DISNEYLAND!!

somehow we kept a secret from the kids for a long time. it was so hard! we got an unexpected check and decided it was time for a real family vacation!!

we drove down to Anaheim on Thurs. July 16th. the kids only knew that we were going to stay in a hotel and go to Applebee's, per Hayleigh's request! they had no idea!! we get to our hotel, after lots of carsickness in the LA traffic. yuck! the hotel was decorated with pics of Disneyland and ads were everywhere!! so Joel and I decided to tell them, we were too excited to wait too!! the kids came unglued!! they were jumping up and down on the bed for a long time, shouting "we're going to Disneyland". it was so cute!

soon after we arrived Edgar showed up. he came from San Diego to hang out with us. and to help Joel get into some trouble! LOL! we played in the pool and had dinner. it was really hard for the kids to fall asleep that night. between the hotel having cable tv and knowing that when they wake up, we were going to Disneyland!!

Friday morning came really early for Joel. he and Edgar had a late night. ;) we had breakfast at the hotel, really saved us!! and then we were first in line for the shuttle. i made the kids a shirt to wear and i have to admit, they looked adorable! =) we got the express pass so we didn't have to wait in line. Disneyland has great services for people with disablilites. then we rode every ride in fantasy land! the kids did great and loved them.

we spent almost all day in Disneyland. we rode every ride we wanted to go on, at least once!! we all had our favorites. Joel and Zack really liked the Buzz Lightyear interactive game. BrookeLynn loved the rocket ride. i think its more because Daddy rode with her and got a little sick feeling. i have to admit, that ride makes me sick too. thats why i chose to ride with Hayleigh, who likes to stay in one place and not go up and down!! Hayleigh's favorite was Dumbo. my favorite was Tower of Terror!! hands down the best ride ever! BrookeLynn was so brave and came with me. i think she regrets it now. even talking about it makes her scared!

Saturday we went to Disneyland in the morning until Disney California opened. we had so much fun. the hit of this park was definantly Lightning McQueen and Mater. BrookeLynn also rode the rapids with Daddy. she loved going on the "big" rides. we went back to the hotel and the kids took a big nap so we could go back and watch the parade.


Sunday morning after breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed home. we had a great trip, but was ready to go home. we stopped at Harris Ranch on the way home, its like Disneyland for Joel. ;)




the kids ask often if we can go back every summer!

phew...

We had a fun and busy summer. I am going to be catching up on here this week. There is finally time in the day to catch up, so watch for updates to see what we did this summer! =)

My 30 Before 30...

in no particular order, once they are complete they are in bold italic. creative, i know! :)

1. girly movie night alone, no kids or husband
2. pamper my two favorite girls with mani-pedis
3. organize my closet
4. plant a garden
5. pay off Joel's motorcycle early
6. buy something just for me without worrying about the price
7. get a family picture taken
8. figure out my phone
9. potty train Zachary, no more diapers
10. make my own money
11. start my own business
12. turn babysitting into a daycare
13. take the kids to the fair
14. make contact with Joel's brother
15. organize photos in photobox
16. create a family tree
17. take the kids camping
18. organize a school fundraiser
19. find old friends
20. put my foot down
21. watch Newsies with the kids
22. return borrowed items
23. have a family day at a local sporting event (Arena Football and Stockton Ports)
24. bake a loaf of bread
25. start a blog
26. rescue a dog from the shelter
27. take the kids to Columbia, where i have so many fun memories from my childhood
28. get pictures off old computers
29. make my own laundry detergent
30. finish what i started

explaining my 30 before i am 30...

a work in progress. :) I wrote this last year. I was planning to have this big magical year. Time passed, I never got it finished. But as I sit here I realize that I had a big year.



So I sit here, way past bedtime (geez it's past bedtime now too), watching lifetime. Joel calls it TV for battered women. But sometimes there are some good women's shows. He never wants to watch them, but who can blame him? Why would any man want to watch Lifetime?



The whole channel is just for women. Crazy shows that one woman somewhere can connect with. And until tonight I never connected. I am not a battered wife. I am not a femenist. I don't need girl power. I don't lead this second life.



I am who I am. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. I just wish I could do one thing completely.



So back to the show. 7 Things to do Before I'm 30 She had four weeks. I have much longer (HA! if I did this when I started this!) Her's was made as a teen, mine will be made by my 29th birthday. (HA! again) I might be too old for this, but who cares. I want to spend my last year in my 20's accomplishing a list of goals set by me, my family, my friends - new and old!



Some might look at my life and see all that i have done, but everyone knows there is so much more. And life is no fairytale and it is definantly not a show made for Lifetime, but i still intend to make the last year fun, fullfilling and forever.



I am going to ask people that know me, some better than others, what should be on this list. I have some of my own already. Remembering that I have final say. I have five weeks (LOL!) to complete my list. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks.



Let's finish out the 20's right. Finish what i started, start what I wanted to and laugh with everyone that led me here!



So as I type that out I had a few good laughs. By the time this is saved and posted it will be Saturday February 28th. Leaving me 4 days! I can do it. Look out everyone. I have a few very busy days ahead! :)

Superbowl Sunday

I had to blog about the day because I LOVE this picture of my family!!


We had so much fun at Jenna and Phil's and the kids had fun at Auntie Noel and Uncle Bordo's house. Thanks so much for making it a fun day!!

One more picture...

Give me a break, I am still trying to figure out this whole blogger thing out.

Benny, his wife Kimbi, Andy (Veronica's husband), Ryan (Melissa's husband), Joel and me

India (Benny's daughter) Melissa holding Evan, Veronica, Cathy holding Melina (Benny's daughter)

BrookeLynn, Isabel (Melissa's daughter) , Sierra (Melissa's daughter), Nicolas (Veronica's son in red), Anthony (Veronica's son in black), Hayleigh

Zachary and Mark (Melissa's son)

whew! :)

more Sigles!

That's right! We have more than doubled!! Look out world!

Since we are doing this, lets start from the beginning. Back in May of 2008 I received a message on MySpace from a lady saying she might be related to me. I didn't recognize her, but I opened the message anyhow. The message said that she might be related to Joel. Crazy huh! She went on giving information about their father, Jim. She gave me her contact information and told us to message or call her, if we were who she thought we were. I instantly call Joel. He didn't know if it was his sister, so I called Joel's mom. She couldn't remember the other kids names either, but I gave her the information that this message said and she was sure it had to be his half sister. Joel didn't grow up knowing Jim's other kids. He did know there were more kids out there, but didn't know if they were girls or boys and how many there were!!

We messaged Veronica back, the original emailer. After messaging back and forth and several phone calls we were so excited. Joel couldn't believe that he had three other sisters and a brother!! Joel walked around the house in a daze, we both did! I don't know how many times we said "amazing" or "wonderful". It was so nice to see Joel so happy!!

In August, Joel took a truck driving job that had orientation in the same area that they lived in. We called Veronica and Cathy. They invited us to come go to Veronica and her families home. We nervously drove down there. We really didn't know what to expect. When she opened the door, everything eased up. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and hearts. It was funny to hear stories where theirs ended Joel's picked up. Here is a picture of Joel with Veronica and Cathy that first day. Everything has been going great. We couldn't have asked for better people to call family. Veronica, her husband Andy and two boys Anthony and Nicolas came to our house and celebrated Thanksgiving with us. They truly were what we were thankful for in 2008! Well you know what I mean. Joel's new family! We ate too much and had fun. Veronica and I made plans to go Black Friday shopping at Walmart the next day. She had never gone and you know I can't miss a good sale. We had a blast. You should have seen it. We made plans on who would get what and meet up where. I had armloads of toys and Veronica had me throwing them across the isle to her. She put them in the basket and we were off!! Later we met up back at our house for some yummy breakfast before they headed back home.

We knew alot about Veronica and Cathy and their families, but not much about the other sister Jaimie or brother Benny. I worked up my nerves and sent a message on Facebook to Kimbi, Benny's wife. I was shaking, literally shaking. A couple days later, I received a message from Benny. Joel didn't know I had messaged him, but I was coming unglued. Benny said that he would like to meet up and I knew that Joel had been looking forward to meeting up with his brother. Benny surprised Joel with a phone call on our anniversary, which by the way is his anniversary too. Yep, we were married on the same day in the same year. What are the odds? About a week or so later Joel was in Fresno for work and called Benny. They met up and talked for a while, before Joel had to go back. Melissa and Ryan planned a trip to come up at the end of January. We all decided to go. It was a great way for everyone to meet up, catch up and just visit.
So the day came. It was a long time in the making. All in one house was twenty people!! And that wasn't everyone. Two sister's were not there, Jaimie and Kelly. Jaimie's daughter and Cathy's son were not there either. We had a fun day of conversation, food and watching Cathy with the kids! :) I took tons of pictures, but here are some of my favorites!

Sweet Baby Evan, Melissa and Ryan's little guy!

Cathy playing Duck Duck Goose with the cousins
Joel, Veronica, Cathy, Melissa and Benny

So sorry for using the words amazing, fun, and wonderful so much. I need to get a thesaurus. I really can't explain how happy they have made us. We are so thankful for them. Keep watching for updates. I am sure this is not the end of this wonderful story. See there goes wonderful again...

Old Pic...

I found an old pic of the kids that made me smile, so i thought i would share!

Hayleigh, Zachary and BrookeLynn

10.31.05


This was Zack's first Halloween. I made the costumes, no sew, really easy. It makes me wish we could keep the kids small! :( They were so little!!

Christmas 2008

Santa sure made our kids happy once again this year!! We had a great day, just the 5 of us. Here are some of our favorite pics from the day!!

Zachary on his big bike Little Skater, BrookeLynn

Zack opening presents

Hayleigh so excited about her radio!

BrookeLynn opening her HM skateboard