Cody always deserves his own posts. He is the best dog ever. We are so lucky. He makes us smile and say awwww always from his sleeping positions to his ball craziness to his silly antics…..trying to play ball in the house, rolling in wet grass, and putting his ball in water balls. Here are some pics. The picture of him sitting looking at the fence, well one of his balls went over the wall. Poor guy needs to play with the ball he starts with. If it is lost or over the wall, he goes in search mode wagging that tail like crazy to find it.
I have a lot of catching up to do. This will probably be crazy out of order but let me see what I can remember. We had such a great winter with snow this year. Finding the time to go to the mountains is the tricky part. We ended up doing a day trip which was great. We went up to Wrightwood, so only about an hour away. The snow was awesome, so much of it. We had a great time sledding and snow play. Here are some pics:
Nikki has had a great year playing her trombone. Her concerts are amazing. She has such a great teacher. Unfortunately not a lot of friends in this symphonic band but a great experience.
We finally made it to Universal Studios. Bret and I liked the tour a bit more than the kiddos. They did like the flooding and the earthquake part. The Harry Potter land was really cool to look at but none of us are fans. I think The Simpsons World was the best. Justin got a Krusty burger and both kids got a Slushy. Most of the rides are all simulator rides, so once you ride one, they are all the same. The downtown universal is awesome and touristy. We played in a few stores and just walked around.
Well Universal Studios got in the way of April Fools Day. I think my family purposely planned to be gone that day so I couldn’t pull any stunts. It was difficult but I still planned a few. Turned Justin’s keyboard into a rainbow. Kate the Jeep is always the brunt of my jokes. She got decked out with Easter Eggss. I sent Nikki a glitter bomb in mail but it wasn’t too exciting. I have been wanting a Range Rover so dad stuck an emblem on my car.
We went on a great easy hike to the Redwoods in Brea. Got some cute pics.
In February, I took Justin to LAX to watch planes. It was so cool and we got to see lots of planes. Unfortunately, J really wanted to see some big planes. It seemed like every time we saw a big plane, we were on the wrong run way side. I thought I saved lots of money parking on the street, wrong, I ended up with a parking ticket. HA HA Besides the ticket, it was a fun day with J and complete with In N Out Burger.
Nikki should have been born in cold weather where people stay up all night. She is my night owl, total opposite of me. Running in the rain and smiling the entire time.
In April, we went to eat at Old Spaghetti Factory and followed it up with a fun visit to the beach. We played frisbee and just hung out as a family. I loved taking pictures
This year for Halloween Justin dressed up as Nikki, the soccer player. If we had more time we cold have done it a little better. He wore her soccer practice T-shirt and Galaxy hat/scarf/ball. Nikki went as a stick figure with a bunch of other people. Dad surprised us all and dressed up as Justin. Justin hasn’t worn red and orange since this was taken. Included is Justin’s crazy socks, bright shoes, game controller, and ipad. Did did great!
Grandma went with us to get the kids pumpkins this year. Nikki’s knee was bothering her so we didn’t want her to walk too much. Just look at the picture, ha ha Justin was a good brother and pushed her in the shopping cart-it was pretty hilarious! Justin carved his pumpkin but Nikki didn’t get the chance to carve hers. Life just gets busy sometimes.
Just like that we have teenagers. CRAZY! They got a special lunch. Each little bag contained 13 items. It was fun to do but the kids didn’t realize what all the bags were. I also dropped off cookies for them to give to their friends at lunch. When they got home from school, they walked into lots of decorations. There was nothing really that the kid wanted except very expensive phones. Since this is all they wanted, we gave in and bought them their phones. Needless to say they were ecstatic when they opened their gifts. I had to post a picture of the way we track growth on the door. It is unbelievable how much J grew. I think this is the first year there has been such a difference.
I was a little sad we didn’t make it apple picking this year. I know the kids don’t love it and I get that they are getting older. They agreed to go on a hike instead. It wasn’t the most scenic hike as it was on pavement. But I still had a great time with my family. The hike had some fairy houses and we joked with Justin that was his favorite part.
And this is what appears on your phone when it has been in Nikki’s hands.
Justin (J-Dog) as I like to call him these days. He cracks me up with his crazy socks. These are the latest. I love that it says stand out. Be odd! Justin has his own style and I love it!
And just a few other things. Justin and dad did the virtual reality thing at the Spectrum. We weren’t sure how good it would be but they had a great time. It was only 20 minutes and they said it went by so fast. Nikki went ice skating at the Spectrum with some friends. On Thanksgiving we went to see Ralph Breaks the Internet. The theater was so cool with the lazy boy type seats and refillable drinks and popcorn. Trying to get the kids off of electronics has not been easy these days. We ended up having a paper airplane contest-see whose could fly the furthest. Also we have been playing lots of ping pong and now pool. Justin and I are evil when we play ping pong. If he wins one game, then I want a rematch. By the time, we are done we have played 5-6 matches.
We had a great 7 years at Northwood Elementary. Kiddos had amazing teachers and made some great friends. We will definitely miss Elementary school but are definitely ready to move onto middle school. Nikki got the presidents award. We didn’t even know this was a thing. It is for getting all A’s and B’s in school. Way to go Nikki! Congrats Nikki and Justin, we are so proud of you guys!
Nikki is following in dad’s footsteps with the trombone. She had an amazing concert at Sergestroms and played trombone at CA Adventure. The concert was incredible. They are playing pieces Bret said that are way above their age level.
Kiddos both played basketball for So Cal Elite. Both had great teams and it is so exciting watching a basketball game.
They also did the Irvine Junior Games for the first time, what an awesome day! I am blown away at how organized it was and all the athletes. I hope they do it again. Nikki did a run and a soccer kick and Justin did a bean bag toss.
Since Justin is getting into planes, we went to the WWII planes exhibit. It was a cool museum and amazing to see the planes take off. We got to walk through one of the old planes. It was near the airport so we watched the jets as well for a bit.
Date night with the love of my life-Chicago/Reo Speedwagon concert
Can’t forget about our sweet Chili Bean rabbit. She is a sweet sweet bunny!
Since I love April Fools so much, I thought it deserved it’s own post. It is getting harder and harder to come up with things to do to the family. I horrified Nikki as this is what woke Nikki up this morning.
Breakfast for kids is dog food AKA coco puffs and scooby doo graham cracker bones served in our dog’s bowl!! HA HA.
After Nikki took all the elastics off her phone, she discovered a very embarrassing picture of herself as a screen saver *(her on potty when she was little).
And just a few more of my shenanigans…everyone needs a sinkful of fruit loops, string everywhere in playroom, desks wrapped in foil, the horse got a friend…
This blog is out of order now. I wish I kept it up more but hopefully I can add all the highlights. My worst nightmare came true outdoor ed. Actually it isn’t the outdoor ed part, it is my kiddos being away for a week from me. Putting them on that bus was the hardest thing ever for me. The kiddos were excited and prepared to be away. Saying goodbye was so hard for me, I was a cry baby. I held it back and didn’t cry in front of the kids. I didn’t want them to worry about me. I sure let the tears come when I got to hug them when they got off the bus! We knew this week would be hard for me, so dad took the week off. It was time for us to spend some much needed time together. The school uploaded photos so I was checking that site often, totally analyzing the kids faces. All I saw was smiling faces. It was cold up in Big Bear. One day it actually snowed but the kiddos didn’t get to play in it much. Dad and I took a helicopter over to Catalina Island. My first helicopter ride. It was pretty amazing! On Catalina, we just enjoyed the Island life. We were able to walk everywhere. There were not a lot of cars around so it was so peaceful. We rented electric bikes and a little golf cart to putter around the Island. It was great to spend some alone time with dad but I sure missed those kids.
I feel like Cody deserves his own post. Cody is the silliest, sweetest, ball crazed, lovable dog. We can’t imagine life without us. He brings us all so much joy. Cody puts up with all of us picking him up, hugging him, etc. I took him to dog beach recently and everyone commented on what a happy puppy he is. This dog is amazing and adorable. He likes to drink out of our cups of water. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about how grateful we are to have Cody!! Cody will be the first one to get in the car to go with us, play ball until it all our arms are too tired from throwing, makes us laugh when he runs from squirrels, cuddles with us anytime, loves going on vacation with us, he is the only one who can wake up my twins (tweens) and they smile, dinner with a Cody chin on my lap is the best, and he is just a gentle sweet cute boy!! And I can’t forgot he always has to accompany me in the bathroom.
Summer went by way too fast. It was full of lots of video games, both kids got into Fortnight. It was full of seeing friends whenever possible and going to Boomers, K1 Speed, etc. They did Seals swim team again.
We took dad to Flightdeck for father’s day. The kiddos did a dog fight with dad. Nikki did get a skull and cross bones when she landed, ha ha It was all in great fun! Justin loved it the most.
In fact, Justin tried out on a new camp at Flight Deck Aviation, flight simulators. He loved the camp. So great to see him so excited about it. We signed him up for the second camp as well.
We also went on vacation. We went to Florida then on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Bahamas. It was an amazing trip, lots packed into a short amount of time. We were pathetic as we didn’t want to leave Cody any longer than we had to. And boy did we miss him. We went to the Magic Kingdom AKA Disney World. Of course it was hot and humid and loved the random rain. I was amazed at how similar the two Disney’s are.Kiddos go on every ride, no fear what so ever. Nikki’s highlight of the trip had to be swimming with the dolphins. She named her dolphin Kelly. My highlight was probably going to Atlantis. I have always wanted to go there and it did not disappoint. We had a blast at the water park. Kiddos went on crazy slides that I would never go on. We went down the one where you go through a clear tunnel and you get to see the sharks. This is where dad accidentally went into the water with his cell phone in his pockets, oops. Royal Caribbeans private Island, Coco Cay was dad’s favorite part of the trip. It was so relaxing, the water was clear and so warm. The cruise ship was amazing. So much to do and so much food.
Here is the first day of 7th grade picture. And Justin has bright orange shoes (size 9.5) to match his bright orange backpack. Love it as I can see him a mile away.
I can’t believe how big these kids are. They have grown so much. Justin had the biggest growth spurt ever.
Kiddos are really liking middle school. They were really done with elementary, really needed a change. Justin is loving his exploring tech class. He is making lots of things on the 3D printer. I think Nikki loves the social aspect of school most. She has been going to the shopping center nearby school with her friends on early dismissal days and late start Friday days.
The kids are definitely into doing their own things. Justin spends lots of time (too much) on video games. He is in the playroom, talking to all these people online. He is loud and is having a blast. Nikki spends lots of time in her room, on her phone (watching videos or chatting with friends), so we planned a fun family night of minute to win it games. We had a blast together-it was really fun and lots of laughs. At times I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even do the game. Some of the games were put ping pong balls into another ball using a spoon in your mouth, catching mini marshmallows in a cup, blowing ping pong balls across upside down wine glasses. Here are some photos from the night.
