Who needs fall foliage?

We just had the best time at the beach. The weather was beautiful. It reminded what I love about California. The beach...in October. I'm just kidding about not needing fall foliage, though. I still love it. I love fall. As a side note--today I was talking to Ella about what kinds of things she could try. She is currently in Soccor and doesn't really care for it. I was suggesting softball and some other things and I said, "what kinds of things do you like to do?" She said, "I like going to the candy store." That is Ella in a nutshell.

Isn't the light so pretty? The weather was gorgeous-especially after about 10 days of clouds. Don't get me wrong-I have been loving the cloudy and rainy weather. It was just nice to see some beautiful sunshine.

Kade is pretty much obsessed with this sport. He was FREEZING but did not quit.

I love watching Ella spin

I love these two.

I love this picture.

Ella's Kindergarten Graduation

Ella had a great year of Kindergarten. She made lots of friends and was very social. I was really proud of how she made new friends and learned many new things. She loved it! Her teacher was Mrs. Harrah and the aide was Mrs. Guy. The ceremony was super cute and the song adorable.

Ella and Emily

Mrs. Harrah and Mrs. Guy

Ella's 6th birthday Party

Ella had a tea party for her birthday this year. She had so much fun. Claire and Cambria were the assistants and painted the girls nails, did make up and helped them with their crafts.

Here the girls are making necklaces, bracelets and decorating hats.

So the story behind this is that Kade was totally harassing Sophie who was in full princess mode. As seen here she was trying to fight him off saying "go away dumb prince, I'm a princess!" I was laughing so hard.

Sophie, Miriam, Joey, Sarah, Ella, Malia, Emily and Kaylee

The Birthday girl

Ella, making a wierd face.

Marshmallow cake

We also had a pinata which Kade kept calling the enchilada.

Two years ago today...

Two years ago today my mom went to Heaven. I can't believe it's been that long because it feels like yesterday. I think about her every day and miss her so much. These are our last pictures taken as a family. We just went out to the garden of the hospital. It was really emotional for all of us but what I love about these pictures is that I can feel the love we all have for our mom and each other when I look at them. We are a really tight family and going through this together with our mom brought us so close. We continue to rely on each other to help fill the void left by our mom. I love my family so much.

Aunt Jeane, Uncle Mike and Uncle Pat

Mom and Dad

I don't know what to say here...I love these girls.

My Family...

...will be together...

Forever.

I love you forever and ever Mom.

Happy Birthday Carson

Today is Carson's 8th birthday. It was the funnest day and I wanted to post pics--but my camera bad luck continues. Stephanie has mis-placed her camera with all the pics for the last week. We are hopeful it is at the place we were at today. Anyways--back to Carson and the fun day we had. We started out with Tim Horton's Donuts for breakfast. Then we went to the Wild play park. They had this really fun ropes course with zip lines that the kids loved. They also have this 160 foot bungee jump off a bridge into a river below. The kids weren't old enough but Carson was really wanting to do it. It gave me butterflies just looking at it. Me, Matt, Claire and Carson did a big zip line tour that was super fun. The kids were so brave. Ella was ready to go for it but the age limit was 7.

Well I hope I can post some pictures soon but I wanted to say happy birthday to Carson. I can't believe he is 8. He is such a light in my life. He is always so kind and thoughtful. He is energetic and loves to play sports, hunt for lizards and bugs, play games of all kinds, eat treats, and wrestle. He has been loving tidepools--searching for star fish, anemonies, hermit crabs and other sea creatures. He remembers to tell me he loves me and that he likes my dinners. He does great in school but mostly loves recess. He doesn't like to read but loves when I read to him. He still loves to snuggle and comes crawling into our bed more than anyone else. He is conscious of right and wrong and wants to do right. I am so proud of the little boy that he is.

On the road

So I've been wanting to blog about our trip but two unfortunate things happened to prevent this. I'm sad to say that I forgot my camera cable to connect to the internet. Even worse, I also forgot my battery charger and my camera has been dead for 5 days and I am in the most beautiful place in the whole world. So frustrating. Today we went to Tofino, British Columbia and it was spectacular. We saw six bald eagles and some killer whales from the shore. We are having an amazing time and have driven through the California Redwoods, Oregon and beautiful Olympic national park in Washington. I am in love with the western coast and want to move to Portland. I love Oregon. Vancouver Island is unbelievably rugged and beautiful. That's where we are right now. I love it. I can't believe I don't have my camera. I'm so depressed about it. I have been getting pictures from Stephanie's camera but it's not the same. I'll do a post when I get to Alberta and can use my sister's camera equipment. (we have the same camera)

Happy birthday Mom

Today's my mom's Birthday. I am flying up to Canada this weekend to be with my family so we can celebrate her birthday together.

As a tribute to my mom I want to share something. A few months after my mom died I was listening to Dr. Laura. A lady called in and was despondent over the death of her mother. She couldn't function and couldn't move on with her life. Dr. Laura's response really helped me to understand some things I was going through at the time. I had been feeling guilty that it was so easy for me to come home from that summer with my mom and resume my life. I wondered why I wasn't feeling more like the lady calling in to the show. Her response to the lady was that it would be a tribute to her mother to pick up the pieces and live her life the way her mom had taught her. Although, I didn't know who that woman's mom raised her to be...I knew right then what kind of person my mom raised ME to be. I knew right then why I am able to continue on in her absence even though she was such an integral part of my life. She raised me to have faith, to pray, to rely on the Lord. She taught me that you have to live life. Never waste time feeling sad for yourself. She really did this. She rarely showed self-pity. I really never saw it. She taught me to be strong and independent. She taught me to be positive and to see the blessings in my life. I'm so grateful to her for the kind of woman that she raised me to be and for preparing me to get through the trials of life with more strength and understanding. Thanks mom.

My mom as a cute little girl (3rd from left)

My mom loving Caroline.

I love this picture of my mom and dad.

My mom's senior portrait.

My mom in action--doing what she loved--fussing over the grandkids.