448 Deodara

Well today we leave for Aruba. As excited as I am, I am emotionally a wreck. I can't believe I am leaving my 3 babies behind. Last time we did this there were only two and we came back with a surprise and he is the cutest surprise ever! Today is also the last time I will be at my Grandma's house. I am so emotional about this move. It is weird that my parents are moving and leaving the only house we were raised in, but it is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that my grandma will not be at her house. Last weekend my  cousins were in town and we had our "last meal" there and of course we had potato pancakes. I know that the tradition will live on at the new house, but it will be different. We snapped some pictures of the house for some memories. My Uncle gave a great speech that the memories will always live on in our hearts, but we are all choked up hearing my grandma talk about how my grandpa's fingerprints are all over in that house. As much as it breaks my heart to see her pack up and move, I am thankful that my mom and dad will be there 24/7 to care for her and that she will not be so lonely. I am going to miss 448 Deodara but I am excited to make some new memories at the new house. Below are some snapshots from last weekend.

The girls in the kitchen. I can remember so many Thanksgivings, Christmas dinners, Easter, and family dinners where the girls would clean up while the guys watched football and chatted.

Probably the thing I will miss the most is walking in Grandma's front door and seeing her peek around the corner from her chair to see who was coming in. And then I was always greeted with a "Hello Sweetheart." I love that corner. I love seeing her reading in that chair and seeing her Bible always next to her on the table.

The famous Green Shag carpet

My other favorite spot - sitting on the front porch talking with Grandma. Going to miss the porch and all the memories of my Grandpa and his buddies taking a break from working on cars there.

I feel the need...

The need for speed. Today we ventured to beautiful, hot Stockton for my Dad's birthday/Father's Day gift from the group. I am really curious as to why Stockton is getting all the big name exciting events like this and Sesame Street Live? Anyways, it was a beautiful 90 degrees at 9 o'clock in the morning and we decided to go sit in metal bleachers and cheer on some of our favorite drivers. The boys had to attend a driving class, were offered a chance to buy extra insurance, and had to wear fire retardant suits at that point we were all a little nervous for them and I think secretly they were too. It ended up being a lit of fun. You know the saying boys with their toys, well my brother gave us a few heart attacks as he would fly around the corners and my Dad felt the need to scare us as he was passing people. Gabe DeTar had to be the real bad boy of the group and failed to exit the race track when he was told. I guess he thought he was doing his victory lap. And we were all white knuckled as we watched my Uncle fly around the race track with a pro at what the pro guessed was 160 MPH. 

It was a fun morning and we were all so thankful that we had early race times. 

The Red Balloon

My sweet boy is getting to be such a great reader. I LOVE hearing him read to me. He has a new favorite bedtime story, The Red Balloon. It happens to be his daddy's book from when he was little. It is a sweet book that I tear up every time I read it (can you say hormonal). As part of being the good reader that Caden has become he can catch when mommy tries to cut down the long pages and paraphrase - dang BUSTED! So no more condensing the story for now on I have to start bed time stories a little earlier with him. 

A broken heart

Chris came home from football practice to find a note that Emmeline dictated to her cousin. I think it is precious and being saved in her baby book - daddy on the other hand is beside himself and heartbroken. I reassured Chris not to be completely distraught   because our oldest son still wants  to marry him. That is always a fun conversation when Caden  talks about wanting to marry Daddy. 

Fondant

Today I spent the afternoon with the AMAZING Erin. We all are trying to convince her to follow her passion and gift and open a cake shop. Her cakes are to die for!!! Well today she shared her tricks and taught me a few tips for working with fondant. I have been avoiding working with it and fearful of his difficult it would be. I learned it is really just adult "play dough." I had a great time and she helped me start my Dad's cake. I brought the cake home and finished it up the day before the party. It turned out not bad for my first attempt. I think if I was more of an expert I would try drawing the white fondant that wrapped it to look like a giant map. Perhaps I can try that with my next Route 66 party.

Rio

Today we took our crew to the local movie theater for something I remember doing when I was little. Today we took the kids to see Rio for wait for it... $1.00 a person. Growing up I remember going to the old $1 theater to see older films. It was such a steal to take or crew to movies for $5 and it included popcorn and a drink! It also happened to be Jackson's first time at the movie theater. He did really great and was adorable sitting in his chair. 

It looks like if you want to find us on Tuesday mornings, check the movie theater. You can't beat popcorn, drinks, movie, air conditioning, and non fighting children for $5.00. 

Happy Father's Day

This weekend we were blessed with beautiful weather as we celebrated some pretty AMAZING dads. Saturday we had a BBQ at our house to celebrate my wonderful Father in Law and my fourth child - also known as my husband. 

Chris is the most amazing dad. He gets right in there with kids and can handle any situation. He is hands on and is fearless. I never have to worry and I can trust him and his judgement. He supports us and is my ROCK. He wouldn't be the great dad he is without the great example he has in his life. Chris is pretty lucky to have such an amazing dad and boss.  I am so thankful to have married into such a great family and have a great Father in Law! I love them and love the fact that we live so close -feeling very blessed. 

Today we headed to San Jose to celebrate Father's Day with my Dad and my brother. Today was a special Father's Day as it was my brother's first. It was so sweet to see him with his daughter. And Emmeline was in heaven to play with her cousin. We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating and thanking one of the best Dads. He taught me so much from changing a tire to how to pick out a watermelon. He is a great example of unconditional love and hard work. I wouldn't be the person I am without him.

I am blessed to be surrounded by such strong and caring men. I am even more thankful that my kids get to live down the street and in the same town as their Papa and Grandpa. Thankful for all the great memories they are making with them.  

It's a bird, it's a plane, no...

It's a star. Tonight we had movie night in the backyard and Jackson was doing so well playing with the older kids that we thought we would let him stay up a little and watch the movie. During the movie he suddenly got very excited and kept painting to the clouds. He repeated saying "there it is" over and over. It took us a bit, but we realized he was pointing to the stars. Jackson is the BEST sleeper and goes to bed around 7:30. The poor kid is never up to see the stars. We read about them every night but it was precious for him to discover them in the sky. So sweet. 

Melt my heart

Talk about melt my heart Caden spent 30 minutes on this masterpiece! It has been a battle for him to sit for a long period of time to color. He would lose interest and his muscle tone in his hand is poor, but for 30 minutes he laid on the ground and colored his heart out and in the lines! So proud if my sweet boy!

Sunny Days

Today we headed to sunny Stockton to see Sesame Street Live. Just the 3 of us and the DeTars made the trip. Yes, I said 3 it kind of breaks my heart to think we almost have 2 five year olds and that they are getting too old for Elmo. Jackson loved having some alone time with mommy and daddy. Daddy made sure we were ROCKSTARS and got front row seats. We have kind of learned that is really the only way to go. You get to get in early and have a private meet and greet (maybe next year Jack will enjoy being next to the characters) and the best part is during the show your crazy 2 year old can stand up and move around. We are already excited for next year where Tiffani will have 2 kiddos and Katie with sweet Peyton! Here is some proof he finally warmed up ( it just took a $4 bag of M&M'S).

Football Camp

The husband has been off at football camp. This year they opted to travel close by and go to Sac State. Every year while the husband is off at football camp I tackle some crazy project. This year I had big plans to tackle the garage and paint it. Well I lasted two hours in the garage in the 108 degree heat and decided that I should stop before I pass out and leave 3 kids to find me. 

While I didn't get the garage done I did drop off loads of stuff to Opportunity House and I managed to redo a dresser in our bedroom.

 Lets see how long it takes him to notice. 

Bedtime prayers

Well I feel back with the living. I always feel stressed at the beginning of the school year to get everything ready, but I decided the end if the year is way more stressful. We have so much to get done and we can't put it off. Top end of the year stress with throwing a baby shower, planning 2 birthday parties = not a lot of blog time. 

Well I am back and I have to share a sweet story of bedtime prayers from the kids. They are the cutest when they pray. I often have to turn so they don't see or hear me chuckle. This evening Emmeline talked to me all about wanting to be a mommy when she grows up. She told me she wants a baby girl. And then started way too many questions that I wasn't ready for. She then prayed to God to have a baby girl when she is a mommy and said her name will be Sally. Really... Sally??? I don't know where she gets this. 

Just when I thought bedtime couldn't get sweeter I tucked Caden in and I said a prayer. After the prayer we talked about God being in our heart. He is having a hard time understanding God and Jesus and why we can't see them - anyways that's another blog post. Well tonight Caden decided that your heart beating is Jesus reminding you he is in your heart and that he loves you. How did I get such adorable, smart, and creative kids???

Lemonade and Laughter

Today my AMAZING  and TALENTED friend Cari (also known as Auntie Care-Care) helped me put together the most beautiful, simple, and fun baby shower for Tiffani. We had so much fun with putting the shower together. I decided on gender neutral lemonade theme and the rest of the party all just came together from there. By far one of my favorite parties for one of my FAVORITE girls. So glad we were able to shower Tiffani and have some fun girl time before baby DeTar arrives. Here are a few pics from the shower. I posted more at Teaspoons and Twine.