Luke, Drew and Charlotte

Charlotte...already 6 months

2012-02-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

How has 6 months passed SO fast? Literally, the fastest of our lives.

Here is our girl....

yep, we can't imagine our life without her

I had no idea what I was missing.

Drew tells me, daily, that she is "just so cute!" I couldn't agree more :))

Bronco basketball

2012-01-21T19:21:00.000-08:00

We are quickly coming to the end of basketball so I figured I better get some pictures up!

Sissy and Daddy before a BIG game. She rocked the basketball sweatshirt that I had a friend bling up. And as we say, the bigger the bow, the bigger the game!! :)

Blurry but oh well...she is still cute :)

The boys

As you can see from the score board, it didn't start off in the Bronco's favor...

But some fired up coaches helped lead their team to VICTORY!!!

Of course these boys enjoyed the game....and some iPods :)

Wiped out from all the action (I found out a day or two later that little girl had a raging double ear infection :( Poor Charlotte....

Ben ALWAYS enjoys a good basketball game! (Even though that face doesn't seem like it)

Way to go Broncos!!!

A Day with Star Wars (Luke's dream)

2012-01-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Discovery Center is having a special Star Wars exhibit and we have been wanting to take Luke and finally got the chance on one of our last vacation days. Drew wasn't as excited since it didn't have any football :)

Silly boy.....he pretended to listen to some of the exhibits.

But he did love Yoda.

Luke loved all the exhibits. This was one where they were able to build a ship out of legos and were able to make it float with magnets.

a droid (and I had to be told what each of these are...) Rin Rin would know each and everyone. Better than me. HA!~

My girl, so sleepy....

This was one of Luke's favorites...a ride in a floating speeder :)

They built a robot and programmed it to do what they wanted

and this one just stayed goofy

on this exhibit, they had to use the tiles to make a camp....i didn't really get it, but they did :))

darth vader...both luke and drew thought jett would love this one :)

my three monkeys (and luke sky walkers land speeder)

after the star wars exhibit we hit up the rest of the museum. Luke felt what it was like to be in a wind tunnel...

sissy woke up....and nope that isn't bed head....just her :)

a robot lab

In the rocket lab the kids were able to stand inside a "rocket" as it blasted off

yep....my total favorite moment.

they were nervous about the smoke.

they did the supermarket challenge

and a race to recycle game

oh I hate that vacation is ending..... :(

The kids at 5 months (and learning how to eat....)

2012-01-07T09:09:00.001-08:00

Time is going by WAY too fast. I think Luke was this little yesterday....much less 6 years ago!!

Here is a pic of my kiddos at 5 months....all learning how to eat :)

and they have all progressively gotten more hair. Thank goodness we are done with three....number 4 may have been a little gorilla baby!

Luke

Drew

And Charlotte

And here are a few more of my little girl eating for the first time. She doesn't love it (even though the pic above seems like it!) In fact, she has mastered the art of closing her lips, tightly, so we can't get any in. Lovely.

and doesn't every little girl have a boy (in full football gear) feeding them :)

A Year in Review

2012-01-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

Here is our year, 2011, in a snapshot :)

Merry Christmas (with a million pictures to document it!)

2012-01-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic Christmas this year....it came and went so fast though. We kicked it off with our annual night at Momo and Papa's for Christmas Eve.

My three little monkeys

Our family's best Christmas present this year. Little Charlotte

Me and my girl

We forgot to take family group shots this year but I did get one of my and the kids...

John and his girl

Since church was starting at a weird time (and not sure if Josh would be able to make it) we decided to reenact the Christmas story with the kids. Raquel really took off with it and even wrote a script. It was fantastic.

Of course, Ben was the obvious choice for Baby Jesus.

Drew took on videotaping responsibilities. He did have a part in the play but it had many lines. Little Dude can't read yet. So, he was all too happy to videotape

Ruby Roo

Lila, the best angel ever. I mean, all angels that spread the word tap dance, right?!

Papa, not too sure about this whole fiasco.

Jett, a perfect little drummer boy

and a group shot of the boys. Next year Ben will be right with these boys...

Drew, Jett, Luke and Ethan

Luke's FAVORITE gift....Harry Potter glasses from Ethan. He hasn't taken them off since. Literally.

And here is Drew opening his favorite present....

A Vista Murrieta Bronco helmet. It is an actual helmet so the thing is HEAVY. He still hasn't taken it off either.

so, so, so happy.

HA! The group of cousins...this was one of the best we could get. :)

Lila, Ruby, Ethan, Luke, Charlie, Raquel, Ben, Drew and Jett

Christmas night at our house....kids were in bed and Santa was coming....

before the madness....and yes, Santa brought a goal post. :)

our stockings

coming down stairs in the morning. not sure what is more shocking....my boys wearing "costumes" on Christmas morning or poor Charlotte's bed head :)

so excited!!

yep, just as happy as I thought he would be :)

Happy FIRST Christmas baby girl!!!!

Santa brought Drew a box full of jerseys....he was so happy. That Santa must shop on ebay :)

taking it all in....next year she will be right in the mix of it. She did get some very fun dolly's and her very first Cabbage Patch kid from Ben :)

Luke and Drew's present for Charlotte....wrapped by Luke himself :)

and the one thing he really wanted.....a Harry Potter wand :)

"We never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory"

I have a feeling this Christmas was one of those.....absolutely perfect. :)

friend christmas

2011-12-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

After we got out of school for Christmas break, we celebrated with our white elephant Christmas party with our friends.

The kids love any excuse to get together.

Devyn and Drew

Before we did the adult gift exchange, we had one for the kids.

Cute lil Peyton

I don't have any pictures of the adult gift exchange but there were some good ones! :) Putt n Potty anyone?? :) John and I came home with a camo coffee mug :)

Our last trip to Disneyland

2011-12-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

We took one last trip to Disneyland before our passes expired. Thanks again Momo, we LOVED this present!!

My Drew, rocking his jersey after the big win that week. :)

I didn't take too many pictures but here a few that John captured.

We HAD to go to Soaring Over California at least one more time (it is by far Luke's absolute favorite). Drew, Lila and Ruby stayed off with Daddy and Momo. I came across these pictures later. Little goons.

Drew's Holiday Show

2011-12-28T13:48:00.001-08:00

Drew had his first performance with his preschool program. I was VERY surprised to see how seriously he took it. He practiced all.the.time. and was so ready for his big moment :)

Daddy and his girl (of course we had to get there an hour early to get front row seats) :)

Drew and his buddy Hunter

Drew told me that he got to be a reindeer in the show. The reindeer's name? Donald. You know, Donald...like Dancer and Blitzen. :)

His favorite song, The Snowball

His besties....Dylan, Presley, Drew and Hunter

They had a surprise at the end with Santa showing up for the kids

Here is Hunter telling Drew that that this Santa couldn't possibly be real. Yeah, wth?! She told him that he wasn't fat enough.

Luke (of course) told him that he was for sure real because he thinks he saw his sleigh outside the school. Oh I hope he never changes:)

Happy 60th Papa!

2011-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

We helped Papa celebrate his 60th birthday. It was a little bit of a surprise party....

Momo got him a yummy cake to celebrate the big event.

yep, apparently a little TOO yummy. Lila dug her hands in way before the party started. Erin had some mad skills to repair it. :)

Sleepy Charlottte

I love this girl. I think this is when we were having a more serious moment....like giving thanks for our food. and papa :)

and you should have seen her pop those suckers off

the best part of the party (in my opinion) was Papa opening his gift from us kids. It was a total labor of love. We contacted as many people from his past (and present) to write a memory or good wish for him.

We compiled the responses (and we got TONS) into a book.

We were able to get letters from old friends, coworkers, former basketball players, family...

We even included a few embarrassing pictures of Momo and some very funny stories

It was one of the most fun things to put together. We loved hearing everyone's stories and all the great things they had to say about Papa.

Of course, then it was on to CAKE!

with 60 candles, he needed a little help ;)

cheesy boys

Those great Hizon and Valdes kids even brought entertainment :)

It was a great night! Happy birthday Papa!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind on blogging but here are a few pics from Thanksgiving.

Momo and the best turkey she ever made.

My boy Luke

Ben and Charlotte

About an hour after we got there, Luke got sick. So sick..... :(

How cute are they holding hands??!

Our annual progressive dinner

2011-12-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Last year we started the annual tradition of a progressive dinner. We began this year at the Clantons. I didn't take as many pictures as I did last year (something about a little cute baby to hold) but we had a lot of fun :) We have apps at one house, dinner at another and then ended the night with dessert at our house.

Our crazy (not so little) group (and pretty good for a self timer on a trash can :)

The girls

Carrie, Karen, Kristin, Stacy and me (oh and little Charlie too!)

and the kids (from youngest to oldest)

Charlotte, Drew, Sidney, Jake, Luke, Kaiden, Devyn, Ty, Ethan, Nolan, Peyton, Aly and Haley

A great way to end the season!

2011-12-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Bronco football season ended with a CIF championship (and a ranking of #2 in the STATE and 36 in the NATION!!) GO BRONCOS!

Here are some pictures of the greatest season yet... :)

Papa worked on this shot all season....the coin flip

The boys in the locker room before the biggest game

One of Drew's favorite plays to practice...the handoff

imitating the big boys

so, so cute

Drew's #1 idol, the quarterback, Nick. Seriously, nicest kid ever too. A great choice for Drew :)

John and Corey (it is his senior year so looks like we will be traveling to watch him next time....)

My three favorite people

Drew, Dylan and Luke

Nick and his mini me (I found a jersey just like Nick's a week before the big game). I am not sure Drew has taken it off since :)

someday little man, someday

Corey

We beat Centennial for the CIF championship. They are a powerhouse school that has won CIF a ton, needless to say, it was VERY exciting!

Daddy and Drew, walking the field before the game (taking it all in)

And holding the trophy!!

until next year!!!!

My kiddos at 4 months old...

2011-12-19T17:29:00.001-08:00

I definitely think Charlotte looks most like Luke (and her Daddy) :)

Luke

Drew

...and Charlie

Go Buffalo!

2011-12-05T18:46:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we headed up to the Rose Bowl with friends to watch the UCLA Bruins take on Colorado. The quarterback for Colorado is one of the coaches sons so we wanted to go and cheer him on.

Of course, this was Drew’s idea of paradise :)

Charlotte was decked out in her football gear

Luke and his buddy Jake

My little family

John and his favorite girl

Brandon, John, Evan and Matt

Enjoying some jello :)

Luke and Ty and the pile of leaves they spent forever piling up

This entertained Luke for a long time.

While Drew spent the ENTIRE time doing this….

The crew of kids

Sidney, Nolan, Jake, Drew, Luke, Kaiden, Ty, Hailey, Aly, Charlie and Ethan

Ty was showing me the Colorado sign while Drew is remaining true to his Vista Broncos :)

Luke had had enough of the pick up football game so he watched a little Harry Potter in the car (we tailgated for HOURS)

Jake, Drew and a random kid from a few cars over. :)

Go Buff!!

Charlotte at her first college game

Oh man Drew, I can’t even imagine what YOUR college days are going to be like

Luke, Kaiden, Ty and Ethan

Even though we were rooting for Colorado, none of the boys turned down the free Bruins trading cards :)

This little one did so great (as always) but her daddy was about done with the drunk college kids getting too loud next to his princess….oh how times have changed :)

An attempt at a Christmas shoot….

2011-11-27T15:55:00.001-08:00

We got the whole fam-damily together when Uncle Matt was in town to try and take some pictures of all of us for Christmas cards. Here are a few of the pics. I am not going to post the family pics in case we decide to use them for our cards…..at this point though, my family might need a reshoot. Pics with 20some people is CAH-RAZY! :)

Adorable pic of Erin’s girls. Love them.

My favorite girl

The girls of the family (minus Nikki who hadn’t got there yet)

cute lil Ben

My boys

Momo, Papa and the crew

Charlotte was done. She wanted her thumb and sleep.

Raquel

Another crazy one of Momo, Papa and the crew o’ kids

Uncle Matt (insert wife and baby someday) :)

Momo and her favorite…..HA! it’s really Ruby, we all know :))))))

Luke and his best buddy Ethan

These two are too stinkin cute….they end every visit with A LOT of “I love you’s” Cutest. thing. ever.

Just hanging out

2011-11-26T09:46:00.001-08:00

A few random pics from around the house.

Love this girl. Love this boy. (and love her hair :)

finally getting big enough to play with some toys

Playing football in the front yard….and yes, I know, his clothes don’t match. He was wanting to play Green Bay against the Browns. Hopefully Santa will be bringing this boy some jerseys because he DESTROYS his closet looking for random color combinations. (oh and he plays football. against himself. so weird). :)

Big brother joined in on the football madness

and one from inside….my little 3 month old :)

Bronco football

2011-11-21T13:03:00.001-08:00

Bronco football season is flying by….Luke brought a friend, Mack, to a game a few weeks ago (coming straight from 1st grade tie-dye day :)

John took the camera for a bit to get some shots of the game. This is the famous Bronco Golden Alliance

The big boys before the game

John’s favorite player, Corey

Right before running out on the field

Ummm…boys, the field is the other way :)

Disneyland and Halloween (Luke’s idea of perfection)

2011-11-21T12:35:00.001-08:00

Luke is into holidays. All of them. Any reason to celebrate, the boy is all about it. He got VERY into Halloween this year so when we decided to take a last minute trip to the happiest place on earth, he was thrilled.

My three monkeys.

Utterly impossible to get any type of group pic

Charlotte in her first costume

He truly thinks he is Jack Sparrow

And we had to talk Drew into this costume. He wanted to be a football player. Again. I didn’t want to try and do Disneyland with shoulder pads and helmets so Dash it was.

Typical picture of my kids….. :)

Thanks Drew :)

That is a bit better :)

Cute lil Ben was there too

We found this princess area that we had never been to before. Lila was in love!!

Love her

Drew had to show his muscles after being surrounded by so much pink stuff :)

The rule to be with a princess is you have to sit up on your own…..ummm….Charlotte didn’t quite master that task yet but we got the shot! :)

There was a storytelling portion and this dude recruited Drew to be part of the show. Little man was nervous!

He had to dance with sleeping beauty….as you can see, he had to be shoved forward a bit :)

He refused to look at her while dancing…

HA!!

She even sang to him and he was not won over :)

Silly little boy….someday you will like those girls……someday. :)

Luke the mad scientist

2011-11-11T16:00:00.001-08:00

There are many great things about first grade. One of Luke’s FAVORITES is getting chosen to be the Super Scientist. After much debate, he chose to do the volcano activity. of course. :)

First step, get some dirt.

(after this whole thing was over I reread the instructions and it was supposed to be a small soda bottle….)

The dirt part took forever….

Drew gave up very quickly…

So Daddy came in to really get a lot of dirt (and this is when I made the project move outside :)

Little geek (who I love)

and remember how we were supposed to use a small soda bottle??! Well, that comes in to play here…..

adding the food coloring and vinegar

……and then we waited……

since nothing happened, john just started dumping….

Finally! An “explosion”

…once again, my little geek :))))

Ethan’s birthday bash

2011-11-06T09:53:00.001-08:00

Luke and Drew were super excited about Ethan’s Star Wars party. It was the topic of conversation for weeks….and let me tell you, Anne Marie aka Party Planner Extraordinaire, did NOT disappoint!

It started with themed snacks….the Dark Side, the Light Side and good ol light sabers

Luke was in heaven. HEAVEN.

Charlotte came in her party clothes and got some lovin from Momo

And Ben, still needing to learn that secret that Momo will SPOIL you….seriously little dude, she is the one to love :)

Ethan and his buddy Brandon

Uncle Sean

Ruby

Looks like someone has hit up the dark side snacks.

The LEGO cakes

Don’t let that face fool you, he was super happy about the birthday bash :)

The crew

Daddy and Charlie escaping the madness for a little football…..

Ruby is 1!

2011-11-06T09:49:00.001-08:00

Way back in September little Ruby turned 1. I think she holds the record for fastest first year ever. Literally flew by.

Little girl is the sweetest thing. She has come to kinda love her auntie. I mean she doesn’t scream when she looks at me anymore so I take that as total progress.

Lila with the birthday girl

Ok, I was super impressed with the My Little Pony cake….especially when I learned it was ALL Sean’s masterpiece. Major props!

I know, I know, this picture is totally blurry but Luke FAH-REAKED when Rin Rin served him up the mountain. That is love people.

:( Poor Drew….no mountain for him

Ruby is the first baby I have ever seen that didn’t want the cake because she hated getting dirty. Such a diva that girl

Happy Halloween! More to come soon….

2011-10-30T20:01:00.001-07:00

Luke’s Fall Showcase..it was DYNAMITE :)

2011-10-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

Luke had his Fall Showcase last Friday. It was a big deal because Daddy took the day off to come and watch.

Luke’s own cheering section

Getting ready to rock it on stage :)

At this point he almost missed the start of the dance because he was scanning the crowd for his dad

I came to DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, DANCE

slight spaghetti arms :)

Luke’s buddies Mack and Colie

…..and he is still looking….

After the performance, Luke and his best buddies, Micah, Mack and Ben

Charlotte, Luke and Drew

Luke’s class

His friend, Mikaila

Luke, Ben and Mack

Colie and Luke (they have known each other since they were itty bitty)

here is a link to the show….Luke’s is the first song and he is on the right side of the stage in the front

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a63784f5451784d6a52384e6a45304d7a4d334e544d3d0d0a&sb=1

and a pic of my kinders from their show :)))

Charlotte’s baby stats

2011-10-15T20:39:00.001-07:00

Our girl is getting big so so quickly.

At 1 month she weighed 10lbs 10 oz and was the 96% and she was 24” which was over 100% for height

At two months Charlie is 12lbs (which is 80%) and 25 1/2” which is still at 100% and best of all, we get these grins all the time.

little moments

2011-10-15T20:14:00.001-07:00

I love my time off with Charlotte and Drew…..but many of our days were spent like this…..

yep, loading up in the car to get Luke from school. I have had some of my most favorite conversations with Drew during these drives. Little boy is funny.

and little sis did great (the commute is about an hour roundtrip).

A surprise for the boys….

2011-10-15T19:42:00.001-07:00

We told the boys we had a surprise that we were taking them to…..they had a million guesses

this little one was along for the ride

Luke had been asking me questions for a week….here is his journal of clues :)

Drew wanted no part of the guessing

sooo we decided to play hangman on the (long) ddrive

for as smart as this kid is, this game took awhile

finally….

Total, utter shock!!

:)))))

When Drew woke up Luke shared the good news :)

We had some dinner before the big show. Yes, John’s face says it all.

We had a GREAT time. (although Phinenas and Ferb looked a little freaky….very large eyes). Drew and Luke were singing songs from the show for weeks. It ranks up there with some of my favorite memories :))

and another football post :)

2011-10-09T16:38:00.001-07:00

A few more pictures from some recent football games… Charlotte looking very “”jazzercise-ish”

Luke and his mini me

Why oh why does she look so big??

Drew had no interest in photos….he was imitating the big big boys in his imaginary game

someday little man, someday (and that will be too soon for this mama)

photo by Luke

My three loves

….and it is our favorite season of the year, football season!

2011-10-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

One of our family’s most favorite times of the year is football season. The boys look forward to the Friday night lights. This year we get to introduce little Charlotte to the game that is going to dominate her life too :)

To kickoff the first game the Broncos had a flyover during the national anthem…seriously, how cool is that?

The boys, Kaiden, Nolan, Luke, Ty and Drew

The Broncos, of course, had a win :)

I didn’t get any good shots of the kids or the little miss but there is always next week. :)

a 1st grade hat parade

2011-09-30T08:14:00.001-07:00

First grade has been a lot of fun so far…..and a lot of projects :) This week the kids had a hat parade. Now, if you know Luke, you know that he had GRAND ideas about what he wanted his hat to look like. Picture exploding rockets, lights, dueling light sabers….just about as over the top as you can get. Soooo, I told John since I do nightly homework with Luke, this bad boy would be his project. :)

His buddy Colie rocking her pink cowboy hat

and Luke in his LEGO hat. :) Now, this project was due on a Monday. By Sunday afternoon John and Luke did not have any hats started. So, we decided to go with a hat that looked like a LEGO. After hot gluing the thing together (and it was a sturdy little hat!) we got to school the next day and poor Luke smashed the hat in the car door. Luckily, his teacher came to the rescue with more hot glue :) and then he added stickers all over the place. :)

waving at his brother and sister :)

Lazy Sundays…

2011-09-28T19:12:00.001-07:00

Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week….we never have big plans, the boys love watching football…and my favorite, lots of family time :)

Drew is determined to be like the “big” neighborhood boys and ride a two-wheeler (we are still working on it)

loving those (chunky!) baby thighs :)

Drew loves her. LOVES her.

ah screw bike riding..bring on football!!

The HEART award

2011-09-20T05:30:00.001-07:00

Luke received an award at school a few weeks ago. Of course Momo made it for the big event. As you can tell from Drew’s lovely expression, it was hot. But doesn’t Charlotte look cute? :)

Getting the award for Harmony. So proud of my boy.

His teacher said that he was the peacemaker in the class and a friend to all.

He was thrilled (don’t let the picture fool you)

hating on the heat….

and Mr. Shaw getting silly stringed completely trumped his award in his mind. This was the highlight for Luke :)

Little man, you make us so proud.

More random pics around the house

2011-09-15T20:08:00.001-07:00

My little monkey is already getting so big.

She is absolute perfection.

Oh Drew….he loves it when he can raid Luke’s room when he is at school

Perfecting his pirate scowl

Have you ever seen a purple cow?

2011-09-15T20:05:00.001-07:00

First grade is off to a great start. One of the first big events was a purple cow party. The kiddos learned a poem and then celebrated with purple cow floats.

Doesn’t it look yummy?? :)

Luke and his buddy Mikaila

Of course Drew came along for the party :)

1 month

2011-09-03T20:13:00.001-07:00

Here are my babies at one month…

and just because Charlie goes no where without a bow! :) HA!!

Luke’s first day picture

2011-08-28T19:17:00.001-07:00

I have a small obsession with pinterest and I saw this cute idea. Hopefully now I can remember to do it every year… :)

life is pretty darn good :)

2011-08-28T09:54:00.001-07:00

our little peanut

I know I keep saying it but this boy is so in love….so in love

how does she already look so much bigger?!

Drew thought she needed something blue for the Charger game

see….smitten boy!

Luke loves to take pictures with Charlie

…Drew, hmmm…..not so much :)

perfect little fingers

yep, life is perfect.

My days with my littlest ones

2011-08-26T19:08:00.001-07:00

While Luke is off loving first grade, I am enjoying every single second of staying home with my littlest ones…especially when I have this one around. Little mess.

as crazy as he is, he has an extreme love for his little sister. He asks me daily if he can “pet” her.

….and we have a first grader….

2011-08-26T19:02:00.001-07:00

I have a first grader. I can’t believe my first baby is all-day-long-school-kid. When did that happen??! I tried to take a picture of him first thing in the morning, still sleeping….but he beat me to it. He came running in to see his favorite person. And yes, he knows that his sister LOVES music so he brought her the ipod too. Absolute love.

My three kids. :)

Lovely Drew… :)

Ready to rock first grade.

In the classroom with his buddy Colie

….no more kinder tables, he has a big kid desk.

He had a fantastic day and can’t wait to go back! :)

Charlotte…first of her monthly pictures

2011-08-20T12:24:00.001-07:00

Every month I am going to take a picture of Charlotte on the calendar to show how fast (booo!!) that she grows. Here is our first. I know I am biased….but seriously, how cute is she? :))

Another first in Charlie’s life

2011-08-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

Charlotte had her first bath and I had a VERY eager little helper….

Unfortunately, she hated it. Not much different than her first one in the hospital.

Little girl HATES to be cold. Hates it…..we will keep working on it :)

The current family favorite :)

2011-08-18T11:34:00.001-07:00

So, to say that we are all smitten with Charlotte would be an understatement. We are head over heels in love. Every. single. one. of. us. Luke choose to miss a Charger game with his Daddy the other night just so he could spend time with his girl. (Drew loves her too…just not enough to pass on the Chargers :)

She is already changing so much….

Our girl, the little sister

Of course, rockin a Bronco bow. She is ready for football season….

Here is little Charlie and her older (by two months) cousin Ben. They are going to besties, I can already tell.

Completely in love of this little girl.

Drew loves to sing to her. His songs are all about how he is going to defend her and how much he loves her.

There are no words :)

Loves of my life

Our family of 5. Completely complete.

The girly cousins

And a couple more of our little miss

Still looks a lot like Luke/ John but I am starting to see a little of Drew in her too

and an outtake of our family…..just keepin real folks…….

Introducing our love, Charlotte Lenora

2011-08-05T21:26:00.001-07:00

August 2 our lives were changed forever. Charlotte joined our family and we can’t imagine life without her.

Labor was very similar to Drew’s….fast and furious.

Initially we thought things were going to go slower than they did with Drew so John grabbed the camera and he thought me “white knuckling” through a contraction was worthy of a pic…..little did he know that minutes later we would be giving birth….no drugs, again :( Luckily, she is our last so I will never do that again. It was brutal and barbaric. BUT, she was worth it all. I’d do it again just to have her.

Welcome to the world little girl, we love you.

Daddy and Momo checking her out..the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. Oh, and the doctor didn’t even make it….thank goodness for good nurses! :)

Check out that hair!!!!

Daddy putting her pic on facebook moments after birth :))

When we first saw this face we all thought she looked EXACTLY like Luke. As time goes on I think she looks a lot like her Daddy…but this face, this is her older brother.

Daddy, getting banded…

7 pounds, 9 ounces and 21 inches.

little girl is so lucky…she has a slew of family that already loves her.

one of my favorites….John and Charlotte meeting for the first time.

Charlie checking out her Daddy…..little girl, that guy is going to give you the world.

Luke’s face….it is that lip!!!

Ignore her face, she really does love the hat :))))

First bath…she hated it.

Papa meeting his new favorite granddaughter

Momo and Papa and the latest and greatest addition to their crew

I was so excited for the boys to come and meet her. We have been discussing life with a baby for a long time but I couldn’t wait for them to really meet her. I knew Luke would be head over heels but I wasn’t sure how Drew would do….well, he came running in and right over to check her out.

Luke was much more reserved….surprised the heck out of me.

He finally warmed up. I am not sure if it was seeing me in a hospital bed or what….but he didn’t want to see her at first. He was very nervous and shy….

The best things in my life. I am the luckiest.

Drew couldn’t wait to hold her.

Love his face in this one….talk about a lucky girl.

and when Luke finally warmed up to holding her he hasn’t wanted to put her down. The morning after we came home, he came running into my room like it was Christmas. Literally. I have never seen a happier kid. I know how he feels…….even the middle of the night feedings are great right now. :)

I really don’t think life can get any better.

Drew is in love.

2011-08-05T20:35:00.001-07:00

So, as we know, Drew has a thing for pretty girls. But we finally found the one that stole his heart. Natalie. Yes, he likes an older woman….oh and yes, she has a boyfriend. Apparently these don’t stop Drew. :) We went down to visit them on their vacation to Carlsbad the other night. He was one smitten kitten.

Jett and Luke had a blast playing in the water. I mean, who wouldn’t? These kids cater to them…..lucky boys.

Momo and Ruby….and yes, Momo is one of the only people I know who would wear a turtleneck to the beach. In the middle of summer.

It was gorgeous.

Well….maybe that is why he loves her so much…not only is she cute but she feeds him snacks. :)

The day after the beach we headed over to our neighbors for some swimming. We are very lucky…they give us free reign of the pool and the boys love it.

Uhhhh…..check out John getting ready to peg Drew with the water gun :)

I love this kid. John and Luke kept jumping off the waterfall and trying to get me wet. He said he was going to protect me from those “bad guys”

the face only a mother could love :)))))

There he is…..protecting his mama. And for the record, I was worried :)

Goofy boy.

so lucky he is mine though :))

Megan and Dustin tie the knot!

2011-08-05T16:38:00.001-07:00

Megan, the beautiful bride

Ethan, Jett and Luke. These boys LOVE a good party…and one that has a smores bar?! Life doesn’t get much better!

Lila, the life of the party. Literally. :)

The Bunch family

Our little family….probably the last pic as a family of 4

The prayer before the meal….and check out Ethan….HA!

Lila….loving Megan’s dress

…and of course, needing to check out the shoes! :)

We had a GREAT time….Congratulations Megan and Dustin!!!!

Worlds cutest nieces and nephews

2011-08-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

I took some pics of Rin Rins kids the other day. We never got a great group shot but these were some of my favorite of each of them.

Love this boy….

Little Lila is the BIGGEST reason that John is excited for a girl. He thinks she is the greatest. :)

and little Ruby. She is the one I hope my daughter is most like :)

another summer day, another day at the park

2011-08-05T15:43:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a picnic at the park…

crazy kid

avoiding my camera…or at least trying :)

and playing football with Daddy

Not sure what kinda game this is, peg your brother?? :)

me and my little monsters

a little better :)

a major victory for Luke, crossing the monkey bars all by himself.

Luke loves to imagine that he is on Soaring Over California every time he is on the swings….here he is mid dream :)

A kid was being really mean to Drew at the park….apparently calling him a baby, which to a newly 4 year old, is devastating. :( Luke heard and told this kid to leave his brother alone. Having the back-up of his big brother gave Drew all the confidence he needed…..he stood behind Luke and yelled “call him a liar Luke!!!” Oh Drew…… :

I have never been more proud :)))

oh summer, how we love you

2011-07-26T16:22:00.001-07:00

just some pictures from the park. We are loving LOVING this time off…….lazy days and cute boys…what more can you ask for?

Drew’s birthday bash

2011-07-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

This little man has been waiting for this day for a looong time. When he turned 4, he knew he was going to be bigger and wouldn’t be my “baby” anymore. Oh, and he gets to go to school with me. (he will be going to preschool at my school…..definitely MY favorite part about turning 4 :))

Last year he was really into Toy Story…this year it is all about Cars 2. It helps the obsession that his birthday falls right in the middle of summer movies.

Since this child has a million cousins, birthday parties are easy peasy for me. This year the request was a McDonald’s dinner and Sky High (a jumpy place). I love these kinda parties…no mess and no planning :)

Momo convinced him that the streamers were just for his party…..or the new Mango smoothie….whatever :)

Drew’s best bud

Ruby enjoying french fries with her Papa

And bring on the presents!

Drew really wanted cupcakes…don’t these look homemade?! :)

Momo, Papa and the grandkids.

a good group shot is NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN. :)

Then it was off to Sky High. Lila was a bit nervous at first…but that changed within seconds. She spent the entire night with Raquel with no fear about any of it. Crazy girl.

I think Uncle Matt and John had more fun with this one than the kids. They used big “bats” to knock the kids to their feet.

Taking a pic with Uncle Matt before he headed back home :( Hopefully he will be moving back soon. The kids miss him tons.

Uncle Sean with Jett and Drew

Not sure he has the fundamentals of pool down yet! :)

My (not for very much longer) baby turns 4

2011-07-18T17:19:00.001-07:00

My Drew,

I can’t believe you are 4. I am sure I said something similar a year ago, but time is flying by in your little life. You days as the littlest one in this family are numbered but you are so excited about getting a “sissy”. And as you tell me daily, you are not a baby anymore. In fact, on the morning of your birthday you came running into our room just to tell us that your legs are much bigger now that you are 4. Yes, little man, you are getting bigger every day and I just don’t like it.

You are still the same silly, wacky kid. You love to make us laugh and have come up with phrases that are oh so you. This past year we have really seen your personality…as much as you love to be the goofy one, you can also be so stubborn. You know what you want, when you want it and how you want it. You have already mastered the art of manipulating your brother. Somehow, someway, he tends to do all your “chores” for you…..most of the time it is because you have convinced him that your "snail” has glued you to the carpet and you just can’t get up. How that little line works, I will never know. :) You and Luke have become the best of friends these past few months. You spend hours and hours together, and it is never enough. There is nothing in the world that makes this mommy happier than that. I pray that this bond lasts forever. There would be no greater gift.

But for every crazy, stubborn, feisty thing you pull, there is a sweet, sweet side. You have a way about you that makes people feel so good…..granted, most of the time it is always pretty girls (oh how you love them!!) You tell me daily that you love the flowers in my eyes (?! don’t ask….) and that you think I am cute. I know that that isn’t going to last so I am going to suck up every second of that love. You are shy at first but love the limelight once you are comfortable. You are still very content to play by yourself and do your own thing. We feel so lucky to call you ours. We want the world for you. Your determination is going to get you far in life…and we can’t wait to sit back and watch the journey of your life. Knowing you….it is going to be quite the ride. :)

Happy birthday little man. We love you. So, so, so much.

A little mini Disney vacation

2011-07-16T09:18:00.001-07:00

Our passes were going to be blocked out for July and August so we decided to take one more trip for the summer. The boys goal was to stay till midnight since we were staying overnight. This momma didn’t think that was going to happen… :)

But this boy did!

He is so happy

Drew is too but you can’t tell by this face :)

John is when he gets a monster in :)

We started at California Adventures and hit up some things we have never done.

Like the Adventure course. Oh and a little fyi…..an almost 9 month pregnant woman should NOT try and climb a rope course. Bad mistake and so not pretty :)

We are in line for Little Mermaid and little Drew is always scared of new rides. Always. And then every. single. time. we get off he tells me that I was right and it wasn’t scary…and that he loved it.

But there is no convincing him ahead of time….

We hit up the swings and at first Luke wanted to ride in the tandem swing with John. I kept trying to tell him how much he would love it by himself because the dude loves, LOVES to swing. As soon as we got off, he ran right back up the stairs and wanted to go again, by himself. Of course. :)

Drew was content to wait off the second go round…

He loved this ride. Loved it.

For the record, we stayed well past midnight. Luke had been begging to go on the new Star Tours. On our way out of the park we passed it and it said it was a 75 minute wait….the shortest we had seen. So, even though it was 10, I told John to take Luke and Drew and I would chill on a bench. So….10:00 with a 75 minute wait, I thought we would be outta there by 11:30. 12:30 rolled around and they still weren’t off. We finally headed out at about 1AM. But for the record, Luke said it was sooo worth it :))

4th of July…one of my favorite days

2011-07-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

4th of July continues to be one of my FAVORITE holidays of the year. We kicked it off, as always, with the La Cresta parade. Anne Marie brought festive doughnuts for the occasion.

Lila sportin her patriotic gear in the HEAT.

Little Dude loves events like these. LOVES them.

Drew sat here for about 5 minutes and then joined us in the back of the car. Even the free candy couldn’t get him back out there. Smart kid :)

This little one danced and waved to every float. (while also rockin one of Momo’s bows from the 80’s).

Ethan came prepared with water guns…..a total appropriate choice for a patriotic parade :)

And there is Luke picking up the candy after every float.

the loot

After the parade we headed to the Valdes for their annual get together. This is another reason I love the 4th. We always have such a great time at their house. The boys love the pool and all the “big” kids.

This year Luke decided he needed to perfect the art of jumping in the water while trying to catch a ball. Ummm….. ok.

after about 20 tries he got it! :)

but not always :)

One of the big events every year is the adult water polo match. It is vicious and violent. :) Hence the little ones get designated to the spa.

But….of course, Drew was mesmerized by the game. He wanted to be a part of it so bad. Um, little man, that bubble suit is not enough protection from this kind of game.

so….they decided to practice moves on poor Max.

Claire entertained Lila (I can only be SO lucky to have my daughter grow up to be like any of the Valdes or Hizon girls. They are perfect.)

wild madness

After the game Drew cornered Rin Rin and told her that next year he will be 4 and he wants to be on her team. He also said that she will need to help block him and pass him the ball but he knows that they will win. Although, I am sure he is only a few years away from jumping in and joining. Maniac.

We ended the night with a perfect view of the fireworks. Nothing better.

the end of camp and officially a mini Bronco!

2011-07-06T09:50:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from Luke at football camp. Starts with warm ups

and leg lifts….

one of his favorite parts was chatting it up with his friends

doing the ladders…love the stiff hands

the kids loved the parachute drills…although, this has translated into Luke trying to make a parachute at home. out of yarn and paper. hmmm….not so sure it is going to hold you up there big guy.

love that his little buddy Kaiden could always spot the camera…that's my kind of kid!

D Line drills

checkin out what to do next…

another fave, the obstacle course

Loving. it.

we are going to keep working on keeping his eyes on the ball

he was upset about something…I think that he didn’t get to be on the “skins” team. he saw this picture and said, “oh, I look whiney” yes you do little man, yes you do….

listening about what they are going to do next….or in deep prayer…either one :)

he got wacked by the ball but nick helped him feel better

always giving mom the thumbs up

end of camp wrap up

oh yeah, a shirt, ball and certificate. :) it’s the little things people.

Luke and Coach Carido (his d line coach for the camp)

Ty, Kaiden, Nolan and Luke

Future Bronco camp

2011-07-05T17:28:00.001-07:00

I think John has been waiting for this day about as long as he has had a son. Bronco Youth Camp. I know that one day Drew will count down the days of summer until he gets his turn but Luke I wasn’t so sure. Surprise, surprise, the boy LOVED it. He woke up every day wearing his “football” clothes and counting down the hours. It was only 3 days but it could have been a month long and it wouldn’t have been enough.

I think it may have had something to do with all the attention he got (turn out wasn’t that high this year so there were more players than kiddos)

We still have some work to do on the fundamentals….a hang nail took a bit of priority over the skins vs shirts games….

just waiting for his moment…..although he spent a good hour or two playing football. by himself. with no ball. don’t ask. :)

the huddle

back to playing by himself. he said he was getting tackled here. uh huh. :)

Go Luke!

if anyone has ever seen John on the field….this is his stance. like father, like son.

Ty, Kaiden and Luke

and the best moment, he got a shirt in the raffle at the end. I am pretty sure he hasn’t taken it off since then.

more pics to come from the last day….