San Francisco

Dave started a new job with a company called VMWare. He is really excited about it as it is a software company and a great opportunity for him! He will be working from home still although VMWare and his team is based in California (most of his team also works remote). He had to go to California for training for two weeks (he'll be home on Friday). So, I decided to fly down for the weekend to see him. My parents were here visiting so they watched the kids for us...Thank you, Thank you! :) We had a lot of fun....we went to a couple movies and on Saturday, we drove to San Francisco for the day. Dave had been to San Francisco as a kid but I have never been there before. It is a cool city. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and went to the Wax Museum, we took a boat cruise that went around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw the crookedest street and the steepest street. It was a fun day!

Dave and his "Wax friends"

(Winston Churchill, Douglas MacArthur, & Charles Andre Joseph de Gaulle)

What a beautiful City...

Dave & I at the top of Lombard Street (crookedest street)

Lombard Street

I loved this house...I thought it was gorgeous!

Dave getting ready to hike up Filbert Street (steepest street)

Dave & I on the boat cruise to Alcatraz & Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz...we wanted to do a tour where you actually get to get off on the island but it was sold out. Maybe next time!

The Golden Gate Bridge...there were tons of para-sailors/hang gliders/wind surfers (not sure what you call them!) I would love to try that sometime!

We had a great day! The weather was awesome (mid 60's to 70's)...a great break from the 90's to 100's! Thank you mom and dad for watching the kids...they also had a blast with Grandma & Grandpa so stay tuned for pictures of their adventures!

Guess Who?

They haven't taken these off since they got them...we've never gotten so much attention at Costco before! :)

Dr. Seussical

Yesterday we took my parents and the kids to Dr. Seussical, the musical! It was great and everyone loved it!

The kids with the Cat in the Hat

The kids meet the Mayor of Whoville

Isn't Mayzie a pretty bird?

Lauren Scares us to death!

We have a house alarm we set every night. Tonight, around 12:40 a.m. it went off. I jumped out of bed and turned it off thinking my dad must have opened one of the doors to go outside to get something out of his car. I checked the front door and it was unlocked. So, I walked upstairs to see if my parents were in bed & what had happened. My parents were fast asleep...so, I went into Taylor's room to look out her window as she has a great view of the front yard/street. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but I was feeling nervous because it has never just gone off for no reason. So I checked on the other kids and went into Lauren's room...she was gone. I panicked and called for Dave. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: "Lauren's gone!"
Dave: "What do you mean?"
Me: "She's not in her bed! She's not here Dave!"

Dave ran down stairs and went out front. I followed...immediately we could hear her crying. She was two houses down in our neighbors front yard wandering around crying hysterically. We called to her and she didn't respond. Dave ran to her and picked her up. We asked her why she was outside and she mumbled something that did not make any sense. She was sleep walking and was not awake. He carried her up to bed and we tucked her in again.

So, now I can't sleep (it's 1:20 a.m.) and I am a nervous wreck thinking about all the "what ifs"! I am SO thankful that #1, we set the alarm because usually when we have guests we don't and we did not hear the door open; #2 we checked all the kids rooms. I feel like Heavenly Father was really watching over us tonight. If we hadn't set the alarm or checked on everyone, who knows what would have happened...she could have been wandering around all night. She is our first sleep walker...wow, what a night!

Visitors, Visitors, & More Visitors...

July has been the month of company for us. My friend Lisa came and stayed with us for a 2 weeks the beginning of July. She left and a week later a friend from my hometown of Cody, Wyoming, Gerry Scott, came and stayed with us for a week. My parents also came while Gerry was here and will be here until August 6th! I babysat for Gerry Scott from the time I was in 6th grade until I left for college. They are like my second family in a way... and I learned so many great things about being a mom from Gerry. I was thrilled to have her come and visit. She was here for a music convention with their church so she was only around in the evenings. I took her to her convention at 8:00 am and would pick her up between 9:00 and 10:00 pm. So we were up late visiting every night. Needles to say, we didn't get a lot of sleep but it was so fun to catch up with her! Her youngest child, Allison, just graduated from high school so they will be empty nester's this next year! I was looking through my old pictures and found a few of the Scott's that I would love to share with y'all! Here's a little trip down "Memory Lane"...

The Scott Family

Matthew, Halli, & Jacob

Jacob, Matthew, & Allison

Halli & Allison

Matthew, Allison, & Jacob

Taylor & Allison

Gerry & Halli

Allison, Gerry, & Halli

Tasha (Jake's wife), Jacob, Wes (Jake's baby), Matthew, & Halli

Gerry & Halli

Lemonade Anyone?

The kids had a lemonade stand last week and made $3.00! Lauren wanted to make flyer's to pass out to all of the neighbors but I told her that people don't like solicitors and if they wanted lemonade they would come out and buy some.

Tag, You're It...

This tag is a little different and a little fun (mostly becasue YOU are the one doing the work, not me!)

Here's the deal...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Thanks!

What Sweet Little Boys...

One of Carter's favorite things is to play airsoft with his buddies. We are so proud... :)

These are a few of my favorite things....

Sea World

My friend Lisa and her two boys are visiting from St. Louis, Missouri. We are so excited to have them here! On Tuesday, we took the kids to Sea World to see Shamu...

During the first Shamu show (called Believe) Lisa and I sat in the "safe" zone (a.k.a. non-splash zone). The kids wanted to get soaked, so they sat right down in front. I have to say, it was pretty funny to watch the whales pummel the audience with water using their tales. We went back to see another show that evening (Shamu Rocks Texas). Lisa wanted to sit in the splash zone with the kids. So, I agreed thinking that since it was the last show of the night, they probably wouldn't splash as much. Boy was I wrong. Keep in mind that the water the whales throw at you is 52 degrees...basically it feels like ice water and it is like a tidal wave coming at you. We managed to stay relatively dry (because we used our towels as a barrier) until the show was over, or so we thought. We stood up to pack up all our stuff when I see three whales headed our way. All I could do was turn around as to not take the tidal wave in the face.

The kids took it right in the face...

Lisa's little boy Bret started crying (a part of me wanted to cry too!) Poor little fella...

It took us about 10 minutes to get him calmed down. It was a bit sad but you couldn't help but chuckle. I think it was too much for an exhausted kiddo!

We bought the "two days for the price of one" tickets so we get to go back next week!

Quick trip to Dallas

Yesterday we left Austin at 1:30 pm and headed to Dallas to see Dave's brother Andy. He is there for a conference and leaves today. It took us 3 hours to get from our house to his hotel. We picked him up and went to dinner at the Iron Cactus (pretty good if you're ever in downtown Dallas). Then we headed to his hotel and hung out and visited until about 8:30 pm. His hotel served free cookies and milk in the lobby so the kids really enjoyed that. We got home around 11:30 pm. So, it was a long day but we really enjoyed seeing him. He lives in Portland, OR with his wife and 4 kids. The only thing that would have been better is to get to see his family too! :) I wish we could have stayed the night but Taylor has been in a Math Camp this week and it is from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm every day so we had to make it a day trip instead! I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't get any pictures but here's one of Andy and his family...

Piano Lessons

Last week Carter started piano lessons. He didn't want to take them (I think he was nervous) but after his first lesson he asked if he could go every day. He's practiced on his own without being reminded every day this week! :) Hopefully he continues to like it. Taylor has been taking for a couple of years now and still likes it. She is going to do band next year in middle school and we just found out that she will be learning to play the oboe...she was thrilled! :)

Lauren really wants to take lessons too but she'll have to wait until next summer to start as their teacher likes to wait until they turn eight!