D3

DAUGHTER DISNEYLAND DATE!

We are SO sad that the Hemeons are moving AGAIN up to San Fran but are happy that it is only temporary. Tarah and I took the older girls one last time before they leave and before our passes expire for the year. Well- I guess I should retract that last statement. Mine will expire next month. Haven's on the other hand had expired in April. And I had no idea until we were loading on the monorail and the man wouldn't let us on. I couldn't believe it! I thought that maybe I had grabbed a wrong pass? Maybe an old one of hers? Why would she have an April expiration and Bry and I have a September? I went to the ticket booth to see if I was just losing my mind and sure enough... I was. It had expired. After many tears and trying to figure out what H and I would do while Hemeons went into the park the manager working the ticket booth graciously gave us a FREE pass for her. It was honestly SO nice! Haven was so happy she said over and over how she wanted to write a Thank You note and tell Disneyland how grateful she was. Once we got into the park it was extremely crowded. We still had an amazing time. It was probably one of my favorite visits to D-land ever! Haven was on cloud 9 having special time. We went on the rides that the other girls are too small for. We were able to see part of Fantasmic and ride on Thunder Mountain while the firework show was going on. It was awesome! Haven kept thanking me and telling me it was the best night of her life and I may have gotten a little teary eyed. Seeing her excitement made me melt. She is such a great little girl. A great night with Tarah, Maren and Kaili. And such a special memory!

Top 20 things our family is into right now:

1. Green drink every morning

2. Good Luck Charlie on Disney Channel

3. Playing games on the Ipad

4. Summer Beach days

5. Carrots with hummus

6. Chocolate malted crunch ice cream cones

7. Robot dancing in the car to "Just can't get enough" by Black Eyed Peas

8. Bike Rides to the Lake

9. Bonfires at the beach for FHE

10. Re-decorating our house

11. Bath and Body works mini hand sanitizers

12. Sprinkles cupcake Runs

13. Hello Kitty Bingo

14. Black Licorice

15. Fedora hats

16. Drinking out of mason jars

17. Early evening swims at the community pool

18. GAP sales

19. Praying for friends Sara and Ruby

20. Trying out new burger joints

Neighborhood summertime game: whoever ends up with the pink flamingo's on their lawn is in charge of hosting a front yard party that friday night. Last week we were at Stephanie's. This week the Taco Guy came to Patti's and made homemade pork, chicken and steak tacos topped with homemade salsa. Such a fantastic night! I feel so grateful to have such great neighbors.

Tennis Camp

Haven had the BEST time at Tennis Camp this summer. She was able to go with three of her little friends and they loved doing it together. I am so proud of this girl. On the last day of camp she came home with the "Sportsmanship Award" which is only given to one child. It was for helping others, being positive and having a good attitude. Way to go H!

Blah Blah Blah

I was way behind on my blog. I have been so busy and overwhelmed. July 2011 was probably our craziest and busiest month to date. In a nutshell:

* We gave Gordon away. I knew it was the right decision for us. Being home with 3 young children didn't allow much extra time for an animal. I loved him. Alot. He was one of the cutest animals I had ever seen. After I had August I think he felt jealous. He started peeing on the floors. Mostly in just one room. But it grossed me out and one day I couldn't take it anymore and got rid of him while Bryan was away on a surf trip. Our good friends have him now. They have two teenage daughters who give G lots of love and attention. He gets walked everyday. I am happy for him.

*Gordon didn't have fleas the whole 3 years we had him. Until he left. I think it was his last "skrew you" to us. They were everywhere. It was nasty. Berkley got bit about 89 times and we thought she had chicken pox. We sprayed the whole house. After you spray you have to vacuum with a new bag everyday for awhile. We were disgusted by what we were getting in our carpets daily. We pulled the trigger and put all new hardwood floors downstairs. We also re-carpeted upstairs (with short carpet) and feel much cleaner! Having work done in your house is lots of work. We basically had to move everything out of our house and then re-move back in.

*My niece Reese suffered from a strange bacterial infection while they were down visiting and she had to be hospitalized and have an emergency surgery. My poor sister is still nursing her 3 month old and went back and forth to feed the baby and then to be with Reese. Bryan and I helped out as much as we could that week. It was a crazy time. Glad to report she is doing well.

*Entertaining kids all day everyday that want to be going non-stop. There are some days that have been wonderful that I have truly enjoyed. And others where I could curse at the schools for letting them out for 10 weeks! I love being able to stay in our jammies for awhile in the mornings. And not doing hair. And letting them pick out awful outfits because I simply just don't care in the summer. But a schedule is SO nice. Both for them and for me! Another 4 weeks! Deep breaths!

*Bryan is in job transition. A few different things can work out and will be great. I feel very blessed. It is just knowing what path he should take. And that has been a little stressful. Lots of doors were opened in July for him. This month we should know what is in store for the future. He is amazing. I love him more now than I ever have. We have really grown as a couple lately. He has been working from home and I think we both have seen how hard the other person works each day. I hope he knows I will always support him and his decisions.

I think there was more than this but I can't remember. I am still behind in my life now and hope to catch up soon.

2 years

Our little August is such a sweetheart. We LOVE her to pieces and she can rarely do wrong in our eyes. She is talking up a storm and wants to be big like her sisters in the worst way. She wakes up every morning and the first words out of her mouth are "Ipad" and "Chocolate Milk"! A girl after my heart. Our favorite thing she does is say "Stop it" every time we do something she doesn't like. She is super polite (other than the Stop it comments) and always says "Thank you Mommy" or "Thank you Daddy" after we do ANYTHING for her. This includes even a diaper change. All of my mom's Italian relatives claim she looks like a "little Sangineto baby" (which was my grandma's maiden name). I don't know if it because she is named after Augustine Sangineto that they say that or if she really does. But from the looks of my baby pictures... she has lots of me in her. I have a special bond with this girl (despite that my name is Summer and hers is August). I do with all of my daughters of course. I know I have written before that I had regret after I named her. I didn't love it. I actually still don't. But I have felt so strongly that I needed to name her this. I know that I have a little angel in heaven smiling down on her beaming with pride. It sounds so corny of course. But it is true. My great grandparents were a huge part of my life growing up. They were poor, selfless people who would have given us the world. I miss them a lot. I wish my girls could have known them. But sometimes I think about how they probably did. I hope my daughters can be like them. And I'm glad one of them can carry on their name. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUGUST!

Fair Enough!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a carnie at heart. I look forward to the OC fair every summer! A tradition that Bryan and I started 3 years ago. Our trip there goes a little something like this:

~We give ourselves a 3-4 hour maximum time limit

~Always see the Pig Races

~ Let the kids pick only two rides each

~ Check out every food booth and then allow each family member a fair treat of their choice

It works out perfectly for us. The kids think it's the most fun thing, I know that we won't have to sweat and deal with crowds all day and we get the "fair experience" with out braking the bank. Until next year OC fair! You were good to us this summer!

Matt Costa

Such a fun show. Newport Sand Dunes with a group of great people. Weather was the most perfect day of the summer. Timmy Curran wasn't bad on the eyes and ears and Matt Costa is just fantastic. We all LOVED when his wife came out to duet with him. Very charming!

Mustache Bash!

I give ALL credit to Bryan for this one! He hit it out of the park! Outdid himself really. His creativity never ceases to amaze me! He cut out over 60 giant mustaches from felt to decorate around the gym and building. Brought in some old mirrors with marker mustaches drawn on them so kids could come up and "try on" several different mustache looks. Magazine cut outs of celebrities with sharpie markers on their upper lips. Edible staches for snacks. It was just a success with over 300 kids all enjoying themselves. I love the youth in our stake. They are a great group of kids. We love throwing these dances for them. Always great to see them having some good clean fun!