Fall Camping at Big Bear

The Happiest Soccer Mom on the Block

Ok, this is a hard thing to explain, but the having the kids in soccer has made me so happy. Not just a little happy, but full-circle happy. To understand this, you have to imagine a little, southern, tom-boy with a ratty pony-tail growing up on the soccer field, and loving it. Then in High School, I had the chance to be on the first girl's team for our school. We were spirited and dedicated. What we lacked in skill, we made up for in spirit. It is hard to describe how much that team meant to me, but it really formed me into who I wanted to BE (and I don't mean an athelete, because we know how that turned out). Those memories are some of my fondest of all my childhood and teens. I want to give a shout out to all the coaches, TEAMMATES and supportive parents who helped us grow that way. Thanks. Now it is my turn and I am thrilled. It brings back a flood of happy memories for me. The kids are adorable and loving it. Wyatt, a soccer player in his own right, is right beside me cheering them on. Good times for us. "Soccer mom" is the best thing you could call me these days. Just look for the loudest parent, cheering like crazy for her 4 year old- that's me. :)

Rachel was the biggest surprise for their first game. Her game was after her brother's, so she had the advantage of seeing how it all worked. We had kinda joked about how she would probably sit down and pick flower and look for lady bugs during the game, but as soon as the whistle blew, she was the leader of the pack, kicking the ball towards the goal. I about fell over! Go Team COTTON CANDY!

James looks like such a natural in his BALL HOGS uniform. He reminds me so much of his dad. Always the best buddy to the class clown, he is quietly in the mix, waiting for his chance to shine. I love this kid! Look in the video for his breakout for the goal. It is hilarious becaue it ends up being his teammate that grabs him from behind (a 4 year old's best defense) to stop the goal. You can hear Wyatt's groan. The mom beside us is his mother. Too funny! James did score a goal (for the other team-whoops!) Good thing that they don't keep score. Go #2!!!!

D-land!

Our Disneyland passes are finally past their block-out dates, so at the first opportunity we took the kids for a day. Wyatt was able to come too- it was a great family day. Rachel is almost 40 inches so we were able to go on a few of the bigger coasters- the old railroad coaster was her favorite (mine too). Suprisingly, they like the coasters more than some of the other rides with the characters. I think that seeing everything larger-than-life is a little scary for them. In the above pic, the kids are making their scary faces with Chopper the Hopper.

Moab

Wyatt Biking

"Auntie Nessa" with Rachel, Peyton, and James

Wyatt and James climbing to a lookout point in Arches National Park

John and Peyton at Double Arch

Cousins

John mountain biking

Wyatt overlooking the Colorado River

Mudbath

Doggone Happy

Ok, so these photos were old, but since I am playing catch-up, thought that I might as well... Before the twins came, even before we were married, Wyatt and I used to to to Moab, UT every spring (usually around Wyatt's B-day). We even went back when the babies were itty-bitty. Anyways we missed last year, but we have my brother John to thank for getting us back in the groove. John called and mentioned that he was planning a trip, so we went along. It felt a little wimpy staying in a condo instead of camping, but it was a much better plan because we went later in the year and it was HOT! It was great to spend time with John, Vanessa and Peyton. Peyton is my nephew. He is just a few months older than the twins. He totally has my brother's humor and was constantly cracking us all up. What a funny kid!

Here are a few photos (our camera was broken half of the trip) of our adventures. Saddie, our dog, went along this time. She fit right in with her auburn coat. We took a little walk by the Colorado river. It ended up being an inpromtu swimming hole and mud fest because it was so hot. The kids loved it. Somehow I escaped being slathered with mud- depite Wyatt's threats.

Wyatt loves mountain biking in Moab an the surrounding areas. John is obsessed with biking lately. They have a good time together on the trails. Southern Utah is such a pretty and unique place. Can't wait to go back!

Oak Glen Old School House with Hirsch Cousins

Happy 90th Grandma!

Aunt Helen, Grandma Marion, Aunt Jean, Mom (Janice)
The Birthday Girl!

Miss you grandma!

Sarah and Elizabeth on the dinner cruise

Mom and Marion

Sarah's family: Grant, Elizabeth, Sarah, Chris, Benjamin

In June, I ditched the family for a weekend trip out to the Midwest to spend some much needed time with my side of the family. I first flew in to Minneapolis, Minnesota and stayed a few days with my sister, Sarah as our family gathered at her house. She just moved to the area with her family. It was a beautiful time of year- very lush and green with lakes everywhere. Her house was brand new and darling. Marion and I took over the boys room and it felt like when we shared a room growing up. We each had our own twin bed and got to argue about keeping the light on at night and Marion's mess (just kidding). Truth is, we stayed up way too late at night talking like we were 12 years old. Sarah's kids are adorable, talented, and bright (not a big surprise to those that know their parents). It was nice to soak up some time with them without my kids competing for attention. We all took a dinner cruise one night on Lake Minnetonka. It was a lovely way to spend the evening.

After a few days at Sarah's, the Grovers all drove down to Des Moines, Iowa to celebrate my Grandma Marion's 90th Birthday. It was the first time that I had seen most of my mom's family since our wedding (8 years now). My grandma has changed so much, but still is scooting around pretty well for her age. She looks pretty good don't you think? Seeing her made me realize how much I have missed my grandma. It is hard to see her very often out in Iowa. She is not traveling anymore. My aunts, their husbands, and all the cousins were very welcoming. It is cute to see my mom with her sisters and how much they act alike when they are together.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. I missed my kids and hubby terribly, but don't worry, I enjoyed a little "me" time while I could. The earliest I woke up was 10 am. LOVE THAT!

Fav photo

I was looking through last year's photos and came across this shot again. I took it when Becky was out with her kids were out and we were all out at the beach. It took several tries to get the kids all together, but I just love it because it reminds me of what a close bond our kids have with all of their cousins. It is so cute that they all lined up according to age, each following what the next oldest is doing. Out in front is Aleah, then Sierra, Iris, Rachel, James, Carmen and Ali. I think that I'll frame this one.

Green Giggles

When I picked the kids up from school today, they were so happy and giggly after their St. Patricks Day party. They got to do some various green art creations and got their faces painted. They were so cute and silly, I had to catch it on film. My new resolution is to try and be better about taking photos of them. I want to find a cool place out here to take some pics soon, any ideas anyone?

Shoe Fetish

We recently celebrated the twin's 4th birthday. It is hard to believe that they are getting to be so big. I love them so much, it is hard to imagine life without them. Rachel is lovely and kind hearted. She adores animals (much like me at that age), and spend hours with Saddie each day. She is always trying to boss James around- she will be a very good mother some day. She has the tone down pat. James is every teacher's favorite. He loves to be involved in the action and has a tremendous attention span for his age. Right now he has an infatuation with being a super hero, it doesn't even really matter what one. He runs around the house decked out in various costumes, saying, I'm "SUPER!" The twins kinda lucked out. Being our only kids, we pretty much celebrated their birthdays all week, opening one present each day. Our big present was Dland for the year for our whole family. So if anyone wants to meet up for a day, we're love to.

What is it with women and their shoes? I'll tell you, it is completely genetic. Rachel is a perfect example of this. She has these ratty, once sparkly, pink shoes that my sister got for her. She LOVES them. No, I'm not kidding, LOVES them. I'm always going in to her room to check on her before bed and she will have them on her pillow or she will hug then as she sleeps. Someday that they are going to just magically disappear like James' binky. They have seen better days.
Rachel got a 4 pack of princess shoes for the big day. You have never seen a child so happy. She had to line them all up and admire each individually for it's beauty. Then she carried them all around the entire day. She could bear to leave any behind. Yes, the shoe fetish starts early.

James got a bigger bike. We ride bikes almost every day when the weather is nice. He has this skater helmet and elbow pads. He was riding a razor scooter the other day in grey cords, vintage looking T-shirt, and vans. Wyatt and I were amazed at how he looked like such a California boy.

So grown up.

Utah Trip

Ok, Ok, Ok, I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. It is all your fault Marilyn! Yes you! You were the sneaky person who inspired me to change my backgroud becasue it was supposed to be so "easy." You didn't tell me that it would be so freakin' difficult to change it back! I have gotten on to blog several time since the Christmas facelift and gotten so frustrated when I couldn't change the background, that I gave up. Hooray for me, I finally figured it out (all by myself thank you very much!), and can get back to sharing too much information with the public. By the way, miss you Marilyn. Your blog is so cute.

These photos are from forever ago, but they were cute, so I wanted to show them. After Christmas, we took a trip up to Utah to see the family. Here are some photos of the Dursteler Bunch sledding. Looking back, I wish that I had taken more photos that trip cuz there are none of the days spent with Sarah, my sis, and her family. She doesn't read my blog anyways, so serves her right I guess.

My attitude is a little snarky late at night. Those of y'all workin night shift we me see a whole 'nuther side of Ruth. Beware, I become a true smart-ass. See, I even used the real word. All the nurses think that I am really funny, when actually, I'm pretty boring. Go figure.

Christmas at our house

This is gonna be short, I'm sleepy. We had a fun Christmas together. It was our first major holiday in Beaumont and it turned out to be a good one. Christmas Eve we went ice skating with the Hirsh fam in Riverside. The kids really loved it. That night I was lucky to get called off work. That was the best Christmas gift of all. The next day, the kids were thrilled that Santa had been so good to them. James loved his Batman wings (thanks Auntie Marion) and Rachel was spoiled all around as a proper Princess should be. We are in a very pink phase with her lately. What a lovely holiday!