Girls Annual Weekend (GAW)

Me and my sister by the campfire.


Here we are playing Flip Cup, sister verses sister.


Me and Ange, my Best Friend.


Me with two of my cousins.


Me and my cousin.


My sister and two of my cousins.


Me and Ange again.

July 10th through the 12th I went camping near Springfield Oregon with my cousin's and their friends. Every year they get together for their Girls Annual Weekend where they get away and go camping with no kids and no husbands/boyfriends. Girls only!

Friday, my friend Ange and I packed up and headed for the freeway to Springfield Oregon to meet up with my cousin. We got into town right about noon. Jeannette didn't get off work until 1 o'clock so we went and got some ice for the cooler and some lunch before we headed up to the mountains for some real camping. AKA no water and no toilets!!

When we got to camp, we unloaded the car and set up the tent. We were introduced to people as they showed up. We learned how to play Flip cup (which is the best drinking game ever) and we went to the creek to cool off and hang out. We all hung out and played games by the campfire until we tuckered out and went to bed.

The next night my sister showed up and we did pretty much the same things. We all sat around playing games and enjoying having no kids around and being as loud and crazy as we wanted to be.

I made so many great new friends and I cannot wait to go back next year!

3 Days of BBQs

Fourth of July weekend. Thursday, the second, we went over to Jeremy's cousin and his wife's new house. It was his cousin's birthday so they had a get together. We had BBQ pork, corn on the cob and fresh baked cobbler. Mmmm, so yummy. Jake and Robyn recently bought their house so it was our first time there. We had a great time visiting with everyone.

Friday, the third, we went over to Jeremy's mom's house for another BBQ. Her brother, Jeremy's uncle, and his wife were in town on a business trip. We had hamburgers and hotdogs. We played a Trivial Pursuit Scene It game on DVD and Pass the Ace. We spent most of the day there hanging out and visiting.

Saturday, the fourth, we went over to my sister's house for their annual BBQ. The kids had lots of fun like they always do, playing with their cousins, running around and lighting off fireworks.

It's Been Too Long....

and it's going to be a little longer. We have a had a very busy month and I have not had the time to sit and blog about things. I promise to post very soon and catch up my readers.

Our Disneyland Vacation

This last week, Jeremy and I took the kids to Disneyland and California Adventure. We all had a really great time. It was our first family vacation that was longer than a weekend. Below is a slide show that I made with the pictures that were taken. Enjoy.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our Trip to Las Vegas!!!

Jeremy and I took a trip to Las Vegas this last week. We've been a couple of times before and wanted to do and see different things this time. We left on Saturday afternoon. We landed in Las Vegas right on time. We went to our hotel to check in and then headed to Fremont Street, which is downtown Las Vegas for those who don't know. We had been there before, but missed out on seeing the Lazar Light Show, which is a show that they do every night up on the ceiling above all of the shops and casinos. Below is a picture of part of it. It didn't last very long, but it was kind of fun to watch.


Sunday night we watched a show called La Reve which is an aquatic show that plays at the Wynn with dancing, swimming and people were even swinging and doing tricks from the ceiling! The stage is in the center of a big dome and it goes up and down out of the water through out the show. This show was absolutely amazing to watch. We weren't allowed to take any pictures during the show for the safety of the performers, but below is one that we took when the show was over.

Monday and Tuesday Jeremy bowled in nationals, which was the main reason for our trip. Monday was his team bowling event and he did okay. He would have liked to have done a little better, but the lane conditions are so different when you play in big events. Tuesday was his doubles and singles events. He did good enough to win some money for both events. He was only 5 pins away from getting money for all events, so close! He won't know what he wins though until August when they mail out the checks. Nationals go from April to July. 17,000 teams signed up this year, 60,000 people! So it takes time for everyone to get a chance to bowl.

Above is Jeremy waiting nervously his first day and below is Jeremy and part of his team.

Monday night we walked over to Treasure Island to watch their free show that they do every night if it's not too windy. It's called Sirens of TI. It was kind of cool for a free show. There were so many people crowded around us so close together though that it kind of made uncomfortable and I was ready for it to be over. Below is a picture of part of it.

At the MGM they have a Lion Habitat that's always fun to stop and see. Of course they were sleeping when we stopped by to see them.

Here's a dark picture of me and Jeremy sitting at the Monorail station on our way to the Luxor to see Criss Angel's Believe. We didn't have any plans for Tuesday night so we got some tickets for half price. Our seats weren't the greatest, but for the price they weren't too bad. I enjoyed the show more than Jeremy did. He ended up getting sick and was ready for bed. Poor guy.

Aside from all of the bowling and shows, we did some shopping too. We brought back souvenirs for all of the kids from different casinos. We didn't gamble too much and we didn't drink too much, so it made for a memorable trip.

It's Been A While

So not too much has been going on lately. Just trying to make sure that we all have everything that we need for our Disneyland and Vegas trips in just a couple of weeks. I think we've just about got everyone new summer clothes and comfortable sandals. A digital camera is the last thing on our list. We usually just borrow Jeremy's work camera, but we can't keep it for two weeks.
Memorial Day Weekend was fun. Jeremy had to work up in his Seattle warehouse on Friday, so he drove my kids up to their dad's house so that they could go camping for the weekend. While Jeremy was up in Seattle I went and spent the day with my friend Ange who had just donated a kidney that previous Monday and was stuck at home. We had a great day together just hanging out and talking outside in the sun.
Saturday Jeremy and I went to the mall and went shopping for my vacation clothes. That night Jeremy ordered the Pay Per View fights and had some friends over. I rented some movies and stayed in our room. I don't like to watch the fights.
Sunday Morning we went and picked up Taryn and went to Ihop for breakfast and then we took her shopping for her clothes and a new swimming suit. Tamara was spending the night at a friends house that night so she didn't come over. After shopping, we went over to Jeremy's aunt's house for a BBQ. Jeremy's mom, Grandma and brother's were all there. We ate burgers and hot dogs and enjoyed great conversation on a beautiful day.
Later that night my kids came home wearing the same clothes that they left here in on Friday morning and they smelled so bad! I sent them straight to the showers! Monday Tamara wanted to come over for the day and we hung out at the pool and had BBQ burgers and hot dogs again.

Squirrel at the Park

Yesterday we went to meet Ange and her kids at the park. We stopped for some Wendy's on our way since we hadn't had lunch yet. While we were eating, this little squirrel came up and wanted some too. Rachael was the first to throw a french fry at him. When he was done, he came back over for more. Dylan and Cody both held out fries for him and he was brave enough to come right up to them and take the fries from their hands.
Being a little cautious before grabbing the fries.

Cody thought this was the coolest thing. It really was cute to watch.

Taking his food and eating by a little tree.

I think that Dylan was more scared than the squirrel.