I.E.S. Pool Party

I.E.S. stands for International Elementary School and this is the group of teachers that I have been friends with since I've worked there. I left International in 2000 and at that time none of us had kids. Can you imagine the happy hours that we got ourselves involved in?? Well, these days... happy hour has a whole different meaning (aka the time after a swimming party when all the kids take a nice long nap! LOL)!
Anyway, we try our best to keep in touch with one another. Together, we have a total of 10 kids all under 8! We had one full pool! You put 10 kids, 2 babysitters, 6 adults, a few cocktails, and one large Southern California earthquake and you get one crazy day...

Will and Luke (Rory's two oldest)

P.J. and Lauren (son and daughter of Laura)


Baby Kate
(The youngest and only girl of Rory's four children! So sad, I missed getting a picture of Jack)

Bella and Nate (son and daughter of Nilda)

The boys hangin' out in the boat!

The Babysitters did a great job (Christina and Tara) helping out with all the kids in the pool.

Tara spent a good portion of her time watching out for daredevil Charlie!

The cupcake eating spot!
My little angels.

Tina braved the child and splash filled waters with a smile.

Lorena enjoying some snacks in the shade.

Tina is givin' some love to Baby Kate.

And last but not least...
Hands down (no pun intended) the best picture of the day!!
That's my girl!

Good to see you all! Let's do it again!

Cameron Kudron Turns One!!

This weekend we celebrated our nephew's first birthday Elmo style! Boy, time flies! I feel like baby Cameron was born just yesterday and it's already been a year. We had a BBQ, hung out with the fam, and watched the kids play, play, play... what could be better? Check out the pics from the day!
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First and most important...Here is a close up shot of the birthday boy enjoying his first taste of cake.

A bounce house is ALWAYS a hit with the kids (and great for nap times too)!!

Adrian (Nancy's brother and sister-in-law's little one) is probably waiting very, very impatiently for Cameron to get bigger! "Enough with playing with all these girls already!", he says.

Ryan and Katie... arguably the best photo of these two ever taken. Good work Nancy!

Two attempts were made to try to get all the cousins in one photo! Some day we'll get all these munchkins to look at the camera and smile all at the same time! LOL

Present time! Like all one year olds, Cameron liked the wrapping paper best!

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Last Minute Getaway

This past weekend we took a spontaneous trip to the desert! It worked out perfectly. We drove out Friday afternoon to Nonna and Grandpa's house. The kids practically jumped out of the car when we arrived. Silly me forgot to put my memory card in my camera but my mom got a few snapshots from the weekend!

All four of us stayed at my parents house Friday night. We went out to dinner and then Mommy and Daddy got some peace and quiet in one of the bedrooms while Nonna hosted a camp out with the girls in the living room.

In the morning, my dad and Steve played an early round of golf. My mom and I built lots of castles until the guys played the hole my parents live on so we could go out back and cheer them on. Charlie kept saying, "Daddy is the winner! Daddy is the winner!" And then Ryan would remind her gently that, "Grandpa is the winner too Charlie!" Charlie would say, "oh ya!" in her oh-so-Charlie way.

Once the guys passed the house, we took the girls to the pool. Ryan eventually got bored because the pool wasn't deep enough to dive into and said quite loud in front of others, "This people is just for old people and babies!" Way to go Ryan! She doesn't quite have the trait of being discrete yet!

We swam until the guys were done with golf. They came by in the golf cart to pick up the wet girlies and drive them home. My mom and I stayed behind to clean up and head out. But guess who was still driving around and around the parking lot??? Yes, Charlie!! Ryan had had her turn at the wheel too! What a brave grandpa!
After golf, Steve and I skidaddled out of there as fast as possible to enjoy a romantic day and night to ourselves! We went to the spa, had a nice dinner, went to the casino (where we originally met), and enjoyed sleeping in!
Thanks for babysitting Nonna & Grandpa!!

Huntington Beach 5K

On the morning of 4th of July, I participated in my second 5K with my friend Tina and trainer and friend Meghan. I wasn't quite in as good as shape as I was for the Seal Beach race a few months back but I huffed and puffed my way through it. We all had fun doing it and completing the run made the cocktails I drank and the loads of food I ate throughout the day seem just a tad bit less "bad" for me! LOL!
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Meghan's dad rode around on his bike and snapped photos of us throughout the morning. It was actually kind of exciting having an actual "fan" follow us around and take our pictures (even though he wasn't really MY fan but Meghan's instead). Now I know how all those celebs feel about the paparazzi! ha-ha-ha!!!

I could not believe how many people run this race!! We are actually in this picture... Click on it to make it larger and then look to the left behind the guy in the orange vest. We started about half way in the pack and look how many people are still behind us!!

Must still be early in the race because I am still smiling! I never walked once (having Meghan there kept me going) which I was proud of. Meghan never even broke a sweat and talked the whole time to keep me entertained! What a great trainer. Tina has become a regular at these 5K/10K runs so we were moving a bit too slow for her speedy pace! I wish to be her someday.

Here we are post run. Phewwww... it's over!
I'm hooked though, I can't wait to do another one!

Night Swimming

Over the holiday weekend, Daddy introduced the girls to "night swimming" and they were so excited! Seriously, I didn't know it would cause so much pure joy in them! We had the heater on a lot over the weekend so the pool was at a very comfortable 90 degrees for the adventure!

4th of July

For anyone who doesn't yet know... 4th of July is my favorite holiday. Seriously, more than Christmas or Thanksgiving! Growing up we used to go to a friend's house, the Goodwins, for a pool party every year. There was always good food and good times to be had by all! Since those old times we have been to some fantastic 4th of July festivities... beach parties, keggers, BBQs, North Carolina freeway fireworks, and parades to celebrate with our friends but now... in our new house, we can finally reintroduce the pool aspect of the party! Same people to party with, same food to munch on, same great conversation... but this year we got to do it all from the likes of a floating "noodle".

Here are a few pics of our fun day...
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Ryan, Carson, and Charlie in their red, white, and blue!

Ryan, Carson, Charlie, and Sydney
(We wanted to get a cute picture in their patriotic outfits before they jumped in the pool.)

Dana, Bryan, and Brennan Sullivan enjoying some pool time!

The girls in their patriotic swimsuits.

Baby Sydney watches on with anticipation.

Ryan and Baby Sydney get some father/daughter time in the pool.

After a long day of swimming.

Waiting in our jammmies for the fireworks to start!
Because this was our first 4th of July in this house, we weren't sure if we'd be able to see the huge fireworks show at the Navy base from our balcony! Fireworks are one of the best parts of the day but with little toddlers and a husband who works nights, I haven't been able to see them in several years. On Violet Street, I would go outside and try to stand on the fence to see them but we were just too far and not high enough! I hoped and hoped and crossed my fingers and waited! Luckily, I didn't have to wait long... the fireworks began and the location of our new house could not be more perfect to watch the show! Phewwww!

An Old Friend Comes to Town

Ryan's good friend Addy moved to Colorado last year and Ryan has missed her so much. She talks about her all the time! She wanted to invite Addy to her birthday, and visit her in Colorado, and have her over to play barbies...it's been hard for her to understand what "moving" means. Anyway, Addy was in town with her family and called us to get together. Ryan could not have been more happy!

Come back soon Addy!