4th of July Weekend

Well I'm finally doing it...blogging.  Its been WAY too long since my last real post.  This will be the first of a LONG string of posts.  Nothing fancy, just basically all the happenings of what we've been up to since, well the last time I posted, which was like 7 months ago (how embarrassing!).

Way back in July we had an awesome 4th of July weekend.  We didn't do anything fancy, but had SO much fun!  The day before (Saturday), we headed south for our first adventure to Nojoqui Falls.  Living on the Central Coast my entire life, I'd never been.  In fact I'd never even HEARD of it until a couple of years ago when a friend of mine brought her family down.  It's an awesome hike for families with little kids who don't like to walk far.  It took probably less then 10 minutes to "hike" to the falls.

David warned (ok, scared) the kids into walking quietly so they wouldn't catch the attention of any mountain lions.  (Oh, and by the way, notice the Ergo pack David's carrying Jamen in?  It is stinkin' awesome!  For anyone with a kid baby to 40 lbs, get one, you'll LOVE it!!!  You can wear it on your back, too!)

Jonah loves adventures and is always prepared for whatever might come his way!

The pool at the bottom of the falls was just the right depth for the kids to play in.  The boys were really mad they didn't bring their swim suits!

They found plenty to play with though.

The falls were beautiful.  The green moss & ivy looked so cool under the dripping water!

Jaxon built a dam like the beaver on Wonder Pets with his sticks.  I'm pretty sure it didn't do much good though :-)

On our way back, we found a park table and had a delicious picnic.

The boys thought the hollow tree was so awesome.  How many trees do you find that you can actually climb inside?

Lets just say Jaxon was a little wiped out. (By the way, that's a chip in his mouth)

On our way home we decided to make a couple fun stops.  First up, Solvang.  Since it was summer and a holiday at that, we mainly just walked around (it was real crowded).  Of course the boys had to play in the telephone booth.

And what would a trip to Solvang be without playing in the giant clog?

For some reason I didn't take pictures, but next we went to the Old Mission Santa Inés and looked around.  We then packed back into the car and made our last stop at a park in Shell Beach before we headed home.

The next day was actually Independence Day.  We did nothing too fancy...we had a nice dinner at my parents.  My sister Elise came over & I finally got a picture of her with Jamen.

I think David had a few poppers or something.  The boys loved them, but Jaxon hated the noise he made when he popped them...silly kid!

 But we did head down to Pismo for some fireworks.  A family friend let us watch them from his driveway/front yard, which was only a few blocks form the beach & had a great view without the crowd, traffic, & smoke.

 It was awesome!  I think we'll have to do it every year from now on!

A Million Posts

No, this is not my millionth post (despite appearances), but I did just add a TON of posts.  Be sure to scroll down and click on "Older Posts" or I've added links to all the new posts below (for those of you basking in your summer laziness as I am!), so just click on the title to view!

- A Very Special BOYS ONLY Day with Daddy -

- Some Very Special Visitors -

- Strawberry Festival -

- Valley, Meet Jamen! -

- Totally Random -

- Concerts in the Plaza -

- Ma & Papa's Visit -

- My Baby's 7! -

- Happy Father's Day! -

- Baby Jamen -

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to this handsome dude:

(yes, I still think you're hot even with your stache!)

I am SO grateful for this man!  He is the love of my life and a wonderful father to our children.  I adore, admire, have fun with, and look up to him.  I am so blessed to have him and so many other wonderful fathers in my life...my dad, father-in-law, Grandpa, Opa, brother, brother-in-laws, and uncles...all men who I look up to and admire.  

Thank you all for being such a wonderful part of my life and allowing me to be a part of yours!  

Happy Fathers' Day to you all!!

My Baby's 7!!

Sunday Jonah turned 7!  As Jaxon would quote Little Einsteins, "I can-not be-lieve it!"  This year Jonah got to share his special day with his dad, seeing as his birthday fell on Father's Day.  He was actually pretty excited about that...don't know why, but happy that he was willing to share it.

Jonah was so anxious to open his presents.  From Gramma and Grand Pa, he got some much needed clothes and a soccer net.  Jaxon gave him some Legos - he was VERY excited to give them to Jonah!

Ma and Papa gave him some Star Wars Legos (can you tell he was pretty excited about them?).  The first present Jonah opened from us was some knee & elbow pads.  He was pretty confused (from the picture, looks disappointed), but he was cool about it...he didn't really get what they were for.  That is until he opened his next present, a new scooter.  

Jonah was nice enough to let Jaxon open one of his presents for him.  Jax was excited even though it wasn't even for him!

Jonah was lucky enough to spend his birthday with Gramma & Grand Pa AND Ma & Papa - he couldn't have been happier!  Ma helped him get started on his new Star Wars Lego ship.

And here's the cake.  

Jonah said he wanted another pirate birthday - I'm not really sure why because he's not into pirates anymore.  Since my last pirate cake (a pirate ship) was a mega disaster (the cake split in 2!), I just prayed that this one would stay together at least until he blew the candles out.  And that it did.  Jonah was so excited about all the edible treasure that would go inside his treasure chest.  He actually asked for a pirate AND crystal cake, the sugar crystal candy that I found was just perfect.  Jonah helped me frost it, he crushed the "sand," and he and Jaxon helped me place the treasure on the cake.

Jonah wanted a picture of Papa & him with his cake and of course he needed a hook if he was going to be a real pirate!

Some how Jonah never learned that you want to try to blow the candles all out at once...oh well!

The day after his birthday, Jonah tried out his new scooter.  He loves it and we love watching him try new tricks on it.  His favorite trick is poppin' wheelies!

After a slight wardrobe change :-), Jonah then tried out his new soccer net.  For some reason Jax kept sitting on the backside of the net, then he'd get pegged by Jonah's ball.  Silly kid!

Jonah is such a fun kid.  He has his tempermental moments, but he is such a loving boy!  He sure loves his family.  I'm glad that he's not old enough to be "too cool" for us yet.  Jonah is my #1 helper...especially when it comes to Jamen.  He's actually asked to change his diaper a few times...even the poopy ones...and he actually does it too!  He is so smart...sometimes too smart for his own good!  He likes math, especially when it has to do with money!  And he LOVES science!  He still says he wants to be a chemist when he grows up, but I think with the kind of mad skills he has with Legos, I think he'd make a great architect or engineer!  Some of his favorite things to do right now are Legos, riding his scooter, playing kick ball, climbing trees, playing guitar & singing (he makes up the coolest songs!), and drawing.  

Jonah I am SO lucky to be your mom and am SO grateful for you!

Happy Birthday Jonah baby!!

Easter in Visalia

I've got a little catching up to do on my blogging before this baby comes, so here goes another blogging marathon!  (this pict of Jaxon has absolutely nothing to do with anything...it's just funny)

For Easter we headed over to the valley to celebrate with most all of David's family.  Everyone but DJ and his boys were there, so it was a packed house for sure!  We arrived Friday evening.  Ma and Papa made the mistake of telling Jaxon they had a cake and presents for his birthday...he would NOT let them forget!  So after dinner we had a little celebration for him.

I love how the kids all gathered around to watch him open his presents.  He was SO happy to find a Diego toy under all that wrapping paper!!

Saturday came the best part of the entire trip!  Baby Ella was born!  She wasn't due for a couple more days, but she sure was kind enough to come when we all could meet her!  Congratulations Sara, Steve, and Addyson...we are all so in love with her!

The next day was Easter.  The boys woke up to buckets full of goodies from the Easter bunny!

We headed to church with the family for some spiritual uplifting.  Then we headed over to David's Aunt Suzie and Uncle Joe's house for a Radmacher family Easter.

It's not very often that all 4 of the Radmacher siblings all come together.  This was definitely a momentous occasion!

(Uncle Billy, Aunt Suzie, Papa, & Uncle Jimmy)

There was lots of room for the kids to run around and play.  Joe & Suzie live on a beautiful piece of property right next to one of the family dairies, so what better to have for the kids to play with then a good ol' John Deere?  Even the adults liked it! :)

(Jax & Addyson; Jax; Hans)

I had to get a pict of the 2 Radmacher girls together (now with Ella there's 3!!).  With 12 Radmacher boys and 1 more on the way, these girls have got to stick together!

Of course there was an Easter egg hunt for the kids.  Jaxon seemed to only find real eggs and Jonah only found plastic ones...Jaxon's lucky he had such a nice brother to share some goodies with him!

And what would a Radmacher Easter be without a good ol' egg toss?  

Thank you Fernandes' for hosting Easter this year...we had tons of fun!

Jaxon's 3!

I really can't believe that Jaxon just celebrated his 3rd birthday! My baby Jaxy is 3, really? Where did the time go?

We are so in love with our little Jaxy. I like to describe him as Fire & Ice. He is the sweetest, most cuddly, lovey little boy, but man is he loud and demanding! He can throw a screaming tantrum like nobody's business, but he sure keeps us entertained constantly. What a funny kid he is! He has the cutest lisp or whatever you call it - he pronounces his s's by saying "th" and says all sorts of words wrong, like "penguin" he says "quenguin," but it is just so stinkin' cute! Jaxon likes to copy just about everything Jonah does - playing legos, throwing rocks, climbing on furniture, running around the house. He likes to be Jonah's shadow. But on the other hand, he's plays very nicely by himself. He's still in love with all things Toy Story and definitely loves his Cars, but lately he's been real into Diego & Dora. He walks around saying "I Lego" (meaning, "I'm Diego"), fills up his rescue pack and jumps on the furniture saying he's Diego's spider monkey. But for some reason he doesn't like to watch much Diego, rather Dora is his favorite. He's pretty much obsessed with the two! He plays "Sviper [Swiper] coming...he gonna get us...Sviper, no sviping!" all the time. He makes guns to shoot Swiper (can you tell he has an older brother?" and wears his boots like Boots the monkey. He's definitely a character that Jaxon! Jaxy is such a momma's boy! For some reason his mom has to do it for him, no one else! If he's hurt, no matter how bad, all he needs is a kiss from his mommy, and he's off and running again, limp & all. I've never seen such an amazing thing - people are shocked when they see it! My favorite thing about Jaxon is how loving and forgiving he is. He constantly tells us he loves us and will just come up to me and give me a hug or kiss, or just come rub my back. He's so sweet!

The poor guy has been really sick the past couple days, but some how managed to pep up for the festivities! I couldn't help but snap a picture of him sleeping before I woke him up to open some presents before we were off to drop Jonah and David off. He doesn't like to be woken up in the morning, but when I told him it was finally his birthday and that he got to open presents, he was wide-eyed and happy! He liked all his presents, but his favorite was his Little Einstein rocket. His cousin Dylan got one for Christmas that Jax just couldn't keep his paws off of. Now he's got his own and he won't put it out of his site!

For dinner I made some of Jaxon's favorites...homemade mac & cheese, hot dogs, and broccoli. Jaxon has been requesting a Rescue Pack (from Go Diego Go) cake for weeks now. My birthday was a week ago and he just couldn't understand where his presents and rescue pack cake were. Then it was my little sisters birthday a few days later...again, where was HIS cake? Finally he got what he wished for! I have to say I wasn't too jazzed about making a cake this time around. I baked the cake the night before and it turned out all crumbly and weird, so frosting it was a doozer. I was too lazy to fondant the whole thing (although it probably would have been easier hind sight!). For all the headache it caused, it turned out WAY better than I thought it would (don't look closely at my frosting job...I really didn't care at that point!)!

He didn't get to see his cake until it was time to blow out the candles - he was SO excited! When it came time to cut it, I asked him if we could cut it and he said "No cut my rescue pack cake!"

After cake Jaxon got to open his presents from Gramma & Grand Pa. He was SO excited to get his very own laptop! Can you tell by the picture?

Happy Birthday Jaxy...we sure do love you!!!

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

I know I'm a little late, but for memory sake, I have to add in St. Patty's day. The leprechauns paid us a visit during the night and left the boys some fun little green treats.

Jonah doesn't look too happy in this picture, but he sure was ecstatic!

We didn't really do anything else real special. I tried to make dinner somewhat Irishy (you can check out my menu and recipes here), but other than that, no pub hopping or bag pipe playing for us (oh wait, is that Scottish?)!

A White Christmas?!?

Every year we trade off with which side of the family we spend Christmas with. We're pretty religious about it - we haven't faltered yet :) Well this year was the Radmacher side's turn to be blessed by our presence and they all decided to gather in Utah. David's older sister and older brother and their families moved back there this last year, so we all (all 12 adults and 14 grand kids) stayed at David's sister's house. It was nice and big enough to accommodate us all very nicely. David's gone back to Utah a few times since we moved from there (about 6 or 7 years ago), but I haven't been back for probably 4 or 5 years. Its been a while! I'm bummed that I didn't get to see any of our friends living in Utah (sorry everyone...we'll have to come again!), but we had a great time with all of our family!

The boys did SO good on the drives there and back. Really we were shocked! We didn't even whip out the DVD player until we were an hour away (that's like 11 hours later)! Jonah was SO excited to see "his boys" (David's older sister has 6 boys and all the cousins think that they are "their boys"). Jaxon was SO excited to build "Frosty the Snowman!"

Please bare with me, this is the longest post EVER!!!

As soon as we got to Utah, Jax got geared up and headed into the snow. He was like a magnet to the stuff! And of course he didn't really play in it, he just ate it.

What would be a Radmacher gathering without a little jam? (That's Landon on the drums!)

These two (Noah & Addyson) were the best groupies EVER! You should have seen them bustin' the moves!

Wednesday the guys and girls kind of split up. The girls went to this cute little boutique called Dear Lizzie in Highland. It was super cute, but really the highlight for me there was their tomato bisque. Oh man, it was something tasty I tell ya! It was so good I even bought more to take home to David (he really enjoys good soups...well good food for that matter!). While the girls were away, the guys took all the kids to play in the snow.

It started out fun...

but the fun ended quickly with my poor California boys freezing their tails off!

But not before Jaxon made his "Frosty the Snowman!"

Thankfully Uncle Nick saved the day and showed up with some snow pants for my boys, then they were able to enjoy the rest of the day in the snow.

That night we all headed to one of mine and David's absolute favorite restaurants of all times....La Dulce Vita in Provo. Oh my mouth waters just thinking about it. I love it so! Its a simple Italian restaurant and I really don't know how good the rest of the menu is, but their Pasta Grate is absolutely to die for! I love it almost as much as my husband. Seriously, its that yummy to me. I love it so much that I ordered just that, then had them make me a whole other order to go so I could have it the next day for lunch. David and everyone else like the Cannelloni with a side of Pasta Grate. That's okay, but I'm a pure grate fan! (So do you get I like it a lot?)

(the Weibell clan)

(the Chandlers)

(Ma & Papa and the DJ/Rachel clan)

After dinner we all headed up to Salt Lake City to check out the Christmas lights at Temple Square. They were gorgeous as always. The crowd was crazy huge, but it was still neat to see none the less. My boys loved it and its been forever since David and I had seen them (probably since before we were married!), so it was good to have gone.

Jonah was Heidi's little buddy all night.

I think the temple looks even more beautiful at night!

Here we all are (minus Matt's family-they hadn't made it yet) in the old tabernacle.

Of course the kids had to find a pile of snow to play in :)

Our attempt at a family picture...Jaxon wanted to play in the snow! (Can you sort of see my baby bump?)

I especially liked the manger scene on the water with the floating lights and the reflection of the temple to the side!

Christmas Eve was jammed packed with fun. The younger kids started off by decorating cookies for Santa.

I think more frosting was eaten than actually made it on the cookies!

Nick and Heidi made some awesome shrimp tacos for dinner. I'm not a shrimp fan, but these tacos were stinkin' good!! After dinner the kids all got to open their presents from Ma & Papa.

Can you believe how big these boys are getting? They're so old! I have teenagers for nephews...when did that happen?

Oh, and I forgot to mention the best surprise of all! We were all bummed because Matt & Melinda and their family weren't going to be able to make it for Christmas. But Matt got off work a day early, so they jumped in the car Wednesday night, drove all night (10 or so hours!) and surprised us all Christmas Eve morning when they showed up at the doorstep! It was such a great surprise! I'm so glad that they were able to make it!

Jake was the cutest in his knight getup from Ma & Papa!

Collin & Jaxon both got Toy Story figurines. I caught them playing Woody & Buzz together!

Sara (uh-um) decided to start a new family tradition...a talent show. I guess they do it on Steve's side of the family and its so fun, so she wanted us all to try it. I'd have to say none of us were real thrilled, but it turned out really fun.

Here's Jonah getting ready for his talent. He wanted to dress up like a rock star with rock star hair and everything.

Ma started us off with a beautiful Christmas number on the piano.

We all joined in at the end with Gwen and Addyson leading us in a few Christmas carols.

Next the Weibell boys sang a song, then danced a Kung Fu number for us. They all did awesome.

Next was Matt & Melinda. Oh man, they were the funniest all night! Who knows what they were dressed as, but they did a routine to the Nutcracker. All I can say is their outfits were only the icing on the cake - they were a riot!

Gwen did a ballet solo to the Nutcracker, then Collin marched around with a sword, humming the march song in the Nutcracker - both very adorable!

Addyson (with Sara's help) sang the 12 days of Christmas - she's such a doll!

And Steve recited the most awesome, funny poem he made up about having Christmas with the Radmachers (maybe later I'll have to post it!).

DJ & Rachel danced the evolution of dance. Rachel sure can bust a move and DJ...well he was fun-ny!

For our family's talent, David accompanied Jonah in a song. At first he was a little shy...

So he sat on David's lap and off he went. As David played, Jonah made up a song right there on the spot. It was great! I'm so proud of him - he was so nervous, but he pulled it off indefinitely!

Last of the night was the Nativity. Can you tell we're all a bunch of proud, technical savy parents? ;)

The kids did great and DJ was a sport (they needed 1 more wise man, so he volunteered).

For Christmas Eve, all the grand kids slept in Heidi's big awesome playroom upstairs. Jonah was so excited for Santa to come that he said, "Everyone, please be quiet and turn the lights off so I can go to sleep!" Wow, that's never happened before!

Nick read the kids a story (or 2 or 3) to settle them all down before bed.

Christmas morning finally arrived! (oo, do you see how good my stockings turned out? I still have mine to finish and now the baby's)

First off they opened their stockings. Santa brought some really great stuff like bandaids, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss. Way to go Santa! Okay, he brought a few little toys and goodies too, but really my kids were stoked about the hygiene stuff.

Santa brought Jonah this science kit he's really been wanting. He is such a scientist! Ma & Papa gave him a metal detector and Addyson gave him a microscope and crystal digging kit.

Santa brought Jaxon Diego's rescue pack, which he loved, but he was most excited about our present to him...Jesse from Toy Story! Now he pretty much has the whole set!

This was the highlight of Christmas for us...Jonah FINALLY got his DS! He has been asking since he started kindergarten last year (and actually learned from his friends what it was). So he's been asking for a DS for a year and 1/2 now. This was definitely a gift from us (we know how to work it...Santa gives cool things, but Mom & Dad bring cooler stuff!) :) We made him wait to open this one until the very last. I wrapped the DS & 2 games in this big box. Jonah unwrapped it and said disappointedly, "What's this?" We just told him to open the box. Bummed, he pulled out a bunch of plastic bags (for stuffing), then the loot. Oh my word, he was SO excited! He was shaking he couldn't believe it. He gave us both HUGE hugs and said, "This is the BEST Christmas EVER!" That made it all worth it!

Jaxy got a puppy for Christmas! Just my kind of pet!

After presents, the kids went out for more fun in the snow. Here's Jonah & Jakey cruisin'.

Jonah & Jakey sledding

Later we gathered everyone back up for cousin and family gift exchanges. Heidi (well technically the boys, but we all know Heidi was the mastermind) got Gwen some new clothes. As Ma said, she went from age 6 to 13 in one wardrobe change! Do they make this outfit in big girls sizes? :) So cute, Gweny!

All of us pitched in and got Ma & Papa (ok, mainly Ma...) a beautiful painting of Christ. They were SO surprised and happy! We love you Ma & Papa!

Dylie, Jakey, and Jaxy hiding under the fish tank. Aren't they too cute?

Ping pong was a hot activity the entire week. One night a bunch of the adults and older kids played musical ping pong (I don't know what its really called). It was funny to watch! I think Steve is the reining champ (sorry David)!

A definite highlight of the entire trip was meeting this little guy...Milo...David's older sister Heidi's sixth son! He's definitely got Radmacher blood in him! I think he looks the most like his mom and his oldest brother Joseph. He's even got David's weird hairlines (funky cowlicks and low forehead)...so he must be related!

He's so cuddly and smiley and talky-talky! Such a sweetheart!

We all just loved him! He got us all excited for our little one to come!

Since most everyone on both sides of Nick & Heidi's family were in town, they decided to bless Milo before we all left (that's all the Radmacher men and all but I think 1 of the Weibell men).

Our last night in town we left the younger kids home with babysitters (thanks again Randi & Preston!!!) and headed to Tepanyakis in Provo. Its good food and very entertaining!

I am so grateful to have married into such a wonderful family. We all get along and have so much fun together! We had such a fun trip! We're glad to be back in sunny California where the weather is above 10°...okay, its above 65°...but we sure miss all of you! Can't wait to do it again soon!

We hope you all had a fun, safe, wonderful holiday!

Merry Christmas!