Muir Woods

We decided to get away for the weekend and head up to Muir Woods. We actually had many things planned for the weekend - Muir woods, Golden Gate Park, the Exploritorium. But all those things were put on the back burner when Aliza decided to get sick on the car ride there. She threw up several times on the way, but it was made worse by the windy roads that lead up to Muir Woods. This is me taking apart the car seat because it was too gross to sit on and it was stinking up the whole car! What fun!

We did make it to Muir Woods and enjoyed our walk along the paths. Aliza didn't want to get out of the stroller at all. So, all the pictures just have Carmen in them!



Carmen could climb inside of this tree. She thought it would be a fun place to sleep.
And just to prove that the other girls were in fact there...
After Muir Woods, we went through Mill Valley and down to Stinson Beach and Muir Woods Beach. This is where my mom grew up as a little girl. She remembers walking from her ranch house along a path that lead to the beach. It was very cold, so we only stayed about an hour at the beach. But it was fun to play where I know my mom played as a girl. I don't have any pictures because by the time we walked the path to the beach with all our stuff and no stroller, I realized I forgot it. I wasn't going back to get it. But now I kind of regret not getting a picture there. It's our second trip there with no camera!

A mother's love

I love my children so much and really do love being a mommy, even though it may not always appear that way. I was reading another blog that I love and she had a post about this picture. I was truly inspired by her comments and wanted to post them here.

"This is a favorite piece of art that hangs in our home. Originally, Diego Rivera meant it as a more political piece symbolic of the burdens of the Mexican people. However, art is art. I appreciate it in a different sense. I see a woman with a tremendous load, yet it is a beautiful load. And she is not alone, she is never alone. Deity is behind her, helping her bear the load and lifting it. She has fallen to her knees and it is a good thing. I look at this picture everyday and am inspired. I hope you can be inspired by it also."

Being a mother is a great load to carry, but not a burden to carry! Our loads are heavy, but beautiful, like this piece of art depicts. And we must rely on our Father in Heaven to help carry our loads and make them lighter.

Here are some pictures of my silly girls. They are my treasures!

Charlotte - 4 months

Charlotte turned 4 months old in July, now she's nearly 5 months. This month she learned to roll over and I was lucky enough to have the camera with me the first time she did it!! Here's the progression of pictures.

Happily lying on the floor....

Trying to get that head up and arm out....
It's just so hard....
Yeah! She did it!!! Now she gets turned onto her tummy and gets mad that she can't roll back onto her back.
She has also started sticking her tounge out and it's really pretty cute.
She has officially started on jar baby food. She really loves those sweet potatoes and bananas.
Here are just some cute pictures of our little Charlotte. We love her so much!
This white dress was her blessing dress. This was the first time I really got a picture of her in it.
I love baby toes!

4th of July

Wow, have I got a lot of blogging to do. Our 4th of July was a lot of fun. We started by volunteering to help with the Mtn. House parade. David got to round up convertibles and trucks for the VIP's to ride in. And then he got to drive one of the trucks in the parade. He loved going to all the car dealerships in town and seeing what was available to borrow. I'm sure he'll volunteer for this job every year if he can.

The girls rode in the back of a truck with some friends to throw candy. No real special reason for them being in the parade, except that it would be fun for them, and all us parents helping in other ways didn't have to worry about taking care of the kids too. They rode with Ben who is on the school board.
Later that evening we headed to Tracy High with the Chapmans to have pizza, play on the football field and wait for fireworks. The girls ran around playing soccer, doing flips and cartwheels and chasing each other for a good 2 hours before the fireworks started. It's become a fun tradition to go down to the school.
Carmen and Charlotte waiting for the fireworks to start.
More waiting, it's getting darker now!

June Updates

So, I gave up on my new years resolution of "one photo a day". I made it pretty long didn't I? Longer than most people last on a new years resolution, right?

So once again these are all out of order.

THE GRADUATE!!!!!!!!!! David graduated from University of Phoenix on Saturday and it was such a happy day. The ceremony was surprisingly emotional for me. I know it was for David...I am just so proud that he stuck with something that was so hard for him to do. I still marvel at how he was able to work and travel full time, have a family that kept growing, many church responsibilities and personal needs to meet and go to school all at the same time. He's amazing and the Lord has truly blessed him with strength beyond his capabilities.

Charlotte "graduated" to cereal. This was her first bite. She is slowly getting the hang of baby food. She is almost 4 months old and "super cute" too!
We went to a "white trash" party last weekend. We dressed in our best white trash attire and were forced to carve hood ornaments out of spam! GROSS! I wouldn't even touch the stuff. I made David in charge of ours. He made a monster truck tire out of our loaf.
This summer we bought season passes to Six Flags. We'll be making many trips there. We went with our friends the Foberts this week. Carmen was very brave this time around. It's amazing what peer pressure will make you do. I'm glad she has a good friend who isn't afraid of much. I think she really had fun because she tried some new rides she never would have gone on before. Here she is riding Dumbo, she's obviously no scared of this ride.
Unfortunately, Aliza was 1/2 an inch too short for all the rides!! It was so frustrating to her and myself. But she did find some fun things to do. She loves this little kitchen under the playset. It also happens to be one of the coolest places in the park. I think this day it reached over 100 degrees!
Carmen is becoming so independent. I was feeding Charlotte this time and Aliza and Carmen both wanted cereal. So Carmen got everything out herself and served them both. I hurried to grab the camera because I wasn't sure what would happen when she tried to pour the full gallon of milk. But she was smart and asked me to help her with the milk! She is also tall enough now to stand on the stool and reach all those things that I put up high so no one could reach them....darn, I will have to find better hiding spots now.
Along with her new found independence, she wanted to wash the car this day. Her and David wash cars together often and she was very well taught. She new exactly what she needed and how to do it! And she did a fantastic job on my car. It was perfectly clean from the door handles down...that's all the higher she could reach!
This was just a special, quiet moment two friends were sharing together. Carmen and Sariah were outside all alone enjoying apples on her front porch. They were whispering secrets to each other and having a fun time.
Charlotte ready to hit the pool! It's been really hot this week, Saturday was 104! So we have been taking every chance we can to play in the water.
Now back to the graduate. We were sitting rather far away from the stage, but there were cameras broadcasting everything onto the big screen in the arena. So I took pictures of the screen. Still not the best, but you get the idea, he got his diploma!
After graduation we quickly took a few pictures. It was so dang hot, all we wanted to do was get in the car and turn the AC on!
And I tried to get a picture of him with the girls, but everyone was having a melt down! This was the best one we got!