Citrus Classic Balloon Festival

After a fun afternoon at the pool, we headed out to Santa Paula for the 2nd Annual Citrus Classic Balloon Festival. And, just like last year, it did not disappoint. The balloons were beautiful, the company was wonderful, the kids had a great time playing together & dancing their little bodies silly, it really turned out to be a perfect evening.

{the bottom three pictures were taken by Kiersten DeVore}

Carrie's Visit

My friend Carrie {living in strawberryland} is out visiting from Ohio for a few weeks so today we met up at the pool. It was fun catching up with Carrie and letting the kids play.

Who would you choose?

Ed?.................. Kiptyn?

Tonight a group of us got together for the series finale of The Bachelorette. The running commentary was hilarious. I have funny, funny friends.

We all cheered when Jillian chose Ed.
Let's see what tonight brings in the "After the Final Rose" episode.

{and does anyone else recognize the shirt ed has on in the picture above? }

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Our house at 4:30 this afternoon...
Gotta love Sunday.

Beach Time!

Today the whole gang made a trip to the beach. We stopped at In-n-Out for lunch, crammed ourselves into 2 booths, you should've seen the looks we got. Three women with 10 kids. It was pretty funny.

After lunch we went down to the beach where the kids played in the water, threw sand at each other, chased seagulls, and had a great time! They all got along really well and we enjoyed spending time together.

It's been so fun having Toni & her kids here. It's too bad we don't live closer so we can all play together more often. We always dreamed that we'd be neighbors... I suppose the dream isn't dead yet. There's still time...

Once we got home I had to run off to a presidency meeting. Afterward I headed up to Meme's to spend time alone with my girls. We had such a great time catching up and reminiscing about our late-teen and early 20's. We've made so many special memories together. I love these girls like family, they are my sisters. I love them so much and cannot wait until we can do it all over again.

Just Like Old Times... Only Different

Tonight my dear friend Toni came to town with her kids. We ordered pizza & then headed to the pool, along with Meme, Norah & Tommy. It was a lot of fun... my, how things have changed though. The three of us inseparable girls have become the mothers of 10 children.

At the pool, we:
enjoyed pizza,

Georgie & Norah

Jedidiah

played in the water,

Jake, Jayce, Justice, Toni, Jillian & Jackson, Joshua

Toni's oldest & youngest: Jackson & Jillian, and my Jakey-boy

Jayce & Jacob

and got to know each other better.

Jedidiah entertaining Tommy

Jackson, Justice, Norah, Jayce, Georgie, Jacob, Jedidiah, & Joshua
{Tommy & Jillian are missing}

We left there exhausted and thankful for the time we shared.

Then we came home & shared a big bowl of popcorn!

We can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow brings...

Good Night

Sleep Tight.

There's nothing like falling asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

20.4

Tonight Heather & I went 20.4 miles.
Our mini-metric is in 26 days.
I'm sure we'll log more twenty milers before then.

Tonight we rode from Heathers {where we start & finish every time} all the way past the first little apartment John & I shared.

see heather there,
she's a real cyclist.
check out that gear
gloves
shorts with padding
helmet that fits
lock-in shoes.
someday
...maybe.

A Family Day

Today we celebrated our cousin Zachary's 4th birthday. His parents went all out & hosted a fabulous party!! They had hot dogs and hamburgers and lots of other yummy bar-b-que treats, as well as the biggest 'jump house' waterslide I have ever seen. All the {other} kids played on it for hours. Jake got into his swim trunks {twice} only to back out once we got to the ladder. Apparently it was just too high & intimidating for him. He'd start to cry, ask to change back into his clothes, and go on his merry way... for a little while. Then he wanted to go on the waterslide again... and we'd repeat the process all over again! Poor little guy was just too afraid of that huge beast of a

waterslide!!

When it came time for cake & ice cream neither he or Georgia were afraid. They both dug in & covered themselves in blue & red frosting. Then came presents & Jake was in awe of all of Zach's new toys. And Zach was the most grateful boy I have ever seen. With every present he opened he went straight to the giver, said 'thank you', and threw his arms around them for a great big hug. It was so heart-warming to watch.

We're so glad we were invited and got to catch-up with everyone.

After we left the party we headed to Papa & Grandma Cheri's house for a visit. They have just returned from a fishing trip in Oregon so were anxious to hear all about the fishing adventures and how all the Oregon Doolittle's are doing. We had a great visit with them.

Life's A Beach!

Went to the beach today.
Had a great time!
Heather capture our joy.
{there were so many to choose from... email me if you'd like to see the rest of 'em!}


Thanks Heather, you really are amazing!!

What a Day!

We've had a great day!
It started at the pool, where even Jacob swam; then we visited G'Gma with Gram; came home & headed to dinner at The Habit -yes, it can become one- with Gram, John hurried home and Gram & I took a nice leisurely walk home with the kids; as soon as we got home I loaded the kids in the bike trailer and went for a ride; when we got home we all jumped in the car and headed over to Sears to pick up John's car from the repair shop; and finally stopped to play at the school yard before we headed home. It really was a great day. The kids were pretty well behaved all day. There were no temper tantrums and they got along great!

But... tonight at the park was the one damper on the whole day and it broke my heart for my sweet baby boy.

While we were there playing there were other kids running around too. They were all about the same age -- I'd say 6, friends, and all girls. Jake & Georgie were playing together, chasing each other & sliding down the slide, when the group of girls came over near us.

They asked Jake to play with them and then they all ran off. He did exactly what I expected him to do. He chased them, growling as he ran off. He chased after them for quite a while and they all kept running and screaming and playing along.

And then... they surrounded him near the slide and starting yelling at him, over and over again, "please stop. please stop. please stop." until I walked up. Then they all ran off and left my sweet boy there alone.

He looked at me and quickly walked across the bridge, into the tunnel and that's when he let out a tiny little weep... and by the time he came out of the tunnel he was sobbing. It completely broke my heart. He was trying so hard to be brave & strong in front of those girls, but once he was alone he let it all out. He didn't understand why they were yelling at him. He was so confused and hurt.

I took him in my arms and cuddled him.
Our hearts were broken together.

I'm sure there will be many other times in his life when his feelings are hurt and I won't always be right there to cuddle him and help him feel better, but I hope he always knows that he can come to me and I will love him up. I may not be able to solve the problem for him, but I will always love him and help him remember what a special little boy he is. That he is a Child of God and has parents, family, and friends who love him so very, very much.

Jammie Jam {600th post!}

Jake, Flynn, Kyle, Norah

Georgie, Charlotte, Flynn, Jake, Kyle

Norah, Georgia, Kyle, Jake, ??, Flynn

Tonight our local library hosted a Jammie Jam. The kids had so much fun wearing their jammies and jamming out to music about the sea, hearing stories, playing games, and making music themselves. It was a really cute program. I'm glad we went. I think the kids had a really good time!

{The top two photos are courtesy of Heather Keil. And... this is my 600th post! wo.}