Our Christmas Morning & A Few Beach Photos.

This Christmas sure snuck up on us in quite a hurry, and just like that...it's gone. So bittersweet, and even though we didn't wake up to a winter wonderland on Christmas morning we were able to take in the beauty of mother nature with her rain, and all. I personally didn't mind this weather in the least. We had a brutal winter last year, and so having a break from it this early was okay by me, but I know that the snow is coming, and that it will be here soon! 

Luckily we've lived in weather like this, and have had Christmases in the past with no snow. Having lived in Texas, and North Carolina and having no snow in the winter time really made me appreciate the time i lived in Utah. I always missed the snow when living in those states, but after having a harsh winter 10 months ago having no snow this soon has been fine by me. The kids were longing for it though, but are pretty much over it, and are waiting for spring. Ha! Little do they know that the snow may be on it's way!

Watching these kids opening up their gifts on Christmas morning was bittersweet. They sure are growing up way too fast. To see their faces filled with humility, and appreciation, always thanking us for the gifts they were given, and mumbling under their breath, "thank you Santa" every time Noah and Chelsea opened a gift 'from him' and exclaiming "oh my favorite" warms my heart, and put a smile on my face. So fun to see their reactions on their face, especially Chelsea's. She's going to be 11 next month, and still believes in the magic of Santa. She makes our Christmases interesting, and it's super bittersweet watching my baby girl growing up while still being a little kid.

Gifts were simple, and easy this year. Receiving gifts from loved ones is always unnecessary, but when we receive them boy are they such a treat! If only they can see their reaction when they open them. There's no denying that it is fun exchanging gifts with friends, and relatives, and for that I am truly grateful!

After opening gifts, and with all the stores being closed on Christmas Friday we had lunch at McDonalds's (don't judge), and decided on a whim to go to the beach, and oh what a beautiful sight it was! 

Just take a look...

Temps were not that cold, but when the raindrops began to fall temps got cooler, and that's when I was like...hurry, let's get our feet in the water! You can see a 10 second snippet from my snapchat of my kids having fun on my instagram here.

Chelsea is such an adventurer, and when I told her I wanted to do that, and walk on the sand she did the same thing too. Call her a follower, but she loves the feeling of sand between her toes.

We walked around the boardwalk, and along the beach for an hour or so, (or at least until we felt raindrops falling on our head.) I snapchatted the heck out of this day, and had such an amazing time. Last time we went to the beach was over Labor Day weekend so we were pretty excited to see the ocean again! 

We totally make all of our Christmases memorable, and as always missed our sweet Sierra. It would have been  more special had she been here with us on Christmas day, but at least she was able to visit us earlier this month, and we hope to see her sometime in the new year. Also...that FaceTime is a miracle! 

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas, and that you ring in the new year wishing many great things! 

Happy Monday! 

LISTEN & INVITE.

Ever had one of those moments when all of a sudden a thought pops in your mind, and instead of ignoring it you act on it? I'm sure many of us have those moments, and I've been having a lot of them recently. 

After dealing with the flu, or whatever nasty bug we had I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the beach. Lexie was under the weather so it was just going to be me, Chelsea, and Noah. 

Upon backing out of my driveway the thought of calling my girlfriend to invite her and her family came to mind. 

And I listened.

I immediately texted her, and she responded within five seconds. You should have seen her girls faces when I picked them up, and mentioned "beach time!" They were giddy, and I can tell that after dealing with a brutal winter, and a long school year that they really needed this. 

And they all had fun. 

In spite of the rain we got caught in we managed to wait it out. The kids all bundled up in their towels until it was safe to step foot back on to the beach. 30 minutes passed and we were able to get into the water again, and the sun came out shining down us as if it was welcoming us back! 

I'm so grateful for that inner voice that tells me of the things to do, and to act on the thoughts that are good. We all needed this, and I'm so glad I acted upon the thought, and invited her, and her kids. The beach is truly one place where we can relax, discuss our life while listening to the waves crashing, and reconnect with God's wonderful creation while the kids have their fun.

It turned out to be a perfect day, and in the end was the perfect remedy in which we all needed. 

Definitely going to be making more beach trips with them this summer! 

SEASIDE, OREGON IN 2004.

Even though I've scrap booked my kids lives in their memory books since the day they were born there was no depiction or stories written behind the photos. And since I enjoy writing I've decided to do a few throwback posts on some of my fondest memories before we moved to Jersey, and before we became a family of six. They won't be in order, but i hope that you won't get bored with my short stories or snippets of my family behind these posts. This is being written for my posterity, and will be printed and added on to the tangible photos in their scrapbooks. I also hope that at the same time it'll make you smile, and have you leaving saying, "no wonder", "so that's what happened to her",  "cute kids", and "so glad she was safe all these years!" So enjoy! Note that all photos in this post were taken by wonderful husband with a Nikon N4004 back when people used to develop film in a dark room, and way before smartphones! 

I will always remember the first time we ventured out to Seaside, Oregon. The 16 hour drive was never an issue especially while traveling with kids who loved long drives. Visiting Jon's grandpa in Washington became a summer tradition throughout our years while living in Utah. We were so fortunate to have family living in that area which motivated us to take that long road trip. 

We always took advantage of driving to Washington state not only to visit grandpa, attend the temple, but to also have fun at the beach! 

I was about six months pregnant with Chelsea, and being pregnant with her was a breeze...until I reached my third trimester. That's when the nausea kicked in, and my sciatic became super unbearable, but how lucky I was to have enjoyed myself before she joined her sisters and coming into this world. 

^^^ wearing a white t-shirt sure shows everything especially when the water is cold...sorry for the indiscretion! ^^^

The girls live for the beach. Living in Utah you are nowhere close to the beach, or any type of lake. You have to drive five hours to Lake Powell, 10 hours to California, or 16 hours to Seaside. Luckily, and I stress writing the word luckily Jon and I don't mind driving long distances, and that we were blessed with great little travelers. 

Seaside is absolutely beautiful. The fact that the Goonies was filmed there always had me wanting to visit the quaint town of Seaside. We didn't have too much time on this trip to check out the neighborhood of where the movie was filmed in nearby Astoria, or enter inside the house where it was filmed, (that will be in a later post), but man did we have fun at the beach. 

And look at how young, and cute the girls are! Lexie throwing her hands up in the air as if she doesn't have a care in the world (she still does that too!)

It's very rare to see hotels located on the beach, but that azure blue sky is sure a sight to see! #nofilter 

^^^ One of my favorite historical points was the fact that this was where Lewis and Clark ended their expedition! We had fun, and also got educated at the same time! (excuse the thumbprint...too lazy to crop it!) ^^^

Chelsea and Lexie are two peas in a pod, and always had fun together. They never grew weary of each other, or got on each other's nerves (that I know of.) It seems that every time we ventured out on road trips they were always so agreeable, hence all the road trips we continued to take. 

Stay tuned for another throwback story in the Thursdays to come! 

A Springy Beach Day!

Oh, how I love Spring! It's indeed my favorite season of the year because it gives me the chance to start anew all over again. To be more patient in the morning with the kids, and making sure I kiss them on the cheek before leaving school. To appreciate every waking moment with them because in two and half months another school year will end, which means another year older each of my kids will turn. I don't want to forget those BIG important  details such as the hugging, and giving pecks on their cheeks. Time is fleeting with my kids especially with Noah. It has been really nice not working outside the home for the past 15 years, but once Noah starts kindergarten I wonder how I will manage my time. Luckily our school district has half a day kindergarten which means he'll only be gone for a few hours, but still. I've gotten so used to raising kids, and have always been pregnant each time each hild turned five (it just happened that way), and while I'd send a child off to kindergarten I'd be nesting all day. I hate to admit this, and I'll probably jinx it by writing it, but I strongly feel that Noah is my last child. He's lucky being the only boy in the family because he gets lots of attention. He probably gets the most hugs out of all us family members! I remember how time quickly passed with Sierra who has been Utah for the past year, and can't help but to focus on the future instead of the now. I want to give equal time to each of my kids, and devote my time to each child individually, and to seriously soak it all in. Seriously.

With spring arriving I am going to take advantage of my days with Noah and venture out to unknown territories. I want to show him what life is all about, and to take him out of his comfort zone. I want to show him the world inside and outside of Jersey no matter how far I have to drive. I want him to know that there's more to life outside our little backyard, and borough in Jersey. I want him to thrive, and be enthusiastic about the world no matter how hard it gets, and how much it changes. I want him to be polite, and say hello to strangers even when they give him a weird look in return.. I want him to know that there is more to entertain your mind than staying at home playing with cars, trains, playing games on the computer, and watching transformer, and star wars movies. I want him to realize that some of the books we have read to him are true stories, and to take him to those places we've read about. 

But....

I also want him to be a kid, to stay little, and slowly grow up. Therefore the days I spend with him are going to be super priceless, and because I myself am getting up there in age I want to learn, and grow with him. Even if it's for seven hours during the day i want us both to be super adventurous, and courageous! Going to the beach yesterday may not be too courageous (because we always go during the summer), but it was something i have been craving since about the second snowstorm. He was so excited knowing that we were going, and as soon as we arrived he ran straight to the waves. We also dug for seashells, and ran around chasing each other. Since the weather is still a bit nippy there was hardly anyone on the beach which made it perfect for us to run around freely, and yell without annoying anyone.

My favorite beach moment was Noah asking me if he can take a picture of me, and I obliged. He looked so cute standing there telling me, "I took it, I took it already!" He captured this one of me on snapchat.

Not too shabby for a five year old. I totally documented our story on snapchat, and I have to say it was sweet. Here is a snippet of that story along with a few selfies...

We had ourselves such a grand time at the beach. Next to my husband he's the perfect little date! We absolutely love it here, and although we are enjoying this wet, nippy, spring weather we are looking forward to summer! 

The end.

memorial day on the shore.

I love Memorial day. It is the intro to my summer, and another renewal to my soul. It gets me in the mood to put all our summer wear, beach wear, and gear in a place that is easy to get to. Even though we didn't put our swimsuits on this Memorial day it was fun to have ventured out to one of my favorite places, and see my kids having a pretty good time. 

Just see for yourself. :-)

After Sierra came home from the parade in Philly we spontaneously drove to Belmar to go to the beach. Jon had to work so it was just the five of us. He hadn't worked in past Memorial Days, but he wasn't lucky this year. That's what happens when you work retail sales. Sometimes you just have to work on those holidays.

I have to say that Spring Lake is one of my favorite beaches on the Jersey shore. Call me sentimental, but ever since hurricane Sandy demolished this area I've grown to love this part of the shore even more. The 75 minute drive is worth it, and I will come here every week if I can this summer.

These girls must love me because they hung out with me all day. What teenagers hang out with their moms all day? I'm sure there are some out there that do, but I feel so blessed knowing that they wanted to hang with me, and their two younger siblings all day.

Then again we were going to the beach.

The beach wasn't as packed as I thought it would be. The weather was a bit chilly, but not chilly enough to walk on the boardwalk, and have a little fun in the sun.

These two are seriously best friends, and I love that. I mean they both have their own friends at school & church, but if you were living with us 24/7 they are beautiful to look at. How they treat each other, and how they look up to one another. They are five years apart, yet act as if they're twins. 

They were having too much fun trying to give each other piggy back rides walking on the sand. Didn't look like an easy task. Too bad i didn't vine it! 


They tease each other yet don't get into any fights...ever! It's funny because Sierra looks up to Alexandra a lot. You'd think it be the other way around because Sierra is the oldest. Nonetheless I love having two teenagers in the home who are not catty with one another, and truly strive to live a cheerful, and honest life. 

This one is a different story...

Just joshing. She's sassy, but a joy to have. She's teaching me more on being patient, and on calming my nerves. Yep...she's a child of work, and I don't mind. She's strengthens me by not giving up on mothering. She makes me grateful for the passage of time because I 'kind of' do look forward to her growing up...kind of.

It'll be interesting how well she'll succeed in life with her spunky personality, and who she is to become in ten years. With this one...I'm trying not to mourn too much on her growth. She sure knows how to make a day at the beach fun!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited Noah was when he saw the playground with a pirate ship. They restored it, and Noah and Chelsea were going a little too crazy here. Noah can go down the slides, and be here all day long. His favorite part was being barefoot, and landing in sand as he slid down. I wish I could freeze frame this moment. 

With this little guy...I don't want him to grow up! Ever!

I really didn't want to go home, but Jon was getting off soon, and we needed to get going. It was such a beautiful day out, and had Jon been with us we probably would have been home pretty late...like one in the morning late.  

Oh the life on the beach...it doesn't get any better than this. Eating fried oreos is our favorite part of coming here. It's a good thing we only eat them during the summer because our hips would be in trouble if we ate them all the time! 

I loved every minute of today. Spending it with these great kids of mine was so much fun. I love them to death, and I can give Noah kisses all day long. 

No matter how tough life can get for me...Life is pretty darn good. 

And it was pretty darn good today. 

**God bless the troops that continue to serve our country, and how thankful I am to those who have lost their lives in fighting for our freedom. 

ocean city.

I had been longing to go to the beach again, and with the weather cooperating with highs in the 50's we decided to go to Ocean City. We took Chelsea, and Noah with us and once again we all enjoyed the blue skies, the sound of the waves crashing, and the sun shining in our faces! It's a good thing we headed out to the beach earlier so that the time spent there was enjoyable and not so rushed. 

Since Jon had this whole week off we were looking forward to a date night last night, but to no avail. We had planned on staying in Ocean city for the evening, but realized there wasn't too much to eat at the house, and even though our two oldest daughters are self-sufficient, and can find something to eat (we do have a lot of staple food) I felt bad. When we got home Sierra had mentioned that she and Alexandra were invited over to a friend's house for a movie night. 

Like the awesome parents that we are, and because Sierra is in need of 'girl time' these days we decided to forego our date night so that they could go out. We ended up having a high carb dinner which included mac and cheese, instant potatoes, and some tortillas. Hey...it's food. 

We tended to Noah and Chelsea, and watched some movie on the 'This is philadelphia' channel. I really don't know what movie it was, and wasn't really paying attention. All the while Noah was sitting on my lap laughing at some of the vines on my phone from fellow viners. The stuff people post nowadays can be pretty silly, and dumb. He always enjoys seeing himself on camera. Here is Chelsea in the water, and then I caught them on the boardwalk. 

I absolutely enjoy the days spent with our children, and this beach is perfect for our family. With Noah at the tender age of three I am reminded of when Sierra was that age. 

While living in Utah we would always go to Texas twice a year to visit family. The 25 hour drive down in anticipation of going to Padre Island was worth it! 

Every now and then as I look at Noah's little body, and round face flashbacks begin to form. It's then when I don't mind spending a lot of time with our children. I want to take advantage of these two before they reach their teens. I feel as if time spent with Sierra literally slipped right through my fingers because it just went by too fast. All I have are good memories saved in a scrapbook. Now that she is 17 going on 18 next month, I feel that I am more mature now, and that my level of motherhood has reached a higher capacity to be better. I am treasuring my moments with her even more. 

Just as I am with this little guy.

Chelsea is a given. She is eight, and somewhere in the moves between Utah, and North Carolina to New Jersey she just blossomed overnight. I also try to give her equal time as I do with all of our kids.

I'm thankful for this day spent with these two, and Jon & I will have our date night soon! This day was too beautiful to pass up to watch them run, scream, and just being little. Being surrounded by one of God's amazing creations reminds me of being a little bit closer to Him, and I don't mind having these two with us when we take in all The Lord has blessed us with.