It seems a bit cliche, but the saying 'good friends know your faults, but are still your friends in the end' really is TRUE. Friends come and go but true friends see you through it all.

My life-long friend is Patricia. We were neighbors growing up; three years apart in age but that didn't stand in the way. I remember the day she got her dog, Chi; Chi is long gone now. I remember talking endlessly especially while each of us hung on our backyard fences until the moment our Moms called us in for dinner. I remember one day playing 'Little House on the Prairie' and how we could never recreate that day. I remember Skate Country 1-4 on Sunday afternoons. I remember the insane car accident my freshman year of high school; to this day, I can see the 'spider webs' on the windshield from our heads & faces and can feel the glass in my mouth. I remember how intimidated we were by each other's fathers (may they rest in peace). I remember her LONG insane labor and the birth of my godchild, Jennifer. That is only a sample of the fabulous memories.

We haven't lived near each other since 1990. It's almost 1/2 my life that we've been apart. But we've stayed connected. Patricia and Jennifer were able to come for a visit recently. I hadn't seen them since March of 2002, Amanda's baptism. They came from their quiet mid-western home to my crazy CA home with four little kids.
Me and my beautiful godchild, Jennifer. She was a wee 6yo girlie in my wedding; look at her now - a college girl.
The girls -- Amanda, Jennifer & Patricia (Amanda is Patricia's godchild)
Laguna Beach, a reminder of one of the benefits of living here

Too short of a visit.
I'm pretty sure I saw them pulling ear plugs out of their ears as I dropped them off at the airport.

So, along with the rest of humanity, I've been watching the Olympics. Or should I say staying up WAY TOO LATE watching the Olympics. Or should I say falling asleep on the couch b/c the Olympics are fun but really long.

BUT it's the Micheal Phelps show - that's a good reason right.
Thank goodness I have a DVR b/c I'm missing the last hr. every single night. It's not as fun b/c I usually hear the results before I watch but at least I can watch the magic over-and-over if I choose.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!

The top picture is the 'play clothes/curtain' costume and the 2nd one is the Kaltzberg festival costume. There are seven "families" of kids; this is the girls' in their group. Such a nice group of talented kids for my girls to look up to.

We are having so much fun.

Saturday, August 2 was a big day in our house. It was the day Sean got his first helmet and shoulder pads. He thinks it is the coolest thing. I have to admit it is pretty cute.

although getting his helmet off is a learning process and his ears are sore.

Last week they only made contact with pads and blocking dummies. Today they start full contact. I'm sure I'll have a tick by the end of the week.

So another week of summer has come and gone. We've since gone to the county fair; had my best childhood friend and my god-daughter out for a visit; visited the SJCap. Mission; hit the beach; and done more football and theatre stuff.

I thought I would share a few pics. from the fair.
Amanda checking out the huge sand castle that was structured around the theme of 'Say Cheese'. It was unbelievable.

What's a trip to the fair without a visit to the piggies? The little white one was so content.
They also had deep-fried cupcakes and oreos. For the record, I stuck to my favorite potatoes.
now THAT is some good eatin' (Australian fried potatoes)
this photo is especially funny if you know the love/hate relationship Maggie & her buddy Justin have

It took my crew about 35 seconds to inhale a monster funnel cake. I think I got a bite.

MY GIRL
Miss Maggie is off to Girl Scout camp tomorrow AM. Real camp. Overnight. Without her troop and/or leader. It's at a location that she has gone to previously with her troop. It's about two hours from here; she will take a bus. She doesn't come back until Sat.

It's really good timing b/c honestly she is making me crazy right now. She is just difficult and I'm having a hard time with it all. She will argue about ANYTHING and is just not nice a lot of the time. I had a talk with her tonight while I was helping her pack. I hope she will take this time to enjoy being on her own and making some of her own decisions. I hope that she will come back appreciating how much her Momma does for her. (ya know, little things like laundry and cutting the crust off her sandwiches.)

More than anything else, I hope that she has a great time and that she knows her Momma loves her no matter what. I WILL MISS her, but the timing couldn't be better. (and I hope that she at least changes her underwear and combs her hair)

Miss Mannie ready to strut her stuff
Maggie post tap dance
my darling littlest girlfriend, Grace


ONE WITH THE WAVES
That's what I was today. We hit the beach with some friends and the waves were unbelievable AND the water wasn't unbearably cold. So that meant I was up for boogie-boarding. I haven't laughed so much in ages. Even my friend's son said "you are going in?" Ha -- I showed 'em. Well, I showed 'em what a Mom of four looks like boogie-boarding during her once-a-year attempt.

Anyway, I was trying to post 'a month in review' of photos but blogger is being picky about uploading so for now I give you my three of my favorite girlies. So, more pictures soon.

Random thoughts for Monday..........

1) The OLYMPICS are coming; the OLYMPICS are coming! I have loved the Olympics as far back as I can remember. Swimming, track & field, gymnastics - love it all. I'll even try to watch some men's Water Polo b/c I saw them at the local pool two weeks ago. Easy on the eyes, they are.

2) Still watching So You Think You Can Dance --- incredibly disappointed that Will is gone. He is an amazing talent and will go places so I can't really complain. My top three ---- Joshua, Twitch, and Katee. Anyone else think they made Katee look like Amy Winehouse for that wicked-cool door dance last week?

3) It's the end of July and that means FOOTBALL starts today. WOOT! And that means we are one step closer to the NFL season as well. I loves me some football.

4) Now that we are into our lazy days of summer, I have been getting little procrastinated chores completed. Two bags of old papers/mail/junk-to-sort, done! Sorting the multiple kid bookshelves, done! Cleaning off my dresser....well, almost done!

The boy has got an addictive personality. When he latches onto something that he loves; he runs with it. Skateboarding, football, baseball, and now FISHING. He is down right obsessed with everything fishing. It started with a couple of small fishing adventures. And then he saw Collin check the local fishing report so he would know what kind of fish were hitting.

Now, Sean checks the fish report daily. Sometimes several times b/c he knows that they have morning, 1/2 day, and afternoon charters. I have even gotten him a journal to record the fish count b/c he was using every post-it note we owned to record it. And I have to listen to his journal notations daily. He sort of sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher to me but I've got the 'uh-huh', 'cool' responses down.

And with the beauty that the internet is he has discovered fishing videos on YouTube. It is quite hilarious. When he isn't outside running around like a maniac or playing sports, he is begging me to watch fishing videos. Huh? He is certainly channeling his red-neck roots if he is watching this, right?

On the bright side, he is learning a ton about fish/bait/technique and his penmanship is getting a little daily practice.

He has always loved the ocean and loved reading all non-fiction stuff on it. If he doesn't grow up to have a career in marine biology or oceanography I will be shocked. Gotta run -I have to go and watch a video on Flounder gigging now.

WHAT TIME IS IT?

And the answer is.......FOOTBALL!
This week Sean is doing a mini football camp of drills and skills to prepare him for the start of football practice (next week). What a blast he is having. And so are we. The coaches started with the chant 'Football - IS HERE'; 'Football - IS HERE' and that just roped me in. I really enjoy watching the boys learn; hustle; and sometimes trip over their own feet.

Some of the coaches are ex-NFL players and a few are current college players. Today they had three of the USC starters there to help. They had a short autograph session at the end of session. Sean was beaming with his Joe McKnight signature on his brand new shiny Nike cleats. He got another signature on the back of his shirt, #56 Alex Parsons; he's HUGE and intimidating, and a local boy who used to play in our league.

Such a cool experience. A casual, low-key camp that is helping foster his love of the game. He really loves the game. Help me remember this when my lean, 66-lb. boy is being squished by the 90-lb. little dudes.

For the record, we caught him trying to sleep in his cleats when we tucked him in bed.

Took me a while to put this together but the kids think it is cool and I hope you do too.....

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For the record--- I tried to waterski, but that was a no go; we didn't catch any fish except for the one sick one we happened upon while it was trying to beach itself; we all slept in one tent (including the dog) and used the small one for changing, clothes and food storage; in the picture of Sean by the tree, he isn't going to the bathroom - he is collecting one of his 328 pine cones.

There are loads of things that are disposable these days. It's all about cleanliness and recycling and convenience.

I'm here to say that I used both cloth and disposable diapers over the years and while cloth was great on the baby's skin and saved some money; disposable is certainly easier (especially when you are out and about --- carrying wet/soiled cloth diapers around just isn't fun). Now that our family is beyond the diapering stage, I have one wish for something disposable. DISPOSABLE clothing!!!!! And I'm not talking about this or this.

My friend, Amy, has been telling me about this for years. Most of her children are older than mine and while I knew I always had tons of laundry, I had little kids and that meant little clothes. They are still relatively little, but FERPETESAKE --WHY do they wear so many clothes? in a day? a week? Seriously, I folded 12 pairs of underwear in one load of Amanda's clothes (and I often will pull clothes from random hampers to make a full load so her clothes are done maybe more than once a week.) I'm glad she is changing her underwear and all, but cut me some slack Peanut.

So, you can probably guess what spawned this post. It's the never-ending clothes shuffle......who's outgrowing what/school sales are starting/pull a box of saved stuff from the garage/organize/blah, blah, blah. ACK! It makes my head explode. We have been blessed with amazing hand-me-downs from friends and family over the years so that has helped keep the cost down, but I really think disposable would be easier.

It would save me lots of water and duct tape for my head.

So my AWESOME friend, Nicole, decided that she would have my kids over to swim while I hit Costco.....ALONE! Did you read that; I said ALONE. :)

I got a cart and enjoyed my hotdog and Mocha Freeze in peace. Grabbed some new pjs; glue sticks for school; new beach towel; and then I conquered the list. Holy guacamole. I had ONE cart completely maxed out without one square inch available. It was piled high and I carried the Oxi-Clean at the end b/c there was no room and the cart was too heavy anyway. I knew it was bad; people were staring. And they weren't staring b/c my kids were behaving badly b/c I was ALONE, remember.

The cashier even said 'I hope you have a black membership card b/c if you don't you are losing money.' I was quite smug when I handed her my card, coupons, and rebate check. I exited with two carts b/c the packing folks aren't as efficient as I am. AND I lucked out by running into a friend with her kids in tow; she sent her 8th grade son with me to load my car. Sweet.

I have decided on two things: 1) next trip I will get the barge instead of the cart and 2) a bunch of flowers; milk; and gatorade are the best trade off for shopping sans kids!

EXHALE..........
we've been out of school for about a month now and just today I finally feel like I can take a deep breathe and exhale. We literally have been on GO! since the day after school let out. The camping trip to Bass Lake was awesome (slideshow to come, I promise) and now that dance recital is done/baseball is done/VBS is done/swimming ends tomorrow/and Sound of Music rehearsals are done the rest of summer seems exceptionally slow-paced and mellow. So what if we have football starting soon, I don't have to go if I don't want to. So what if we have SofMusic shows to do, it's not every show nor every weekend. Tutoring sessions drop-off & pick-up...Meh, no biggie.

I declare the rest of the summer to be filled with beach days; visits with friends; and lots of relaxation. Which definitely includes watching So You Think You Can Dance.

And, ice cream, preferrably Breyer's Chocolate Crackle!

Egads! (isn't that a great cartoon expression?) Well, I sorta feel like I'm living at a cartoon/zany/fast-paced speed. Let's see in the last three weeks --- we've had two dance recitals; out of town guests (waving to the Poynots; we MISS you!); numerous baseball games; several play rehearsals; tutoring for Mag; swim lessons; 4th of July; more swim lessons; Vacation Bible School; and WAY TOO MUCH food on-the-go. I'll admit I love fast food (mostly) but the thought of eating drive-thru or in my car makes me want to gag. I honestly would rather starve.

Of course, I have tons of pictures. But no time to upload them and share the joy so you'll have to use your imagination until I can get back to you. Here's a picture from our camping trip to Bass Lake; it will have to hold you over......

SUMMER IS.............
swim lessons and
lots of time at the pool
THE BEACH
several bottle of sunscreen
Vacation Bible School
summer book club at the library
long days of playing outside until you can't see the ball anymore
awesome fresh fruit and endless watermelon



Angels baseball games
Smores
the Circus
Ice Cream! and Popsicles!
never-ending beach towel laundry
sand overflowing the lint-catch in the dryer
What does summer mean to you?

SLEEP -- it's something I've always been fond of. I would love to nap daily if I could. I love to sleep in. I just love sleep. My sleep patterns have changed over the years and adjusted to whatever life has brought.....newborn non-schedules; sick children; staying up late to catch up with the DVR.

Every since I became a Mom, I have been pretty strict about napping and bedtimes. As you can imagine, with each additional child the nap schedule changed a bit but overall bedtime was maintained and rituals were a reality. I really, really wanted my kids to be good sleepers. Sleep trained so to speak. We still have the occasional middle-of-the-night stealth child who decides to make his/her way to our bed but for the most part we are beyond co-sleeping.

Sean has had night-terrors since he was little. If you have never experienced one, it is so hard to explain. For him, being overtired/exhausted seemed to be the trigger -- I could almost count it down to the minute of him being put down to sleep. One hour later, we would hear unusual crying; take off running to his bedside; find him sitting up in bed screaming with his eyes open. The lights are on but no body is home, literally. Thank goodness his episodes were short in duration and he could (& still can) be calmed down with monotone repetition of "you are safe; you are in your bed; go back to sleep; you are all right". Beyond that, he is a good sleeper. So are Maggie and Ian.

But now we are having sleep issues with Amanda. It all started around Nov./Dec. 2007. Her waking episodes were much like Sean's night terrors except that she would be up and walking around her room. She could be resettled with the monotone banter relatively quickly. I thought it was stress/anxiety related because she was excited but anxious about being in her first play. The play came and went. Now, months later, she has progressed to sleep walking. She will look like she is completely awake; she will come downstairs if I am still up watching TV (or updating my blog). She has a certain 'look' to her and she doesn't communicate even though she will get a blanket out of the basket and get comfortable downstairs. If I catch her at the top of the stairs, I can send her back to her room softly and she will turn around and go back to bed. She looks wide awake but has no recollection of any of this in the morning.

I'm getting a little concerned. This past weekend while camping she literally started unzipping the tent to get out while sleepwalking. Collin stopped her twice. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. I wonder if she is sleepwalking more than I know about. Would she try to leave the house?

Good sleep is a good thing. I appreciate sleep and I want her sleep to be restful. What is causing this? Can I do anything about it?

LOVE is the 1st day of summer.............

THREE.........

How many days are left in school?
How many roles the girls & I are vying for in a local theater production of Sound of Music?
The current baseball tournament Sean is playing in, in as many weeks.
The age that I despise and am thrilled that I don't have children to get through.
How many times will it take for the restoration company to finally get my kitchen nightmare cleaned (not there fault it it is taking mulitple trips) and ready to be remedied?
How many chapter books I want Maggie and Sean each to read over the summer (at a minimum)?
How many nights are we going to camp (or should I say attempt to camp) in a tent with the dog?

Over the last few months, I've been following the amazing story of Tricia and Nate. (the link to Nate's site is over on the right as well) It's truly a story of faith, miracles, and love. Today on his site, Nate linked to a fellow CF patient and her dad's bike ride to raise money for CF. I urge you to go over to Nate's blog and watch the video that Eva made to promote awareness for CF; grab some tissues and watch her amazing story.

Also, say a prayer today for Tricia since has to have a surgical biopsy today.

Today, I feel very blessed to have four healthy children.