It's been SUCH a crazy month but fun too... Kirsten and Karin came out to visit and it was so nice to have them here! We all went down (minus Devin who had to work) to San Diego for the weekend to take Kyle to a youth camp at San Diego State (check out www.rally4youth.org to see pictures and video!) and went a few days early so we could go to Sea World and the Zoo with the kids. It was a bit cramped in that hotel room, but we had fun and all got burnt! Our favorite part was the dolphin and sea lion show. Kyle really liked when we got drenched on the water rafting ride, but we did it a little too late in the day and were pretty cold after that!! We came back and spent a day in San Francisco and took a tour around the bay. Ranen slept through it all on his Aunt Kirsten and Elizabeth seemed to have fun just sitting on my lap and being on the boat. We worried she might get sea sick, because she gets car sick a lot (threw up once going down to SD, and again coming back up to V-ville, poor baby), but she just had a good time and the boat guy (not the techincal term, I know) was so helpful with bringing blankets for us, and even a sucker for Elizabeth.
Back home I started up classes again and they've been pretty labor intensive. I'm trying to keep up with that and keep the house in somewhat of an order, and I've found that if I stay on top of the housework and keep to my menu plans, things run a lot smoother, but it's a daily struggle! Elizabeth doesn't like to take naps much anymore, and that throws a wrench in the works. I'm trying to get her and Ranen in separate rooms, but to do that I have to finish making over the room I'll be moving Kyle into, then makeover the room he's in now (scraping popcorn off the ceiling, priming, texturizing, priming again, painting, etc.)
Ah! She's in the garage and I just heard our recycling hit the floor.... I know she's fine, but my semi-organized garage is no longer even semi-organized... that's my cue to go!!
~a
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sacramento Zoo!
So, today we finally were able to enjoy a California Summer day! We've had a VERY long winter, completely passed over spring (though a couple weeks in February was very spring-like), and now we're enjoying Summer weather! The perfect day to visit the Sacramento Zoo and Farytale Town on Devin's day off. The kids all had a great time, and Elizabeth loved the Giraffs and birds the most. Kyle was the most excited over seeing a Jaguar, and Ranen just enjoyed the ride in the umbrella stroller all day.... We took lots of pictures, but I had of course forgot the camera so once I get the pictures off of Devin's camera I'll post them! My favorite animal to visit were the monkeys... they were so similar to the kids behavior that I felt right at home!
I hadn't been to Farytale Town in a long time (if ever... I can't remember) and it was cute with a bit of a petting zoo with the Three Little Pigs (three potbellied pigs), Billy Goats Gruff (three goats), the Little Red Hen House (chickens running everywhere - Kyle was able to "pet" one but Elizabeth was just content to watch them from a couple feet away), and there was a donkey named Eeore and a cow named Daisy. There was also "Three Blind Mice", but we weren't able to pet them, thankfully, and I never could find Charlotte the Spider... We have plenty of "Charlotte's" in our garage... The rest of the park was cute, but was pretty much just a bunch of slides made out to look in line with the farytale theme. The longest one was a slide down the home of the little old lady who lived in a shoe... Also, you could climb up a hill "to fetch a pail of water" but instead of falling down and breaking your crown, there was a slide provided... I did get a couple pictures of our little princess in her pumpkin coach with Daddy driving the 4 horses...
All in all, it was a fun day and the kids were able to sleep on the way home.
Elizabeth has started calling her daddy "Devin" or "Dev" because that's what she hears me and Kyle calling him, and a couple of times she's called me "Ams" hearing Devin call me that... I think it's kind of funny, though Devin makes a point to correct her and let her know that to her, his name is Daddy. So, to try to help him out I'm trying to remember to call him "Daddy" whenever I talk to him...
I'm slowly making improvements to the house. It's slow going because it's best to do it when the kids are napping, so I have to decide if I'm going to do schoolwork, housework, home improvements, or (if I'm feeling selfish) read a book... As tempting as it is to give them Tylenol or Benadryl to help their naps last a bit longer, I haven't resorted to this... yet... Yesterday I scraped the popcorn off the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom. Next, I'll re-texture it, paint the whole room, change the closet doors and move Kyle to that room and then do the same in his current room so that each of the kids have their own room. I figure if I go room by room I can get things done in a systematic way. I've also cleaned up and organized the cave of a laundry room that we have and am planning on tiling and painting to finish it. I've never tiled before and am looking forward to completing this...
We have a new fence in. It looks beautiful, and has given us more incentive to work in the yard... Well, the fence and this sunny weather! My little garden is looking really good so far. I've got apples budding on the tree, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers blooming... The pool is blue and Kyle has already been swimming a couple times, though it's too cold for me or the other kids to try it out this year yet.
I know this is a lot to write for one little blog, but I figured I'd catch everyone up with what's going on here! Next up: Pictures!!! =O)
I hadn't been to Farytale Town in a long time (if ever... I can't remember) and it was cute with a bit of a petting zoo with the Three Little Pigs (three potbellied pigs), Billy Goats Gruff (three goats), the Little Red Hen House (chickens running everywhere - Kyle was able to "pet" one but Elizabeth was just content to watch them from a couple feet away), and there was a donkey named Eeore and a cow named Daisy. There was also "Three Blind Mice", but we weren't able to pet them, thankfully, and I never could find Charlotte the Spider... We have plenty of "Charlotte's" in our garage... The rest of the park was cute, but was pretty much just a bunch of slides made out to look in line with the farytale theme. The longest one was a slide down the home of the little old lady who lived in a shoe... Also, you could climb up a hill "to fetch a pail of water" but instead of falling down and breaking your crown, there was a slide provided... I did get a couple pictures of our little princess in her pumpkin coach with Daddy driving the 4 horses...
All in all, it was a fun day and the kids were able to sleep on the way home.
Elizabeth has started calling her daddy "Devin" or "Dev" because that's what she hears me and Kyle calling him, and a couple of times she's called me "Ams" hearing Devin call me that... I think it's kind of funny, though Devin makes a point to correct her and let her know that to her, his name is Daddy. So, to try to help him out I'm trying to remember to call him "Daddy" whenever I talk to him...
I'm slowly making improvements to the house. It's slow going because it's best to do it when the kids are napping, so I have to decide if I'm going to do schoolwork, housework, home improvements, or (if I'm feeling selfish) read a book... As tempting as it is to give them Tylenol or Benadryl to help their naps last a bit longer, I haven't resorted to this... yet... Yesterday I scraped the popcorn off the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom. Next, I'll re-texture it, paint the whole room, change the closet doors and move Kyle to that room and then do the same in his current room so that each of the kids have their own room. I figure if I go room by room I can get things done in a systematic way. I've also cleaned up and organized the cave of a laundry room that we have and am planning on tiling and painting to finish it. I've never tiled before and am looking forward to completing this...
We have a new fence in. It looks beautiful, and has given us more incentive to work in the yard... Well, the fence and this sunny weather! My little garden is looking really good so far. I've got apples budding on the tree, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers blooming... The pool is blue and Kyle has already been swimming a couple times, though it's too cold for me or the other kids to try it out this year yet.
I know this is a lot to write for one little blog, but I figured I'd catch everyone up with what's going on here! Next up: Pictures!!! =O)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Blogging...
So, I've decided I need to blog more... I haven't for a while, so maybe it's time to start doing more of this instead of so many silly blurbs in Facebook or something. So! Though I don't have time right now... I am determined that more thoughts, pictures, and family updates will be here soon! =O)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Happy New Year!
Ok, it's been waaaaayyyy too long since I've posted anything! And, of course, I sit down to finally write and Elizabeth is up from her nap! :) She's getting so big now. She turned 1 year last month and I gave her her first haircut on Sunday morning before church... she looks so old now! She's not walking yet, but I think she knows she can walk, but figures its much faster to crawl right now that she doesn't bother... Christmas was fun this year and Santa brought some fun things for both Kyle and Elizabeth. It was great to be able to spend Christmas with my parents and all of my siblings and my grandma. It doesn't happen too often that we're all together so it made for a full (albeit loud!) Christmas. Hopefully next year (or sometime soon!) we'll be able to make it out to Utah to spend time with family there.
Elizabeth likes to babble a lot. I can see her being a big talker once she forms those sounds into words. She's so much like her daddy! She looks like him, she talks a lot just like him... and the girl can eat! :) She's not afraid of anything either... we have to keep her fenced off to keep her from going up the stairs or finding other ways to cause mischief. She's just very curious. She loves to be upside down too... while standing with her, she wants me to lean over so she's upside down... when I'm sitting on a chair with her she likes to crawl over the arm to get down that way... Nothing below my waist height is safe from her sweet little hands (or her mouth) either. Our dog, Bobby, is so energetic that we keep him outside to run and jump to his hearts content, but when he's inside he gets followed around by curious little Elizabeth wanting to pet him or climb all over him!
Kyle is doing well in school, piano, and cub scouts and enjoys having a little sister. Telling him it's bedtime is always a bit of a chore because he wants to be able to stay up and play with her "just a little longer". I can't believe how fast he's growing though... this is the last year he's in single digits! I'll have a 10 year old this summer!! Crazy... He's very much into all things BOY. He loves video games, sword fights, bike/scooter riding... and when it's not too cold plays outside with the dog or basketball hoop. He's getting very good at chess too. I love that he's old enough now to win on his own and not have mommy "lose" for him... He's always loved games that require thought and not just the roll of the dice...
Devin is still loving his job working for Ron Dupratt Ford in Dixon, CA. Last month he was one of the top sellers for the dealership and he's only been there 2 1/2 months! :) It definitely helps that he loves talking to people and loves the product he's selling. Each night he comes home in a good mood which is so good for our family.
I'm loving staying home with Elizabeth during the day and being home for Kyle after school. It's such a blessing to us all. For Christmas I got a computer drafting program so I can keep up with home designs and renovations. For now I'm just playing with it to see what it can do (and moreso what I can do), but eventually it may be nice to have a side business of sorts to do what I went to school for and enjoy doing!
Baby#3 is doing well and on it's way this June! Though with my track record baby will be born the end of May... We haven't found out if we're looking for blue or pink booties, but we hope to find out within the next month! The little one made me pretty sick and tired for a while but now has given me back a bit more energy than I've had, and I'm no longer sick, so I'm happy!
That's a little of what's going on with the Abels in California! I hope to post pictures soon, but little Lizzy is calling for lunchtime!
Elizabeth likes to babble a lot. I can see her being a big talker once she forms those sounds into words. She's so much like her daddy! She looks like him, she talks a lot just like him... and the girl can eat! :) She's not afraid of anything either... we have to keep her fenced off to keep her from going up the stairs or finding other ways to cause mischief. She's just very curious. She loves to be upside down too... while standing with her, she wants me to lean over so she's upside down... when I'm sitting on a chair with her she likes to crawl over the arm to get down that way... Nothing below my waist height is safe from her sweet little hands (or her mouth) either. Our dog, Bobby, is so energetic that we keep him outside to run and jump to his hearts content, but when he's inside he gets followed around by curious little Elizabeth wanting to pet him or climb all over him!
Kyle is doing well in school, piano, and cub scouts and enjoys having a little sister. Telling him it's bedtime is always a bit of a chore because he wants to be able to stay up and play with her "just a little longer". I can't believe how fast he's growing though... this is the last year he's in single digits! I'll have a 10 year old this summer!! Crazy... He's very much into all things BOY. He loves video games, sword fights, bike/scooter riding... and when it's not too cold plays outside with the dog or basketball hoop. He's getting very good at chess too. I love that he's old enough now to win on his own and not have mommy "lose" for him... He's always loved games that require thought and not just the roll of the dice...
Devin is still loving his job working for Ron Dupratt Ford in Dixon, CA. Last month he was one of the top sellers for the dealership and he's only been there 2 1/2 months! :) It definitely helps that he loves talking to people and loves the product he's selling. Each night he comes home in a good mood which is so good for our family.
I'm loving staying home with Elizabeth during the day and being home for Kyle after school. It's such a blessing to us all. For Christmas I got a computer drafting program so I can keep up with home designs and renovations. For now I'm just playing with it to see what it can do (and moreso what I can do), but eventually it may be nice to have a side business of sorts to do what I went to school for and enjoy doing!
Baby#3 is doing well and on it's way this June! Though with my track record baby will be born the end of May... We haven't found out if we're looking for blue or pink booties, but we hope to find out within the next month! The little one made me pretty sick and tired for a while but now has given me back a bit more energy than I've had, and I'm no longer sick, so I'm happy!
That's a little of what's going on with the Abels in California! I hope to post pictures soon, but little Lizzy is calling for lunchtime!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Lack of sleep...
No, it's not because of Elizabeth... she sleeps through the night... it's a variety of reasons really... all from one source: Devin. :) Oh, don't get me wrong, he sleeps just fine... but too often I wake up with elbows on my head... he's playing basketball in his sleep again... but last night takes the cake. Apparently he was dreaming that someone stole something from him... so he had to take it back. Unfortunatly for me this meant me waking up to my pillow being snatched from under my head and then him curling up with it. No worries, I turned into the irritable grizzly bear that I am after being awoken and wrestled to get my pillow back, but my goodness! I've thought seriously about the two twin beds in the room! Or better yet, just a separate twin for him and I'll keep the bed we have!
I have to say that he is sorry that he does this, and did allow me to stay in bed a bit longer when Elizabeth woke up this morning. I'll look back at this and laugh I know... but for now? I'm tired... and Elizabeth is awake again...
I have to say that he is sorry that he does this, and did allow me to stay in bed a bit longer when Elizabeth woke up this morning. I'll look back at this and laugh I know... but for now? I'm tired... and Elizabeth is awake again...
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