The Happiest Place on Earth...

So, I am a little behind on my blog, but I am slowly getting there. The week before Christmas, we went to Disneyland a family...this is our favorite time of year to go. It was cold, and the rain was on it's way, but we bundled up and had a great time!

Here we are in our way to "Goofy's Kitchen" the next morning for brunch!

The kids had fun with the characters that walked around and visited the tables in the restaurant!

And here we are in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel on our way home!!! It was a fun trip!

Julia's Tea Party!

Julia has been begging to have her birthday party at Olivia's Doll House for a couple of years now. She has been to a couple of parties there and I thought she might out-grow it. We took her to "Sweet and Sassy" for her party last year, hoping this would be a substitute that would satisfy her...but, it didn't work. So, we wanted to make her happy and allowed her to be "Queen for a Day" at Olivia's Doll House this year!Here's Julia getting on her dress that she picked out!

Then, she got her make-up, hair and nails done!

I always love the cute "up-do's" that they do to the girls!

The thing that cracks me up about Olivia's Doll House is that every square inch of the house is COVERED with trinkets, etc. Maybe that's what seems so magical to girls her age! This was the table...yikes...major over stimulation for the senses!

This was what she was waiting for!!!.....As "Queen for the Day" you get to control the "bell" and ring for service any time you or any of your guests need anything and the "help" comes running!!!! :) Look at that evil laugh.

The girls all looked so pretty and had so much fun!!!!! I am happy for her that she got to have her party where she has wanted it for so long!!!

Little Drummer Boy!

Well....not exactly, but I couldn't resist the title this time of year! Josh started taking drum lessons last January or February (2008). He seems like he was born with a desire to play the drums and has had obvious rhythm since we can remember. He finally mustered up the courage to perform in his 1st recital at teh Hyatt, Valencia on December 7th. Hi drum teacher introduced him and I felt sick to my stomach (I cannot imagine going up on stage). I was so nervous for him because he gets shy. Josh surprised me. As soon as he got behind hose drums, he played his heart out, and loved it. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the audience could barely see him over the drums or maybe it had to do with the fact that he has such a passion for playing and feels so comfortable with it. Whatever the reason, we were so proud of him. He did and excellent job and received tons of cheers from the crowd. When all was said and done, he aksed us, "When's my next recital. I can't wait to do that again."

Our Baby Girl Turned 6!

On December 3rd, Julia turned 6, and was in for a fun-filled day of surprises! First thing in the morning, daddy took her on a date to the mall. They sat and talked while drinking Starbucks, then he took her to the pet store to play with the puppies.

Next, daddy took Julia to Build-A-Bear (which she has been wating to go back to for a while). They had tons of fun together. :

After Build-A-Bear, I met up with them for lunch. Julia had her bear, with it's inflatable couch (very necessary), join us for lunch! :

Next, was the biggest suprise of all:

We took her to Sweet and Sassy to get her ears pierced. She was so surprised. She has been begging for this for a while. I am not sure why I resisted so long...or actually I do. She is my baby. She was my last child (until now) and I wanted to hold onto that. I wanted her to stay a baby and to see her with earings made her seem so much older to me. I finally gave in and decided it would be a good milestone memory for her birthday. She was so excited but very nervous, since she knew it would hurt!


Ahhhhh.......It's over.....and worth it! She couldn't wait to show EVERYONE!

Next, she got a hair cut and style (and a little glitter on the cheek! ):

Next......mom and Julia went to get a spa pedicure and manicure! she got such a kick out of the massage chairs (and even got a snowman painted on her toes):

Last, but not least, she went to grandma's to get her gift from them....which was an American Girl Doll that looks like her. She named her Grace (after her own middle name) and she has been her best friend ever since.

Wow.....talk about being spoiled. What in the world! We felt she was so deserving. She never asks for anything and happily tags along with the 3 boys to all of their "events". We felt she deserved a day all to herself. She loved it. When asked her favorite part: her ear piercing, of course!!! Happy Birthday sweetheart.....I can't believe yo are 6!

And Then There Were 5!

On thanksgiving, we finally told our kids and parents that we are expecting baby number 5. I was almost 12 weeks at that time so we felt "safe" enough to tell them. After having a miscarriage at 10 weeks this past summer, and winessesing the devastation of the kids, I didn't have it in me to do that to them again. Yesterday, I had my 4th ultrasound and am a little over 13 weeks...so far so good. We are so thankful and so excited to meet this new little one!

Fun Photo Shoot

I had absolutely NO photos for a Christmas card this year and we had NO family portraits...such a shame. I have not felt well the past few months and have lost track of lots of "things" on my "to-do" list. I decided it would be easier to take the kids out and take pictures of them, in hopes to get some for our card. They weren't perfect, and I didn't LOVE most of them. There were shadows, sun glares, etc. in many of them. However, I took tons and we had such a fun day exploring, while taking pictures, that I decided to post some to remember our fun day together!

Christmas is Here!

The week of Thanksgiving, we love to decorate our tree. This year, we decorated it the Sunday before Christmas. It was really fun for Louie and I because we were able to sit down and watch the kids decorate the whole tree themselves. A couple of years ago, I decided that I had to "let go" of controlling how the tree was decorated. It was very liberating and became much more fun for the kids! Now, they decorate the whole thing, and love the outcome all the more because of it. We always have such a special night as a family, getting ready for our favorite season!

My Oldest turns 12!

It's hard to believe that Jeremy is 12....I am always told how fast the years go...but they seem to go even faster than that. All he wanted to do for his birthday this year, was have a group of friends sleep over to hang out, play games and eat junk food! So, he got his wish. On November 21st, we had 9 boys in our house. Everyone did so well. They had such a great time and I know it was just as Jeremy imagined...I am so glad!

Every kid's dream...lots of candy and chips..

Jeremy couldn't wait to play "Seafarers" with his friends but they didn't last through the whole game..too many other fun things to do!

" Wii " was a highlight of the night

Birthday "pie" and ice cream!

The boys got in bed to watch "Nacho Libre" after a fun-filled night!

How would the party be complete without an all-out "war" in the morning , while waiting to be picked up?!

Fire!

Every year at this time we get terrible brush fires in Southern California. This year was no different. There we 3 terrible fires within 4 days that destroyed 100s of homes. We are always so sad at the losses people suffer. My husband was on the Sylmar fire for 5 days with little sleep. He is such a trooper and loves his job. A fellow fire-fighter found this picture on the LA times of my husband with a hose on a 2-story house in Sylmar. Not often you can get a picture like this, so I thought it was worth posting.

"Lights, Camera, Action!"

Last Thursday was an amazing, and long, day. To make it brief, a friend of ours called asking if Josh would be interested in being in a commercial shoot for a Doritos commercial contest. She has friend that is a director, who wanted to submit a commercial for a contest...the winner's commercial will play during the Superbowl in January. They needed a home schooled boy, Josh's age, that fit his description. I felt like it would be a fun, educational experience for all of the kids to be able to see the making of a commercial. So, Louie and I took all the kids down for the day. We had to meet at Malibu Creek Park at 8:00 am to get the outside shots. then, we met the rest of the crew at the set that was made in Melissa Disney's backyard house. It was a very long day for the kids but definitely a great experience. (Also, my husband and oldest son, Jeremy, were in the scene - standing at the end of the bed). The commercial has been posted on the Doritos Website and voting will begin in January to determine the winner. It's a long shot, but wouldn't it be fun if it won?!

Here's the link:

http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/gallery/video/1695/

Director explaining to Josh what he needs to do.

I love this face!

All the kids had fun exploring the hills while we were there...it was a beautiful day.

Director, Josh Weigel, and Assistant Director, Aaron Moore, work with the cast on their lines while waiting for the set to be finished.

Jake and Julia jumped on the trampoline pretty much the whole day...where do they get the energy?

Director Josh Weigel: very professional and thorough, yet so encouraging and patient.

Julia got to help "behind the scenes" a little with pushing the button for the fog machine...

AKA "atmosphere"!

I think Josh started "losing it" by the end of the day!!!!

It's a Wrap!!! After 13 hours, everyone was so happy we finally had everything we needed!