Happy Birthday Charles!!

Yesterday Charles turned 7 years old!! I can't believe it! We decided to keep things simple this year. We usually have a big party with a jumper and lots of friends but we just couldn't do that this year. So, we decided that we'd take him out to dinner as a family. We told him that he could bring one friend. He picked brothers Talin and Ramsey and wanted to got to Chuck E. Cheese's. It turned out to be so much fun!! It was perfect- no stress. His Aunt Sara came with Kaydence and his Gma and Gpa Great. We ordered a couple of pizzas and had cake.

I posted a couple of my favorite pictures of Charles from when he was tiny. I LOVE him!!

Charles' Brush with Death!!

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't really had much going on but, today was so frightening!!

This morning, I was monitoring Charles so he'd get ready for school and I told him to brush his teeth. I had just made a new rule that he had to use the adult toothpaste because he's been getting bad breath lately and I can't tolerate that!! So, I walked by the bathroom and reminded him to use my toothpaste. He reluctantly put the Dr. Seuss bubble gum toothpaste away and proceeded to put the tiniest smear of Colgate on his brush. I, getting frustrated with this scene, decided to take over and put the correctly-sized glob of paste on his toothbrush and proceeded to brush his teeth for him. (Usually he likes me to brush his teeth for him because then it only has to be done once instead of doing it himself when I check it and send him back to do it again.) During the ordeal, he's getting upset at the minty-fresh taste inhabiting his mouth. The drooling and spitting start. But, I was far from done... In my quest for fresh breath, I insisted that he let me brush his tongue. This is when I must have taken it too far!! The wrestling match began as I held his face and attempted to find his tongue- which he refused to stick out. Amidst all of the crying and gagging, the 60 second task was finally completed! He left the bathroom and started getting dressed. That's when I heard a tiny whimper coming from the hallway. I found Charles with huge tears in his eyes and asked him what was wrong. He said, "I almost died!"

Charles' Awards!!!

We just got back from Charles' award's assembly. I knew that he was going to be getting his Speech Diploma for graduating speech class, but I had no idea that he'd also be getting 2 other awards! He got an Outstanding Citizenship Award and also an Academic Achievement Award!! We are so proud of him!! At the beginning of the assembly he got to go to the front and shout in the microphone "Go Hawks!" because he was wearing his Hayden Hawks T-shirt. The last picture is of Charles and his teacher Mrs. Ugarteche. She has been a wonderful teacher for Charles. It is amazing how much he's learned this year in such a short amount of time. She doesn't waste one minute of the day! Charles is such a joy! You should have seen how excited he was!! He was so happy!

Is Glenn Crazy?

I wanted to tell you all what Glenn was up to yesterday. As most of you know, Glenn has been working overnight. His shift is 10 hours- 8PM to 6AM. (That really means that he's gone from 6PM to 8AM.) Well, since he's still on training for the next few months, he feels the need to impress all the trainers and everyone else that has seniority. So, he agreed to participate in the academy recruit's final run. This is a 6 mile run! Glenn has been sitting in a car for the past few months! So yesterday, after getting off his 10 hour overnight shift, he drove over to the academy for a 6 mile run! Is he crazy?! Luckily he's a natural runner so he didn't die! I just couldn't believe he agreed to do that. He said that when they asked him, he couldn't say "no". He did say that when they were running up the hill he did think that he would die- but he made it! I'm so glad!

Call Jesus!

I thought I'd share what Maryn must have learned in her Primary class today:

When we were driving home from church, the kids started teasing each other. Charles must have taken it a bit too far when he called her a boy. Maryn screeched at him (not a pleasant sound) and I told them that I'd had enough. Of course Maryn had to relay an account of everything that I had just heard for myself. I told her to nicely ask Charles to stop teasing her. I told Charles to please stop saying she's a boy. But that wasn't good enough! Maryn demanded that I call Jesus, so He can tell her brother not to tease her. I explained that Charles said he wouldn't tease her again. But she insisted that I call Jesus right then. She said that all I have to do is say a prayer and Jesus will come. She kept telling me to pray right then in the car for Jesus to come! She said that her teacher told her that. Now, how do you explain this to a 3 year old? I told her to go ahead and say the prayer (for obviously she has more faith than I do)- because I was driving. That's when she finally relented. She decided that she didn't want to be the one to say the prayer. But I'll always wonder, what would have happened if she did say that prayer with child-like faith?

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!! I got up early today and made pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast and sprinkled them with pink sprinkles and powdered sugar. Charles and Maryn thought that was so neat! They were both so excited to bring their valentines to school and pass them out. Charles brought home a valentine that he made for his whole family. He said it's for everyone, including gma's and gpa's and cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. So that's why I put a picture of it- both sides, so all of you can see it!

Glenn and I went to the See's store and each got a box of chocolate. We had saved 2 gift certificates that we got for Christmas. We ended up waiting in line for 20 minutes but it was worth it! Glenn came home and put his name on his box. I find this interesting since he's the one that will eat all of his and then start going through mine!

Tonight we went out to dinner with our friends the Chase's. It was so good! We went to Black Angus. They took us out to thank Glenn for repairing their kitchen floor. We always have fun together!

I'd like to tell my sister B, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! She's all alone today because her hubby is out of town. :(

Anyway, I hope all of you have a wonderful day!

Grandma English's Visit!

Today we got a visit from my Mom! Maryn calls her Grandma Greengwish! She's been visiting my sister in Utah for the past week and she stopped off here on her way home to see the kids. We got to eat dinner together and the kids had a great time playing games with her! Maryn even took a nap on her lap and Charles got to show her how well he can read now. The kids wanted her to stay longer and had a hard time when she had to go. They love her so much!

Super-Fun Week-End with Mindy!!

OK, I had the best week-end in a long time! My friend M came to visit me (oh, and some other people too!) and it was the best time! I picked her up from the airport on Thurs. morning and we spent the day at the mall and went to dinner at Claim Jumper and a movie! She took me out because I have no life right now! Then the next day we went to Sunset Beach with Maryn and just relaxed! M had a special knack for befriending all of the seagulls at the beach. They all loved her! She was even trying to get them to eat the crackers right off of her butt!!

That night we had a super-fun Girl's Game Night with our friend S. She was amazing! She cooked a roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes, homemade bruschetta, sugar cookies, and Better-Than-Sex cake. We played Racko and Monopoly (I won!). M stayed at S's house for a couple of days and then came to visit me today.

M and I went to the beach again with our friend R and all the kids. It was so much fun! The weather is perfect even though the water is freezing! The kids didn't care though! They both flew kites- even Maryn! I was so suprised to see her running up and down the shore with her little kite! Charles was a pro though! He got that kite up so high that I couldn't get a picture of it! He also built a tent. He dug a hole and stood a log up in it and threw a sheet over it. Who would have thought that we could have so much fun at the beach in the middle of winter?!

Thanks M for being a super-special friend! I enjoyed all the time that I spent with you! I will remember all the fun games at the beach and how the seagulls loved you so much as they hovered over your body! I don't think that I've laughed that hard in a long time! I wish that I could have stopped laughing long enough to get a picture of that! Come back soon!

Maryn's Tail!

I wanted to share what Maryn did today! She's been potty-trained since Sept. 2006 but I still want to help her wipe so I'm not cleaning stained underwear. So, everytime she has to go to the bathroom an announcement is heard throughout the whole neighborhood. The world is expected to stop everything and wait for the task to be accomplished! When she's completed her task, another call is heard world-wide. This time urging me to rush to her side. Today was a first. I entered the bathroom to find her standing on her stool with a piece of toilet paper streaming from her behind. I promptly removed it and she started laughing! She said I took her tail away! She had put it there on purpose just wanting to see what I would do!

Today was a fun day with the kids. I tried to take them to Atlantis Park. It took me almost a half an hour to drive there and back because I didn't realize that there would be a huge TET celebration right there by the park. The streets were jammed! No U-turns and definetly no parking! It was crazy! People were parking like 5 blocks away and walking! I was so upset that of course I would pick this day and this park to take the kids to. I almost bagged the whole idea but I didn't want to disappoint the kids. So I went home and got all of the old bread and crackers I could scavenge and we went to Huntington Beach Central Park. It was very relaxing and the kids found friends to play with. The best part was feeding the ducks. They loved that! So, it turned out to be a great day after all.

Ticky Tacky?

I was dropping Maryn off at pre-school yesterday when I had a new first! I signed her in and then noticed that the board with all the little name-tags wasn't there. So, I peeked my head in the door and told the pre-school teacher we needed the name-tags. She thanked me for reminding her (because they don't want to have to put all the name-tags on) and the substitute got the board. The substitute was an older lady that I've only met once before. When she came up to me she said, "You guys are so Ticky Tacky out here."
I said, "What?"
She said, "You guys are so Ticky Tacky about the name-tags!"
I said, "What does that mean?"
Then she said, "I'm just kidding." and walked past me!
I was just like what? Is she serious? I wasn't offended really, I just found it odd. What a strange thing to say to someone! So, I guess I'm Ticky Tacky everyone! (Is there a real definition for that word?)

Charles' Try-Outs!

Well, we just got back from Charles' Little League try-outs and he did a great job! He was so excited! We got him a new mitt and luckily the cleats I bought him last year still fit! He did really well on all three things they judged him on. The only 2 things I was disappointed in, was that the guys threw the ball way over his head on all three of the pop fly's and one of the pitches was really short but they still counted it! But, I keep my mouth shut so I won't be one of those loud-mouth parents everybody hates! I think he'll do really well this season. It was really hard for him to decide what he wanted to do this year because his heart was set on Karate since the summer. We had told him that in January he could start Karate training and then he got the Little League invitation in the mail. We told him that he could only choose 1 activity (because we're not rich!) and it took him almost 2 weeks to decide! He honestly thought about it and debated back and forth! But, I wouldn't help him decide because I wanted it to be completely his choice. I have to say that I was a little relieved that he chose baseball because it's a one-time fee and not another monthly expense! He says that he'll choose Karate next year but I have a feeling we'll be in the same boat again! I'm so proud of him. He's a huge happiness in our lives. I couldn't imagine what our family would be like without his huge heart bringing so much love into our home!