Snow

Mike went to work on Wednesday and got stuck at Kramer Junction due to SNOW...who would ever imagine? This is off the 395 and on the way to where we camp for Thanksgiving. I love this picture, you can see how long of a trailer my (brave strong) husband drives for a living. I love the snow on the excavator and the truck..oh and Astro Burger in the background. Mike loves that place and is now officially "friends" with the owner, since he and coworked spent the entire day "snowed in" at Astro Burger. They did find a hotel for the night (priase GOD) and he was able to drive home yesterday.

We were a bit worried he wouldn't make it home for the kids play, we prayed that he would be home in time and more importantly he would be safe. Isabella was really upset before school and Mrs. Willis prayed with us (she is the best prayer warrior), and God answered our prayers - he is so great...don't you think? Mike was home safely, and the machine was safe and the play was awesome (next post with pictures).

This is out of his truck window, trying to find a motel in Boron. Pretty wild snow storm, in So Cal.

I drove home from work on Weds through a Blizzard on Ortega hwy (okay you east coast people, I know it was just a bit of snow, but a blizzard to me), It was amazing and I wish I could have pulled over and taken photos but I just wanted to get down the hill. 2 of my friends from work got to the top and they turned them around, so they have to go back to the 91 and it took them 5 hours to get home...ugh!

Bad Blogger take 2

Okay I have to say, there are several blogs I check and read daily, 3 maybe 4 okay make it 5 times a day...and when someone goes a few days with no update it makes me sad...and then I opened my blog and realized it has been almost 1 month (sorry Shelley...you are the only one that really cares). I did include our blog address on our Christmas cards this year, so I will be forced to do a better job updating.

Thanksgiving was FANTASTIC - 1 week in the desert with family and friends, 52 of us sat down for dinner all together...it was amazing. Mike's hard work on our camper roof paid off, Tuesday night it rained for 6 hours and no leaks (thank you GOD).

The rain is lovely but Mike doesn't work when it rains so it is bitter sweet. And Mike doesn't do "stay home and do nothing" very well.

My Christmas shopping is not done, the good news is I don't have many to buy for, and we told the kids this will be a small Christmas this year. Since they are 8 and 6 they really don't understand what that means, and quite frankly they really won't care. If they get what they asked for from Santa (nintendo DS) they will be thrilled, and then a few things for us. That is one thing my kids aren't that greedy at Christmas time - I guess because they get what they want throughout the year. There are a ton of things I can think of I would love to get them, but this year I am sticking to 2-3 gifts - nothing major. I really want them to know the meaning of Christmas and that it isn't about getting a bunch of presents. This is when I wish Mike was saved, so he as the head of the house could sit down and read to us the story from the Bible - Oh well, there is always next year.

Please pray for my dear friend Jacquie this Christmas season - she is experiencing a "gliche" in her marriage and it isn't an easy time for her. Pray her family will draw closer to her and to God.

Thursday is the big night - the kids play at school - Isabella has a lead role, I will update Thursday night, which is the eve to me being 44...ugh! It just means 50 is getting closer and since my mom died at 50, I want to celebrate every year I have on earth.

Mike just left for work 2:15am, praise God he is working today. I couldn't sleep, starting to have the "wake up Christmas morning with no gifts bought" dream.... I hate that one.
Oh and the dreading homemade gift - we are not done with ours yet...wait.... we haven't even started them. I do know what we are doing and that is 1/2 the battle.

I have a few days off this week and then next week as well - I need a break, work isn't that busy but just need some down time with the kiddos.

Just wanted to say HELLO - and post a cute picture from Thanksgiving, but realized they must not be downloaded yet.

Good night or good morning - whatever... I'm going back to sleep for a bit ( I got new sheets 400 thread count...who knew they would be so lovely, Cami was with me when I bought them and I said "oh is that good 400 thread count" and she replied "really 800 would be fantastic" but they were over 100 bucks - no thanks. Since we have been sleeping ( and I'm not kidding) on sheets with -100 thread count, and 1 of our pair of sheets was from my mom's house.... 400 thread count feels like 800. I said to Mike this am, didn't it feel great and he sort of grunted "yea I guess" . See my man is low maintenance. There is a NO DOG rule in our bed now.) end tangent!

xxox
Caroline

Stuck in a blog rut..

Okay so I have been a bad blogger, I think I am in a RUT with alot of things these days, and I need to snap out of it. It is the holidays and I have so much to be thankful for... First... my Love, has put a new roof on our camper ( our old we paid 4k camper, but it is worth 100k to us) we will now not have to put a tarp on it when it rains. He was not happy about doing it but once he got started he has done a great job. We all helped out, the kids got up there and scraped and I helped him tape on Sunday night, even though I didn't want to get up on the roof, he said he really could use my help so I got up there.

Second... I got all the food figured out for our Thanksgiving in Red Mountain, we leave this weekend. 50 people eating dinner together, how great is that? Can't wait and so far NO DRAMA like this time last year....

Third...Work is much better - so thank you if you prayed for me. I had a talk with my boss and he gave me some good tips. I am trying to really be focused at work and make it my career and quit treating it like a job. It is such a balance of being a working mom and trying to be a MOM - especially being involved at school.

I promise to be a better blogger! I HATE when my favorite blog buddies don't update their blogs...I mean what do I have to look foward to? My budget has cut out People magazine...so blogs is it for me ( okay I sneak over to Cami's and use the bathroom to get my People mag fix). The good news is my 3 readers already know my life stuff anyway so I don't have to worry about people being upset that I'm not blogging.

I do have several things I want to post - and I will "tomorrow".

In the meantime.. have a great night!

PS..

my new favorite songs are Taylor Swift - "Love Story" and...(don't laugh) The Jonas Brothers - "Lovebug" - Beyonce -"If I were a boy" and Caedmon's Call - "Hands of a Potter". All downloaded and ready for Isabella to put on my ipod...yes my 8 year old does that for me.

oops!

I just realized I never did my 2nd post about our wedding... Oh well another time. Our anniversary was great, and Neil Diamond ROCKED - even Mike had fun.

We just got back from Weldon for opening weekend of bird hunting and I'm sad to report, still no deer for Mike. He is going back again this weekend for one last go at it. He is very determined. We had a great relaxing weekend and took a few days off as well. Mike actually did a late hunt on Monday so we drove home at 3 am on Tuesday morning. I think the kids and I are still recovering from that - we are exhausted.

Isabella did shoot her shotgun but she did not respond the way Mike would have hoped. She is a bit afraid of it and it is going to take time. I doubt she will be shooting her first pheasant at the kids hunt this year. She does not want to let her dad down so she really was trying but on Monday made herself physically sick, she doesn't like to talk about it, and kept telling me that she isn't afraid etc... She is only 8 so we may have to wait until next year. Mike was bummed but he would never push her to do something she is not comfortable with, the hardest part of that learning experience is - she is our fearless child, so this is very out of character for her. I reassured her it is okay and she can try another time. - UGH!

Work is well...work. Mike's work is very very slow, so please pray for us, we need at least 50 hours a week to survive. My work is okay and I know there is going to be a layoff but I just need to have faith it won't be me. I am really trying to be my best at work and be more organized, my caseload has gone down so I am doing a bit of housekeeping now.

I almost forgot - Mike shot a rattlesnake, while hunting with ISABELLA...we had gone out that morning to shoot her gun and I asked "are there any snakes" and he replied "in 10 years I have only seen 1 gopher snake" - that afternoon the 2 of them went out and sure enough a huge rattlesnake that Zoe was pointing at in a bush. It was 4 feet long, with 10 rattles. He brought it home and skinned it, and Risa is going to make rattlesnake chili this weekend. Soren is going to hang the skin in his room and is now turning his room into a Cowboy room. Garrett let Soren borrow one of his old cowboy hats for his costume for Halloween, Soren was so excited he has not taken the hat off since. He really wants to take Garrett to school one day for share - because he is a "real" cowboy.

Have a great Thursday!
cars xxox

Our love story - part 1 of 2 posts

October 3rd, 1998 we said "I do", it was a great day and at the time 10 years seemed so far off. Here we are 2008 and it feels like it went by in a snap. Yes I joke all the time it feels like it has been 20 years, but only because I feel like Mike and I have always been together. We have accomplished alot in the past 10 years and there are never any dull moments.



We got engaged on September 27, 1997 at Foley winery in Santa Barbara - it is my favorite story to tell and if Mike is around and hears it, he still jerks a tear. I knew we were going to be getting engaged soon (I wasn't getting any younger), and he had the ring made and was in the process of paying it off, he knew only that I wanted a saphire and platinum the rest was up to him..oh that I had chubby fingers so it couldn't be some danty setting. We went away for the weekend with Shelley, Mark, Cami, and Chris, and rented a limo and went wine tasting. I honestly had NO idea he would propose this weekend. Mike is VERY private (i have wore him down a bit in the last 10 years), and he would never propose in front of my 2 best friends - that was way too predictable. We got to Santa Barbara and got in the limo and headed out to the wineries. (Side tangent - Mike was acting wierd that morning but I didn't think anything of it.)We had gone to several wineries and feeling a tiny bit "happy" and spending way too much money on wine (we were very novice wine drinkers at the time). We were are the lovely Foley winery and enjoying our tastings. I said to Mike "my ring will have to wait a few more weeks" - because he wanted to pay cash, every week he would take money out of his check to pay for it (we had combined our money at this point too). He said "let's go outside" and I thought oh crap I'm going to get a money lecture. We walk out to the porch and he gets on one knee and says "Caroline Diane Sorensen will you have the honor of being my wife" HELLO I freaked out and started crying right away....I could not believe it, he caught me completley off guard - I said yes!. I walk back in and yell out "I just friggin got engaged" - everyone was cheering and Cami started to cry. Here is the best part - I said "we need to call my dad" (side tangent - my mom had died the year before and it had been tough on all of us). and then Mike replies "he already knows" - Okay I have to say that was the best part of the entire engagement, Mike had asked my dad for my hand in marriage...for those of you who don't know Mike, he beats to his own drum, he does things his way and doesn't comform to the normal. We all cried harder - The owner at Foley gave us the phone and we called my dad (who was sitting by the phone waiting to hear from us). It was an amazing weekend, which then led up to our amazing wedding.


The rest of our weekend was a blast, we got back to our hotel and called our friends - they all happened to be in Arrowhead together and they were very thrilled. I was one of the last in my circle of friends to get married. Then we had chicken fights in the pool (another story) before we set out to a nice dinner.

It is my favorite story to tell -even better then the wedding story because it was so out of Mike's character.

"Oh Dear, No Deer....

Mike is back from Deer hunting opening weekend - with no Deer! Ugh... for me. He will want to go back the next 2 weekends to try to get one - he is so determined. Larry's son Lawrence got a deer when he was with Mike and I asked "can't that count?". Mike was really excited for Lawrence, he is in high school and it was his first deer, and he had to do all the gutting himself (mike showed me the video at 12:00am when he got home - gross!) Mike said the fires that were in the Paiute mountains were horrible and all you see is sticks for miles and miles, he said the area will probably never recover.

Yesterday they went Bear hunting as well - Mike doesn't not have a Bear tag ( I will forbid it), and I told him I don't want to hear any stories of "Teddy" or "Smokey" getting killed - the thought of eating bear meat does not sit well with me and trust me I like to eat meat. I wish we could become part time vegetarians but we just aren't there yet.

Mike is pointing to the mountain he hiked on Saturday -(I know you probably thought he was practicing his "Saturday Night Fever" moves). He does love his new "deer desert" hunting clothes, he said they were perfect.

In the past when Mike has been gone the kids weren't that fazed by it, but this trip was harder on them, they asked every night "when is daddy going to be home" - He is leaving on 10-16 for a 10 day trip to South Dakota, pheasant hunting. I think that is what rich people do , take a 10 day vacation without their family.... He has a really terrific wife.

He had a great time and hiked alot and did see several deer just no shots off for him. He was happy and you know our motto "when daddy is happy, everyone is happy".

For those of you "none" hunter type, or as Isabella learned "bunny huggers", this is only the beginning of hunting season and more entries to come about HUNTING. I will say Mike eats what he hunts, he believes in the circle of life and just doesn't do it for the "kill". He is genuine when he tells me "clean out the freezer". I better put meat back on the grocery list for now.

I am officially a "hunters wife".

xxox

cars

Family Night #1

Our first "family" night was a success... Soren picked "TV" as his theme, so I made a little concession stand for candy and popcorn. We ate dinner and then took showers and put on our pj's. We watched Indiana Jones first (and boy do we need a new tv) and then Mike went to bed because he had to work Saturday morning, and the kids and I watched Enchanted. The kids thought it was awesome and enjoyed every minute of it. Oh...banana splits for dessert. Friday night it not the best night so going forward we will try to pick a weeknight.

I made popcorn in a pan with olive oil and I guess I put way too many kernels because the lid started to go up higher and higher and then when I took the lid off the popcorn went everywhere (yes I turned off the gas first)... Soren and Isabella were laughing so hard, it was my favorite part of the night. The dogs had a treat on the floor as well. I now know how much popcorn to put in the pan...thanks to Parker explaining it to me the next day.

Mike gets to pick the theme for family night #2 and we will do it next week, this is going to be a hectic week. I joked that he will have us dress up as deer and quail and then shoot the nerf gun at us.

Have a good Monday.

xxox

cars

50's day

Today is 50's day at the kids school...they are too cute! Isabella didn't want to wear her poodle skirt that Janice made and I helped complete a few years ago...she let Lizzie borrow it.

Cami helped her finish off her outfit with a cardigan and scarf...we made her beauty mark bigger and a bit of lipstick and PRESTO - Mike is going to be in trouble when she is older. Soren got a tattoo that said "LBC Rocks" . They do fun games and rootbeer floats at lunch time today.





Look how cute Parker and Elizabeth are in this picture, Parker was trying to recreate the picture of him and Isabella from preschool - side tangent...if I was a good blogger I would be able to show you that picture now but I'm not so use your imagination (It was really darling).








Looks like they are straight out of Grease.... Rizzo was always my favorite...until now that I have a daughter and see this picture! NO Rizzo for us! For anyone out there reading this wondering why in the world we would want to move to Wildomar, CA and not stay in the OC - here is the reason:



1st Family night update - okay we have lots of family days, nights, weekends etc... that has never been an issue for us (date nights another story) but we are officially starting "Family Nights" - which when I announced Mike said "sounds like something you read on a blog" - well yes dear you are correct and it just reminded me of how fun it would be and here is where I read about it http://whittakerwoman.typepad.com/ ( need to figure out how to just say "here") Side tangent -great blog, great story, read her husbands too!

Back to family night... we drew numbers and Soren gets to go first - the kids are so excited, they wanted to do it the night I announced it. Oh they are theme nights -did I mention that part. I was raised in a "theme" based family...Mike not so much. Another side tangent (my last one) when I showed Isabella the blog mentioned above, and their family nights, she said "oh the dad really gets into it", because on Princess night the dad was in a tuxedo - when I told that to Mike he said "I don't own a tux" which I smiled and said "your suit will do" So Isabella will be happy to know her dad will "really get into it" as well.
Soren picked TV night ( the point might be to not watch TV but it is his night), so I am trying to come up with some clever stuff for tonight. I will post tomorrow with pictures.
xxox
cars

Oursler House update

Nothing too exciting going on at the Oursler house.... Kids are loving school and doing well, Soren is trying to go 4 days in a row without having to go back to his desk and put his head down - I bribed him. He wants some star wars toy and I said only if he could go 4 days in a row with good behavior - he is just too chatty...wonder where he gets that from.

Isabella is/was doing great - today brings home an "action plan" - she spoke out of turn and got in trouble for it. She needs to learn to control it. She has to look up 3 scriptures verses and then state what she did wrong and how to change her behavior - Mike will freak when he looks at since he doesn't really get the discipline through scripture...(yet). Her teacher showed them at back to school night last night I'm sure was waiting to use it. I guess us Oursler's are always good at being the one to try things out first. ugh!

Mommy got basically an action plan at work today so maybe it just in the air today - had to get the email from the boss that said "we need to talk tomorrow at 9:30am" - Oh goodness thought he knew me better then that - emailed back and said "I won't sleep tonight unless we talk today" since I knew it couldn't be good - sure enough it wasn't. Complaints from my transferee's about responsiveness. I am doing the best I can and trying my best to get back to ee's within 2 hours, but when you are constantly following up on other departments it is hard. I feel like a hamster on one of those wheels....someone please help me jump off. And my boss doesn't want to hear excuses. I guess he forgot that even though my caseload is lower today it was insane all summer and you know after a hurricane there is always clean up. I got the "full monty" lecture, with all the bells and whistles of- "I expect you to blah, blah blah" and "you need to be on top of them" and "what did we learn here". I just said "I will try to do better" and now having a raging headache called stress.

Mike's knee is better and they cleared him to work 120 hours a week - Praise the Lord! I think he was kidding about the 120 hrs but hey sounds good to me - we could use the juicy check.
He is gearing up for HUNTING!!! He did get his scope and got it mounted and it was under $180.00 so Happy Father's Day honey.... Hopefully he gets another deer this year, I know all of you can't wait to see the pictures, but it will make him really happy and then mommy is really happy.

Went to see Wicked on Saturday with my Cami, my grandma and Linda -It was awesome and if you have a love for "The Wizard of Oz", it is a must see. I am going to take Isabella to go see it- I think she will love it. It was a fun day.

I really want to watch Annie tonight and just sing myself to sleep with "tomorrow, tomorrow, work will be better tomorrow".....

Thanks for reading -
cars
xxox

A+ Teachers and "Love" update

Here is the card we made to give to the teachers last Friday at "meet the teacher" day.

One of our goals in PTF last year was to be able to give each teacher a gift card to A+ teacher supply, to spend as they wish for the upcoming school year. We as parents know that each teacher spends their own money every year on little misc items for the classroom and our children and PTF wanted to help with that this year.

We achieved our goal - Horray!!

Every teacher was so grateful and surprised. We continue to be blessed with a wonderful staff of teachers and adminstration at Las Brisas, and even with the cutbacks this year, I think it is going to be amazing. Watching everyone glorify God and be glorfied by what God is doing in our lives, is a testament in itself. We are shown daily it is not about "us" but about the man who died for us.

WOW am I preachy today or what....

To my 3 readers (one of which is my cute sister who is not a diligent reader or comment maker) - Please pray for Mike (my husband, not to be confused with Mike my boss), who I refer to as "Love". He hurt his knee and doesn't know what happened, but can't work today or tomorrow- AND...this is big..... He cancelled his Dove hunting for this weekend. I know, I know he must be in alot of pain. He is on the way now to the clinic for workers comp (I told him if it is an injury it happened at work so we can get the workers comp). He is the worst patient so pray for me too - okay always just pray for me, I can always use it.

xxox

cars

1st Day of School - "cheers from mom's around the world"

Tuesday was the first day of school and boy oh boy was the Oursler house excited. Isabella and Soren wanted to wear matching outfits, they layed out their clothes the night before and "tried" to go to sleep early. Soren had told me on Monday "tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life", I sure hope that sticks for a few years. He was excited to see his friend Jorel was back again this year. Isabella has been with the same exact class since kindergarten and some of the girls since her 1st year at preschool, so it is very comfortable for her. I think that is the one thing she would have enjoyed at the public school - meeting new friends.

I am so excited and blessed the kids were going off to Las Brisas. I have such a positive feeling about this year and I know that God's plan for them it a great one and I can't wait to watch it unfold. Last year I wasn't at the same place I am this year, so I have to give praise to God for showing me that I need to stay is his word and he will do great great things.

All 5 kids started school today - (for you new readers...ha ha... my kids are 2 of 5 basically - they are with their cousins all the time). Charlie was so happy to start preschool, he kept saying "I'm going to Las Brisas Christian Preschool" - he looked so handsome. Parker is in 2nd grade and he and Soren are in the same class, and Elizabeth started kindergarten. Since enrollment is down there is only 1 lunch so they all 4 will eat lunch and play on the playground together.

PTF will be stronger this year, even with less families. Cami and I have our work cut out but as I have said before the 1st year was the toughest, now the refining will take place. We know that there are alot of families with "Time, Talent and Treasure" at Las Brisas schools, and they just need to a few leaders to show them the way.

Have a great Wednesday.

PS Dance started last night and Awana tonight - so BUSY begins!

xxox, cars

End of Summer - pool party

It was a Daddy and Soren picture day.... Isabella was too busy flirting with Nick and Tyler and Mommy was incharge of her camera - no photos in the bathing suit this year!

The Wales' family had a little pool gathering while Chris' parents are in town. It is always nice to spend time with Ken and Arlene. We also made homemade icecream and you know the rule "no turney or treaty" - Soren was showing off his strength!

It was a nice casual day of swimming and bbq, and watching my 8 1/2 girl "act" like she doesn't like the boys attention. We had alot of fun, thanks Cami and Chris for another fun day at the pool...I feel like I need to pay my association dues to you guys.

Summer, Summer go away, come again another day

Okay so that isn't the song but I am officially ready for summer to be over for many reasons, here are a few:
1. School is back - my kids are bored, officially! They need to be learning and reading (soren), and having their brains and souls nourished. Mom hates to make lunches that is the only negative.
2. Work will slow down - we have been down 2 consultants and we are SLAMMED!
3. I don't have to put on a bathing suit - okay so I never got rid of my winter "fluff" and with the stress lately, I think I have gained more weight. WW here I come.
4. Our electric bill will be normal again
5. We can go on bike rides again - it is too hot in Wildomar to go on a bike ride.
6. no more bathing suits- oops said that one again....

So today is "meet the teacher day" - Isabella will have her same teacher as last year, Mrs. Willis and Soren will have Mrs. Miguel. Both kids are in combo classes, I'm sure there will be lots of posts during the year about how that is going. I'm going to be positive and looking forward to the new challange. Parker and Soren will be in a class together. The kids are excited to pick out their desk and see their classrooms.

Cami and I are excited to meet the teachers today as well - as the Pres and VP of PTF, one of our goals was to give each teacher a gift card to start the school year (I will post the cute card we made), so today we will be giving each teacher a $50.00 gift card to A+ teacher supply. We are so excited that the PTF was able to give this gift today. This will be our 2nd year with PTF and I must say our first year was quite successful, against some of the negative nellies that didn't think it would work out. Our mom has got to be so proud of us right now!!

We aren't going camping this weekend....so we have all weekend to get ready for school.

Just heard the breaking news - John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate, she is the governer of Alaska - WOW, you go John, good for him.

Have a great long weekend!

She passed!! Hunting Update and Daddy/Daughter bonding

Isabella and Mike took the Hunter Safety Course this past Sunday and Isabella passed with a 93%, so she now has her Jr Hunters license. I had told her that if she got a higher score then her Dad I would buy her whatever she wanted capped at 100 bucks....Mike got a 97% - she was so close. He did help her a bit with some questions that she answered wrong and told her to "rethink" those questions, which was perfectly legal. My nephew Ray took the test as well and passed.


She was very excited and Mike said she asked alot of questions during the 8 hour class. She came home that night and told us she can only kill(she meant hunt) "small birds and animals", and can't hunt for a deer until she is 12. Well thank goodness for that one. She took it very seriously, so if you ever need some gun safety advice, she is your gal.


Oh and she learning that Frito's are the best chips to bring camping or hiking - because they are corn so you can mash them and cook them up, and they have alot of grease so you can start a fire with them. - Side note.... She is telling me this story as I am shoveling Frito's dipped in french onion dip into my mouth - nice huh?? Very weight watchers!!



So now she can officially go do this....
with her dad and his dogs. I'm sure Mike is very excited too.

On that note...
Hunting season is approaching quickly, and Mike has now added "DOVE" to his list of hunting, which I am not thrilled about, not because it is another bird, but because it is another season that starts sooner and that means more weekends away from the family - not to mention $300.00 bucks...
Since he got a deer last year he is now hooked, and that starts the end of September. He is going to South Dakota again this year for 1 1/2 weeks, which I think is way too long to be gone on vacation without your family - HOWEVER... I often times get more done around the house when he is away, and I don't have to stress about making him a good dinner everynight, and I can put my pj's on at 5:30pm with no guilt!
I told him NO more birds to your list - stick with quail and pheasant... I know Mike wants to move to a place where when he asks me "whats for dinner" and I reply "not sure yet" he then says " hold tight, I will go hunt us up some dinner, hunny" and sure enough he comes home with some type of animal or bird that I need to clean and prepare...I'm just not there yet, I like my meats cleaned and packaged with plastic wrap over them. Someday I'm sure his wish will come true! I keep telling him we can move to Oregon, he does seem to be a bit more open to it.

Lastly, Mike went out of town on Weds to Lake Naciemento to drop off a big crane at the dam - (right by where we camped), and Isabella wanted to go with him. I tried to talk her into staying home with me and going to Mimi's but she really wanted to go since school starts next week and she never gets to go to work with him. So they set out at 2:00am and drove all day, and then stayed at the Motel 6 - Isabella told me the bed was so comfortable. They drove home early this am but he had to go to work again so she is still out with him. I (jokingly) told Mike he is trying to make her like him more then me....oh I will so be spoiling her this weekend.

I am so blessed that my kids love both of us so much and they always say "equally", because I do ask them which one of us they like better! It is all in fun and they know it. I love that Isabella has a strong relationship with her dad, just like I did as a little girl growing up and still do as an adult. It is a relationship that I treasure...especially since my mom died...okay not going there -you know me I will read WAY too much into that one.

Okay back to work!!

Dance Rectial - Isabella and Daddy

Isabella had her tap recital in August, down in Escondido Performing Arts center. She is in Tap 1 and dance to 76 Trombones, she and Mike did a daddy daughter dance as well and were in the finale together. Mike had to go to 5 weeks of practice. They were so awesome. I think he really enjoyed it as well. It is nice to see him motorcycle ride with his daughter but then also dance with her. Her outfit was so friggin tight on her and for $75 bucks one would think it would fit her...guess it will be a hand me down dress up outfit. They both wore black pants and black shirts, and top hats - once I get the professional picture I will post that as well. We were running a bit late on the recital day - we got there early and went to eat ( mom had the time wrong..) so we had to rush her over to drop her off. Grandma and Grandpa Oursler came as well, which was a special treat since they typically don't come out in summer - when I told Soren they were coming he said "is it christmas" ... that is a bit sad!~

Isabella and Mike are taking their hunter safety course this weekend and she has to pass a 100 question test, with 80% correct. She has been taking the practice test online all week. She really has taken the study guide serious.
Then she can go hunting with Mike...nice huh. She is only 8 1/2, but she loves her dad and thinks it might be cool to try. NO guns for her yet.

Off to a pampered chef party tonight - okay 2 posts in the same week... boy I am living on the edge.

Have a great Friday night!

Lake Naciemento - some cute photos

Okay so I am a bit late on my vacation pictures and there is not 1 single picture of the 4 of us. I have a great video that my brother in law made but I can't figure out how to post it...hint hint Chris -

Here are just a few funny photos. Cami has the best pictures which I will share soon.

Here is Soren and Elizabeth on the boat dressing up poor Stella with some sunglasses. Since Stella jumps the fence we had to bring her with us (which cost $50.00 extra bucks). Sunglasses were the hit of our summer - wait until to you see Isabella's -8 going on 28....

Here is Cami "cliff jumping" - she was the first one out of the boat to do the jump. Everyone jumped including Soren, he was so brave. I did not jump because of my cold, I didn't do much on this trip - no bun busting for me either. I was sick when we left for vacation and wanted to take it easy so I didn't get worse.

It was a great week and everyone had a blast, although camping can be a alot of work and especially "dry" camping (for the novice that means there are no hook ups), and it doesn't matter if we are boating or motorcycle riding, there is always work for Mike and me to do - either fixing something (poor Mike) or cooking and cleaning for me. That is one blessing about our camper being old, if the kids spill it isn't the end of the world.

It was such a wonderful experience for our kids to get to go on vacation with all 5 of their cousins. They enjoy hanging out with Ray and Joe so much and wish we could see them more often.

Thank goodness the boat was fixed and it was a minor repair.

Sorry to my 3 readers

okay since I talk to my 3 readers daily, I don't make my blog a priority - but since I would like to double my blog readers by the end of the year, I am thinking I need to be more disciplined!

I have pictures and videos to share from our vacation - will do later today...

also we had our gourmet dinner/wine tasting at Larry and Tressa's awesome home in Temecula - chris made a darling video and if I could figure out how to save on my computer, I could share with you 3 (okay 2 of you were there).

It is my goal these last 3 weeks of summer to get this house organized. I told Mike we need to move....pack up and start over...in this house. I know if we did that we would get rid of "stuff" that is only "stuff" we would live much more balanced.

Be back later today!

**Praise** -school update

I have a great Praise report - I found out last week that Isabella and Soren will be able to attend Las Brisas for school in September. I cried when the Mindy(vice principal) called me, and then I called Cami and cried more, I felt numb all day. It is an amazing testiment to PRAYER! This trail has taught me to be faithful in prayer and TRUST in God and his plan will be revealed. I listened patiently (not my best thing), and I looked into the other options, and even though I wasn't thrilled with the other school, I would have worked it out if that was his plan for our kids.
I know we belong at Las Brisas, my job is not done there, PTF is going into it's 2nd year and will only be stronger, even with less families. The kids will both be in combo classes, which isn't my first choice but with enrollment down I understand the need. Isabella will have her teacher from last year, she is tough, but she is really smart and the kids will learn so much. Soren and Parker will be in the same class, which will be fun for them. Now my only stress is getting new backpacks and uniforms - Praise God!!!

It has taken a huge load off my back, only to have a bigger one put on at work. My job is very busy, we are short 2 consultants, summer is always busy and our clients seem to be very busy transfering their employees. My caseload is getting up to my goal weight (my personal goal weight...) Now that my focus is off the school issue, my mind is clear and I can focus - oh and I'm going on vacation next week and actually excited about camping.

Another quick Praise - Sunday the kids sang their VBS songs in church, so I told Mike if he wanted to come watch them, he typically will come if they are singing and then he leaves. I have been in prayer for Mike's heart to continue to be soften and him to come to a relationship with the Lord - again all in the Lord's timing. I NEVER push him on this issue, I do tell him I wish he came to church with me sometimes. He is very supportive and never talks bad about us going to church, and always is encouraging with Awana etc... (he is already a good christian he just doesn't know it yet). Anyway back on topic.... On Sunday, after the kids sang he asked "do you want me to go out to my truck and get your glasses" and I said "are you staying " and he hesitated a second and then said "yes" - I was so happy! It was a good sermon and 3 new deacons were moved up and 1 elder - so Mike got to hear their testimony, which were very basic and proved they are not different then the rest of us, the testimonies weren't all about - I did drugs and found the Lord, I stole and found the Lord, I cheated and found the Lord. I think Mike has more of an issue with those type of testimonies and feels he doesn't have those issues so he (may) not need the Lord. I just continue to pray for his salvation.

Well I better get back to work!
Have a great Wednesday - xxox Caroline

Sleepy Summer

Here is my sleeping beauty... not sure if you can see her eyes are open when she sleeps, it is freaky and she gets it from her Aunt Cami. She looks dead, but I did check and she is breathing. She loves to have her blanket over her head, and typically has her thumb in her mouth (another discussion), she has always had her blanket over her head, even as a small baby and it would drive me crazy and I would take it off and then she would put it right back.

Isabella loves to sleep and she is good at it, just like her dad. The kids have been going to bed late in the summer and this week are extra tired because of VBS which ends at 8:30pm. Isabella loves the days I work from home because she can sleep like this until 10am, when I go into the office they are up at 7:00am and we are out the door. Soren got up already, probably because they slept together in a twin bed, with 1 dog so he probably ran out of room. He is like sleeping with a kick boxer/gymnasit/cirque de soliel star.... he is all over the place and if you sleep with him you could find a toe in your eye or mouth at any given time. Mike will not sleep with him. When we are camping I practically have to swaddle him up so he won't kick us.

I will let "sleeping beauty" sleep a bit longer and then they need to be up and do some chores before going to Cami's...to swim and play and have more fun.

I'm working from home again today (weds) and I am so buried at work it is crazy! Oh well good job security, and I have a meeting at the kids school (las brisas) and hopefully can make my final decision soon.

Update on that issue - the public or as Soren says it "pewblic" does not offer extended care, so I called the boys and girls club and to bus the kids there is will be $625.00 per month, which is only $200 less then sending them to Las Brisas. Then I find out the boys and girls club might not go to Donald Graham this fall - and there is no extended care...SO do they become "latch key kids" - I don't think so... Mike doesn't really want them at the boys and girls club, so we are still trying to work it out. I know the Lord wants us at Las Brisas.

Have a great day! xxox Caroline

Isabella

4th of July - Family Tradition

We participate in my Grandma Lende's parade at the Groves in Irvine again this year. This has become a family tradition, although this year it was just the Wales and Oursler kids. We feel it is important to be there for my grandma and she can show off her great grandchildren a bit. The kids decorated their bikes and Charlie and Elizabeth rode in the Golf cart. Charlie was yelling "Happy 4th of July" the entire time.

They had a great time and thought it was very cool to be in a parade, no matter how small it was. I think my Grandma enjoyed having us there, this is a big party at the Groves and I'm sur it makes her miss my grandpa even more. Brian (my brother) and my Dad came to watch too.

We then went home and the family took a nap, and I prepared all the food and cooler to go to Cami's for a pool party. I didn't bring my camera in.... oops! It was just 4 families but very fun. We all swam and the kids did water balloon toss and bubble gum blowing contest - with prizes!!

We also made homemade ice cream -YUM. You had to crank it or as Cami said "no turny, no treaty". The kids thought it was so awesome that you can pour a milk mixture into the container and add ice, rock salt, and put some muscle into it - out comes ice cream. It is a great science experiment for the kids.

Dinner was delicious and I think I gained 10 pounds. I made strawberry vodka and then mixed with lemonade - I just could not drink beer all afternoon...but Mike did! I drove us home around 10pm and the Esterholt's spent the night but they got up at 6:30am to drive home. My kids were sad they were gone when they woke up.

It was a great day- thanks Cami and Chris for hosting it!

xxox

caroline

Going Green - update

So our quest to go GREEN continues and now I have incorporated it into saving money (so the kids can go to Las Brisas). I am now officially saving cans and bottles and hope to pay for 1/2 of one of the tuition's, and then figure out how to cut costs to make up the other 1/2. And let me tell you I am not prideful one single bit, if you invite me over and serve me a drink in a can or glass bottle, I WILL take it home with me.
There is a man in Wildomar that walks around all day collecting cans and I would be willing to bet that he has more in savings then most of us. I'm sure that it helps he lives in a tent and doesn't have 3 dogs, 2 kids, a boat, motorcycles, trailer and a diesel truck.
Okay back on topic...
Our water bill is crazy in the summer because Mike likes to have a very green yard - I am trying to get him to skip a day of water - so far not working. So my other ways to save water will have to work.
1. Kids are taking showers and not baths - my kids LOVE baths and they could take 3 a day if I let them. Also if the swim at Cami's...well that is their shower for the day (see no pride).
2. We are using the 60's motto "If it is yellow be mellow, if it is brown flush it down" - took the kids a minute to think what could possible be "brown" - they were so funny when they figured it out, and then we had to play they "what if it is green or blue or RED" We told them "flush if green or blue and come get us if it is RED". So if you come visit and there is a bit of pee in the toilet, please don't be alarmed and just know that the Oursler's are saving water for our planet and saving money on our bill. Soren was explaining it to the boys there other day and I had to tell him guests don't have to participate.
3. Swimming at neighbors pool to cool down - inviting myself over to swim, both my neighbors always say it is okay to come swim anytime and sometimes I feel weird about it - Well no longer... Besides they know I will bring good food.
4. Cold water laundry only - okay so I am "green" at being green - Mike tells me yesterday, cold water is saving us money on our gas bill not our water - duh!!

I am addicted to blogs these days and it is a great stress reliever - one of my favorites is (okay going to see if I can link it)http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/. It has alot of links to other great blogs and filled good information about being green, being spiritual, eating raw etc...

I still have a long way to go - my next goals are:
1. Vegetable garden
2. composting
3. no papertowels - cloth only. I don't think I will ever get the family to use cloth wipes in the bathroom (read that blog above and you will see lots of people do that)
4. Diva Cup - Google it and you will see what it is....remember no pride
5. Vegetarian - this one is the toughest of all but everything I read, people are losing weight like crazy by not eating meat.

Okay that is enough for now, I'm off to start my work day. My job is filled with stress but I need to work harder then ever so I can keep those kiddos at Las Brisas.

Oh and keep praying for me, any kind of prayer will work.

Have a great Wednesday - Caroline

Bird update (sad news) and getting Healthier...

We have sad news, our bird did not make it.... We had prepared the kids that this could happen, so there weren't too sad. I was more upset because he was doing so good when I left for work on Tuesday and then when Chris went over to feed him he called me and said he didn't think he was doing too good.

And I feel even worse because I think we over fed him. He would squawk alot and I just assumed he was hungry...ugh I feel horrible. But at least he died with a full stomach, the way I would want to go.

That is the story of my life, is something "squawks" just feed it more, and I wonder why Mike and I need to lose a few pounds.

Which leads me to my next topic - Getting Healthier. We eat well in our house, my kids will eat anything and they love vegetables (they even order broccoli as a side at Chili's). For the month of June I decided we would be vegetarians....and even try to eat "Raw", I have been looking at alot Green blogs and raw eating is always mentioned. I have made a few recipes and they were excellent but I have to admit the "no meat" thing is stuff for the Oursler's - we didn't succeed, Father's Day we had big old burgers. We have been doing good, but we love to eat red meat and I swear my grocery cart would pull straight to the Tri Tip and Filets. So I am going to be realistic and realize this is a marathon and not a sprint, it is going to take time. Both Mike and I need to get some weight off, but more importantly we want to be healthy and teach our kids to eat healthy.
Soo - I am going to try again and change it up a bit. Starting in July we are going to do NO fast food, nothing at all, which includes Starbucks - this will save us money as well. My Starbucks used to only cost me a few bucks but now that my kids love it, it is a $10 -$12 event every time we go. We are going to only eat red meat 1 time a week, and pile on the veggies and fruits. Also going to convince Mike to join WW with me ( I have done it a million times and know it is the one diet that works...because you can save points for wine or a beer).

Okay I'm off to my email from work, I had yesterday off to work at my grandma's, so today I will be busy.

Have a great Friday!

Summer Update - Week 2

Week 2 starts today - Kids are very excited about "Camp Glue" formerly known as Camp Wales - they changed the name since it isn't just the Wales' kids. They picked the name Camp Glue because they "stick together". The motto is "one for all and all for one". They made the cutest tiedye t shirts and if I was a good blogger I would show you a picture now...but I'm not...
I am so blessed that Cami can watch our kids in the summer - I have said it before but just want to say it over and over.

Still having aniexty about school - it goes in waves. One minute I am convinced it will be okay at public and then the next I think - "no we will make it work". I am going to continue to pray about it and then sit down with Mike and see how he feels about it. I know he knows the benefits of Las Brisas but I know he gets stressed we don't put alot of money away per month. And I don't want to not send them to private school just so we can buy more "stuff" or he can go on more hunting trips... UGH!

Plus it doesn't help that I am in a funk - just can't seem to get it together and instead of tackling an issue I just push it aside and then it festers bigger and bigger. So today I will make a list and actually cross things off of it - I have heard that helps, instead of just making a list and then losing it.

Trying to think of fun things the kids can do this week that aren't too expensive... I don't want to hear how they are bored, and they have watched enough TV already to last them a week. We did all watch Camprock on Thursday night and it was cute. Renting some movies from REDBOX - those of you who know me well, know that renting movies is not my thing, or should I say returning them is not my thing. I can't tell you how many VHS tapes I have in the case from the rental place - not good! But recently someone told me about REDBOX, they are in Albertsons - they are $1.00 per day...so far I have watched Juno, 27 Dresses, Catch and Release, and Oceans 13 (which is now on everyday on HBO). Mike enjoyed Juno as well. It is easy to do and cheap and easy for me to remember since I am often at the grocery store (another blog story).

We did rescue a baby bird that Mike found on a machine he was moving last week - little guy is still surviving, he sure likes to eat alot. It is in Mike's lunch box with the nest (and it stinks), feeding it cat food mixed with apple sauce and worms squished up. Hopefully he can fly soon so we can release him. Since we have trained "bird dogs", we have to make sure they stay away. Kids are enjoying watching him grow.

That is about it in the Oursler house update. Thank goodness for friends and family with a pool, that has been a treat in this horrible hot weather.

Have a good Monday..
xxox- Caroline

Fix Your Mind

Isabella and Soren with their webkins (before Soren's haircut) and obviously I need to take a photography class...

So I wake up this am and instantly start thinking of the school situation and almost start to cry. I am overly emotional right now, I'm sure that I still have this cold (since Easter) does not help. Got my 3rd round of drugs yesterday....

I read my email from "Joel Osteen" and it says "Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is kind, if there is any virture, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things" ( Philippians 4:8) . In a nutshell what you think about determines the quality and direction of your life. I read this over and over in every self help book I have (which is alot), and my mom always taught us to play the "glad game", just like Pollyanna, concentrate on what you are glad about in your life and not what you don't. It goes on to say some transations say "fix your mind". So I am really going to work to "fix my mind" especially on this school situation and let God do the work in our lives.

Last night Isabella said to me "did you tell daddy about the school" and I said "yes but we have not made up our minds yet" and she replied "it is god's plan" ...ugh - I know it is his plan and I need to just continue to trust him and not second guess it, and then feel guilty that I did something wrong.

Las Brisas has been a huge safety net for me and I just don't feel like jumping out of it yet.

The whole church thing isn't even coming into to play at this point, if I pull the kids from school then I will most likely stay at church for now, so the kids have some comfort there. I know my church family will love me no matter what school my kids go to.

Okay 2 posts in 2 days... can you believe it?

Have a great Wednesday! I'm sure hoping this cold is gone soon.

It is never easy...

Just when I get done with kids school and take a deep breath - Good old God throws a curve ball. I found out yesterday that both my kids will be combo classes at Las Brisas - now that is not the end of the world and Isabella will have Mrs. Willis again and she did learn alot this past year. Both kids will be the youngest in the combo class, which I guess is good.
But then I get woke up out of a deep sleep last night and all these things are going through my head. It is tight financially for us to send the kids there, we do it but it means we don't have a ton of rainy day money ( and that was a problem in Jan when it was raining). I work so we can send the kids to private school but if I would still have to work even if they didn't go there due to the cost of bananas and gas on the rise.
So I get up this am and call the school district (okay side note...I work in corp relocation and apparantly when we purchased this house in Wildomar CA, I did not look into the school district which is something I would recommend my transferee's do...ugh!).... so our home school may or may not become a title one school (which sounds yuck to me but my aunt who is a teacher said that is good). I am going to enroll them and see if I can get a intraschool transfer to Coal Canyon in Murrieta which just was rated 10. Donald Graham just was rated a 7. I did mention it to Isabella to get her reaction and she is such a blessing, she was open to it and said "mom I can meet new friends", that made me feel so much better. We went over to the school and the principal showed us around, it is so very different then Las Brisas.

I need prayers from everyone for me not to worry and that it will work out, whatever is suppose to happen.

I have such mixed emotions. While I want my kids exposed to diversity since the real world is filled with it, I also love the protection, love and support they get at Las Brisas. I worked hard this year to help build the PTF with Cami and so proud of what we did, and feel if I walk away now I might be a quitter. But then I turn to the financial part - the relocation business is tied to homesale and my bonus is not even enough this month to fill my car with gas. Mike's work has slowed down so much and it is scary and it might be that we just can't afford $1000.00 a month tuition.... Then I think how selfish are you - get a night job at Target and then I think - who will make dinner and do homework if I am at work at night - UGH!!!

I am just going to give it to the Lord and ask for guidance, I know that we are not to live strapped and with the economy the way it is, and construction slowing down, Mike is going to continue to work less and not more. And I just can't count on the Lottery that I think I might win!!!

Both kids were so cute and when we got home, Isabella said "wow that place looks cool" and then I went upstairs and cried.... I know they will be fine there but the problem with that is I HATE the word FINE!! I hate that they won't be at school with their cousins - that is a hard one too.

I think the biggest thing is I want it to be my decision and not one that is forced. I have time since public school starts August 13th and Las Brisas doesn't start until September.

Just keep praying for me to relax and let God do his work.

Friday, no kids and just my luck...

So school is officially out, I will post Soren's graduation picture, so cute...It was a great day and the party was alot of work...no I mean alot of fun. The kids had a great time at Mulligan' s yesterday and poor things couldn't even sleep in today because I had a dr's appt at 8:30am so they had to get up early to go to Cami's house.

Cami and Chris invited our kids to the beach with them camping, they will be coming back tomorrow since Isabella has dance recital practice with Mike.

So Mike and I are kidless... sounds fun huh - we could have "romance" right in the family room - ya right...poor Mike went to work last night at 11:30pm and got stuck in the horrible sigalert on the 5 freeway this morning, he had to get off the freeway and turn around in his 9 axle truck and be re routed through Tahachipee(sp), it took him an extra 5 hours to get home, and then he picked up the boat and we realized the tags aren't paid so off he went to the Temecula DMV at 3:30 on a Friday. It actually went quick and now we can take the boat out for a Father's Day cruise on Sunday morning.
okay okay.... back to our "romance" - he is currently asleep on the couch and if I left him he would sleep until morning...but our next door neighbors are having a graduation for their daughter, we don't really hang out with them and grateful they invited us (plus I could use a free beer), I can't find the invite and their daughters name is something like Quinesha... Hello don't want to get that one wrong.

Tomorrow our other neighbor (our good friends) are having their sons graduation party, so tomorrow I will be cooking in the am - I will post the recipe...I'm making this great Asian noodle salad - (actually it is on Pioneer woman's website and it is awesome). It helped us last week, we are still trying to be vegetarians for June (last night I realized I ate a piece of pizza with sausage on it), it was so good you didn't miss the meat. Also making the buffalo dip - another crowd pleaser, I will try to be a GREAT blogger and take a picture and post the recipe. I think my blog readers is now at 4 people so someone will appreciate it.

I hope everyone enjoys my "tangent" blogs - you know me when I tell a story, there is always a bonus story hooked to it - it drives Mike crazy, he can't keep up.

We have the worst luck, when we finally have alone time, we are both too exhausted to enjoy it. I will be forcing some "romance" later - maybe after he has had a few beers.

Have a great Friday night.

xxox
Caroline

Crazy Busy Week

This is the kids last week of school and I have to say I am looking forward to not having to make sure their uniforms are clean and "where is the chapel sweater" (which is usually a classic Weds fight) and making lunches....oh do I hate to make lunches, and homework...ugh! I know next year 3rd grade homework is only going to get harder, and that I "might" not be able to figure it out.
I will miss that their brains work hard everyday and need to make sure they don't watch too much TV all summer. I am so blessed that Cami will watch them again this summer, she has tried to retire several times... but I'm grateful to her for watching them again and again. I told her I would pay for her hair dye after this summer, since more grey is bound to pop out.

The 5 kids are getting older and to the more challanging stage when together all day long. Parker wants alone time with Isabella, on the same day Isabella wants to play "diva" girls with Elizabeth, and then Soren wants Parker to teach him to play football, which Parker is still trying to play "big kid time" with Isabella, and then Elizabeth is mad that Soren is ignoring her, and Soren gets this attitude (from his dad) and then there is "BEAR"...aka Charles Christopher Wales..."but you can call me Charlie"...he just wants to play with any of them. See exhausting huh and it hasn't even started yet.

Cami and I are going to get some stuff for them to do and give them some structure for the day. I will post later some of our ideas -
And my kids better behave or else...

Wednesday June 11th...
Soren graduates from Kindergarten, the school has a ceremony, too cute. I took the day off, as the kids have their awards in the morning and the ceremony and party after. They both get to go to Mulligan's all day on Thursday and then Friday they are off- and probably will sleep all day.

I can't believe in a few short months I am going to have a 3rd grader and and 1st grader... That was always going to be the year I quit working - obviously I was dreaming. Oh well happy to work so that I can keep them at Las Brisas.

Have a great week - I will post pictures from Weds. (I promise)

Caroline

Camping, Coughing and Cold...

Memorial Weekend (okay I am behind...) we went camping to Stoddard Wells with the Esterholt family. We almost cancelled the trip because it was going to be way to hot??? It was so cold, and I coughed the whole weekend. Probably not the best move on my part because it sent my 6 week cold over the edge.

It was a nice change with just a small group, Soren and Jake had alot of one on one time and the girls pick up where they left off - we are so blessed. On Sunday we drove to a bar called "Slash X" - 6 miles one way- Soren rode all the way there on his bike. He fell only a few times, he has never been on a "real" ride before, just circles around camp, we were so proud of him. He tried on the way back but the first patch of soft sand he fell and he was done, we put his bike in the back of the polaris and he rode with me and Shelley.

The M family came out on Sunday as well and I think we got the kids "hooked" - I told K that we just cost him about $80,000 - it is only money.... B and K rode bikes all afternoon and we let B drive the polaris (he is 15, we are getting closer to our 16 and older rule...ya right). Next time they will have to stay overnight.

It was a great long relaxing weekend, even with my coughing and the cold weather. Our family loves to go camping and riding no matter the weather or illness.

Trying to get caught up on my blog.

xxox, cars

Surprise - Happy 6th Birthday Soren

One of our new traditions is to kidnap the kids on their birthday and take them to breakfast... Parker, Lizzie and Aunt Cami came over and surprised Soren - he was a bit blurry eyed (as well as my picture), they put a blindfold on him and took him to "Chez Wales" for pancakes...
I can't believe my little guy is 6 years old. 5 still seems young but 6 is closer to 10 and that freaks me out.
Tonight we get to do the 6 spankings (another tradition) and then Nana and Papa Larry are coming over and then the Art Festival and open house.

Happy Birthday to Brian today as well - 36 WOW -I can't believe my baby brother is on the downslide to 40...

T-ball season is over

Soren had such a great time playing baseball this year, next year I'm just signing him up and not asking him (what was I thinking...) He loved to play catcher and felt comfortable in the gear, too bad we typically didn't have enough players to have a catcher. He learned alot this year and improved since game #1. His coach was very patient and taught them some fundamentals, too bad some of the parents were very flaky...
Soren told me he wanted to play "football" - I'm thinking we will stick to baseball, he is a bit too small for football, and besides I hear the parents get worse in football.

Happy Mother's Day - belated

It seems like everything in my life these days is "belated" - ugh I just hate that feeling, and the next month is only going to get worse. This Saturday the 17th - Mike and I need to be at 5 different places and he is scheduled to work...

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day -my 3 readers, to which 1 of you I spent the day with. I am beginning to love Mother's day again - I really have dreaded it for the past 12 years. I just miss my mom so much, everyday there is something I would love to run past her. She loved unconditionally and never passed judgement, even if she didn't agree with what you were doing or saying. She had this amazing way of making you feel great even on a down day.

My day was great, the kids woke me up with a very cute card - and then we went back to sleep since it was so early. I played hooky from church and we went to and got some "grease" as Mike said he wanted. Mike's card was very cute with a coupon attached that said "lifetime of love and affection". I will put putting that in my wallet and anytime he is not showing me "love and affection" , I will be whipping it out and showing him (I better get it laminated). They gave me a spa day at Murrietta Day spa, Cami got one too so we can go together. I wish I was there now. And they also gave me starbucks card. It was so cute because he had taken them out on Saturday am and they brought me back an ice tea and I asked Isabella "where did you go" and she replied "starbucks, the line was really long..." . I love that my kids understand what Mother's day is and that they love me so much and love that I am their Mother.

We then went over to swim at Cami's and it turned into a great day. The kids swam for 5 hours and their poor eyes were swollen by the time we went home. Cami and I decided to order food from Chuey's so we didn't have to cook. It was a great day!

Charlie learned to swim without his wings and when he did it the first time he came out of the water and said "dad I'm a big kid now" , too cute!!

For those of you who still have your mom on earth make sure you hug her and appreaciate all she has done for you. For those of you whose mom is in heaven, continue the legacy she gave you and someday you will be reunited.

Have a great week....xxox Caroline

PS- I promise to try to be a better blogger- even for my 3 readers!

Earth Day!! It's good to be GREEN....

We are still doing our best to be Green- ofcourse our Diesel truck doesn't help, but we try to drive it less.

Here are a few things we are doing at home:
1. Recycle - the kids have saved $254.00 from the recycling and they are saving for a Wii.
2. Coldwater Laundry - this one I hate but I hear it does cut down on energy
3. Reuse - we are trying to buy paper products as much as possible, but if we buy plastic we are reusing them. I still can't reuse foil...
4. Shorter showers and less baths
5. Organic in the garden - going to purchase ladybugs today for our roses
6. Hand me downs - my friend Penny has been so great about giving me hand me downs, and Isabella feels like she has new clothes - thanks Penny!
7. Turning off the lights and unplugging appliances - this is working and I can feel it on our electric bill

Here is what I want to start doing:
1. Teach the kids the importance of wearing something more then once, and using the towel at least 3 times (they don't even stink so they can recycle thier towel).
2. Bingo cards for the kids - they have "kid friendly" ways to be Green on them, and if they fill the card they can get a small price - like yogurt or starbucks frap. I will post a copy when I have one.
3. Composting - I have wanted to do this for years and just never got around to it, I'm going to get a compost machine and start soon.
4. NO chemicals in our yard - this is a constant arguement with Mike and I -so this one is still working itself out.
5. Have Potluck nights with Friends - instead of going out and spending money and gas, ofcourse it has to be with my "951" friends.... so guess that is Cami, Penny and Diane.
6. Eat more organic - this one is due to money, so I have to ease my way into it. Organic is so much more expensive.

It is good to be GREEN!!

Have a great Earth Day!!

Quote for the Day

"Reputation is what men and women think of us: Character is what God and Angels know of us"
Thomas Payne

A friend from work sent this to me today and it was so appropriate for me today. I have been having to really go to God alot lately (as we are suppose to), but I just don't know what his plan is for me and I have to keep listening and make sure I hear his words. I know his plan is way better then mine because lately I don't even have a plan. I typically want my plan to work and try to reason with the Lord to look at it, but lately, there isn't a "my plan" - which I believe is his way to telling me "good you are getting it".

My mom always told us "it builds character" , those words were said to me by Susan Sorensen over and over and over. I never knew where she got that from and thought it was just some saying she made up - like I.W.B.J.F (it will be just fine). But now as I have grown and matured as a christian I realize she must have been taught that in church and as she grew closer to the Lord.

I do know one thing I have alot of character and I know God loves me for me...all of me!

As we get closer to my dreaded holiday - Mother's Day... I know I will build more character.

So hopefully all of you reading this (all 3 of you) , continue to build your "character" and make God proud.
xxox
Caroline

Mommy Dearest...

That is what I feel like... good thing we don't have any wire hangers. Okay I am kidding, however yesterday Isabella woke up feeling cruddy and I said -"get dressed we are going to church", not knowing if it was just her way of getting to stay in bed and watch tv. She said her stomach hurt and spent 1/2 the morning on the toliet, then her throat and head hurt, so I gave her some oregano oil (which by the way will zap cold right away - post about it coming soon). She took them and didn't eat much before we left for church. Mike is out of town so she had to go with me and I really felt that it was just the "drama" in her coming out. But boy was I wrong....

On the way to church she never really snapped out of her cruddy attitude and that should have been my sign. So I am in Sunday school and they have to come and get me because she got sick... I felt horrible. We got her and the floor cleaned up (sorry for the details), and we went home. I am still thinking it was the oregano oil and not the flu, so we stop at the store and get Peptobizmal tablets (yuck) and I make her take them when we get home, and I quote myself saying "don't be so dramatic and just chew and swallow", so she ends up barfing them up. Still I'm not thinking flu, I'm thinking the yuck of the tablet made her barf....

She really did have the flu was proceeded to get sick 4 more times, just dry heaving because the poor thing had nothing in her system (well except the oregano oil capsule I made her swallow). She slept for about 3 hours and then woke up for 6 sips of 7-up that came back up.

Mike got home and I made us a good dinner and she said very weakly from the couch "can you stop the dinner smell it is making me sick"

So I really did feel like Faye Dunaway in "Mommy Dearest" , next time I need to listen to my child and not be so quick to make her better. Life is too short and this is the Lord's way of reminding me to SLOW down.

Let's hope the rest of us don't get it!

Have a healthy week - Caroline

April Fool's Day - one day late

Okay so with everything in my life it seems I'm always 1 day behind and so my blog (with all 3 readers...hi shell, cam and penny) wouldn't be any different.

I wanted to share an April Fool's joke from the past-but forgot to log on yesteday.

Anyway no great jokes this year...I was going to get out the old EPT that I still have saved from when I found out I was pregnant with Isabella and leave it out for Mike with a note - but he could "do the math" and know that it wouldn't have been his- plus the Tampons out of the counter gave that away too.

Okay so 10 years ago I was working at Cendant and it was the year we were getting married and we had just bought our first house. Cendant had been going through some lay offs but really just getting rid of dead weight. So I call Mike and told him I got layed off - around 9:15am and that I got severence and it will all work out. He must have called me back 10 times and said "we are going to have to rethink this whole thing" and I said "rethink what whole thing" and he said :"the wedding" and I said "oh please", and he said "yes that big wedding" - ok side tangent... Mike really would have been fine with a big backyard wedding/party but he knew I wanted a very special BIG wedding and he was working his BUTT off driving his VW van and sitting on horsehair and springs, and working every weekend (we saved so much money that year) - ok back to the story. So I said "Mike it will work out we can still have the big wedding, I will find a job" I let him go until 3pm, and then called and said "April Fool's" - He was so mad at me, I'm surprised he didn't call off the wedding just because of that. He did not think it was 1 bit funny, infact I told the story about 2 years later and he got mad again - hopefully he won't get mad if he reads this.... he has mellowed out in the past 10 years.
AND - it was a great big wedding with everything I wanted.

SO at the Oursler house we only played "there is a spider on you" - April Fool's...

Hope everyone had a great day - and Happy Birthday Marie and thoughts are with you Diane - xxox

Easter in the Desert

Here is Isabella and Soren on their Easter Egg hunt, the Easter Bunny somehow found us in the desert ( and we camped in a new spot, man is he good). The kids had a great time, Walt and Melinda made us a pancake breakfast, with bacon, sausage and mimosa's - Yummy!
Everyone had a great time, it was a small group which was really nice to be able to have "intelligent" conversations by the campfire, we tried to solve world peace and cure cancer (inside joke). I feel sorry for the people who chose to not camp with us, they and their children are missing out on so many lovely memories.
I am thankful to God for providing me with such wonderful lifelong friends. I know this is a holiday for hunting for eggs (where did that come from??), but also and most importantly this is the day...He is Risen!

Surprise Reward for Isabella

Ears pierced at 8 years old... Lucky girl!

Mike surprised Isabella by taking her into Claire's at the mall and asking the question "do you have time to pierce my daughter's ears?" Isabella freaked out, Mom did too, but we did tell her if she brought up her citizenship grades that would be the reward.... (not that I really meant it). I kept saying when you are in 5th grade, that is when I got them pierced at 10 years old. Boy we really do turn into our mother's don't we?? She is old enough to take care of them so I am actually okay with it, and lots of her friends have thier ears pierced too, just no dangling one's or big hoops.

She picked out her birth stone and we upgraded the earrings so they were 14 ct gold (grandma Oursler has alot of allergies to jewelry and Mike wanted to make sure Isabella didn't have the same issue). I told her it was going to hurt...bad (I'm so mean), we all said stand back just incase the blood squirts out, even the girl doing it joined in. Isabella was sooo nervous, which doesn't happen to her that often. It was over in a second, and she was so excited. She couldn't wait to call Aunt Cami and then go show Lizzie. Kelly and Penny were there to watch as well.

So far she is doing a great job at twisting them and putting on the solution. She can't wait for 6 weeks so she change earrings.