Welcome to the family, Louella Mae!

And then there were eight!

...

Yes,

once upon a time,

 said I would never.  ever.

ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.

Have a dog.

And yet.

Here. We.  Are.

Sigh.

...

In a nutshell:

It was love at first sight! 

Even for me!

And the kids?

They finally

-FINALLY-

have a dog!

And sometimes they still can't believe it!

And yes, I'm the the one that takes the most care of her!

Sigh.

83 years!

Happy 83rd Birthday, Grandma Lopez!

We loved celebrating with you!

Beautiful!

I couldn't NOT include my monster shot.

This was in frustration to the seemingly

endless amount of photos we had to take in which

everyone was still or almost smiling!

Love this crazy bunch!

Oh, the trials of youth!

To not be able to climb all the way up to the top bunk-

let alone climb down...

Of course this was a temporary setback,

like most challenges are,

and days later,

guess who was triumphantly shouting from the top bunk

and taking swings at the ceiling fan?

Oy!

82 Spankings and a pinch to grow an inch!

My grandma

-my children's great-grandma!-

turned 82 years old!

And what's worse,

we were late in giving her her gift-

almost a whole year late!

For her birthday

we invited her over for a special meal.

And though we celebrated on her actual

birthday with the cake, hoopla, and what-not,

and though, since then,

we've had her over many, many times since that big day...

Not one meal was specifically devoted

to commemorating her special day!

Oy!

And with her 83rd birthday

fast approaching in April,

we needed to burn rubber!

Hence,

her birthday brunch...

finally!

Great-grandma Lopez, Grandma Rose, and Aunt Julia

The kiddos

The Menu

Greek Feta & Spinach Pie in a Phyllo Crust

Lemon Ricotta Puff Pastry Tarts

Sun-dried Tomatoe and Olive Pasta

Fresh Fruit

Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate-dipped Shortbread Pecan Toffee

Hot Cocoa

Grandma,

Always taking pictures...

Always walking...

Always enjoying life's little (and big) wonders...

I love you!

You are a rock,

and I know grandpa is so proud of you!

Thank you for being a wonderful grandma,

to me, my husband, and my kids!

We love you!

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Olivia

P.S. 

Your 83rd is right around the corner! 

What a blessing!

Another one bites the dust!

Congratulations, Iris!

Yer just as purdy toothless

and don't let anyone tell you different!

Love,

Yer Ma & Pa

School's Out...

With the onset of the last few days of school we

celebrated some milestones!

Owen completed his first year of pre-school with

a bash at the park!

He loved his classmates,

and with the exception of getting spit on,

it was a great experience!



 Way to go, guys & gals!

 

Moving on up,

Iris Luciana advanced from kindergarten to the first grade!

That's no small feat and we are so proud of our Duck!

She had a wonderful year with a great teacher and

something I will never forget is seeing her postiviely

rocket into reading!

Iris, you are amazing!

Celebrating with a little graduation cake... 

...which isn't easy to do with these guys hanging on every bite!

Thank goodness she's wonderful at sharing!



Next up, Ava!

My new big bad third grader!

I was able to swap babysitting with a sister in our ward

so I could help out at her end-of-the-year field day. 

What a blast!

I was bummed I left my camera at home,

but seeing her and her classmates run around and

getting drenched to the bone was pretty funny.
...

Ava,
we love you, girl!

How is that you are growing up right before our eyes?

You did great this year and we are so proud of all your acheivements,
especially your progress in math!

Bella ended her fourth year with a Heritage Lunch!

She was all gun-ho to make mole',

but I talked her into a spicy dessert instead:

Cinnamon & Cayenne Brownies with

a rich Chocalate Ganache 

She made them all herself,
and to my dismay,

brought home an empty plate!

...

Come fall she'll be entering her final year of elementary school!

Yikes!

I'm choking up as I type...

sigh.

This is what's supposed to happen, right?

They grow up,
get bigger than you,
leave home...

Well, we're not at THAT point yet,
but the fact that we're anywhere CLOSE
to any of the above is startling to me.

Deep breaths...

Enjoy and savor the now...

...

It's been a few weeks now and all of the hoopla

has officially come to an end. 

I have ALL of my babies with me

every single minute of every single day now
and I'm loving every minute of it!

{ Note }

We've come to the mutual understanding

that asking me the same question over and over again

will result in a chore!

Hence the abilitly to love "every minute"!  

...

H A P P Y  S U M M E R !

What Motivates You?

For potty training with Owen,

you can plainly see what works best for us!

To Owen:

Great job, my boy!

Remember...

Shoot down!!!

Gabriel's Baby Blessing...outfit.

So, there are many fabulous parents out there that are far, far superior than me at journaling.  I do my best to snap photos, record milestones, and chronicle the happenings of our growing family.  However, despite my best efforts some things slip by the wayside, and one of those things was photos of Gabriel in his baby blessing outfit!

Granted, his blessing was last year.  However when I added that post to my blog, I noticed, and very quickly so, that I didn't capture a single photo of my little guy all in white!  I promised myself, it's okay!  You'll get to it!  

Well, I made good on my promise. 

And I did indeed "get to it".

The only problem is,

Gabriel, our little bear cub,

is a whole lot bigger than a wee month old baby.

And let's just say his blessing outfit is a little...

...snug.

Yes, that's the word.

Snug.

Yes. 

Those are the pants.

There was no getting them on!

He's telling me the photo shoot is OVER!

Alright, son!

I love you!

Uncommon Friends...And the Tears that Fall When You Say Good-bye

You know what I'm talking about. 

And if you don't, you surely will one day.

I never thought that one of my best friends would reside "just over the fence".  And yet, when we moved to Roseville nearly two years ago now, that's exactly what happened.

We passed sugar, eggs, and who knows what else over that fence.  

We laughed together,

cried gobs of tears together,

and just were.

We not only shared a love of cooking,

but a between the two of us,

we had a bounty of life experiences that tried us,

and yes,

ultimately strengthened us.

Thank you, friend.

Our family has been richly blessed to know you and yours.

We dearly miss you all.

And look forward to keeping in touch.

Queen Victoria:

"You will go when I dismiss you.
I am your queen, and I am telling you to stay!"

Prince Albert:

"Good night, Victoria."

[Exits]

Queen Victoria:

[Storms over to door.]

"You may not go!
You may not go!
I order you to stay here in this room!
Albert!"

{Mmmm.}

I suppose they'll be no ordering you to stay...

Afterall it didn't work for Victoria, did it?

Anyhow, we love you and

we wish everyone all the best!

Thank you again...

for everything.

Olivia

P.S. 
And the Jackie Roll...
How can I ever repay you?

Dr. Heartthrob is in the House!

Okay, we'll Joe isn't a doctor,

but he is officially a NURSE!

CONGRATULATIONS JOSEPH! 

We couldn't be happier!

Here's my brother-in-law with his saint-of-a-wife Jessica.

This accomplishment really was a united effort,

and together they made this happen.

The heartthrob reference comes from his days as a youth when he was voted hottest guy in his stake.  Jessica was basically the only girl who DIDN'T swoon all over him, and of course, that's who he married!

Now that the party's over,

roll up those sleeves,

slap on those gloves,

and tell someone to bend over!

Love,

The Samuel Elmers

 

Milestone: Suction Cups

Don't you love it when they can finally sit up in the tub?

Yes, their older.

And they have more balance.

But it's mostly because those cheekies act as suction cups!

I love you Gabriel!

Gabriel...10 Monther

Handsomer than all get out!

Gabriel, I love you!
And I can hardly believe that in two short months you will be one!  Crawling eludes you, though you're ALMOST there, and you are a champ at eating with eight teeth!  You a delight in every possible way, and though you squirm, I still love to hold you close!

I'm excited to see you grow son...

Love,
Mom