Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day... we are celebrating with a quiet Sunday at home!

Cory and the boys made breakfast this morning. Then we spent most of the day playing in the yard and watching a few movies. The boys got me the cutest card... I just had to share it with you.

"Mom I can't imagine what life would be like without you."

"I'd probably be eating candy I got from a stranger, talking with my mouth full, and walking around with sharp objects while I sit too close to the TV in yesterday's underwear. Thanks and Happy Mother's Day!"

Here are a few pictures from this morning.

London Royalty

With the Royal Wedding last week, I thought it would be a perfect time to share my favorite photos from my trip to London with Dad back in 2004. We had a wonderful time seeing the sites and enjoying the culture.

I have always been fascinated with London. On the cover is a picture I took of Big Ben.

This is a picture of our hotel, the Langham Hilton in downtown London. We were right around the corner from all of the shopping and I felt like we were in the middle of the city. The hotel was gorgeous!

I put a picture of the view from our hotel room. You could see a beautiful park just outside our window. We also went on plenty of tours of the city. My favorite was a trip to Kensington Palace where Princess Diana's lived. It was much larger than I expected. The grounds were gorgeous and there were beautiful flowers and landscape everywhere.

We visited several other places as well... we had a private showing of the crown jewels, toured the Tower of London, had lunch at the Ritz and we rode the London Eye. The view was spectacular!

We finished up the week with a bus ride to the theatre for a showing of Mama Mia. This was several years before the movie and it was awesome!

It was a great trip and I was so grateful that my dad took me. It definitely was a trip of life time and I would love to go back.

Another Great Sunday...

Today was a beautiful day... we worked in the yard all afternoon and we were able to go in the pool. It was still a little too cold for me, but the boys loved it! Knox only wanted to put his toes in. It was a little chilly for him too. Chase had a great time swimming with Cory in the pool.

So today we weeded most of the flower beds in the backyard and then we added mulch to help keep the weeds out. I sprayed ground up a week ago, so hopefully they will be weed free for at least the summer. Cory made three trips to Lowes and we bought 40 bags of mulch. Good thing they were on sale for $2.25 a bag. We still have 11 bags left, but we have a few more flower beds in the backyard and 3 in the front yard to do. After today, the yard looks 100% better. I can't wait till it is all done and we can just sit outside and enjoy it!

After a while we decided to take a break... the ice cream truck drove by. The boys always hear it playing its song and ask if we can get one. They come just about every afternoon around 4. Chase was taking a nap but, Riley, Wills and Knox loved theirs.

Look... Knox is so excited about his ice cream cone, he didn't realize he was standing up by himself for several minutes! I am sure he will start walking in just a few weeks.

Pirates and Pizza on a Saturday Afternoon

Today we decided to get out of the house and head over to a pirate park by the beach. It has two large playground areas that are shaped like pirate ships. The boys had a great time. Chase ran around the park, climbed up and down the stairs, and slid down the slide several times. Knox spent most of his time in either the baby swing or playing on this turtle they had. Riley and Wills played tag and hide and go seek. They were constantly running around. It was so cute.

We tried to get a family photo and of course... Chase did not want his picture taken.

We then went out for pizza at a little local place, Toppers. It is right by the harbor, so we saw quite a few boats docked this afternoon. It has a huge fan on the ceiling and Chase was totally fascinated. He kept pointing at the ceiling and looking up. 

We spent the rest of the day at home... I love Saturdays!

Chase's Sock Puppet

Chase has this cute sock puppet. He will look around and find a random sock (so Mr. Sock Puppet changes everyday) and wears it on his hand. He then plays with it like a puppet. He talks to it and the puppet talks to both Milly and I for several minutes almost everyday. It is adorable what children are able to come up with just a little bit of imagination. This keeps him very entertained in the mornings!

Sunny California

So over the last few days, the weather has been great. The boys absolutely love playing outside. They mostly play on the tree swing, draw with chalk on the patio, or play in the dirt.

Check out Chase's new shoes from Grammy and Grandpa McGraw... He stomped around all afternoon in them!

Here are a few other photos from earlier this month... since this picture, he has picked all of the flowers off of this poor plant.

Time for change... healthy choices

When I was in college, I never thought I would have any problems with weight or exercise... I just always thought I would be healthy and have a high metabolism. However now that it has been 8 years since I graduated and I have had 4 children, I feel like it is time for a change. I need to make healthy choices and start taking care of myself.

So when we moved to California, I joined a gym and I am ashamed to say that I have only been a few times since August. I always find excuses not to go - work, laundry, the boys, time, yard work, or just being tired... so I decided to put aside the excuses and go out for a run tonight. It has been a long time since I put running shoes on to actually go running.

While I only ran half a mile, it felt good to be running. I got my heart rate up and I could feel my muscles burning. So maybe tomorrow, I will run a mile... I guess everyone has to start somewhere.