekend. Daniel was out of town all week for work. Friday I baked cake and cookies for Lauren's school Christmas Bazar. Saturday worked a few hours there, took the girls to their friend Evan's star wars birthday party, picked up Daniel and went to the parade!

Attending the Lincoln Christmas parade has been a tradition we have enjoyed since moving to California. This year they decided to start the parade an hour earlier to take advantage of more daylight. It was fun but different than years past.

The girls with the Belleza boys and Maddie waiting for the parade to start.

Mark and Kaitie

Darcy and I

Here is a picture from a night parade in 2005...can you feel their excitement?

We also take a drive by Lauren's most favorite Christmas house in town...

Daniel's parents were also in Sacramento for a Christmas party so we enjoyed their company Sunday-Monday.

Daniel's aunt and uncle also drove up from Reno to see Steve and Kathy. Barb made her famous almond rocha and us girls helped sample her batch :) Another fun filled weekend with friends and family :)

Crafty Little Mama

2008-12-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

So Lauren has a new talent.....basket making! All by herself she created 3 baskets using tape and paper.
Here are the girls showing Grandpa Mike Lauren's creations.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year~health, happiness, friends, and family. We spent Thanksgiving at home in California celebrating with my dad and Daniel's aunt Barb and uncle Harold.

Some traditions include making a thankful tree, reading books on giving thanks and making homemade pumpkin pie the night before.

My mom had a great idea to cook the mashed potatoes a few hours early and put them in a crockpot on keep warm which saved alot of last minute hassle even though I managed to have a headache off and on the entire day (the cook always forgets to drink her water :)

For once someone else taking a picture...of course it was my dad~we both always have our cameras ready! :)
Lauren's Thankgiving art pieces from school.

After our Thanksgiving feast we decided to make room for pie by taking a walk to the nearby park and playing in the leaves.

Shannon is being saved by uncle Harold as aunt Barb chased her around they playground.

After the park we enjoyed some pie and relaxed

My dad and the girls

Pilgrim Lauren

A few days before Thanksgiving Lauren turned into an almost full time cat....it made for an interesting holiday :)

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for and love you all!

Adventuring

2008-11-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

We decided to take advantage of the sunny November weather and go for a hike. A few weeks ago we went hiking and roasted in the heat so today was much better. For the girls to last the entire hike Daniel pushed the jogging stroller for when their little legs needed a rest. Overall it was a good day~we were out in nature and enjoying eachother's company.

Operation Christmas Child

2008-11-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

This was our 3rd year filling a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child and by far the most fun since the girls are old enough to really get into picking out gifts for others. We hit Target's dollar section and found all sorts of fun things for a girl aged 5-8.

Next week November 17-21 is collection week for all shoeboxes (not sure why the the top pic says oct). You can go to this link and enter your zip code for a drop off location. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

Paper Party!

2008-11-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

So it turns out I was holding on to unimportant (nicely filed) papers for the last oh, 12 years :) Since last months focus on flylady.com was paper clutter I decided to get serious since I do have the time and it needed to get done! The last time I attemped mass amounts of paper shreddings (2004) I thought I broke my shredder...turns out I just was putting too much into it and jammed it up...so after my fix-it skills I managed to rig it to work as long as it's 1 paper at a time and I am very careful! If I could burn the box of papers I would but of course that is a no no in California. Oh well, mission accomplished and lesson learned...shred as you go (or not and let the kids have a GREAT time playing in the shredded papers) :)

2008-11-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

The girls with Laney and Phoebe

Shannon as Princess Annalise

Lauren the pink unicorn with wings

Pumpkin carving last week since Daniel had a work exercise all week (12 hour shifts)

Shannon painting her pumpkin (unfortunately she painted the inside as well so little jack'o lantern did not last until the 31 :)

Shannon and Caleb enjoying some pirate booty after trick or treating :)

Shan ba-nan

2008-10-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Since Lauren is at preschool in the mornings, Shannon is getting what Lauren got for almost 2 years before she was born....some one-on-one time with mommy. Most mornings we are either at the park, the gym, playing, or doing chores...no matter what we are doing it has been fun to give her some undivided attention and enjoy her sweet company.

I Can Sew! well kind of...

2008-10-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

My friend Darcy always has the cutest flannel pajama pants for her little guys so when her mom was in town she offered to host a girls night sewing party! After a few hours of mad cutting, pinning, serging, ironing, and help from her mom Trish and my friend Patricia... voila!...... cute pink pajama bottoms!

Date Night with Friends

2008-10-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Usually Daniel and I get out once week or so for our "date night" and do a babysitting swap with the Mattiessen's but its been a few weeks....so tonight we whooped it up w/ friends at the Roseville wine and art show. After a few hours the party got moved to a local Thai restaurant that does weekend karaoke. It was an interesting crowd with the Sun City retirement community locals and our rowdy 30 something bunch so it made for a memorable evening w/ friends :)

Here is a group picture minus Tracy and Mark... I had everyone move closer to where they were standing in line but forgot to tell them to look :)
karaoke performance
Tracy and Mark D.
Michelle and Mark P (R)

More Windy Day Adventures...

2008-10-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Since it's rarely windy enough to fly our kite, Lauren was so excited to fly it after the party. The girls pulled too hard on the kite's tail so Shannon found a new use for the long yellow ribbon with the neighbor's cat :)

Fun in the October Sun

2008-10-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Lauren keeping Shannon entertained. She really is a great big sister. :)

The girl's friend Tyler turned 5 this weekend. Both are very fond of him and try to shower him with kisses every chance they get even if he protests to all the love. The wind was really blowing (something we are not use to anymore living in northern California's perfectly calm climate so Shannon was in her typical 3 year old mood and did not golf until 1/2 way through the course or participate in the group photo. :) In all fairness to her, it was at 3pm which is usually her rest time so she was a trooper considering :)

2008-10-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2008-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday was Lauren's first preschool fieldtrip. Daniel took the day off work so that he could go with Lauren's class and I could still take Shannon around the patch.

Evan and Lauren
Shannon, Laney Matthiessen, Justin and Evan Doney

Its amazing to think how fast the past 3 1/2 years have gone by living in California. It seems like only yesterday we were at Bishop's Pumpkin Patch with our playgroup friends. Here are a few pics from that first trip. (From left to right) Evan, Laney, Lauren, Tyler Belleza, Savannah, and Matthew . Evan, Laney, and Matthew go to preschool with Lauren this year :)

Weekend in Rewind

2008-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

In between putting coats of paint on the bedroom furniture...Sunday we were at our friends the Pavanos to hclp celebrate their daughter Kaitie's 3rd-bday. The girls love horses these days so they had a great time minus the heat. Saturday we headed up to Auburn to play w/ the Bellezas at their homestead...the kids had a good time playing in the dirt, climbing, swinging, and roasting smores...

... and Friday was Daniel's squadron picnic on base. It was also hotter than blazes but it was nice to mingle with his coworkers, meet his new boss, and have some fun as a family.

Fall Project

2008-09-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

After
Before

Our bedroom has been the most neglected room of our house since having kids. In the past 4 years with military moves and renting, I have had the least bit of interest in making any changes. Our mission style bed Daniel's parents bought us as a wedding present was in need of a coat of stain and I decided to take on a neglected dresser as well. After 2 coats, and many smelly hours later, the job was done.

My next mission was to get a new bedspread. The one we had been using was from the year we were married and ripping (can you picture it?:) and the other one was way too hot for California almost any time of year. While Lauren was at school the last 2 mornings, Shannon and I bargin hunted until we found a comforter at Walmart and two lamps w/ shades marked 75% off at Target. Can't beat $3.24 lamp shades!

Baby Bear

2008-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

My mom purchased Baby Bear the morning Lauren was born and Lauren fell in love with her when she was almost 20 months and has not put her down since. Baby Bear has been with us on every trip, vacation, and numerous car rides over the past 2 1/2 years. Last summer while visiting my grandparents on my dad's side,my Aunt Cheryl said she thought my uncle's sister had a spare "It's a girl" beanie baby so we could have a backup Baby Bear (just in case she was ever lost). Many a night we have searched the entire house for that bear only to find it in the play microwave, behind the couch, or any random place you can think of, but Baby Bear has never been lost.

Last week Lauren sadly stated that she wished Baby Bear didn't have a broken nose and was pink again so I decided it was high time to pull out the replacement bear my aunt mailed me about year ago. I have yet to find the same bear so was so thankful my aunt took the liberty to find one for us! Over the past year my mom also purchased 2 pink bears for backups so I let the girls each choose a bear.

...hhhhmmmm now Lauren has 3 special pink bears to keep track of, but an almost 5 year old does a pretty good job keeping track of their most valuable possessions :) Shannon on the other hand loves all her babies equally and sometimes has a favorite kitty, puppy, or bear every few days :)

Elvis!

2008-09-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

The long awaited classroom pet Elvis the guinea pig came to stay with us this past weekend. Since we don't have any pets yet, the girls were estatic! It was a great experience for them and the weekend went smoothly minus the 2 hours Lauren and I were at one of her classmates b-day parties and Shannon was home w/ Daddy and decided to feed Elvis part of a bag of mini carrots all by herself :) Thankfully he didn't OD on carrot sticks and we were able to return him to school this morning all in one piece :)

How we unwind after school....

2008-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

After school, the tights come off...and the sillies come out :)
Lauren has a great sense of humor and keeps us laughing :) Her favorite stunt is to put her pj's on in the wrong order (panties on head, shirt on legs, and pants on arms).... I'll have to keep looking for that pic. In the meantime, here are a few other's...

Did I mention Shannon is silly and funny too? :)

(note: the potty seat on the head is gross on so many levels but in all fairness, I keep that seat a mighty clean)

hhhmmm...besides from us being silly, I wonder whom else may influence those sillies?

Growing Girls

2008-09-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sept. 16th, 2008
Feb. 10, 2008
Sept 2008

Geesh, the girls are getting bigger! It has been so fun to watch their sisterly bond and true friendship grow. I think it is so important to have them tight, family first, so that when they are older and in different grades, they will always have a special bond between them.

We love you Lauren and Shannon!

Grandparents Day at Preschool

2008-09-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

My mom was able to represent all of Lauren's grandma's and grandpa's for Grandparents Day at school last week. Its hard to live so far from family for one thing, but you are easily reminded how important it is for the girls to have their grandparents around....they just love them all to pieces! ....this includes Daniel's aunt and uncle whom a few weekends ago I can recall Shannon and Lauren using Uncle Harold as a horse :) I think our kids feel deprived of extended family because whenever we get around any they beam and glow with glee. Thank goodness the holidays are coming!

And thank you mom for planning your trip around this special day at school since we would have never heard the last of it had no one been able to come. oxo

oh and P.S... You were the best looking grandma there :)

Let's go to the Circus!

2008-09-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

My mom was in town for the week and one of the fun things we were able to do with her was visit the circus. The last time my mom, Lauren, and I were at the Arco arena was for a Wiggles concert back in 2006 where we were the first to leave the concert and last to leave the arena (circular building=all exits look the same :) This time my mom made sure we knew where we parked :)

...except when you leave the markers are not visable from the arena so you have to walk down and try and guesstime where you parked. This time we were not the last to leave, but darn near close and my night driving was enough to scare the socks off my mom...and myself :)

Virginia City, Nevada

2008-09-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

After the Balloon races we had lunch and a rest at Barb and Harolds then headed 30 minutes up a wild twisty mountainside to old town Virginia City (famous boomtown of old west and home to Mark Twain) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_City,_Nevada We ended up going the same weekend of their famous camel races but just walked along the old store fronts to stay out of the heat and enjoyed an ice cream.

With the early morning start the girls enjoyed early bedtimes and so did I. Daniel must have taken this picture and put her back in bed while I was out as well :)

Balloon Races

2008-09-08T13:27:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we spent it in Reno with Daniel's aunt Barbara and uncle Harold. This was our third trip to the Balloon Races and by far our easiest trip travelwise with a 4 and 3 year old. To watch the dawn patrol, we had to get up a bit before 4am to get everyone dressed and out the door for the glow show. Last year Lauren was able to go up in a tethered balloon ride which was the highlight of her day.

2008-08-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well, our friend Darcy did it again...She took some amazing pictures of our girls when we were at the beach a few weeks ago. Thank you Darcy for giving us memories we will cherish for years to come :)

http://darcybellezaphotography.blogspot.com/

Fun with friends

2008-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday we met up with the Rowe family in Sacramento. Daniel has been friends with Josh and Lenee since they were kids. It was so fun to see them again since in a few weeks they will be moving to the east coast. The kids had a great time playing together and Lauren loved riding a roller coaster with Dad :).

New Beginnings

2008-08-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today was Lauren's big day at preschool! I am still amazed at how much she has grown and where the time as gone. Last night I had a good cry during our bedtime prayers asking God to watch over here and keep her safe as well as thanking Him for our lovely daughter. Lauren tried to reassure me by telling me, "Mommy I love you hundred, thousand, 7, million ten!"

On the way to school this morning I turned on the radio and The Police's "Every breath you take" was on. I couldn't help but smile...the lyrics fit perfectly to my prayer the night before-God is always near.

Psalm 139:1-18
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Beach Weekend

2008-08-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Darcy and Shannon

This weekend we had a great time with friends the Bellezas and Pavanos near Santa Cruz. Hopefully I can get a copy of a pic of all of us since there were 3 families (6 kids and 6 adults) and we all stayed with our friends parents for the weekend! Thank you Ted and Marcia! Darcy and Ted also took updated family pictures for us that I can't wait to post!

Happy Birthday Shannon Alyse

2008-08-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to our little princess! You have grown so much over the past year from a toddler to a little girl! We love you so much and thank God for you each day. You are such a snuggle bug, love to play with your big sister, and say and do the cutest things. We love you Shannon! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Welcome Home Daddy!

2008-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

What a LONG week and half w/o Daniel! I think the potty training is what tired me out so much but mostly we have just missed him! Since he was gone for training for all of June, home for 11 days then headed to San Antonio for the last 9 days, the girls are ready for their wrestling partner back.

More adventures in potty land

2008-07-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

I hope this picture accurately sums up my day (last 4 days) for you all. Shannon had decided she does not want to poop again and if she just refrains, it will disappear......so after 4 days of hearing "my bottom hurts" and the tears on the toilet, we pulled out old faithful (baby enema) and voila!, a temporary fix to our new life dilemma. Lauren had the same grand idea at Shannon's age so at least I had some experience.

In case you were wondering....

2008-07-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

...what Lauren thinks God looks like... (she also has 4 other drawings of Him, each unique). I especially like the middle one with the long outstretched hands...

Compliments of artist Lauren age 4 1/2 :)

Big Girl Shannon

2008-07-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

Attention: The littlest Turner is now potty trained!

Shannon had not been the least bit interested in potty training over the last 6 months. She had gone probably a handful of times on the potty because she liked the small flushable potty's at church or wanted to try out being a big girl, but like all new "grown up" things, she has been in resistance to wanting to use the potty. I was in no hurry to potty train her since Lauren was almost 3 and it was a cinch but the cost of monthly pullups was in the back of my mind as well as her upcoming 3rd b-day..So after spending an hour w/ the Doney boys and checking out their cute (I mean "manly") Thomas underwear, she was sold! She has been in big girl panties for the last 4 days with just a few accidents! She even went to church in panties today and Target (even though she is only happy with our little potty at home or the kid sized flushable models but

so far so good.

Independence Day

2008-07-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

This year since Daniel did not fly back to Oregon until late the night of the 3rd of July, we did a few fireworks with the girls at Grandma Lee and Grandpa Scott's house on the 4th and called it good :) It was strange to be away from Lincoln this year as we usually go to the parade with friends and watch the great firework show the town puts on. I wonder where we will be living by next 4th of July... (sigh)

Our Anniversary

2008-06-26T20:56:00.001-07:00

Nine years ago today, Daniel and I were married. (I think) this is our first year we were not able to celebrate our anniversary together...there may have been a year when I was pregnant with Lauren and Daniel was at boot camp but my memory is failing me after all these years...:)

Happy anniversary honey...each year keeps getting sweeter...I love you!

To the ball game...

2008-06-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from a few weeks ago. We went to cheer on Andrew (one of my younger brothers) at his baseball playoff game.

Pet Worms

2008-06-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Our children have been deprived.....of a pet that is...so Lauren wanted to make a worm "tank" to keep her wiggly friends. Grandpa Scott found an old container, made a few holes, added shredded paper, found some worms, and voila! a worm box.

Hurray for a science lesson! Summer school is in full swing :)

Mermaids and Swim Lessons

2008-06-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

The girls had a great time in Sunriver last weekend. Lots of swimming and bike riding :) We also got to visit with Daniel's cousin Marie and her boys.

Lauren started her first swim lesson today at the college....maybe someone else can convince her it's fun to get your face wet!

Summer Vacation Part 2

2008-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Father's Day

2008-06-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Since Daniel is out of town, we spent the day with all the grandpa's....breakfast with grandpa Scott, lunch with grandpa Steve, and dinner with grandpa Mike.

"The glory of children are their fathers" Proverbs 17:6