Mom and Kasen are sad . . . School started today and everyone left!

Cypress entering her new 5th Grade classroom with Mrs. King. She's looking way to old to by my daughter, that would make me old!

Everyone seemed to be to excited or nervous to eat their breakfast so we left later than we were supposed to and by the time we got to Tayla's class her teacher was no longer there because she had to take a potty break before the bell rang. We waited for her after the bell and she was very sweet. She's in Super room 6, 3rd Grade with Mrs. Bradford.

Tyden could hardly wait to enter 1st Grade. He's most excited to have 3 recesses instead of 1 this year. The whole day was a little long and will surely take some time to get used to for him, especially since he had afternoon Kindergarden last year. Mrs. Schroeder in room 15 will be great! She was Cypress' teacher when she was in 1st Grade.

They were all very excited and had a great first day! Looking forward to a great school year!

Tayla turned the magic 8!

She started off the day with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Banana bread in bed, that is until the boys tried to join her and were spilling her milk everywhere. :)

Next she opened a few presents from mom and dad.

Then it was off to a lunch date with dad at the Black Bear Diner in my new outfit.

THen as a family we went to the mall to get her ears pierced. We had to make 2 trips there, before and after Walmart, because the first time she chickened out! Lucky for her the next time she jumped right in the chair. If she wouldn't have, it would have been a long while before we would have gone back to try again. She's so proud of her new earrings! They did have 2 girls do it so it was done at the same time, I'm sure that helped too!

This was her cake for our family party but she'll have another one when she has her friend party. She also got to have cupcakes at school on the first day. Notice the new school hair cut too.

Sunday we had Lazagna and cake with a few more presents from family. THanks everyone!

Baptism date and pictures to come in October!

San Diego FUN!!

While in San Diego for almost a week, we got to do a lot of playing. We went and enjoyed Paij's community pool 2 different times. The first time was very scary! Kasen just decided to walk down the steps and into the water before getting his life jacket on. He was swimming his little heart out but most of his head was still under the water. Luckily Tyden was close and as soon as I saw, I yelled and he grabbed him and he was fine. He was coughing some and very pale. The older kids were more shaken up than he was, scary, I know. He didn't even hesitate more than a few minutes before getting back in - with his life jacket. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was uneventful- as far as danger goes anyway.

Paij's new house has a small front and back yard that came in very handy, because of course the weather was fabulous the entire time. Way better than the no yard from their last house. For those of you that don't know, this is ladder ball they are playing and is great for all ages.

Our darling niece Jaycee, no one could resist her charm! Especially Tayla who was almost her permanent babysitter. We just couldn't get enough of her smiles. She's 4 1/2 months.

We were able to enjoy 2 different beaches on 2 different fabulous days. You can never have enough time at the beach according to most of our family!

Kasen and Bode loved chasing the waves, the birds, and each other.

Lots of sand castle building.

All enjoyed the waves and the much warmer water than we are used to at Nor Cal beaches.

Grandma in on the fun!

More ladder ball, very easily transported as well.

The usual shell collecting. This was extra cool because they found full sand dollars. Thanks to Aunt Brandie for taking them on the walk!

Cypress was probably the biggest fan of the boogie board but all the pics I had of her were too far away. Kasen decided to join in on the action and LOVED it. He went as many times as his dad would help him get back into a wave and ride it all the way in.

We spent on morning on the military base. Yes we have miniture golf and bowling around here but the prices can't be beat on base. $12 for 18 people to play golf and $25 for a family of 5 to rent shoes and bowl for an hour. We had a great time!! Below, the women and taking their turns.

The other cool thing was that we had the whole course to ourselves so the older kids went around the whole thing twice. Kasen and bode spent most of their time at this hole where they were each laying on one side and pushing the balls back and forth to each other.

Kasen was so fun to watch bowl. He had to have his fingers in the holes and would run and throw the ball about 2 feet before he even got to the line. He got a pretty good score too.

We had 3 lanes and were almost the only ones there too. Everyone had a great time bowling and being the cheerleaders. The place was really nice and had the rails that go up and down for those that want them and don't want them so it kept it fun and a little more fair.

The Wedding!

So my brother Jarom has been dating Alyssa Danner for over 6 years. They finally got engaged over Chirstmas break and married in San Diego at Balboa Park on the 12th of August. It was very fun. All family but Rachel and her fam. (since Marcae was only 2 weeks old) went to join in on the festivities. Here are my girls and darling nieces! We are patiently waiting for the wedding to start after taking family pictures.

Jarom has lived with Paij and her family for a year and so they became very close and little Miss Morgan was one of their darling flower girls. She didn't throw any flowers until she sat down, but she sure looked cute!

We all watched accept the parents, from an upper balcony so this was the best shot I could get of the whole wedding party. The weather wasn't too bad and the ceremony was very nice. It was very beautifully decorated too.

The Happy Couple! :) We very happily welcome Aunt Alyssa!

Cypress was the only one of our kids we thought could make it through the 4 hour reception. She did pretty well but we all left early. It was a yummy dinner and fun music and dancing.

Even mom and her older brother Jerry (who come from Arizona) were getting their groove on. She even drug dad out there for a few songs.

Ryan and Haylee were not new to the dance floor. Unfortunately I missed them doing the fisherman and the fish! :)

For the toasts, we had a glass of sparkling cider with a hibiscus in it. After, you were supposed to eat it. Cypress was the willing guinea pig. She said it tasted like a fruit roll up. After, she ate mine too.

Their cute cake. Jarom said the one I made for their Gridley reception was better. I'm sure he was just being nice, but it did the job of making me feel great!

My neice Lexi came home from Utah with us. We've always wanted to do this but we could never work it out. THis time, we were going to meet her parents in San Diego in a week for Jarom's wedding so we could do it. THey had so much fun together. Lots of cousin bonding time :) The girls made up dances that they performed for us, including stunts :)

They got to do lots of swimming at Grandmas and even have a sleep over there. They also got to attend a baby shower for Aunt Rachel and Marcae too. We're so glad she got to come stay with us!

New BABY :)

The very day we left for Utah and before we even made it to Haylee's house, Rachel called and said she was in labor and going to the hospital. She had a beautiful baby girl at 8:29 pm on Friday, July 29th. She had a few complications but ended up just great. We got home in the early morning hours but Rachel came over with her about 9am because she was so excited to show her off. As you can see, she was received very well and Rachel wasn't the only excited one :) Her name is Raelynn Marcae Reinhardt.

Utah

We went to Utah for my Cousin Tanner's wedding and got to play with cousins (and sisters :)) for a week. The girls set up a spa in Haylee's bathroom and were giving out massages. It was quite refreshing. Tyden was playing her piano for mood music.

While we were there, we enjoyed an evening at the family fun center. It's a great place where you can ride scooters or skate on the roller ring, play lazer tag, climb all over a ropes course or blow up things. The girls enjoyed the skating so much, they both want skates for their birthdays.

Kasen thought he was king on the scooter and didn't care which way he was supposed to go or who was in his way, he went where he wanted and he went their FAST!

The dads were there (we had just picked Terry up from the airport that afternoon after a job in Texas) and took all the bigger kids to lazer tag. They had a great time!

The big boys guarding the candy counter at the wedding. I'm not so good about getting pictures of the bride and groom. There were in the line for a long time and then it rained (yea, no fair on the 30th of July), so that's my excuse.

I've been giving the kids my camera lately to take fun pictures of whatever they find photo worthy. Sometimes it pays off and they take some cute stuff, sometimes not, but that's why we love digital!!

I had to take a picture of this amazing cake. I don't think I'll ever aspire to this but with all the work involved I"m not sure I want to but it was VERY cool. All the flowers are fondant and are made by hand by the bride's sister.

We always had to be aware of where trouble 1 and trouble 2 were. They were always sneaking out to the garage and front yard to ride the bikes and jeeps when no one was around to tell them what to do or steal their stuff :) Here they are at the gas station.

Eventually we all went outside and Ryan got out the big kid toys. this was Cypress' first time on a dirt bike. It went well for a few minutes but she did end up laying it on it's side and scraping her knee. Luckily that was as far as the damage went.

Ryan borrowed this awesome blow up slip and slide from one of their neighbors and it was used on a daily basis. It was very fun for all. When it go cold though, they quickly jumped into the hot tub, an added bonus. :)

WE HAD A GREAT WEEK!!