Adventures of the Francis Four

I still have a blog?

2010-06-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

I think I almost forgot I had a blog.

Life. That is what happens.

And then I find my priorities and for a while that is not blogging.

But I am trying again. So here I will give you a few highlight from each month and we will start new in July.....maybe.

January: Rang in the New Year's with friends, back to school and ready for a new year

February: Celebrated a night out with my hubby for Valentine's day

March: Shamrock Fun Run in Dublin, garage sales & fun with friends.

April: Mom turned 33 (yikes) Chris raced in the first BMX state race of the season, Dani mastered riding her bike with no training wheels

May: CPOA Run in Pleasanton, Dani turned 4, Chris turned 7 and finished 1st grade.

June: After 8 years and a lot of patience Bryan is on DAYSHIFT!!!! The Summer Fun List made it's debut and we are making our way through it.

There is a lot that went on in between, but who am I kidding there is no way I will be able to update it all.

Until then, here is our Summer Fun list for 2010!

How is it the end of January....

2010-01-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Dear blog.....I have missed you and left you hanging. I promise to try and update you more on the ups and downs and adventures of our little family in 2010.

It has been 2 months since the last update so I think is safe to say that there is no way I am going to b e able to catch up so I will just give you the highlights.

We started the Christmas celebrations with my side of the family. We headed out to Holidays on the Farm in Lathrop for a little snow sledding and fun. the kids had a blast.

Chris and Dani ready for some sledding

Chris loved that he was able to do it all himself.

Dani had fun riding with Aunt Mami

Mor Mor and her babies in the sled.

Our little family!

Then we packed out bags and headed to Florida for 8 days with Bryan;'s family. This was the first year the kids were able to spend with Auntie Brooke, Papa and Nana so they were thrilled. We got their just in time for Bryan and his dad to celebrate their birthdays in style, Magic Kingdom! The weather was great and the kids were in heaven.

The boys and their buttons

Auntie Brooke and Chris

Out little family on main street

The castle was so pretty all lit up with the snow falling

Chris on Christmas morning waiting patiently.....well not really

Dani and all her princess garb

Keeping with our family tradition, we walked to Starbucks on Christmas morning. It was a little farther then at our house, but we did and had a blast.

Bedtime stories with Brooke

We were even able to sneak in a family photo with Bryan's family.......thankfully it was a good one since it gets sent to way too many people in all their support letters. The kids were good sports though.

We got home just in time for Bryan to spend New Year's Eve at work and I took the kids down the street to our friends house to ring in the New Year. All the kids did great and lasted until about 2:00am........the best part was that Chris slept till 12:30 the next day.

Well there we have we are in January. We are already three weeks into the year and I don't know where it has gone. The kids have jumped right back into their activities, schools and adventures. I will do my best to keep updated with all that goes on here in our little home.

Until then....

Thanksgiving

2009-12-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

We are two days away from beginning our Christmas adventures so I need to get something on here about Thanksgiving first....

This year the whole family ran the Turkey Trot in Stockton on thanksgiving morning. IT was a great way for us to start our day and spend some time together as a family since Bryan had to work that night. The kids were super excited to run another race, even though it was pretty cold.

The kids race was first. It was a nice quick 1/2 mile that started outside the stadium and ended up on the field of where the Stockton Ports play. Both Chris and Dani did great and loved the ribbons they got at the end.

Chris and Dani were all smiles at the starting line!

Then it was time for Bryan and I to do the 5K. I got the "joy" of pushing my kids in the double stroller that they outgrew about 3 years ago. Nothing like 100lbs of kids to push while you are running. They did great and were my biggest fans cheering me along as I went.

Bryan and I are so thankful that our family truly loves to do active things together. It is great for Chris and Dani to see the importance of staying active and now that they are enjoying doing it as well. This was the perfect start to our Thanksgiving and a tradition that will carry on through the years.

K9 Trial

2009-11-30T18:15:00.001-08:00

The first weekend in November the Alameda County Sheriff;s Office hosted the End of the Year K9 Trial at the Training Center in Dublin. This was the first trial they have hosted and the K9 Association had a large part in this.

Bryan and Rex had never competed in a trial before, so this was a first for them. The dogs and handlers competed in agility, area searches, protection and obedience. It was great time to be out there all weekend both to help and watch the trial. I see the warm and cuddly Rex that hangs out in the house, so it was interesting to see the "work" Rex in action.

Bryan and Rex getting ready for the area search.....Rex had 90 seconds to find the "bad guy" hiding in one of five cars......he did it!

Rex found him!

Competitor #22.......I think I recognize him

Waiting patiently for his turn in the Obedience section

Bryan and Rex ready to go

Rex did great in the Obedience section of the Trial

Rex showing off in the Agility Course

He's got jumps!

Off to get the bad guy!

Halloween.....I know I am late

2009-11-30T17:58:00.001-08:00

It is the last day in November so now is probably the best time to post about Halloween, right?

Bryan was working again this year on Halloween but that did not stop us from the fun on Halloween. Tinkerbell and the Skeleton were determined to do some trick or treating. Believe it or not in the 6 years that we have lived in this neighborhood, we have never gone around here. We traveled about a block down the street to our friends house where we met up with a few other families from the "hood". The kids ate pizza and ran around playing waiting for it to get dark.

The whole gang headed out with 5 adults and 8 kids in tow. The kids all had a blast and came home with way more candy then we ever needed. It was so nice to stay in Lourance Ranch and see so many of the neighbor kids out and about.

Tinker Bell ready to fly~

Gotta love the faces on them

Me and the kids ready to head out.

The kids were having way to much fun. They were so cute!

Dani got tired so we hitched a ride in Jax's stroller and Gavin hitched a ride for awhile.

Time for the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-24T22:04:00.001-07:00

I love the fall because it means we can go to the pumpkin patch. It is so nice living so close to such a great pumpkin patch, every year Del Oso Family Farms seems to improve. This year they made a lot of improvements: like the country store, the zip line, the train ride and a tractor ride.

The kids had a blast playing on the tire mountain, running through the hay maze and jumping on the pillow jumps. We rode the train, raced the cars and went to the petting zoo. Just when we were going to get the pumpkins it started to downpour. So I guess that means we get to go back again :)

We were able to get some great shots in before our trip got cut short.

A rare moment of sibling love on top of tire mountain

Dani taking the leap from the tiresYou have to just laugh at this girl sometimes

Smile Dani!

Dani was ready to catch Daddy

The kids loved the pillow jump

Chris doing his tricks!

.....always the joker!

Dani and I went on the train ride

Dani was so excited for the train ride

Feeding the goats

Dani found shelter in Daddy's jacket from the rain.

She loved her cookie!

Hanging out at the country store

Momma and her babies

Me and my girl

Back in the day....

2009-10-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here I am enjoying a RARE quite Saturday morning thinking how desperately I need to update the blog with all that has been going on around here. I was reading through some blogs and my friend reminded what today was with one of her posts.

Do you remember where you were 20 years ago today at 5:04pm PST, October 17, 1989?

I do! And I don't think I will ever forget either. It was Game 3 of the Battle of the Bay World Series between the SF Giants and Oakland A's. My dad had gotten tickets to the series and was going to let my sister and I take turns going. Today was my turn.

My dad and I were on the huge escalator that takes you tot the third deck of Candlestick Park (yes Candlestick because that is what it will always be called in my book). We had just gotten to the top and stepped off the escalator when the rumbling started. At first it sounded like people in the stadium were pounding the feet in excitement for the game. But then the stadium started to roll. I had never seen anything like it, waves of concrete rippling through the ground. Then the panic set in. People started rushing down the large concrete ramps to get to the ground. Chunks of concrete were falling on the walkways and people were everywhere. I wanted to run with them. But no, my dad grabbed my hand and we headed under the breezeway out into the stadium. My dad was in the construction business, he knew how this worked, we needed to get somewhere where nothing was above us. We found our way to our seats through the chaos and just sat. All the players and their families were on the field and everyone was just in shock from what had just happened, but I don't think everyone really knew how bad it was yet.

My dad had said there was no point in leaving yet because the roads were going to be jammed, plus he wanted to make sure the game was going to be canceled before we left and also that we would get tickets to the make up game as well. I know typical man!!! So I sat there just looking around. My dad had on his headset radio listening to the news and I was peeking at the large hand held TV the guy a few seats down had....yes it was 1989.

I tapped my dad on the shoulder. "Dad, dad, dad. Part of the Bay Bridge collapsed, how are we going to get home?" He thought I was crazy said that was not going to happen, then he saw the TV. Soon he started to join me in watching the guys TV and we saw that part of the Bay Bridge had collapsed and saw the horror of what happened at the Cypress structure in Oakland. I think at this point he realized we should probably figure out how we were going to get home since all the bridges were closed so the one freeway that would take us around the bay to get back to Orinda was going to be packed.

Then there was my sister and mom. My sister was home alone waiting for my mom to get home from work. Not quite sure what she was doing but I am pretty sure she ended up at a friends house that night. See this was before cell phones so it was very hard to get in touch with everyone. My mom had just gotten on the 5:00 BART train at in the city to head home from work. They were in between the Powell Street station and Embarcadero Station when the quake hit. The train went dark and they had no clue what the city would look like when they got above ground. About an hour later they had to walk that tiny catwalk on the side of the tunnel to get back to the station. My mom walked for a bit then eventually got on a bus and headed to our friends house in the city.

The nice thing was my dad was on the same page. My dad and I drove to our friends house as well to wait it out. It was nice to see that my mom was there when we got there. Some time early that morning we drove home when they finally opened up one of the bridges.

The next few days were spent at home watching the news and seeing the damage. Big earthquakes are about the only thing that closed down schools ever int he Bay Area so this was quite the treat to have no school for a few days while they check all the buildings.

So I guess I will never forget exactly where I was at 5:04pm on October 17, 1989. That would be a hard day to forget.

***I still have my tickets from that game in a frame. I would have taken a picture of them, but I think they are still at my moms.

Soccer has begun!!!

2009-09-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our Saturdays have now been split between part soccer and part BMX. Chris is on the Speed Demons for TYSL and is having a blast. This part Saturday they had their first game in the crazy weather we had last weekend. We were woken up by intense thunder and lightning, then it was sunny.....we headed out to leave for the game and were hit with giant raindrops. Luckily by the time we got to the field the rain had stop and we were back to the 100 degree temps!

The Speed Demons did a great job and all the kids had a blast playing on there on the field. We are looking forward to a great season of soccer!

Getting ready for the game to start!

Flying across the field at the game

Dani and her "dimple smile"

Now we get the normal look!

July Run: Jail Break Run

2009-08-31T21:45:00.001-07:00

The July Run was a family affair, very fitting since this run was hosted by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Bryan and I both ran the 5K and then the kids were able to run the 1/2 mile race afterward. This was a very fun race for everyone since we had so many friends and co-workers of Bryan's there with us running. Plus nothing like running a race around one of the state largest county jails.

Chris and Dani had a great time running. The kids race was two laps around the track up at he Training Center. I was not sure if Dani would want to do tow laps, but I was wrong. Just like always she smiled and laughed her way through the whole race. Bryan and I were very proud of the kids for running and wanting to continue doing these races.

Chris and his buddy Aidan lining up for the race.

Dani takes these races very seriously.......she is my little racer!

Dani and Chris ready to go.

The cutest little legs out there

Chris coming into the finish.

With his medal

Chris was such a good big brother and joined Dani on the last half of her final lap since he had already finished.

Chris cheering Dani on to the finish line!

The whole family after the races and ready to get out of the heat

Camping in Clearlake

2009-08-31T21:23:00.001-07:00

In mid July we packed up the Jeep to the brim and headed to Clearlake.....and I mean that thing was packed. I don't think we could have fit one more thing in that car. We spent 4 days up at the lake camping with our little family and some friends. Two of the deputies that Bryan works with Brian and Shannon joined us on the trip with their three doggies. I am still not sure who had it easier, us with our two kids or them with their three dogs.

The kids had a blast with the dogs; Sally, Cosmo and Kaiser and they all loved swimming and playing in the water. It was pretty hot while we were there but the kids did great and had so much fun just running around and playing in the dirt. The highlight every night was roasting marshmellows. Dani and Chris had more fun just doing the roasting rather then eating them. That was fine because between myself, Bryan, Brian and Shannon we made sure that none went to waste.

It was a great trip and we had a blast with Brian and Shannon and all the doggies.!

The view on the lake

Sally and Cosmo enjoying the lake

Dani never ceases to amaze me with the outfits she picks out!! Plus she is the only girl I know that wears beanies when it is over 100 degrees out.

Chris playing with the dogs!

Kaiser and Cosmo on the hunt for squirrels.

Starting up the campfire.

Dani roasting her "mellow"

So happy!

Chris enjoying his handy work.

Since we are 3 weeks into school....why not post about Kindergarden graduation!

2009-08-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

Better late then never right......

On June 26th our little man graduated from Kindergarten!!! I still can't believe it (even though he is 3 weeks into 1st grade now). It was a great afternoon of celebrating all the little ones in the Kinder classes at his school. All the teachers worked really hard to teach the kids some great songs and little skits to show us all they learned in school that year.

I look back on Chris's kindergarten year and smile. He made so many great friends, learned to read, write, add, subtract and all the other fun things that go with Kindergarten. He was even given a special award for perfect attendance the whole year!!!! Even mommy made some great friends during this first year in school. Chris loved his teach Ms. Vasquez and she did a great job with a very active class of 32. I was very impressed considering it was her first year teaching.

Chris is already loving 1st grade this year but I know he will always remember kindergarten and the friends he made in his first year at George Kelly. I feel like from here on out it is going to go by way too fast.

Chris's class waiting on the steps to perform.

Telling us about what they learned this year.

Our little singer!

So cute!

Chris and Ms. Vasquez

Chris's new love.....BMX Racing!

2009-08-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted for ever......my apologizes. I figured I need to do something up to date first since if I try and back track I may never catch up. So just pretend you have heard all about Chris's Kindergarten graduation, his end of the year party, first BMX race, the family BMX race, summer swim fun and VBS. If you are luck you may get a few random posts in there if I have time.

This past weekend was a first for us. Chris and I loaded u p the car and the BMX stuff and made our way down to Orange Cove for his first State Series race. This was his first really big race against kids from all over the state and I think the even more exciting part for him.....he got to stay in a hotel with mommy.

We are still learning all that is the world of BMX but so far we love it. Chris could ride for hours while Dani is completely content just sitting in the dirt playing. She even has a few little friends at the track to play with. All the families are so great and it has been a fantastic summer of races each weekend. We had been racing pretty regularly at the track in Livermore. Some of the racers and families convinced us to have Chris try and get his 6 qualifying races in so he could race in the state cup in October. So we went to Orange Cove this weekend and had three great races and are half way to State Cup.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. Bryan and I are so proud of what he is doing out there on the track and can not wait to see him continue to improve.

Oh and I know what you are all thinking, "Just another reason to land in the ER!" Hopefully not but for the mean time we are investing in pads :)

I am way behind.....

2009-07-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that I have a lot to catch up on. But for now word will have to do. Ever since return from camping our internet has been down and I don't have the patience to spend hours on the phone with tech support.....so i am waiting for Bryan's work week to be over so he can :) Aren't I a nice wife. So here is what I need to catch you up on

Chris's first EVER BMX race
Chris graduating from kindergarten
Dani starting gymnastics
Fourth of July
Our camping Trip to Clearlake
and today Chris's 2nd BMX race

Plus the whole family tomorrow morning is running int he Jail Break Run at the Santa Rita Jail.

So soon our internet will be working and I can give all these topics justice. Just wanted to make sure you all knew I was still here, just being swallowed up in the summer run around.

June Race- Trix Run in Lodi

2009-06-15T08:19:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon a great race for me and the kids for the June race- Trix Run in Lodi. It was a great 5K around Lodi lake with a kids run after, because after all "Trix are for kids". I was on my own for this race again with the kids which meant pushing the extra 100lbs in the stroller during my race. The kids were preoccupied with the goodies that came in the race bags and were able to entertain themselves during the race. It was a beautiful course with all sorts of terrain, even with the pushing the kids in the stroller I got 3rd place in my age group. The kids were very excited that they "helped" mommy get a medal.

Chris and Dani had been looking forward to another race ever since the last one, so my little racers were ready. Dani was so excited that she got her own "race shirt". Chris had his new running shoes on and was ready to rock. I ran with Dani again and we let Chris take off like a speed racer. Since the course was a switchback Dani and I were able to cheer on Chris as he raced by, and I managed to get some pictures. I was very proud of both my babies for finishing the race and finishing strong. Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for the July race....this will be a family event once again.

Dani modeling her "race shirt"

Dani befriended the Trix Rabbit

Chris was even willing to pose with him for me.

My little racer man

Chris, Dani and Mommy post race

Dani lined up at the starting line ready to go.

So excited to start the race

Our little speed racer headed for the finish line.

Chris and Dani with their finisher ribbons.

It was a BMX birthday

2009-06-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

The birthdays have come and gone. We have restored order in our house after the Crazy Kid's Carnival for their birthdays. Now all that remains are all the fun presents.

This year Chris was fully outfitted with his BMX stuff. He got a great new bike from Mor Mor, a cool new racing helmet from Aunt Mami and some cool gloves from his friend Braedon.

With all this new gear it was no surprise we spent most of the afternoon Sunday and Monday at the BMX track. Chris was a little hesitant to go at first, but after one lap there was no getting him off the track. I think we may try one of the races later on this summer once baseball is done. Meanwhile Chris is enjoying his new found hobby.

Something tells me this sport may add to the ER count. YIKES!

Chris heading down the course

He was so focused riding, but had so much fun

Already confident enough to take the jumps a little faster.

I love my little man. Bryan and I were so proud of him watching him tear up the track.

Rock Piles and a Princess????

2009-06-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ever since we took the "princess" to Disney World for her birthday she has lived as a princess. She's even go the attitude down, much to moms dismay. on Memorial Day weekend we took advantage of the nice weather and Bryan being home to get some stuff done around the house.

Chris joined me at the "rock store" or the landscape material supply place to pick out some rocks for our yard. This was a dream for him. Piles and piles of rocks that he could climb in an play with. We picked out the cobble we wanted and scheduled our delivery. Chris sat patiently in the driveway for an hour waiting for the Rock Man to come and deliver the treasures. As soon as the rocks were in the driveway, there was a boy on top!

The next day when we were ready to move it the kids wanted to help us. Dani wanted to change her church clothes and get ready to work. I guess everyone needs a good crown when they are going to do yard work. This girl is definitely not lacking in the personality department.

The princess came out ready to work.

one by one she helped Daddy load the wheelbarrow with rocks.

She was so serious too.....

I think we may need a larger top, Daddy was not thrilled with the tummy showing

Chris on the other hand was a big help with all the large rocks.

I have never seen a kids so willing to do manual labor

I twas a great way to spend our Memorial Day weekend and the kids actually had a blast. I think it was fun for them to do something the whole day with us and feel like they truly were helping. Even if at one point they were walking the rocks to the backyard one by one!

May Race- The Modesto Classic

2009-05-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

May was an adventurous month for the family....birthdays, vacations and lots of projects! It only seemed fitting that the race would be too. I signed up for the Modesto Classic while we were in Florida but I forgot that Bryan was working and I would have the kids OOOPS! I didn't want to back out so I figured the only other option was to run with them.

We had given up our double BOB (the greatest stroller EVER) a while ago since Chris is huge, but luckily my friend Julie has one. The kids have really loved coming to all the races with me the past few months so I knew they would be excited. I got them all bundled up in the stroller and loaded them with snacks. You would have thought that with the amount of snacks I packed for them I was running a marathon, not a 5K.....but hey, I needed to keep them occupied.

The kids loved all the free food from the vendors. They made sure to hit up each one to add to their food stock pile before the race. Kaiser was one of the big sponsors and the had a free Kids Run, it was a 1/2 mile and I knew it would be a great first race for them. Right before the race I told Chris that he was going to be in charge, that if Dani needed something, he needed to help. He takes jobs like this very seriously.

During the race the kids were great....heavy but great. They loved watching all the runners and the pretty scenery along the Tuolumne River. At the end Dani kept saying, "Faster Mommy, faster!!!". Then right when the finish line was in sight Chris raise both hands above his head and yelled, "Yeah Mommy, you did it, we finished." What a true statement, pushing 100lbs of kids in the stroller was not an easy task but I finished in 28 minutes so I was pleased.

My race buddies fueling up on Doritos and Gatorade before the race.

After my race it was time for the kids. They had a 1/2 mile Fun run that the kids wanted to do. I knew Chris would do fine, but was not sure about Dani. But I think the lure of getting their own race numbers and a medal at the end was enough to get them to do it. I knew Chris would be fine on his own so I told him to run as fast as he wanted and then to wait at the Finish line for us. Dani and I would run this together. I think this was one of the Top 5 experiences as a parent. they were both so excited at the start and took off running. Chris was gone before I knew it and Dani just chugged right along. About half way into it she looked at me and said; "Mommy this is awesome." She smiled and giggled her way through. We were able to wave to Chris as he looped by us and headed for the finish line. As Dani and i neared the finished she loved hearing all the people cheering for her and then seeing Chris waiting there for her at the finish. They both got their medals and had the biggest smiles no their faces.

I can not even tell you how proud I was of them both for finishing the race and enjoying it as much as they did. Half a mile may not seem like a lot but for my Dani girl and her little legs, it was. I think we may have some runners on our hands because they are already asking when the next race is.

Here is Chris pre-race munching on the chips that the Frito lay sponsor had.

Dani was busy fueling up on Gatorade

Here are my racers at the starting line ready to run!

Dani running up the little hill!

Here comes speed racer!

Chris and his medal.....he ran it in 4 minutes :)

Dani and her medal.

So we are looking forward to the June race and the whole family being able to run again. For any of you out there that have ever thought of getting your kids in these races, I would encourage you to do so. They had a blast.....plus I got some great naps out of them!

Disney Character Breakfast

2009-05-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

For part of the kids birthday bash at Disney World, Bryan's parent's and sister got them seats at the Mickey and Friends breakfast and the Grand Polynesian resort at Disney. The kids were greeted with lei's and made to feel very special since we were celebrating their birthdays. All the characters even had birthday cards for them with all their signatures.

The restaurant was beautiful and the kids were both so excited to see all the Disney characters. Right before we ate they did a parade with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey around the restaurant. All the kids got maracas and followed them around dancing. Believe it or not my kids can be shy at times and I was not sure how they would do.....man was I wrong. Dani busted right out there and took off behind Stitch. She could have cared less if we were there. I think tha tmight have been their favorite part of hte morning. It was so fun to see how excited the kids got when each character came to our table and spent time with the kids.

Dani shakin' her groove thing

Chris thought it was pretty fun to dance with them too

The kids with Lilo

I think at this point Stitch scared her a bit

Pluto definitely had a sense of humor, Chris was laughing so hard here

Dani had so much fun with Pluto, I think he was a favorite.

Chris and his birthday cupcake!

Nothing like Mickey sprinkles on your treat!

Mickey and the kids....This is Chris's I am cool pose :)

Dani looks so grown up here it makes me sad!

My two favorite boys outside the restaurant.

Bryan and I

Me and my baby....can you tell I am having a hard time now that she is THREE!!!!!

More Florida.....the beach

2009-05-25T21:37:00.001-07:00

Florida has it's choice of beaches to go to.....we found a gem. We went to New Smyrna Beach just south of Daytona and it was great for the kids. The best part was that you could drive right onto the beach and park your car. This was great since carrying all the stuff is the worst part. The weather was perfect and the kids were in heaven with all the sand and a multitude of sea shells to be found.

our spot for the day

Again.....Dani had no fear of the water and went running in.

Dani was so excited to go in the water with Daddy

Dani and Chris had a blast building a sand castle with Nana

Taking a break from the hard work while Nana got water

The finished project......so proud!

Disney World....birthday style!

2009-05-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

The big adventure on our Florida vacation was taking the kids to Disney World......this was their first Disney visit. Although we had just flown in the night before we knew that first day we just had to go. Manly because it was Dani's birthday and we wanted to make sure she felt like a princess. So off we went with Papa and Nana to expierence Disney through the little ones.

As we were driving onto the Disney property the look on the kids face was priceless. She was so excited about getting to see the princess castle she did not know what to do with herself. We went tot he ticket window and got their tickets and Dani's special birthday pin. We talked them into giving us one for Chris to since his birthday is in a little over a week.

From the parking lot we decided to take the ferryboat across the lake to Magic Kingdom. We we walked into view of the princess castle from across the lake I thought Dani was going to keel over. She was in heaven. The ferry boat trip across the lake set the ton for a great day!

The entrance to the Ferryboat that would take us right to the gate to the Magic Kingdom.

AS you can see Dani was more concerned with making sure we all knew where the castle was then taking a picture.

Dani got her special Birthday Button and loved all the attention she got.

Dani and I on the boat with Magic Kingdom in the background

Chris was a little unsure of the heat and humidity.

Nana and Dani waiting to go in the park.

The first view of the castle as we walked down Main Street

Dani waiting for the princesses performance in front of the castle

She was awestruck at the sight of Cinderella

Dani and I hoola hooping before lunch.

She actually did quite well.

Bryan and Chris on Small World.....the AC made the insane making song worth it.

Chris and Dani with no other then Donald himself.

Dani and I on the Magic carpet ride.

Dani was loving the time she got with Arial....as you can see we bought her the Ariel shirt for her birthday.

Ariel giving Dani a high five for turning THREE

Dani and her hero!

Dani enjoying some ice cream.

Bryana and I waiting for the fireworks to start outside the Castle.

Dani thought it was great how the castle changed colors.

Here is the gang (minus Papa behind the camera) waiting for the show.

We had such a great day here and Dani was treated like royalty....Chris too! They got free candy int he candy shops, free ice cream from the ride attendants and everyone saying Happy Birthday to them. Disney was a hit.....plus know all our Disney loving friends won't turn us into CPS for not taking them to Disney sooner then now.

My baby is 3

2009-05-17T07:48:00.001-07:00

Sweet little Dani girl turned THREE on the 13th. It is hard for me to imagine that my youngest child is already three, this was the little bean that was just born yesterday!

This is the sweet baby girl that she will always be in my mind. This sweet little bundle of joy that came to me just three short years ago.

Dani was celebrated Princess style this year. We woke up on her birthday in Florida at Papa & Nana's house. We had a big Princess balloon for the Princess and a sweet little birthday cupcake.
The birthday princess celebrating in style with a cupcake for breakfast.

What a better way to celebrate your birthday then a trip to the Ultimate Princess castle......Disney World! I think we set ourselves up on this one, how are we going to top this next year.

May Race....to make up for April

2009-05-14T16:42:00.001-07:00

Before we headed to Florida Bryan and I kicked off National Police week with the CPOA (California Peace Officer's Association) Memorial Run in Pleasanton. This was the 1st year that they have done this run and it was great. I think people so the opportunity to help this great cause and really came together, especially in light of everything that has happened this year. Our friend Cheri, who works with Bryan, and her kids came also. Some ran with her and the others graciously watched our kiddos while we ran.

It was nice because a lot of the local departments had all their toys and vehicles there for the kids to see. After the race Outback steakhouse catered a nice lunch and Coldstone was even there. This is enough to guarantee that we will run this race again.

Bryan and I both ran the 5K, the heat and the hills were a killer but we had fun.

Here is Bryan and I looking all fresh and clean before the race....no post race pictures here :)

Dani was able to score some great balloon swords and animals from the clown they had come for the BBQ. Plus you can see she had quite the sticker collection on her pants.
East Bay Regional Parks landed the helicopter after the race. We were right there when in landed, so close that Bryan had to hang onto Dani so she would not fall over. The kids were in heaven. Dani has quite the obsession with helicopters.

I promise Chris was more excited to sit in here.....he just does not like pictures
Dani was loving this. She walked up to the pilot when we got there and asked him if he could do that again! Too cute.

For those keeping track this was my April Run since I was traveling in April and could not make any races.....I have one more when we get back in town for May.

The First Visit from the Tooth Fairy

2009-05-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

I knew the day would come but I guess I never expected it. Last Sunday Chris and I were out running errands and all of a sudden Chris exclaims that his tooth is loose, and it was really loose. Instantly I thought, "Crap, I am so not ready for this."

Over the next few days Chris kept wiggling the tooth and checking on it. I was a little worried at his baseball game Tuesday night when it was practically hanging out. Well Wednesday when I picked him up from the after school program he smiled and was without a tooth. He was so excited and I could not have been more happy for him. The only problem was that he did not remember where he lost it or when. His teacher felt really bad and they had looked all over for it with no luck. I told Chris that we would write a note to the Tooth Fairy and make sure she understood.

So before bed that night we wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy and left it under his pillow. he was so excited! In the morning he came in my room and was a little perplexed that his treat was left on the nightstand and not under the pillow. Oops! my bad.

Here

Our happy little toothless wonder!!!

Asparagus Festival

2009-05-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

The one thing that the Central Valley knows how to do is party it up Asparagus style. Every year they transform the waterfront in Stockton to an asparagus wonderland. I took the kids after school last week with some friends to enjoy the fun.

Our first stop had to be at one of the many asparagus booths to get the yearly treat of deep fried asparagus. I think I actually gained weight while waiting in line, but man is it yummy!

Dani was my little rug rat as usual and had fun eating all the food and running around dancing to the Beach Boys cover band.

Chris was in awe of the golfers teeing off into the Port! I think he could have stood here for days just watching the golf balls land in the water.
Kyle, Logan and Chris had fun looking at the cars they had as well as some of the fun CHP cruisers they had out there.

Dani was in heaven with the purple snow cone.
Then it was time for the rides. The kids had a blast and it was nice because there was not much of a crowd on Friday. That is one thing I have learned over the years.....go on Friday, the crowds are a lot better.

She loved her little pink plane.

Tracy Trash Day

2009-05-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Like most of you know Tracy Trash Day is something that Bryan and I look forward to. We have been on quite the cleaning binge lately so this came at the perfect time. A few weeks ago we had our garage sale and ever since then we had been accumulating a pike in the garage of all the things that would get swept to the curb come time.

I the week leading up to this there would be various items starting to appear on the curb, this is the sign that the day is near. So last Thursday night Bryan and I went through the house getting all the garbage and random items that were no goodwill worthy. Everything was brought to the curb that we were ready to get rid of.

All night long we heard cars and trucks drive up and down the streets looking at piles, picking out items and finding treasures. Even while Bryan and I were taking things to the curb there were cars drive by to look at what we had out there. One lady parked down the street and waited for us to close the garage to go through our greatest possessions.

The next morning while I was a the gym Bryan heard some noise outside. Our pile was still there and there were still a few good items there. Bryan watched as two women got out of their pick up, inspected the pile and decided it was time to dig. They found a garbage bag, dumped it out and started filling it with the times that they liked. I was so proud of my husband because he ran to grab the camera so he could document it. I have trained him well.

This is all just another perk of living in Tracy!

I thought this shot was classic!

More to come I promise

2009-04-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking in the blog area, I know.

I have a stock pile of pictures and posts I need to put up. Since the last post we have had baseball games, the Asparagus Festival, Tracy Trash Day (and man did Bryan get some good pics), fun with the dogs and more.

Also I have to say that unfortunately there was no April Race..... but I told myself I will do 2 in May to make up for it. I was going to run the Great Spear It run at the Asparagus Festival last weekend but instead I had to fly to Chicago for work for the weekend. I was bummed because this really is a great run. I already have 2 in May on the books so I hope that counts.

I will try and update in the next day or so.

We'll see......right!

Here's a picture to hold you over until then. The three most precious people in my life.

Another year.....

2009-04-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked year number 32 for me.......or older if you lose track! (mom)

No big hoopla, just a nice day all around with family and friends. I wanted to start the day right. I got up a little early and beat the rain with a morning run, 3.2 miles in honor of my 32nd year. Then all the daily activities of a mom continued: showers, breakfast, dressing the kids, packing snacks and off to school and daycare and onto work.

This was the first year the kids are truly understanding birthdays. Chris was so excited to wake up and tell me Happy Birthday, it made my day. Then there is Dani girl who insisted to all the ladies at the gym the night before that" Mommy turning 4 1/2 tomorrow" LOVE HER! When I got to work there was a note on my laptop from Bryan that said "open me". Inside was the cutest little handmade card from Chris and a card from Bryan.

The day continued on with Bryan scoring more points for sending flowers to work and getting some nice treats from my friends at work. In typical fashion of being married to a police officer I got a call around lunch time saying plans were changing. Bryan got called into work because they needed a dog for a search warrant that the SRU team was serving on a meth lab. Of course why won't they, it was my birthday. No biggie though because I was just planning on heading home after work and hanging with the family. Little did I know Bryan had made plans for the night.

A few hours later Bryan called to let me know it was going to take a little longer but I needed to be home by 5. He had arranged for a sitter to come and watch the kids so we could go out that night, shop for my present and then get dinner. I told him I would still have the sitter come and just pray that they got done sooner then later and we could still get a late dinner. Thankfully by the time I got home and got the kids settled with the sitter Bryan was finishing up. We met up at the jail (how romantic, right?) and were able to still enjoy a nice night out.

So like I said, no big hoopla, just a nice day. But still birthday 32 left me feeling loved by my family & friends and ready for a great year ahead.

Dani girl

2009-04-01T20:41:00.001-07:00

I love this sweet girl. This was taken at our friends house last weekend during a birthday party.

This picture makes me smile. Thanks for taking it Julie!

Loss, saddness, and a harsh reality......

2009-03-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend was hard, it was full of loss and the reality of the world we live in.

It was a time when I realized just how blessed our family is every time Bryan walks in the door from work. Yesterday afternoon the Oakland Police Department lost 4 officers in a senseless shooting in the heart of East Oakland. It was a somber time for all the law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area, for the many officers that were on scene, and the men and women that knew and worked with the officers that lost their lives. These men had dedicated their lives to protecting and serving a city of Oakland and the people in it. These men had families who will never get to experience the joy of them walking in the door after a long day of work.

It is a reality that everyone in law enforcement has to face and accept. Not a fun reality but a very real one. I was reminded last night that I need to thank God every morning when Bryan walks in the door.......even if he is late, or in a bad mood. I need to be thankful.

I think what a lot of people who do not know someone in law enforcement don't realize is really how hard this job is. They go to work everyday knowing that 90% of the people that they are going to have to deal with will NOT be nice to them, will yell & curse at them, try to harm them or make threats at them. Yet every one of these men and women are 100% committed to their jobs and love every minute of it. Kind of backwards!

So I urge you tonight to pray for the families of the four officers killed yesterday and for the whole department. Also if you have family in law enforcement, let them know how thankful you are for the job they do day in and day out. It is not everyday that cops get a 'thank you'.

Here is a link to the what happened in Oakland if you had not seen it:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Two-Officers-Shot-in-Oakland.html

I think we have a Spidermonkey!

2009-03-18T08:48:00.001-07:00

Bryan had the kids at baseball practice yesterday and I got this picture emailed to me. I had to laugh because this girl is such a little climber. Bryan said too that she was on her way down at this point.

Yes, we are the proud parents of a little Spidermonkey!

March Race: Shamrock 5K Fun Run

2009-03-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

This month we made it a family......after watching me run last month Bryan decided he would run with me at this race. Which was a lot considering he worked a 12 hour shift, got home at 6:45am and then we were on the road at 7am to head to the race Needless to say he is sound asleep upstairs right now. Two other deputies were running the race with us so their teenagers were nice enough to take the kids over to the park and play with them while we were all running.

It was a bit on the chilly side and there was a mist in the air, but right when the race started the weather was perfect. The course was a nice flat route through Dublin with just one little hill, so it made for a good race. There were a little over 1500 runners, Bryan finished 175 overall and was right behind him at 202. I was happy with my time since I shaved 2 minutes off my last 5K. No pictures this time.....I need to be better about getting the camera out.

Not sure what the race for April will be yet, there are a few different options that we have.

The Ramp

2009-03-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Chris asked if we could build him a ramp for his bike. Chris had been on one at a friends house and had been talking about it since then. I figured we would wait until Papa & Nana were here and he could ask Papa to help him build one.

On Tuesday after school Bryan, Papa and Chris headed to Home Depot to get the supplies. Little did I know what kind of ramp they would be building. When I came home I saw this nearing completion.....

They built an adjustable ramp that starts at 8 inches and can expand up to 2 feet. Just what we need; as if our kids were not accident prone enough without the help of a bike ramp to catapult them through the air. I have to admit though the ramp is pretty cool. Bryan was even able to go off it on his bike so we know the thing is secure.

Heading up the ramp is serious business

Look at him go.... he is in heaven with this ramp now and we are enjoying watching the joy it brings to him and all the kids in the neighborhood.

So thank you Papa for a really cool ramp.

Trip to the Zoo

2009-03-12T14:08:00.001-07:00

We took full advantage of the beautiful weather on Monday and Bryan's parents being in town from Florida and went to the zoo. I forgot how much I loved the Oakland Zoo and the kids had a blast running around looking at the animals and being with Papa & Nana. Dani was very proud of the fact that she went pee twice at the zoo......quite an accomplishment for her. Good thing too becuase I was a total space cadet that morning getting out of the house and totally forgot extra Pull-Ups.

Mr. Turtle was enjoying all the green grass

Dani would have scaled every fence to get a closer look at the animals if we let her.

I think this was the first time Chris asked to get his picture taken.....EVER

Dani was wondering if the elephants would enjoy her rainbow colored goldfish.

The boys in the tree!

I have never laughed so hard as I did watching this giraffe try and reach the water.

Me and my girl.....gee you think we look a like :)

Tigers will always be my favorite.

Something about seeing Daddy with his little girl makes my heart melt!

Opening Day

2009-03-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

The flag was flying and the sun was out......a perfect day for some baseball. Today was opening day for Tracy Babe Ruth Baseball. They put on a great Opening Ceremonies, get all the teams out on the field, throw the first pitch, have some great food and some games.

This year Chris is on the A's. he is having a great time and is very excited for the first game next weekend. I was just happy that he did not get on the Dodgers, I just don't know if I could have supported the team.

After all the formalities the 5/6 league then had a base running contest. Chris was hilarious running the bases and was even more excited to get a medal at the end. He ran it in 18.5 seconds. We were proud. It is going to be a busy season with 16 games and practices twice a week but we are looking forward to it.

Ready to run the bases
Rounding third going so fast the hat was flying

Look mom I got a medal

Dani had to indulge in a hot dog while waiting

Mommy and the little slugger!

Happy Birthday Rex

2009-03-03T22:15:00.001-08:00

Today we celebrated one of our four legged family members birthday's. Sir Rex turned four today. Bryan was training with the rest of the K9 unit at church today when someone asked how old Rex was.....he then realized that he was 4 and today was his birthday.

Me being the complete dork I am insisted that we stop by this frilly pet store in town and get Rex a birthday treat to celebrate. Bryan and I stopped in there and picked out these cute little doggie cupcakes. Now try explaining to a 2.5 and 5.5 year old that the dog can have cup cakes and they can not. Not easy.

The kids sang to Rex, we let him enjoy his treat and have some fun in the house! Rex had a great birthday. Happy Birthday Rex!

February Race: Almond Festival 8K...5 miles

2009-02-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

No pictures yet....but since this is the last day of February I wanted to let you all know that are following (or care) that I completed my February race today. Nothing like cutting it close.

Bryan and my mini cheering section came with me to Ripon this morning. The rain held off and it was gorgeous out; sun peaking through, overcast and a flat course. The course took us through some beautiful neighborhoods and through the blossoming almond orchards. I think my favorite part was rounding the final corner and seeing Bryan there with the kids. Hearing "go mommy, go mommy" was just what I needed to finish strong.

All in all I finished the race with a 43:16 and I was very happy with that. Especially since it was about 5 minutes off what my goal was for myself. As soon as my girlfriend sends me pictures I will post them.

I will through the invite out there again for next month......we are running in Dublin at the Shamrock Fun Run on March 15th.

I feel so responsible......

2009-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend called to tell me the news this morning and we could not help but feel responsible. So I had to go online and read it for my self here.

But it is not all my fault, right? I mean Dave Ramsey should have something to do with it since he is the one that has been teaching us to be more responsible with our money. I have to say I was a little shocked when I looked in my checkbook today and saw that it has been since February 1st since I have been to Target.....I have NEVER gone that long.

So my apologies to the Target Corporation.....I promise one day I will be back!

Arenacross with my boys

2009-02-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

Last night we took Chris to his dream.....watching Areanacross in Sacramento. Chris has a fascination with dirt bikes and all that goes with them. So we jumped at the chance to take him to see them race live. It ended up being a great night out with friends and all the boys had a blast.

I think the only problem is that now I think we need to start a "Chris wants a dirt bike" fund. He is hooked. I thought he was going to jump out of his seat when the Freestyle team came out and he got to see them doing flips. Another highlight was realizing that they got to high five the rider that won earlier in the night when he was introduce and walked by our seats.

It was a late night but it was so worth it to see the pure excitement and joy in his and his friends faces.

Chris and his buddy Braedon

Me and my boy.....I love the look on his face.

My boys!

Walt Disney World.....help me!

2009-02-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

Okay so I need some help from you Disney veteran's out there. In May the four of us are going to venture to Florida for a week to stay with Bryan's family. I figured since the kids will be 3 and 6 in May it is about time we take them to Disney World. Plus Dani keeps asking to go to the Princess Castle.

We will be there on Dani's actual birthday so we are going to take advantage of going for free on that day.....the question is how many days and which resorts? In a way Disneyland is easier because there are just 2 places to go. So I figured I would ask the Disney experts out there on what we should do if we only want to spend a day or 2 there. Plus we are trying not to break the bank on this trip.

Can't wait for your feedback.

Bike Riding Fool

2009-02-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

Chris has always been partial to his scooter. He has that thing down. He never really had a huge interest in riding a bike. He has had one for a while, but the scooter was always the ride of choice. Bryan and I never pushed him, but did take off the training wheels a while ago hoping that would spark an interrest. Well on Monday we were at the park with friends and I asked Chris if he wanted to try riding his friends bike. Surprisingly he said yes, hopped on and off he went. I was shocked.

So now we have trouble getting him to NOT ride his bike. A whole new world has opened for Chris and we are so excited and proud of him.

MomFaves......what moms love most

2009-02-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my super cool friend Jenn turned me onto a website that her friend from high school started with her hubby..... Mom Faves It is an online word of mouth network for moms to share what they love most. I think we all know by now that when you are a mom if you find something you like you tell EVERY mom you know about it.

Tomorrow is MomFaves offical public launch. I encourage you if you are a mom to check it out and join. It has been so great to find out what other moms are doing and think are great .

Why join?
Moms join to submit, vote, share and discuss mom-valued products, websites, charities, recipes, places, services, activities, remedies, news, entertainment, programs, photos and more.

Check it out!

Robbed at church.....REALLY?

2009-02-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

This week is not really going my way........yet I still find that I am thankful for my family and the life we have (I won't even get into why I feel this so much this week, too sad!)

Today while I was at work, mind you I work at a church, my wallet was stolen. I was shocked. Every month we have an all staff lunch and meeting on campus. Well during this time there were two wallets and one whole purse, keys and all, stolen from various parts of our building. I was PISSED to say the least.

Right when Bryan and I are starting to get things right wit our budget and finances thanks to Dave Ramsey, something like this happens. Where in the budget is the money for getting a new license.....or replacing my Coach wallet......or worst yet the tickets for the Wine & Chocolate Festival that Bryan and I are going to with friends on Valentine's Day! URGGGGG! Not to mention the cash that was in there, atm cards and the church credit card. Thankfully we were able to cancel all the cards before transactions were made. I know it is just money and no one was hurt but still.....it all has to be replaced when we weren't really counting on those expense.

All in all today was no good.

Did I mention that when I picked Dani up from daycare she puked ALL over the car, car seat, and herself. Now she has the stomach flu.

Off to go clean puke out of my car.

I love my life :)

ER Trip #1 for 2009

2009-02-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

And the winner is......Dani-girl!

I knew that having another year with no ER visits for our family was going to be a stretch....but still I had hope.

We were having a nice day yesterday. Bryan was at training with Rex, Dani and I had a nice morning while Chris was at school and the sun was out. After we got Chris from school we ate lunch and walked down the street to Julie's house to let the kids ride scooters and head to the park. We got about two houses down the street and I noticed two yippy poodles run out of there house and head right for the kids. Chris kept going to Julie's but Dani stopped and started to scream. I had noticed that one of the dogs had jumped up on her but knew that she was not afraid of dogs. I ran to her and she was hysterical. The lady insisted the dog scared her. I looked at her and said, "This girl has two large dogs at home, a little poodle does not phase her"

I pulled down Dani pants and saw that indeed the dog had bit sweet Dani, no wonder she was pissed. At this point I was thankful that it was me handling the situation and not Bryan. # 1 because the dog would probably be dead and #2 because Bryan would probably be in trouble for shooting the dog :) Don't mess with his baby girl!

I spoke with the owners for a bit and they were mortified and did not know what to think. I said I had to go catch up with my other kid, now halfway down the street at our friend's house. I knew where they lived and figured I would call Bryan since he is the resident expert on dog bites. When I called him from Julie's my guess of his reaction towards the events was quite accurate. He was less then thrilled. He advised me that the best place to take her was the ER because they have the special tools to flush out dog bites, plus he wanted a report filed.

So I left Chris with our friend and headed to the ER with Dani. She was in good spirits and was excited to get some cool stickers and the "Big Dr's", that is what my kids call the ER. Meanwhile Bryan left training to meet us there.

With all our trips to the ER it is nice when you get there that all you have to do is give the name and birth date and they pull everything right up. I think it took 30 seconds to register and get all the papers to sign.

Another perk is we make our kids do all their own paperwork now. Very convenient for me!

The waiting is always the hard part. Now I want you to take note of the outfit she is rockin' here. It was Monday so I let her choose her outfit since we never really go anywhere. The choice here was a striped shirt, her fleece apple PJ bottoms, the beloved Hello Kitty socks and her pink and black pirate vans. As you can see she is covered in stickers from the triage nurse and has animal crackers from the vending machine.

Bryan always comes in handy when we are at the ER for entertainment purposes. Nothing makes the kids happier then when he blows up a rubber glove and turns it into a chicken.

Then he even does a little puppet show behind the curtain. It is entertaining to all of us.

Dani was finally seen by the Dr. and it was time for the bite to be flushed out. I was happy Bryan was there because this is not a fun process, and he knew that. They squirted the medication into the bite and then sucked it out. Dani made it very clear to the whole hospital that she was not happy. But once she was cleaned up and bandaged mommy got to hold her and her little world was right again. She will be on antibiotics for the next week and we need to watch the wound.

We did get pictures of the bite but I am not sure if Bryan wants me posting it so I will wait. We did file an Animal Bite report at the hospital. They will follow up with the owners to confirm that the dog is all up to date with shots and vaccinations and then report back to us. I just hope for their sake that the poodles never cross paths with Rex, it would not end well.

So here we are in February;
Er Count '09 Dani 1- Chris 0

January Race: The Copper Run 10K

2009-01-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

For those that actually cared to read what my resolutions were.....I have started. Today I ran my race for January. I found this small little race in Copperopolis for today that I ran with my friend Vicky L. For those wondering where this is......well let's just say they even know it is unheard of. During the race I passed a car with the bummer sticker "Where the hell is Copperopolis" It was a nice laugh and much needed at mile 5. Just for reference it is in the footHILLS near Angels Camp.

We were a little worried as we were driving out there if the town existed and if indeed there was a race. When we saw the sign we knew the answer to our first question was answered.

So now we drove with a little more confidence. We even saw a sign that said "Copper Run" on it, so know we knew the race was legit.

When I saw this was a small race, it was small. I think there were 2 people handling registration and one lady that would tell everyone the course when the asked what it was. While she was explaining it to Vicky and I we got a little worried. We asked if the course was hilly she laughed. She said yes indeed and you will probably we cursing my name when you get to the hill after mile 3. She was right. This course was brutal. I honestly do not think there was one point int he 6.1 miles that was flat in the least bit. But still we had a great time and both came in with times to be proud of.

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this race but it was just us two so pictures were a little harder to get. We are looking forward to our race in February and welcome any and all to join us on this 12 month journey.

Did I mention that every time there was a turn in the race there was a fireman standing there to guide you....talk about motivation!!!

Tahoe Trip with Friends

2009-01-14T19:41:00.000-08:00

We are back....six days in Tahoe and we had a blast. The kids and I went to South Lake Tahoe with two other fellow law enforcement families from Tracy, the Gilkerson's and Eno's. Thankfully we had a great ride up there thanks to Shannen letting us use their suburban to haul the kids and all the loot.

This is just the beginning of all the stuff that got loaded into my car. I still had my boots to add in and the BOB. I wish I would have gotten a picture of how much food we brought up there. Between myself Lori and Shannen we had 3 giant coolers, 5 Rubbermaid bins, a laundry basket and 2 Costco bags filled with food. Believe it or not we actually almost ate it all and made only a few trips to the store.

The cabin was great and had plenty of room for all of us. The weather could not have been better for all the ice skating, sledding in the backyard, playing in the hot tub, skiing and going snow tubing. A few of us were even able to sneak off to the casino one night. I got a ton of pictures and tried to capture all the fun we had. So brace yourself this is a long one.....

I like to call him Bryan's Mini Me

Dani was very excited to have her Camp Rock sunglasses to go with her diva look!

Bubba and Zach were nice enough to take Chris out on the ice for a little skating.

Don't be fooled, he was only smiling for a little while.

Chris would have sledded in the backyard all day if we let him

Me and my babies for a rare family picture

Dani would have been much happier if she was able to ski, but the whole potty training thing did not make it possible to do a lesson.

Maybe later this season we will get out on the slopes

"Mom take a picture of me jumping"

super jump!

Ready to head down the hill

Looking good Chris

I think lack of effort in stopping might run in the genes. I seem to recall that as a kid I did not really have any interest in stopping either.

Alright mom watch me rock the slope

Chris had a great lesson with his instructor and is starting to really pick up on skiing. Hopefully we will be able to get him in a few more lessons this season.

The kids had a blast playing Rock Band. I think Dani is going for a stripe theme, you think?

This girl knows how to work a crowd!

Dani loved having Tori paint her nails

Me and my girl

I think she may be up to something

Chris was eager to teach Dani how to make snowballs

Dani became a pro by the end of the day

Great shot of Dani (courtesy of Shannen).....she watch the kids one day so I could have a break and hit the slopes.

Dani was ready to rock the snow tube

Dani and mom full speed ahead

Chris was lucky enough to ride down with Zach.....

......and then Keith.

Dani just liked to watch and eat snow.....again, just like her mom!

Dani was so excited to have Krystn help her paint the little princess

Her buddy Ireland was nice enough to let her eat dinner with her.

Dani caught in the act with her corn

I think this picture sums up how we all felt at the end of the trip!

We had such a great time and are so grateful for such great friends. Hopefully next year Bryan will be able to join us. Thank you thank you thank you to Lori and Shannen for all the help with the kiddos this week!

Vacation Bound

2009-01-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

This will be a true vacation for me....the computer is staying at home. Actually it is in dire need of being rebuilt so this was a perfect time to let the IT team at work do that. Plus I think I need a week where I can truly relax.

I am heading to South Lake Tahoe with the kids and two other families for a week in the snowand skiing . Unfortunately due to to poor staffing Bryan has to stay at home, we will miss him :( I am sure that I will have plenty of posts and pictures when I get ome though.

So have a good week and I will see you all next week!

Tilden Park with the kiddos

2009-01-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

The other day Bryan went to the shooting range with a friend of ours so it was adventure time with the kids. I had errands to run in Berkeley and decided to take them to Tilden Park after that. It was so fun being up there and seeing the kids ride on the carousel that my sister and I used to ride when we were kids. We rode, ate popcorn and hiked around; the kids had a blast. A return trip will be in order on a weekend to take them on the steam train.

Roaring like a lion on the horse!

She thought she was such a big girl riding all by herself!

By his third time around he was having fun doing some tricks!

Time for a little popcorn after all the riding

Dani thought she was so sneaky stealing a sip of my diet coke!

Adios 2008

2008-12-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

I still have a hard time believing this year is over already.....time flies and the kids keep getting bigger! YIKES! We are looking forward to all that 2009 has in store for us. I am not one for making a ton of resolutions because I have not been the greatest at making it past January in keeping them:) So I have tried to keep it practical and simple this year. I will share my three in hopes that maybe it will keep me accountable a little more in keeping them.

For 2009 I plan to.....

1. Run in one race a month, whether it be a 5K, 10K or half marathon. No more marathons for me, 3 is enough plus I would like my poor feet to survive:)

2. Invest more in the friendships that count rather then the ones that continue to disappoint.

3. Take more little mini adventures with the family. We have done a few of these lately and they always turn out to be so much fun.

With that I hope and pray that you all have a safe and Happy New Years!!!! Bryan just headed out to work and I am getting ready to go to a friends house with the kids. Nothing like getting together with my fellow deputies wives and kids while all our hubbies are at work....at least we have each other, right? So stay safe tonight so they have less to do :)

See you in 2009!

Christmas in the City

2008-12-28T21:52:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we went into San Francisco to my mom's house for Christmas with her, my uncle and my sister. The kids were so excited to go and see everyone. They each packed some of their favorite toys and movies for a day at Mor Mor's.

As expected between my mom and my sister there was quite the little gathering of presents under the tree when we arrived. The kids were besides themselves to get to open ore presents. We unleashed the inner princess in Dani when my mom ave her a trunk filled with various princess dresses and jewelry. It was hilarious to see her try and put everything on while wearing the new snow boots that she got too. Another hit was the new "running shoes" that Amy got her. She would put them on and declare she was going running, do a lap around the house and then come back and adjust her shoes, then this was repeated a dozen times.

The biggies was when Chris got to open his last present from Aunt Mami.....he was beside himself. You will have to look at the pictures to see that. After presents and brunch Bryan, Amy and I headed down to AT&T park to watch the Emerald Bowl (Cal vs. Miami). It was a great game and even better because they pulled out a win. While at the game the kids got to hang with my mom and uncle. I think the hit was Dani walking to pizza in her jammies, running shoes and princess dress. Too bad we didn't get a picture of that one.

My moms cute little tree and all the presents for the kiddos

Patiently waiting to start opening the gifts

Helping Aunt Mami look at the book they made her

Dani trying on one of the new jackets from Aunt MamiThe little princess playing with her new Hannah Montana doll, she was in heaven.

Testing out the snowboots

Opening the big present from Mami

A new skateboard!!!! Now we just need to up our insurance policy!

Bryan and I all bundled up at the Cal game.

Our Christmas

2008-12-27T08:05:00.001-08:00

I figured it was about time to pull out the computer since we are now through the holidays. Christmas was so relaxing this year, quite the change. The decorating done early, shopping done on budget and ahead of schedule and no where to be.

Christmas Eve came and we had a nice morning together as a family and then went over to our friends house to exchange presents with them. From there the kids came home with Bryan and I headed off to church for the day (it is an all day event when you work there). Cornerstone had three services in Livermore and all were amazing, Bryan and the kids came and joined me for the last one. Nothing says Christmas like a little Holy Night under candle light. That we enjoyed a treat of pizza and jammies before tucking the kids away in bed.

Like we had expected Chris was wide awake at 5:45 ready for presents. The best part was he said to me, "Mom you can stay here and I will just go down there and open all the presents" Nice try but now. We were able to hold him off long enough to get some coffee going and open our eyes. Chris and Dani had a blast opening their presents. Bryan and I were very happy at our decision to not go over board this year, They each got three new things and it was the perfect amount. Who knows how much will be added today when we go to my mom's for Christmas, she and my sister always go all out for them!

After breakfast it was off to Starbuck's. This little tradition started on Chris's 2nd Christmas. The first few years Bryan always had to work so after we opened presents Bryan would go to sleep and I would take Chris, and later Dani, on a walk to Starbuck's for some coffee to kill some time and also get my fix. After a while I actually came to enjoy this. Bryan was able to join in last year and again this year. We took Rex along for the walk this year, but it was a little cooler then we would have hoped for. The 1.5 down there was not bad, but the way home was straight into a brutal head wind. Chris had abandoned his scooter at this point So I was pushing 80 lbs of kids into the wind, no fun. I got my workout for the day though.

The afternoon was filled with naps, Christmas movies and time with the kids. We enjoyed a nice tri-tip that night grilled on Bryan's new BBQ he had gotten for his 30th a few days before. I think Bryan will be using it a lot in the future, his head is spinning with ideas.

Christmas was a success this year and we feel blessed to have a family, a home, jobs, and God who cares for us so much this season. We hope you and your families all had a nice Christmas as well.

The kids on Christmas morning.

Waiting patiently to open their stockings......I promise Chris was excited!

Christmas fun at school!

2008-12-19T16:34:00.001-08:00

Today was Chris's last day of school until Jan 29th (I LOVE year round school) so his teacher had some fun stuff planned. The parents were invited to join in the fun of decorating gingerbread houses. Chris had so much fun and impressed me with his desire to make sure very side was symmetrical.

Chris was excited to make his "ABC" pattern with his gumdrops on the roof

Chris and his buddy Logan

Very hard at work on the houses, surprisingly all the kids did really well not devouring the bowls of candy set in front of them!

Chris and Mommy with his masterpiece

The finished product

Now this will be a picture I will cherish considering this afternoon when Chris and I were out running errands Sierra decided to get the gingerbread house off the kitchen counter and EAT IT!!!! I was so mad and felt so bad for Chris because he was so excited to show Bryan. But my sweet little man looked at me and said, "Oh mom it's okay, at least we have a picture. Maybe we can make another one next year!" I love him.

BPS Junkies

2008-12-17T15:41:00.001-08:00

I think our family is addicted to the Bass Pro Shop. We keep going back over and over again. Maybe it is because it is "free fun" and the kids have a blast. Bryan and I took the kids again last night and of course they wanted to see Santa again. This time the picture turned out a lot better.

Laugh if you must but we really enjoy this place. I think we may go this weekend to watch them feed the trout!

It could have been my kids

2008-12-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have a feeling that if we lived within walking distant to a toy store this story could very easily be one of my kids!

I love he he took the officers to show them his toys.

Holiday Run for Health

2008-12-13T21:24:00.001-08:00

Nothing like a little run with Santa to get the season going! My friend Vicky and I braved the cold and wind to do the Holiday Run for Health in Antioch this morning. The race was a nice 5K around the Contra Loma Regional Park. We had a great time and it was fun to have someone to run with. We ended up not doing to bad either coming in at 26:35 and taking 4th and 5th place in our age group. Not bad for two moms......I think the best part was we passed about half the CCC Sheriff's recruits that were running it :)

Me, Santa and Vicky after the race

Vicky and I getting our medals

Nathaniel (Vicky's youngest) did the Santa Dash with his sister and had a blast.

Meet Sparkey

2008-12-10T19:35:00.001-08:00

Sparky is the newest addition to family Christmas decor. Bryan had an extra dog harness so of course he had to go on Sparky. The kids have really enjoyed that we now have a Police Reindeer that looks out for the house while we are gone.

We love Christmas!

Christmas at the Bass Pro Shops

2008-12-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

Nothing says Christmas like Santa at the Bass Pro Shop....say what?

Bryan and I have actually grown found of this place; the kids really enjoy all the fish, animals and the shooting range. We took the kids out there one night to walk around, as we walked on the lady asked if we wanted to see Santa, "Um sure, where is he?". She told the kids to follow the reindeer hoof-prints on the floor to Santa's Workshop. Chris was so excited to do this and laughed the whole way to Santa. The BPS had turned the whole boat area into Santa's workshop; packed with trains, a shooting range, coloring area toys and FREE pictures with Santa. So the kids got their first ever picture with the big man (normally we are not willing to wait in line for hours and pay $20 for a picture that may or may not turn out). When there was no line and it was free so why not!

Chris and Dani with Santa

Bryan was so excited that I made him wear the camo Santa hat.

***my apologizes for the poor picture quality, I really need a new camera so for now all I have is the iPhone for pics.

MADD Awards Banquet

2008-12-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

Every year MADD hosts an awards banquet for all the top arresting officers in Alameda County for DUI's. For the second year Bryan was invited to attended the banquet for his 36 DUI arrests this year. It is always an eye opener to be at this banquet and hear the statistics of the people that drive drunk daily and that every 30 min. someone dies because of a DUI related incident.

This year all the law enforcement agencies in Alameda County that were at the banquet were responsible for 4680 DUI arrests. The top arresting officer was from ACSO, Deputy Osborne, and he arrested 204 people for DUI just this year. Pretty impressive!

As a wife I am always very proud of Bryan going to these events. He has a job that often receives little recognition and most the people they encounter daily are not real friendly if you get my drift. It was nice to see how appreciative MADD is of the work that law enforcement does. I am very proud of the work that Bryan does and all the accomplishments he has made in the department.

Riding in style in the motorcade on our way to Scott's

The bikes always look so great all lined up!

Bryan receiving his award from the National President of MADD

A group shot of all the ACSO guys and the sheriff

Sheriff Ahern telling the deputies how proud he was of all the awards ACSO received and the work they did this year

Bryan and I on the waterfront in Oakland

Our good friends Keith and Lori Gilkerson....Keith had 56 DUI arrests this year!

Here is a shot of Bryan and Rex's car.

Seriously?

2008-11-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

I could not believe this when I read it.

Is it really worth the deals? NO!

Personally I enjoyed sleeping in that morning. Plus I did my shopping the night before when the stores were stocked and then just went back for price adjustments.....while fully rested.

Christmas is here.....

2008-11-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

It is a favorite season around here and now it is here. Bryan was home this morning and we spent that time listening to Christmas music, drinking cider and decorating the house for Christmas. Early yes I know, but so worth it. It was so fun to come home tonight from Thanksgiving dinner with the kids to a festive house.

I love this time of year!

some new family pics

2008-11-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

We had some family shots taken by my friend Sara last week.....for the first time in a few years we got some good pictures out of the kids. I think Dani was so distracted by Rex running in and out of the lake that she did not mind the occasional picture. Thanks my friend for some great shots.

My little man

Bryan and Rex got some play time in at the lake

Dani loved her little stick

Me and my girl

I LOVE this picture.....it captures all of who Dani is

My sweet babies

Tis the season

2008-11-05T11:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas is officially here....well at least in my book. The presence of the oh so wonderful red cup at Starbuck's marks the beginning of the greatest time of the year!

Soccer Party TIme

2008-11-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Soccer season has finally come to an end and just in time with all the rain we have been getting. The team gathered for the party at none other the HomeTown Buffet. Not really what I was thinking for an end of the year party. I think every party I ever had for a sports team was always held at a pizza parlor. But like I find myself saying many times, we do live in Tracy. Believe it or not in my 31 years I have never been to the HTB as we now refer to it. Let me tell ya, I was not missing anything.

I am gad Bryan was able to be there with me because like always he made it interesting. First off I had to laugh that for kids you pay by the year; 60 cents a year. So for Dani since she is 2 so we only had to pay $1.20. When we were at the register Bryan asked the lady if they had an anniversary specials. I don't think she realized that he was kidding, Bryan knows better to EVER take me there for any special occasion. But we took it all in good stride and the kids had fun. I did about died of laughter when the HTB Bee mascot came out and was saying hi to the kids.

Our team mom had a great cake, the kids got to play and then they all got their cool trophies. I never realized how excited these kids get about their first trophies. i guess looking back to my sports days it was a pretty big deal. We had a great time this year with soccer and we were very lucky to have a great coach.

Coach Alex and the boysChris was so proud of his trophyChris's first trophyDani loved her ice creamCoach Alex, Jacob and Chris

Me and the HTB Bee......I could not even stop laughing long enough for Bryan to take the picture. I never even knew that they had a mascot. Fun times

She is my daughter!

2008-11-02T15:40:00.001-08:00

Nothing like a nice scooter ride in between rain showers on a brisk fall afternoon. Dani is picking up on a habit that was one of my moms favorite's.....dressing myself. This is what she chose post nap. What can I say the girl has my fashion sense.

Power Ranger and Hot Dog!

2008-11-01T19:20:00.001-07:00

Halloween was about a two week event this year, we got our monies worth out of the costumes. First we hit the Tracy downtown parade with our neighbors.....can we say ghetto. But it was Tracy so it is kind of what we expect :) This this week we went to the Livermore Downtown Trick or Treat. This was a little nicer but there were way too many people there. On Halloween Chris had a parade at the school for all the kids. It was fun to see him and all the kids in his class all dressed up. By the time that night came around I was Halloween-ed out but I still took the kids to CandyZone at our church. With food, bounce houses, plasma cars and candy....who could ask for more. Well I could have. This is not an event you bring 2 kids to with only one parent. But the kids had fun so my massive head ache by the end of the night was worth it.

My little hot dog and power ranger......so cute!

Chris waiting to play some games in Livermore

Chris and Logan at the school parade

Dani LOVED the big slide at CandyZone

7-up goes great with hot dogs

****my kids were not to pleased this morning to find that I had thrown out all their candy from Halloween. The last thing my kids is sugar to give them any more energy. I mean heck it was not like I was going to get Mother of the Year anyways.

All in a days work

2008-10-30T20:00:00.001-07:00

This is what we did at work yesterday. Quite the productive day if you ask me. Sara'is te cool fae on the left and mine was the spider web on the right.

Trash Day Results

2008-10-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the results from last weeks glorious day. This year Bryan and I did not do a contest because honestly we did not have too much to put out there. I think we have gone overboard the last few years.

Now believe it or not there is trash etiquette if you can call it that (especially in Tracy) The picture below is what you do not do. We drive by this house on the way to school and everyday the pile grew. It seriously looked like someone sat in the front door and chucked things to the curb. By the day of pick up there were actually 2 mannequins in the pile.

I was shocked that the trash guys actually picked this up.....technically everything has to be bagged.

Now who said you can't find some good stuff on these days. I drove by and took the picture and 30 minutes later when I drove by again they were gone, hey these are hard times.

This was a pretty classic scene for trash piles. I think the number one item that you usually seen are broken book helves and old TV stands. The funny thing is that half way through the night a piece of this bed was in our pile. Classic "trashers remorse" syndrome.

I think we need to start our cleaning a little earlier for the spring pick up. I was not impressed with our 4 garbage bags of items. Until March '09

It is one of the best weeks of the YEAR!

2008-10-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

I will give you a few hints as to why this is one of the greatest weeks of the year.

1. clean houses
2. large piles
3. creeping trucks
4. many good laughs

That's right folds it is TRACY TRASH WEEK! Our bi-annual event here in T-town, they should just make this a holiday. If you have been reading this blog for a while you know about our love for this week from previous posts. The next few days we are cleaning the house to create our pile for Thursday night. Meanwhile the piles in the neighborhood are starting to grow.

We love our little ghetto life!......oh did I mention we hung a fly swab in our kitchen yesterday. Laugh if you will but we got 22 flies on that thing.

Fun at the Bass Pro Shop

2008-10-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well we have hit the big time....Manteca (the town right next to Tracy) is big time now. Just this week the opened the area's first and only Bass Pro Shop. We had some free time this morning so we packed up the family and headed down the road to the "BPS" as we refer to it.

I have never seen so many people in one place in the Central Valley before, the place was a zoo. Now before you all think that the Francis family has sold out and we have been turned into a fishing hick fam, just wait. This place is actually really cool. They have so many different things in this store it is overwhelming. From boats to guns, to clothes and bikes, they have everything that involves any outdoor sport you can think of. Including probably every piece of fishing equipment. Here are a few fun pics from our time there. I think this will be a place we will frequent, especially after the aquarium gets filled with the fish.

This is looking back at the crazy entrance to the store. You actually walk thru a redwood when you enter the store.

There is a waterfall that goes over the staircase as you walk upstairs. The aquarium at the bottom will eventually be filled with fish....they and not arrived yet.

Just a glimpse at the CRAZY amount of people here.

Dani had fun looking at all the animals. She loved this bear.

Chris and Bryan loved the shooting gallery they had in the back of the store. Although I think Bryan spent more quarters then Bryan.

Quick Trip to Chicago

2008-10-16T21:48:00.001-07:00

I have been a travelin' fool for work lately. I spent a few days in the Carolina's two weeks ago and earlier in the week I headed to Chicago for a few days. This trip was a fun one since I got to go there with Sara and another great women from our church Caren.

If anyone has ever spent any time around Sara and I they would know that we have a tendency to wear the same thing every now and then. And when I say the same thing I me exactly, it is a gift. This can be kind of funny at times especially since we work together. So it really came to no surprise that on the first day of our trip we were sportin' the NF fleece and jeans (outfit of choice).

The conference we were at was for women in church leadership, "Gifted to Lead". Two of the most dynamic women I have heard speak on women's leadership, Nancy Beach and Nancy Ortberg gave the one day interactive conference for about 500 women from all over the states. In the first session we were talking about key points in our lives that we felt we were called to be leaders. My thoughts went directly to high school and the youth group at MVPC. I thought of all the great student leaders that I worked with. The totally WEIRD part of this was at the break I walk out in the courtyard and there I see my friend Jane Filkin that I went to high school with and was one of those student leaders with me. So crazy, especially since she and her family are in Colorado now working at a church in Boulder. It was such a fun time to reconnect with her. It was a great conference and I took away a ton from it.

That night Sara and I headed to downtown Chicago to get some food and take in the sights. It was a beautiful night and the weather was amazing.

Where we got our grub on

Gotta love the Sears Tower

Walking along the river and enjoying the view!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-08T16:16:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I took the kids over to Del Oso Family Farms for a quick trip to get some pumpkins before school started again. Chris tracked back on this Tuesday so we wanted to have a little fun. Note to self if you go on a Monday during the day.....no one is there. It was great the kids were able to run free and get dirty.

This was the best I could get of the two of them.....notice the bandaged forehead on Chris and the ragamuffin look on Dani. I think I may need to cut some bangs on that girl.

Chris and Bryan getting ready for pumpkin blaster

I think Chris would have stayed here all day if we let him. (Bryan too!!!)

Nothing like putting my 5 year old in jail.

Dani loved feeding all the animals once she realized they were not going to get her.

Chris had a fascination with the little chicks

Dani and the little piggy!

Cowboy Chris!

Seriously mom, cut me some bangs.....I can not see a thing!

Welcome home mom

2008-10-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

Nothing like coming home to a great welcome......

That would have been nice, but no. Now granted my great hubby picked me up at the airport but was a little late. This was because he got a flat pulling out of the driveway. He quickly got in the other car and came to get me. Since he needed to work that night I let him go to bed and said I would deal with the car. Fun for me.

I head down to the tire store to have them replace the tire that had completely blown out. They looked a the other front one and it was worn pretty bad so it needed replacing as well. Fine! Then he got to the back tires, 1 was good and 1 had a giant nail in it in the area that is not fixable. Seriously!!! So $400 later I was waiting to get 3 new tires. Did I mention that the day before Bryan had to replace the car battery for another $100. Wonderful!

So as I waited for my car I figured I would walk to the bank and then get a coffee. After all I think I at least deserved that. Bank was uneventful and I was on my way to get coffee only when I go to pay I realize I did not have my ATM card. Yikes I left it in the ATM. So I ran back over to the bank and thankfully someone had turned it in. But at this point I was bitter and did not want to walk back to get coffee.

Nice day huh....well it continued Friday. After getting home from the gym and having lunch the kids were paying in Chris's room. All of a sudden I hear that cry that you know is not just a whine or "she took my toy" cry. I ran up there to see Chris holding his head bleeding. He had jumped over a chair in his room and hit his head on the window ledge. After going back and forth about what to do with him I called the doctor about an hour later. They had me come in to take a look at it. Mean while he let me put a band aid on it and ice for a little. When we got to the doctor about 2 hours later he said I had two choices as to how I could treat it. Option 1 was to take him to the ER and get stitched up, Option 2 was to clean it really good there and put a bunch of Steri Strips on. I figured for once we would stay out of the ER and go with Steri Strips.

So that was my nice welcome home after a few days in the Carolinas for a conference and visiting a friend. I guess that is why I love my family so much....we always seem to keep each other on our toes.

The art of a phone call

2008-09-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

I think he is learning.
This morning was proof.

I have to give Bryan credit, I think he is getting better and late night/early morning phone calls from the hospital. I think this is something that all law enforcement need to master for the sake of their loved ones sanity.

I will take you back to January when I received the first call. It was about 11 at night and I was already in bed when he called. The first words out of his mouth were, " Hey babe, I am at the hospital but I am okay"

Lesson 1: Never start a conversation with "I am at the hospital"

The next part of that opening sentence was not any better. Okay is way to subjective of the word. So the conversation proceeded with me asking a series of questions to find out what exactly okay meant. Okay I am alive, okay I can still walk, okay nothing major. Get my point. After a few minutes I realized that he was taken there more on a precautionary measure after some lady side swiped him and sent is patrol car into a house. He was pretty sore but yes he was okay!

Lesson 2: If you say your okay....please clarify

Fast forward to this morning. My phone rang a little after 5am, at this point in the morning I really had no clue what was going on. I answered and Bryan said hello. He then told me that he was going to be late coming home (he learned from Lesson 1). Of course I asked him why he was going to be late. That is then when he let me know that he was at the hospital. At this point of course I had to ask, WHY? "Well I got in a fight and I need to get my hand stitched up" See he improved.

This conversation that much better. He did not freak me out in the opening and then he immediately told me the reason for his little jaunt to the hospital. This is necessary since it only takes your brain a split second to think of the 800 things that okay could mean. So I applaud Bryan for his lessons learned in the art of a phone call.

For those wondering Bryan is okay, but the hand did not fair so well. He had to get 5 stitches on his hand and has a splint on his finger. He will most likely be out for a week or two (nice since this was his first week back at work after 6 weeks off) since he needs full mobikity of his hand. This was on his right hand better known as his shooting hand. Kind of necessary in his job.

We are glad he is okay and impressed in the improvment in phone call skills.

Little Change

2008-09-20T08:43:00.001-07:00

I figured since the weather was actually pretending like it might be fall soon, I would get the blog that way too. I am looking forward to breaking out the fall and winter clothes and not having to run the AC 24 hours a day.

We have a fun weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow my mom is taking me, Bryan and Chris to "Under the Big Top" (Ringling Bros. Circus). This will be Chris's and Bryan's first trip tot he circus. I think I may be more excited then both of them. I LOVED going to the circus when I was little and can not wait for Chris to experience it.

Bryan is back to work :( It is nice having him and Rex home. Rex is getting use to life here at the house. I think he was a little spoiled getting to live in a hotel room with Bryan for 6 weeks, now he has to sleep outside. I think he liked the hotel better.

More pics to come after this weekend.

Am I ready to be a Soccer Mom?

2008-09-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

It has begun.....soccer season is upon us.

Chris's team banner, the "Shark Boys"

The little soccer stud.....the sum was in his eyes, my bad

Team getting ready for their first game, Chris is # 17

The boys thought it was great when the ref asked them to pound their shins to make sure they were all wearing shin guards.

Chris has really taken to soccer. He has a great coach and the boys on his team are all so fun. I just don't know if I am taking to soccer as much as he is. Am I ready to have the elaborate lawn chair that I haul to all the games, cut the perfect smile oranges for half time snacks, ready to wear the team colors and the button with pride......not there quite yet. I will go and root for my little man but I refuse to get sucked in. Although I think I am rubbing off on him. At practice last night Chris was out on the field yelling " Come on Shark Boys, let's hustle on the field"

The Dry Bean Festival

2008-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Only in Tracy can there be a Dry Bean festival that has been going on for 22 years now. Hey it was local, free and fun for the kids. I had not been in the past two years mainly because it always super hot. It was no different this year, but the kids needed to have some fun......and they did. Chris and Dani enjoying their shaved ices in the shade

Dani LOVED the corn on a cob.....too bad that was moms lunch!

Beach Trip and our new doggie!

2008-09-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

The kids and loaded up the car and headed down to Riverside to spend the three day weekend with Bryan. I will spare you the details of the drive but let's just say that with 2 hours to go the DVD player died and the Benadryl wore off....NO FUN! But we made it and the kids were so excited to see Bryan. I don't think Dani let Bryan out of her site that first few hours we were there.

We got to spend a lot of time at the pool where the kids got to show off there swimming skills to Daddy. Dani has become quite the little fish. She had no problem just jumping on in with the her water wings on and then swimming to the edge of pool. All while saying, "Look at me, all by myself". Sunday we headed down to Santa Monica for the day and the kids were in heaven. They have not spent too much time at the beach, but i think we will need to go more now. Chris was fearless in the ocean jumping over the waves and diving right on it. Dani loved ever minute of the water. Granted mommy forgot to pack her suit so she totally look like a beach bum running around topless in her board shorts. Good thing is that she did not care and is still at the age where it is cute. We had a great day at the beach and a fun time with Daddy.

Bryan and Chris heading back in from the ocean

Chris and Dani had a blast just digging holes and getting dirty in the sand

Dani figured out that she could bury her feet in the sand.....

She was so proud of her accomplishment

Daddy taking Dani in to see the waves

It is hard to tell in this picture but she LOVED the ocean and all the waves. She would only fuss when Bryan brought her back out to the beach.

Snack time at the beach

When Bryan got down to school 4 weeks ago he got yet another new dog....don't ask, but this one is a keeper. This is Rex, he is a Belgian Malinois and is from Holland. He and Bryan have been working together in school for the past 4 weeks and he is doing great. He is also a very social dog. The kids loved spending time with him this weekend. Dani has formed quite the bond with him and loves being around him. She always walks right up to the kennel and waits for Rex to lick her face. I think she is actually more comfortable around him then I am. We are anxious to have Rex and Bryan come home on Sept 12th.

Bryan and Rex

How to survive a roadtrip....

2008-08-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Call me a bad mom if you must..... but to me this might be the only way I will survive the road trip down to Riverside with the kids tomorrow to see Bryan (& his new K9 Rex)

Survival of the fittest people.

Sometimes you just don't have a choice. I am sorry but I am about to get in a small car (trips like this I MISS my Expedition) with two small children to travel 6 hours in 100+ degree heat.

Granted it will be worth it to see how happy they will be after not seeing Daddy for 3 weeks!!!

Half way mark and a little soccer

2008-08-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

First we will start with a few pictures from the new soccer season.....

This was at his first practice with Coach GonzalesChris attempting to figure out how to do jumping jacksLearning the importance of stretching

Chris was really excited to start his new soccer team. He loves going to the practices and will be in top shape by the end of the season. The coach has a rule that if they are talking when they are not suppose to they have to run a lap around the field. With a team of ten 5/6 year old boys.....they do a lot of running. WE had our first "soccer" experience at picture day this past weekend. It was basically organized chaos with a ton of children, over involved parents and not enough coffee. I really do not know if I am ready to be a soccer mom yet. I was asked to buy the soccer sticker that all the moms have on their car for a second time, I had to deny. I just don;t think I am there yet. Needless to say Chris is having a blast and loves all the boys on his team. His first game is next week so we will see how that goes.

We are half way through Bryan's 6 weeks away at training. All I can say is that I am still alive and so are the kids, at least as of tonight. It has been an interesting 3 weeks and we have been trying to keep busy. The kids really miss their daddy and are looking forward to seeing him this weekend (me too!!!) I am going to drive down to LA this weekend with the kids to see him for the holiday weekend. We are going to spend some time at the pool, the beach and maybe a theme park. The nice thing is that when we get home we will have only 2 more weeks until we get home. I am lucky to have some great friends that keep checking in on me, calling and inviting me and the kids over for play dates. They have made all the difference in making the time go by faster.

Stay tuned for pictures from our roadtrip down south (thank goodness for DVD players and Benadryl.) Until then...

Weekend in Newport Beach

2008-08-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I flew down and meet up with Bryan for a weekend without the kids. We had some great meals, saw a movie and just enjoyed some fun times times with friends. On Saturday we met up with some of our great friends and went to Darren and Kristen's wedding in Newport Beach. These were all my guy friends from college that made my expierience in the CM department at Cal Poly so much fun. It was a beautiful day and the wedding was great......fun times had by all. It was so fun to be with everyone again and celebrate with Darren as he married his beautiful bride Kristen.

Bryan and I at the Lido Isle Yacht club (where the reception was)

Darren and Kristen made their grand entrance to the reception in style cruising through the Newport Harbor.Nothing like a blue martini that matched the colors of the weddingOh the memories with these guys.....Greg, me, Darren, Dave and Jill
Bryan and IGreg and his girlfriend Deanna.....she fit in just fine. Jill and DaveOh this was a fun table to be at, I think we now know why we are always all put in the corner at weddings. But man do we have fun.

Marine World with the kiddos

2008-08-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

When Bryan's family was here we went up to Marine World for the day. The kids had a blast. Since Chris was taller this time there were a ton of rides that he was able to go on. I think Tony Hawk's ride was his favorite, he laughed his way through the whole thing. Dani of course was not thrilled that she had to sit out but she had a blast.

Dani loved running around seeing the animals, riding the rides and dancing to all the music. After a good 6 hours there the kids were beat though and we headed home.

Dani had a nice dance party with the dolphin

Bryan and Chris at the whale show

Dani was mesmerized by the whales

Shouka the Whale

Dani got to go on the airplanes all by her self.....such a big girl

Chris ready for the rideUp, up and away!!!

Auntie Brooke and Dani touching the sting rays

Dani was in love with the helicopters

Family ride in Harold the Helicopter

Auntie Brooke & Dani enjoyed their lemon treat!

Baseball time

2008-08-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Finally some pictures...

At the beginning of the summer Chris started baseball. In Tracy they have a Jr. Giants league. We figured this was a good place to start him since it was a non-competitive league that focuses more on the basics of learning the game rather then the score and who plays were. It is quite hilarious to watch, but Chris is having a great time.

Here are some pictures from his first game.

He was so serious in the dugout before they took the field

Check out that swing!

Doesn't every ball player play with the dirt in the infield?

.....just not all of them make castles with it.

Our little baseball stud!

More to come

2008-07-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been filled with fun and adventures. Bryan's parents and sister were here for a few days. The timing was great because Bryan had a few days off too. On Monday we took the kids to Marine World, Tuesday was lots of playing and tee ball, and Wednesday was a trip tot he city and the Exploratorium. All this to say I do have pictures but life is busy for the next few days.

We are getting ready to say goodbye for Bryan for a while. On Sunday he will be heading down to Riverside to attend the Police K9 Academy at Adelhorst. It is a six week course that he will go through with his new dog Basco (he is the replacement from his second dog Fasco who blew out his knee this summer). It is going to be a long 6 weeks up here but we are going to do our best to keep busy. We already have two weekend st hat Bryan will com home and one that I will go down there without the kiddos YIPEE!!!! I know the kids are going to miss their daddy,s o that will be the tough part.

All this to say I will have plenty of time on my hands after Sunday to post some pictures from the past few days.

Farmers Market Fun

2008-07-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning after the gym I took the kids to the Tracy Farmer's Market. The weather was great and then kids had a blast.

Dani searching for strawberries in the bag

She ate her body weight in strawberries

Nothing like dancing in the streets

Hi mom!

Dani's new love

2008-07-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

The nice thing about tee ball is that we can take the wagon and the scooter to the games since we live behind the sports complex. Dani has taken full advantage of the uninterrupted hour that she has full access to her brother's scooter. In the past few weeks she has really become quite the rider. I see a pink Razor in her future.....

Okay so this next picture is just because it made me laugh. I ran upstairs just now to go get some laundry and I peeked over at the kids room. This is what I saw at Dani's door. Needless to say she is still getting out of her bed occasionally, but now she stays in her room and usually just talks to the dog through the door. Precious, I know!

A crappy day.

2008-07-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day. One of those days that you know will be long when you wake up and you have to hit the snooze button a few times just to be able to get out of bed. The first half of the day was spent working out in Brentwood at church. Bryan worked a midnight shift last night and then picked up a swing shift today, so needless to say he was not around to help with the kids today. So this was a bit of a challenge come tear down at church. But we managed with only a few melt downs, mostly the kids. By mid afternoon the kids missed Daddy though and so did I. We decided to head out to Castro Valley to see Bryan and have dinner with him. This was also a way of getting the kids out of the house for a little bit not having to cook dinner. Unfortunately the car ride was less then pleasant and I was worn to pieces by the time we made it to Chipotle. As luck would have it Bryan got a call on his way to meet us so we had to wait about 30 minutes for him.

The kids saw Bryan pull in the parking lot and got all excited. I took Dani out of her high chair so she could go see Bryan. She was sitting on my lap while I put her shoe back on. As she slid off my lap to go run to Daddy I noticed my jeans were smeared with poop. Yep, that is right, smelly poop all down my leg.

Not knowing how exactly it got on my leg, I panicked. Dani was running towards Bryan to pick her up. The problem was that he was in uniform and I did not really want him covered in poop all night. I yelled out to him, "Don't pick her up, she's covered in poop." I quickly realized that this is not the best thing to yell out in a restaurant.

I will spare you the details of the clean up. Needless to say we had bath time when we got home and the kids were off to bed. Hence my crappy day. Tomorrow is a new day.

Finally some 4th of July

2008-07-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

I realize that it has been a few weeks but with school and tee ball starting.....life has been busy. So here are a few pictures from our weekend in Truckee. The kids had a blast being up there and the weather was great. Like always we hit the Truckee 4th of July parade and then headed down to the lake to watch fireworks and BBQ with the Benson's. Next time I will try and bring a functional camera so I have more then just pictures from my phone.

I think Dani consumed her body weight in watermelon throughout the weekend.

Chris had a blast learning how to fish off the Benson's dock on Donner Lake.

Dani just relaxing at the park

One of the winning crawdads in the crawdad race the kids had. It was actually pretty funny to watch, the kids both thought it was hystarical.

Nothing like an old school life vest for a girl who just over leaning over the edge of the dock to look at the fishiesCat, Ali and Krista

I think a definite highlight of the trip was hanging out with Cat and Krista and the kids. Krista and Cat are some of my closest girlfriends from high school and before, we have all been friends for 16+ years. So many of our fun memories were spent in Tahoe during the summers on the lake and winters on the mountain.....so it is always fun to get together up in Tahoe. These girls are both such great friends to me and now my family too. We have been through it all together.....we have gotten married, had babies, said goodbye to friends and moms, and mostly just gone through life together as friends. I always treasure the times with these gals because no matter where we are, when we are together it is like we are 14 again hanging out on the dock and just being girls.

Homework in Kindergarten?

2008-07-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

School has definitely changed form the days when I would cut color and learn to share in Kindergarten. They are no joke these days. Chris came home with homework for the first time yesterday. The funny thing was that he was so excited to do it. That is why I figured I should at least blog about it so I have proof in a few years (or weeks) when he is protesting doing it.

He was so proud that he finished it and even wanted to continue on to the page for tonight. Now granted it was just writing your name five times on the correct lines, but still he had to sit at the table, take out his folder and listen to the directions.

Once I got him started he looked at me and said, "Mom, I think I've got it. you can go do something else. I need to do my homework. " Alrighty then....

Poor Man's Pool

2008-07-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

.....what else are you suppose to do when it is 110 out !!! The nice thing is he had fun, and it was "free fun"

The BIG day!

2008-07-07T21:57:00.001-07:00

The BIG day has arrived and we all survived. Chris was so excited to head off to Kindergarten this morning. It was quite the change to have to load the kids in the car and actually drive to school.....we have been spoiled the past few years with pre school across the street.

Chris anxiously awaited outside the Kindergarten building at George Kelly School for the bell to ring. As the kids started to pile in to the class the found their name tags and had a seat on the carpet. His teacher, Mrs. Vasquez, welcomed them and started them off with some great music. Who doesn't love a good chicken dance in the morning. The kids read a book and then it was time for them to turn and wave goodbye to their parents. I have to say it did make Bryan and I happy to know that Chris was very comfortable with staying there and leaving us beyond, some other kids in his class were not doing so well. As we headed out the door Dani was yelling to him....."Bye , bye Beeper!!!"

Chris had a blast today at school. Tonight when we were leaving the gym he said to me, "Mom we need to get home quick, I have to get to bed for school tomorrow." So here we are at the next chapter of our lives with Chris is school now.

We are so proud of our little man and all he has grown up to be. It was quite a day watching him march in there with confidence and be so excited for school. Chris you will always be our little baby, we love you and are so proud of you!

Vacation in Tahoe (part 1)

2008-07-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry to disappoint but there are no pictures for this one. Just a little preview of whats to come from our 4th of July "vacation". My mom was nice enough to rent a great place in Truckee for us to spend the 4th at so we could relive all the great traditions of our youth being here in Truckee ALL the time. Bryan has to work all week with the holiday, shocker, I know.....so it is me and the kids. I think the craziness started Wednesday when I was trying to get out the door to drop the kids off and get to work. I could not drop Dani off because they thought she had pink eye, wonderful. So I have my companion for the day now trying to get things done and get her in to see the doctor. By the time 3pm rolled around and my mom showed up to get me and the kids ,I was already beat and Dani had yet to nap. We get Chris, go by Safeway to get all Dani's prescriptions and headed to Tahoe.

I got nothing done that day that I needed to and I was determined to get something I wanted accomplished done. So we made a slight detour through Walnut Creek so I could see my good friend Kristina and her little baby Caden that she had had that afternoon in the middle of all the craziness. I am still very glad I did that so I at least started the trip on a better note.

Traffic was not too bad and we were sailing along, but the kids were a wreck. Dani still had not fallen asleep and Chris was attempting to watch movies on my moms laptop. Not sure how I made it through the drive.....did I mention that Dani finally did fall asleep, ten minutes before we got there. Nice!

I decided this morning would start a new fresh day. Unfortunately Chris was in my bed at 6am ready to go. We had coffee breakfast and showered for the day. My mistake was taking Dani in the shower with me......she pooped in the shower. I will spare you the details. I was pissed. We packed up the rowdy and slightly disobedient children to go get groceries. If any of you have ever been to Truckee you know that the Safeway here is not super big. Let's just say don't go there right before a major holiday, especially with the previously described kids. Dani was at her melting point by check out time so I walked around with her outside to spare the 5000 shoppers in a 1/2 sized Safeway from my screaming child. We headed back in for purely selfish reason, I need a Venti Double Shot on Ice. While waiting there for the drink my monkey ( aka Dani) decided to try and climb the counter and in the process got a bloody lip. It was not even 11am yet people.

Fast forward a few hours......I got the kids fed lunch and Dani down for a nap. I figured I take Chris to the pool to let out some energy and also give my mom some peace and quiet. My sister was almost here, so I had her meet me there.. Chris and Amy played in the pool while I got a moment of rest. Soon after we return my still rowdy and even more disobedient children were still running around the house. Dani was heading downstairs so we could play outside. Well around three steps from the bottom she took a header and went head first with no bracing onto the slate floor. Instantly she had a purple golf ball sticking out of her forehead. The poor thing was so upset but the ice seemed to help. Not really knowing what to do I figured I would take them to the park. Chris wanted to play Rally Ball and the driveway was really not the place since he was almost hit by a car, I didn't need that. At the park I noticed that Dani's walking and movements were more of an old drunk guys. A little concerned I called the doctor to just check and see at what point do I take her in to be seen, especially since I was getting the evil eye from every parent at the park. She called me back and talked me through a few tings and decided it was really up to me as to whether or not I should take her to the ER. But mainly just watch her to make sure it did not get worse. Seriously this trip does not need a trip to the ER. Although Tahoe Forrest hospital is quite nice, I have been there a few times myself.

So far Dani is still good, bruised but good. I have been checking on her every few hours, hence the late post. I am really hoping that there will be some miracle that will happen in my kids tonight. You know the one where they are able to process the words thee hear me speak to them and actually do what i am saying. Again this would be a miracle, so my hopes are not high. If not I will just hope that between the good old fashion Truckee 4th of July parade and fireworks on the lake with the Benson's will still allow for a good day. We can dream right!!!

Oh did I mention that my camera ran out of battery and I forgot the charger. Nice.

It is Fair time

2008-06-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ever since we got married we have gone to the Alameda County Fair every summer. I have to say that each year it has gotten more fun as the kids got older. Back in the day it was just our Young Married's Bible Study heading to the fair with NO kids for a night out. That was when you could actually walk through all the displays and see everything in the exhibit halls with the kids getting bored. Those were fun times.

This year was great though. Since Bryan and I seem to produce large children Chris was able to ride on everything since he is at the golden height of 48". For those that did not know that is the height to be if you want to have any fun at an amusement park these days (that is without having to go with them). Dani on the other hand still need us on a few rides, but I have a feeling we will be in good shape next year (we are hoping for 42" by next summer). We were wise in making the best $25 investment of the day when we got Chris the unlimited rides bracelet. This allowed for Chris to enjoy all the rides with his buds Caleb, Carly, Brooke and Sydney as much as they wanted. I think we made our money back on the giant slide alone. We stood there for 30 minutes while the kids continually ran up the stairs and came down the slide. Even Bryan had to get a few of Dani's tickets to "help" Chris down. I think he wants the unlimited rides bracelet next year.

It was a perfect day to be there weather wise and people wise. I think the 100+ temps all through the weekend scared everyone away so we were able to enjoy the 80 degrees and no people. Dani loved the pig races and every time the race horn sounded she had to show off her dance moves to the crowd. Oddly enough the bunny exhibit was a huge hit for the family. Now I am sure you are thinking Chris and Dani loved it.....NO it was my husband begging me for a bunny. What??? Yeah he really wanted a bunny. The same guy that has a German Shepard at home and that just got a new Belgian Malinois the size of a small pony on Friday was begging me for a bunny. Someone please tell him that bunnies are not a man's man's pet!Thankfully I won that one and the only thing me came home with was a gold fish. I can handle that.

After 8 hours at the fair we were all pooped and headed home. This morning the kids could not stop talking about it. Good thing we now have Fishey as a souvinier.

For some reason Brooke, Chris, Sydney and Caleb thought the foot massager's were a great game to play on. Hey it was free alright.

Caleb and Chris were brave enough to let Bryan ride on the tea cups with them.

Chris was so serious while pumping the water at the well.

Big kids can ride the slide too!

This was ride number 48 on the slide.Ready for the helicopter ride.The whole family fit on this ride.....minus mom.Bryan and Chris got to enjoy their treat while Dani was taking a nap.

**ok so after looking at all my pictures I realized I barely got any pictures of Dani or myself at the fair. So take my word we were there and we had a great time. Next time I will be better.

Preschool Graduation

2008-06-22T22:41:00.001-07:00

Chris had a great day on Friday when he celebrated with his classmates their graduation from Little Learners Preschool. All the kids did a great show for the parents of all the things they learned in school this year. They sang and signed their alphabet, counted to 100, sang about the days of the weeks, seasons, and animals. The kids were so proud of all they learned and so were the parents. The kids got to celebrate afterwards with a pool party in Miss Julie's backyard.

Ryan, Emma, Lily, Bella, Chris, Aiden & James watching the slide show from the year.

Our little graduate.

Chris and his teacher Miss Jodee

Mastering the Slip n' Slide

Chris and his bud RyanChris and Ryan enjoying a treat.

All grown up

2008-06-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

As I sit here catching up on email, it hit me that tomorrow is a big day for the Francis family.

Chris is graduation from pre-school. What, how did that happen? We have had such a great time the past two years at Little Learners and I know we will be sad to leave. I am still trying to figure how the heck I am going to get Chris to school at 8:00 without the luxury of being able to just open the door when school starts and have him walk across the street. Now I will actually need to be ready by 7:40, get the kids in the car and rive the mile to school. This will be rough.

Tomorrow will be a great day. I will try and take lots of pictures, Dani will be at a friends so it will be a little easier to actually take the pictures. Unfortunately Bryan will not be able to make it tomorrow since he will be taking Fasco back down to Riverside and getting his new dog.

See I told you tomorrow was a big day!

Flash Back to '89

2008-06-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Had a little bit of a flash back last night. I headed to the Giant's vs. A's game with some friends in the city. I realized on the way there the last time I went to a game featuring these two teams.

October 17, 1989 was the day that I got to go to with my dad to game 3 of the World Series, aka Battle of the Bay. We were just stepping off the escalator at Candlestick Park when the stadium stated to tremble and the crowds stared running for the nearest exit. Quite an experience for me at age 12. It was a day I will never forgot.

So walking into SBC park last night hear the roar of the stadium made me think of that night 19 years ago. Here is Sara and I enjoying the game and a nice walk around the stadium.