Cute hubby.

In case any of you were wondering...Rusty does actually exist. It seems I don't post very many photos of him. The kids take up a lot of camera time!!! :) This is us right after we got home from our date night tonight. We ate out at Daphne's Greek. Aren't we a cute couple?

Sweet Summer!

This has been a fun and busy week. Some highlights were going to the ward pool day on Monday. It is so nice for all the kids to have friends to play with. There was a friend and more for all the kids and that makes things really nice for me cause no one is asking to leave because they are bored. I enjoyed chatting with friends as well and was only interrupted when Ren was upside down in the tube! I didn't even have time to pull my cover up dress off...oh well, I was hot anyway so was able to cool off.

On Tuesday, Natalie and her kids came over and we hit the beach! My niece, Clara is here visiting with Nat from AZ for a bit too so that was extra fun. And lucky us...my cousin, Madelyn, from Florida, met us down at the beach too! Alex and Ren were so fun to watch! They raced around the surf copying each other...running in and out of the spray. They laughed and yelled and laughed some more!

Alex and Ren

Clara, Chloe and Maddy bury Ellie

Ellie got burried in the sand...someone has to do it!

The sandcrabs were out in force that day! All the kids had fun searching and collecting them...there were some really big ones too! We convinced the kids to leave them at the beach so they would live, thank goodness! They smell when left in the backyard in the beach buckets! :)

Chloe, Maddy and Clara...looking for sandcrabs

On Tuesday night, my Aunt Marilyn, along with cousins, Brooke and Madelyn came over. We had such a good time visiting! They are out taking a vacation here in the west from Florida. They have been in AZ and UT already. I've really missed them. They used to live close in San Juan Capistrano several years ago. In fact, 14 years ago, they were kind enough to let us live with them for a month or so as we searched for a place to live. They have always been to good and generous to us. Anyway, it was so fun to catch up on all my cousins...Brooke just got home from a mission in Argentina and is trying to get into BYU for fall and looking for a place in Provo. Jess is a river guide this summer (that sounds so fun!!!) and will be living in Provo area for school this fall as well. Stephen will be a senior this year and he has some of the funniest things to say on facebook! Lars will be a junior, he is on the fast track to Westpoint in 2 years. He is 6 ft 5 in. I know...Whoa! He has been on the river with Jessica the last week. And cute Madelyn will be in 8th grade. She is such a mix between Jess and Brooke, it is funny. She is character and has a real funny bone! Mel left to go back to Temecula to stay with some old friends while Maddy stayed the night with us. She and Chloe had a lot of fun together. We met up with Brooke and Mel in Oceanside at the beach the next day. It was so fun to see them!

In the meantime, my baby boy...I mean, teenager, Porter is off to North Carolina. He left on Thursday and will be spending the next 9 days with cousins. He was so excited! I kept telling him not to forget to brush his teeth while away. He asked me why I kept telling him that. I said because I always have to remind him at home. He explained that he doesn't forget to do it, and I don't need to remind him anymore. I really hope this is true!

Isn't this the cutest ever? Ren really wanted to hold Addison, Tony and Nat's sweet baby. Ren was very proud of himself!

Lake Tahoe

I love summer vacation! Rebecca and Greg invited us up to Lake Tahoe, along with their family. Our other sister, Liz, came with Charlie and their family as well. It was a relaxing, wonderful week. Thanks you guys! Also, thanks to Greg's mom for letting us use her place...it is this beautiful home (larger than my home!) in Glenbrook, NV nearly right on the lake.

We spent the week at the beach mostly. Beach chairs and umbrellas. Cool, clear water. It was really nice. Even Rebecca, Liz and I got out in the water. It was fun to swim/float around the big wooden posts (leftover from a pier). We could touch the ground for about 30 feet or more out, then lazily play in the water. Ren is really scared of the water here at the California beaches but he loved the beach at Tahoe. The ‘waves’ were super light and easy, couldn’t knock him down. And he could touch quite a ways out and got really brave as the week went on. He’d always tell me, “I fun at B!” That’s what he calls the beach.

The kids loved driving the golf cart too. Chloe, Ellie, Blake and CC went to a movie put on by the community, it was Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D. It was outdoors so a bit cold but they loved it anyway. The younger kids went to a kids day, where they did crafts and stuff. Quin learned to ride a 2 wheeler bike with no training wheels, in the great cul de sac. He is 4 years, that seems pretty early to me! We all tried to skip rocks in the water.

Blake and Chloe take their turns playing the Wii.

My favorite part was getting to spend so much time with my sisters, Liz and Rebecca. We visited and talked about house stuff and family stuff. Liz is 4 weeks from having her 4th baby, a boy.

MJ’s favorite parts was staying up late with her cousins and swimming the lake. Ellie loved swimming around the horseshoe with CC by themselves. (That was the wooden posts from a former pier.) Chloe says her favorite things were driving the golf cart by herself and eating peach pie! (The pie was spectacular!) Porter loved going golf ball hunting in the evenings with Greg. He came home with more than a few balls!

I don’t know what Ren’s favorite is…I’ll guess. He seemed to love riding the ‘cars’ (bikes and trikes) around the cul de sac, trying to keep up with the big kids. He skinned his toes cause he would push off with them and they would drag behind him sometimes. He doesn’t know how to pedal yet. I know he really loved playing with Libby (Ibby, as he calls her) in the water at the beach too.

The drive home was took about 9 1/2 hours...Ren snoozes.

MaryJane kept trying to get comfy...does that look comfy to you?

Seriously? Who can sleep like this? Only six year olds, I guess!