Oceanside vaca

It had been awhile since all of my family had been together in one place so what did we do...went on a week vacation to Oceanside, CA. It was a week packed with fun, but no sun! We still managed to do a lot of things and have a great time. My pictures are totally backwards so we will start off with a picture of our newest member of the family, Bella. Some people in our ward found this dog and couldn't find the owner so instead of it going to the pound, she came to our home. She's loves to curl up with you and is potty trained so that's a plus.

Cody and Bella

We took a train to Old Town San Diego. The boys loved the train.


Porter and Cody taking the train

There were a few moments of quiet like when some of the boys were being entertained by their DS and Grandpa Bell watching them.

We took a trip to Sea World

Daniel was able to spend his birthday at Sea World (what a good sport) and actually got pulled up into the front of the audience in one show. What fun to be embarrassed on your birthday. But he was awesome and we all had a good laugh.

The boys enjoyed the shark tank

The boys watching the fish and sharks

Unfortunately the sun didn't show it's face much but we were walking distance away from the beach and got to come out and see the waves every morning. The boys also had a couple of days of surfing.

The condo had a cute little park where we were able to let the kids loose and expend some energy, so the kids would go to bed and the grown ups could play some games!

The coffee table made a great race track for the boys. They spent a lot of time racing

The condo had a small pool for the kids, but the boys and their dad's and uncle Colby were able to have a great time there.

We did make it to the beach one day but it was a tad chilly.

All of the crazy kids loved to ride the elevator and push the buttons.

Fun times waiting for the elevator.

Other activities: working out in the fitness room, firing poppers off in the parking lot, yummy ice cream, eating at a good pizzeria, lots of pool time, lots of hot tub time, birthday celebration for Daniel with ice cream cake, winning blow up hammers on a mini race track, some wrestling with cousins, some arguing with cousins, most importantly, spending much needed time with Grandma and Grandpa Bell.

Thanks Mom and Dad for planning the vacation. We had a great time!

Almost finished bathroom

We had a fun 4th of July! Hopefully you did too!

The bathroom is finally almost done. We still have a few details to do like towel bar and toilet paper holder, get new mats, etc..., but here are some pictures of the work so far. We finally got a mirror hung!!


Can not wait for this project to be done! Next...converting the garage into gym!!

It was that time...

I said a VERY sad good-bye to my 4-runner yesterday. My lease was coming to an end so it was time to start looking for a new car. Little did we know that we would come home with a car yesterday. I LOVED my 4-runner but did not like the new body style so we chose the Toyota Highlander. The outside is nothing to get too excited about but all of the perks inside we fell in love with. If Cody could have any say in it, he wanted a minivan like his cousin Porter but only having one kid that was not needed. He fell in love with the Highlander as soon as he got in. Who knew a new car would be so exciting to a 6 year old. It's definitely a change from my 4-runner. The new cars don't have keys anymore, they just have a button to start the car...crazy. Anyhow, we are excited. Here are a few pictures of it.

Camping and other updates

We've been busy working on the bathroom. Since my last post about it, the tile has been layed, the new door is hung, the painting is done, the vanity is in, and the wainscoting is up. We still have a ways to go but at least it's a functioning bathroom now.

Cody and Daniel went to Father's and Sons camping trip. Cody had a blast with his cousin. They only stayed over one night (that gave Mommy a nice quiet evening)but they had a lot of fun and Cody even got to pull the trigger on a gun with his uncle's help. He was pretty excited to show me the picture below. I guess he takes after his Dad with his new love of guns.
As for me, I had a new procedure done on my foot and all went well. I was up and walking pain free within a day or so. I actually had no pain at all this time around. I am back to normal now walking on it and exercising on it. I will probably need to have the procedure done again but at least I know that the recovery will be pain free and quick.
Thanks to my Mom who made the trip down here to help out.

Silence

Sometimes the world is just too loud!!

A day in Cody's shoes.

I spent the day in Cody's classroom yesterday to see exactly what's going on with him. We've(I mean he) been having a bit of resistance and defiance towards his teacher. It was interesting to say the least that they really don't get any fun time in the 4 hours they are there. It's strictly academic work and a couple short recesses. What happened to the painting, the fun singing time, etc...What is going on with our society that has made being a kid none existent anymore. They want them to know so much and I feel sorry for the kids. Some are just not mature enough to learn at such a fast pace. I can understand why a kid could be resistant and rebel a bit. So after having that class experience I really feel sad about the pressure this next generation has on them.

What is this you ask...it's our newly fresh painted bedroom where paint is being peeled off of the wall by a mischievous little 6 year old!!! I've asked him to stop peeling it because it's ruining the wall but did that stop him...NO! Now we have this to fix after the bathroom. I suddenly hear my parents voice in my head "we can't have anything nice in our home because you kids break it". Now I am getting a taste of that.