Earthquake

I was on my way out the door when the earthquake hit this morning. I mean I was literally walking toward the door when all the sudden I hear dishes clanking and a strange rumbling sound. My initial thought was, "Is someone trying to get in through the garage?" But then I got that strange sensation one gets when the ground is moving underfoot. My kids were already in the car so I ran to the front door (Its a strange feeling when something like this happens and you're separated from your kids). I know this sounds wierd but when something like this happens I take a second to assess the situation, wait for direction and listen. I'm not actually waiting for someone to tell me what to do because I'm paralyzed stiff, but more like I'm waiting to see what I need to do next. So I'm at the front doorway I know the kids are fine. They're strapped in their carseats. There is no danger of any trees or telephone poles crashing down on them and I'm in the front doorway. So far so good. What seemed like a lifetime the quake ended and I lock up the house and get in the car. The car is still rocking when I get in and I ask the kids if they felt the car rock and Robert says, "Yeah." And I told him that it was rocking because we just had an earthquake. Robert is like "What????" and I tell him that we had an earthquake and that made the car rock. He didn't freak out or anything just said "Oh." And that was that. Carly was completely content not really understanding what just happened. And so I started up the car and headed out. I called Mike on the way to see if he had felt the quake. He hadn't. So we went on our merry way. I have to say that this was one of the bigger earthquakes I've been in. It was a little scary. However, in spite of all that, it was another great day at the beach!

Beach and More Beach

Okay. So this summer has been all play, play, play. I've been trying so hard to keep our days filled with pool and beach. And so far I've been pretty successful. Thats why there haven't been too many posts since summer began... I've been too pooped to write!


Take a look at our summer so far.......

Best Friends: Laura & Carly (adorable, aren't they?)

Laura, KC, Seth & Charlie (what exactly is KC doing??)

Carly, Sarah & Shawn

Pam, Lori & Liz

(What's up with the hand in the face, Pam?? If it wasn't for that this would have been a great pic! Sheesh! hehehe)

The Boys: Robert, Zack, Brandon & Shawn

The kids and I went down to Newport one day and saw Robyn and her precious baby boy, Andrew. Good Times. Definately, worth the trip!!

Family came into town and of course we had to go to the beach with them. This is my niece, Jackie with Robert. Gorgeous, isn't she?

So there you have it. This will definately be a summer we'll remember. We're having so much fun with everyone!!

Ahhhh....I Love Summers!

So here's what we did yesterday: had breakfast with the girls, went to swimming lessons, went to the pool, had lunch at the pool, came home and took naps for a couple of hours (all of us). We then took dogs out to enjoy the summer evening, rented a movie (Alladin) and topped our evening off with popcorn, lemonade and fruit for dinner. I swear it can't get much better than that!

Sorry no pics. Just fun and relaxation....mmmmmm.

Happy 4th!

Fourth of July is totally one of my most favorite holidays and this year was no exception. More than Memorial Day it kicks off the summer with a bang (literally - hehe). We didn't do much but go to a movie and then hit the fireworks show at the church but it was perfect mostly because we were all together as a family (which doesn't happen too often). Our plan was to have a picnic on the church lawn before the fireworks began, but to our astonishment (or stupidity which ever you'ld like to call it :) ) everything was closed. We did manage to find Carl's Jr. open to get the kids something to eat, but Mike and I went hungry. Carl's Jr. just doesn't do it for us. Once we got to the church we found our friends and had a great time hanging out. It's always so fun hanging out with them. I don't have any pics because like a dope I forgot to take my camera. But you can check out some pics on Kaye's and Pam's site. They have proof of us being there. The kids were exhausted after the fireworks show and fell asleep almost immediately in the car. As usual, when the house is all quiet I tend to reflect on the day and this time all I could think of is how greatful I am to have what I have -- my friends and my family. And because it's 4th of July weekend I couldn't help to think of how greatful I am to be living in this country and all that happened and continues to happen for our freedom.....

Happy 4th Everyone and God Bless America!!!

Polly Pockets

As you all know my daughter just had her third birthday. And at her little party she recieved some Polly Pockets. For those of you who don't know what Polly Pockets are they are these teeny tiny dolls about 3 inches tall. The doll comes with a full wardrobe of teeny tiny shoes, dresses, and in some cases jewelry. So if you can imagine my daughter was absolutely thrilled to have recieved such a toy. And honestly I was thrilled for her since it is completely up her alley. However, I could immediately see how this could be potentially hazardous for me. I tend to be completely anal when it comes to sets. If something comes with stuff such as teeny tiny shoes etc. it MUST stay together. Nonetheless, because my daughter was so excited about her Polly Pockets I was determined to keep track of everything.

So today Carly kept bringing me her Polly Pocket and asking me to change her clothes and shoes over and over again. It wasn't so bad. After all, my daughter was having a ball and I was feeling pretty confident about keeping track of everything. However, after about the 5th time I noticed that Polly's wardrobe started to slowly diminsh. She was missing a shoe. It was then that I started silently cursing the man behind the toy. After all, who was the genius behind the development of this toy? Who thought that teeny tiny shoes and teeny tiny jewelry and teeny tiny clothes was a good idea? I mean really? I, of course, began scouring the house for this ridiculously small shoe and getting more and more upset cursing Mattel toys all the way. I still haven't found it. And because of this I'm afraid to vacuum for fear of vacuuming it up. Needless to say, I am tempted to hunt down the jackass behind the Polly Pockets and make him come and look for it. Argh!!!

Well Lookey Here....

The other night I went in to check on Carly and this is what I found:


Yeah. That's right. She doesn't have any bottoms on and she's not in her bed. I have no idea how she got this way since I didn't put her to bed that way. I actually found her hanging half way off her bed, but after I started taking pictures she moved from her bed to the floor. I managed to find her panties and her pajama bottoms (somewhere across her room), put them back on, and get her back in bed without her waking up. Thank Goodness! But, I'm still at a loss at how that happened. Hmmm..... I wonder. But what a great pic for future blackmailing right??? And this is less revealing than the others I took (heh heh heh).

Happy Birthday Carly!!!!

Today is Little Miss Carly Jo's birthday. She was born 3 years ago at 8pm at Simi Valley Hospital. My doctor (Shayla Kasel, MD -- fabulous dr by the way) manipulated a few things here and there so that I would have little Miss Carly a week early. It worked and 3 years and 2 1/2 hours ago I had miss Carly. The labor was easy compared to Robert's and when she came out it was like instant girl bonding. I was so afraid of having a little girl because I know all the drama that comes with a little girl. But when I saw her for the first time all the anxiety of having a girl vanished. She was my sister, my daughter, my soul. She was my baby girl. The bond of sisterhood was instantaneous and I was completely in love. I vowed right then and there that no matter how hard it was going to get I was not going to ruin that bond we had. And although at the times Carly has been more than trying, she is still my sister, my daughter, my soul.

Happy Birthday, Princess Carly!! We Love You!