Party Animals

Yesterday, the kids threw a party for Slithers, who is now apparently one year old. It wasn't on my calendar so I had no idea we would be having a party! (I should have ordered cupcakes)

Just in case you don't know who Slithers is, he is one of Jaxon's Webkinz. (Webkinz are great little stuffed toys that kids purchase in stores and then adopt and care for online).

This is Slithers looking at his paper birthday cake that Amanda made.

All Slithers friends came and were dressed with party hats made out of Kleenex. (Gotta give the kids credit for creativity)

They all partied around a "table" which was really a pillow off of my bed. Hmmmm, maybe it's a good thing I didn't order those cupcakes after all.

Anyone need a party planner? The quads would be happy to plan any party you want (for a fee of course:o))

California!

Our little friends, the DeMaria quads, turned one last week. Since we are suckers for a good party with great friends, we packed up the kids and headed to sunny California for a week long adventure! Fortunately, the weather was cool and beautiful and the beaches were awesome! There was only one mishap where Carson decided to remove his life jacket and head to the middle of the hot tub, where he wasn't tall enough to reach the bottom. Mom had to go in after him fully clothed, shoes and all (and did you all know that nothin' dries very fast in San Diego?). Took two days before I could wear those shoes!
Thanks for inviting us to your party Mike and Amber! It was great to see all of you!

What Goes Up

I am such a dope. Three nights ago, I saw one of my cats, Angel, on the roof of my house so I thought I'd go up and check on her. I hadn't seen her in 3 weeks or more so I wanted to make sure she was OK and she could get down. (Note to self: If a cat can get up there, it can get down. It does NOT need human help.) I went to the side of my house where my sweet husband is building a retaining wall and concrete pad for tool storage and I got the great idea to climb the fence and then just jump up on the roof.

Well, getting on the roof was fairly easy and I was able to go get Angel and see if she was OK. She ended up clawing me and running away so I decided to just leave her up there. Then came the part where I prove that I am brainless. I decided to get down off the roof facing forward instead of turning over on to my belly and then feeling my way to the fence. I was thinking that I didn't want to scrape my belly on the roof tiles. I inched myself off to the point that I thought my foot was going to land on the half inch wide fence, however I did not compensate for my 44 year old eyes and my obvious lack of depth perception. Just as I went to shift my weight and put it on to the fence...I missed. Soooo I fell off my roof. I just about pulled my arms backwards out of the sockets (since I was coming off the fence forward), have quite the "road rash" from hitting the fence on the way down, cut two toes, got a nasty sliver in my hand, and now my knee is sore and unstable. I'm just generally pretty frickin sore today.
The most embarrassing part? Amanda saw the whole thing happen and said..."Mom I told you to wait, I was going to get dad to get you a ladder."
OK, my 7 year old is smarter than I am.

The Big Weekend!

Thanks to all of you who joined us for the quads birthday party! We had so much fun and were so grateful to have such awesome family and friends to share it with.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It was also Our our 20th anniversary (can you believe it?). Brad and Cathy graciously watched the kids while Jeff and I went to Park City on a real date!
We went Zip Lining...

Down the Alpine Slide...

And survived!!

I made sure the world knew how I felt.

I love you Jeff and I look forward to 20 more years of being your "ball and chain"!

A very Special Friday Flashback

Seven years ago today, a love story of sorts began. Jeff and I layed eyes on our 4 beautiful newborns and fell instantly head over heels. Never a day goes by that we don't stop to think how incredibly blessed we really are.

We thank God for them everyday and cannot imagine our lives without them.

Happy Birthday Mason, Carson, Jaxon, and Amanda. Mom and Dad love you so much and we are so very proud of who you are.

*Edited: The date at the top says Thursday July 2 and it should say Friday July 3. Blogger must date posts based on the date it was written, not the date it was published. (That's what I get for trying to be efficient by writing the birthday post early....) I'll go back to procrastinating now.

Bye Bye Girl

When I became pregnant with the quads I had 5 dogs. They were my fur-children and they got me through many tough times.
Yesterday I said good-bye to Patience, the last one surviving. She was the best dog I've ever had and I doubt I'll ever find one like her again.
I'm heartbroken and I miss her.

Karate Kids

The kids started Karate a few weeks ago. Friday they had their first belt graduation and recieved a yellow stripe on their white belts. I'm not sure that they love it but we'll continue lessons for a little while longer. Self discipline and respect are a big part of any marshall art program and heaven knows I can use the help teaching such important lessons.
Congrats babies, I love you!