So This Is Love

It was one of those trips that you want to do over and over. Spring Break was spent down South, where the weather was perfect, the pool was warm, the food delicious and the friends unbeatable! We road tripped with our friends the Evans, and let me tell you, they know how to have a good time. Our children love their kids, I mean really love them. Their 3 and our 3 played contently the entire time, while baby D made friends with Shad. It was more relaxing then I originally anticipated. Amy and I enjoyed warm afternoons by the pool soaking up the much needed Vitamin D. Shad and Amy know the lay of the land pretty well and we were happy to have them as our tour guides. Thanks Evans for a fabulous trip, we are all ready for round 2!

Lifers, Part 1

Through our 10 years, Kelly and I have enjoyed many friendships. Some we still talk to frequently and others we take time to catch up during the holidays or through blogging. There are however a few couples that will remain forever life friends no matter how infrequently we see them. Most of these friends were made in the newlywed stages of our life. Friends we spent years with in San Fran knew us before we had children and life was fresh and new. We were all poor and a little homesick, finding unity with those in similar situations. What fun we had as kid-less couples, living it up in the City By The Bay. Then came our friends who helped us through Residency, a stressful time. We were new parents, as were they, adoring our babies and having fun planning for the future. These were bonding times. Now, we don't live by most of these friends, but love taking time to see them on vacation, where it feels like no time has passed. This last week we had a chance to see two of these said friends.
The Rebers are close school/residency friends who we loved living by and were so sad when they moved to AZ. We had a great time with them in Las Vegas while the husbands were busy learning how to fix feet, the wives and children played (and played).
The Emetts knew us as we began the residency years: Kelly, always gone and me, an apartment manager. They met us for a weekend in Zions, one of their favorite vacation spots. We appreciated their graciousness as they showed us around this magnificent place.
We laugh now at how our families have grown. What started as both of us having one, has now turned into growing families with lots of kids. They have seen how far we've come, and vice-versa. We feel lucky to have several of these friendships and know we will be friends through life, lifers.

Say It Ain't So!

Exhibit 1-

Exhibit 2-
Exhibit 3-

Exhibit 4 (a,b,c)
a-

b-

c-

Last week I received some NEWS, of the big kind. Big enough that is, that multiple people called, e-mailed or stopped me at the grocery store to tell me or to get my reaction. Here's the scoop:

OUR VERY DARLING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL IS GOING FROM A YEAR ROUND SCHEDULE TO A TRADITIONAL SCHEDULE IN THE FALL.

I know it doesn't seem like that big of deal but I happen to LOVE year round. Which is really quite amazing for because we almost didn't move into our home based on the fact that it was a year-round neighborhood school. Thankfully, we gave it a try and it has turned out to be so much fun.

The other funny thing is that I am one of the only if not the only person I know who is SAD about it! I just don't get it. Having more breaks during the year has so many advantages:

Exhibit 1- Going to Disneyland during September.

Exhibit 2- Meeting up with 'Best Best' for a fall friend fest (in the lovely Boise Idaho)

Exhibit 3- Skiing in the middle of the week.

Exhibit 4 (a,b,c,) Flying south for a warm winter get-a-way (our most recent adventure!).

These would not be as do able without the perks of year round. Now, it must be said, it's not perfect! Going to school in June is AWFUL! I hated it! And our summer did feel a little short. But, all in all, my vote is for year round school......not that it counts for much!

On The Road Again!

Emily kept us all entertained on the drive!

Not everything is adult only in Vegas (but close enough)

Some may think I'm crazy, others might say I'm nuts, a few would say I'm lucky for taking our kids to the desert at the peak of summer. My answer is simple: Sacrifices must be made in order to experience Great Rewards. I mean to say, swimming was fun, Vegas isn't a place for kids (or me for that matter) but it has great shopping and yummy food, taking naps every afternoon was wonderful, but the true pay off was singing along with The Von Trapp's in the Sound of Music. Priceless!! To my benefit, my little girls couldn't agree more. Luckily we had Nana and Emily to enjoy (or endure) the trip with us and I am already looking forward to next summer.

Firsts

NUMERO UNO:

• When 'best best' extended the invite to join her and her darling crew for a celebratory weekend in Boise, I was excited, but nervous. Could I drive their with the girls and Max alone? Would we be able to handle all of the kids by ourselves....and still have fun? Is there anything fun to do in Boise???? Yes, No Problem, Tons of it, and Surprisingly Yes:

Driving there was easier than I anticipated, thanks to a DVD player, patient girls, a sleepy baby and a tasty caffeinated beverage from the golden arches. Once we hooked up in Boise, we rode around in Phoebe's tricked out Mini and danced the day away to 'Phoebe gets Funky'.
The crew was very well behaved-
then again, we did spend 4 hours at Boondocks one day.

Boondocks wasn't the only thing we discovered in Boise.

We had a very exciting afternoon at Cabella's! Neither one of us had ever been there before and let me tell you it was an experience. The kids had a great time looking at all of the wild life (Rose still thinks they were real). Phoebe and I had a good laugh because her mini-van was the smallest car in the parking lot!

Boise also has a very nice mall that we did drag all six of our flock around. It is amazing how well kids behave when See's Candies are involved. I loved the thrill of this adventure and would do it again in a heartbeat-though it must be said that our husbands did fly in Saturday to help drive us home; a very kind and smart move on their part as we stayed up much to late chatting each night. I simply adore my Phoebs and relished the time we spent together. My road trip to Boise earns ****!

NUMBER TWO:

• Rosie recognizes her cousin's doll as Ila's cousin and insisted on us taking a picture of them together......twinkle sparkle. We have never had a child or met a child who loves their baby as much as our little Rose. She was so excited for Ila to have a play-date with her cousin.