4th of July 2017

since we moved into our mid-century home almost 4 years ago, we have decided
not to fight the crowds at the beach, and stay home and invite friends who also don't
want to fight the beach crowds, to join us in the backyard for a  BBQ/pool party.

every year has been easy and so much fun, so we have kept up this tradition. 


this 4th, we had a nice turnout, with a mix of neighbors and our long-time pb friends.
the kids that came ranged in age from 3 to 15, and only one of those had to wear arm floaties
which made it really nice for the adults. the kids and adults played on a crazy slide
that mr. g built with finn when scout and i were away on spring break. {he knew i
would never approve of it}. we are only half joking when we call it the Slip n Die.
if someone did fall from the top of it onto the pavement, they would very likely die
or be disabled for life. it's about 10' high and well, after several weekends of playing,
i've insisted it be put away. it's too much of a liability. we considered having guests
sign waivers to go down it, but really, it's not worth it. i have encouraged him to build
something a bit less steep or even buying a good old diving board for heavens sake. 
sure diving boards come with risk as well, but i'm not that much of a worrier.
{remember i want a trampoline}.

we had a great day swimming, diving, sliding {those who are fearless}, eating and
drinking too much. some photo highlights of the day:





sweet holiday cards: 2015

early on, it used to be me who would make a fuss over holiday cards,
but now i'm joined by the boys in being excited to open and read them.
when a new one arrives in the mail, c is sure to see it and he too enjoys
the photos, especially when the parents of kids get in there too. finn asks
if he is related to someone he doesn't recognize, and scout looks to find a
place to hang the new card. the cards make us smile and remind us of our
friends and family far away {and those close by too}.

some of the holiday cards are simple store bought cards, others have a special
special quote, many have sweet family photos, some contain a long letter full
of details of the giver's year. sometimes we get one that is usually creative.

this year's most creative card came from our friends debbie and eric,
who recently got engaged.  they reenacted the famous photo from 1945
that was taken in time square.  oh how I ADORE it!! it was taken right in
San Diego's bay, with the midway in the background. 
{this one is definitely a keeper}

my favorite card homemade came from scoutie. 
{he made in art class at school}

he explained that it took him a very long time to punch
out all the black and white dots and glue them on the card. 
i bet!  i still have it displayed...it's sitting on top of the piano
where it will remain a few more weeks. the other holiday cards
came down last weekend. {c asked if those were staying up until valentines}.
*grin*

happy 2015

wishing you and yours an amazing 2015!

 



 

where did the year go??

 

i look back on 2014, and though there have been bumps in the road,

i feel blessed and grateful for so many things. 

 

i am grateful for a  job that i enjoy going to every day,  friends...old and new,

my family {including my large and warm extended family},
being a mom to two terrific boys, and having a husband who helps bring fun,
adventure and a never ending passion to our family.
i'm excited to see what 2015 has in store.

~ we had a full house over the holidays and i'm excited to record about our time with
auntie jen and auntie leslie and her family. we also had a little family-friendly new years
bash at the house a few nights ago, and i got to see maddy yesterday morning before she heads
back to college. it's been busy busy.  more to post...be patient with me.

more holiday fun: 2014

 

the next day, the sisters and cousins all hit the roller rink!
we had such fond memories from our last outing, i thought it would be a
fun activity for all of us!

i think it's safe to say everyone had a great time and the boys {all of them}
have improved so much.  finn felt so confident,  that he decided to race!
i was a little worried as he isn't known for being a speed skate, but the
auntie sat on the edge of the rink cheering him on. {though he didn't win, he
did fantastic}

leslie and i must have been having flashbacks from our middle school years because,
after watching finn, we were inspired to compete in the adult 18+ race.
i was a teensy bit nervous as i hadn't raced in 20 + years, but more importantly,
i wanted to show finn that it's ok to put yourself out there...that's what life is all about.
i was lucky, racing came back to me.  leslie and i did very well *wink*

such fun memories.  so much that I think this will become one of our 'things'
when we have sister reunions. 

~ in the last hour of skating, ander found himself a cozy nook and
went to sleep. i didn't snap a photo as i was fearful i'd wake him but
he was Adorable. 

holiday fun: 2015

this holiday season was full of family and fun and
though it went quickly, i have the memories of photos
to reflect and smile on.

aunt jen flew in from austin, and aunt leslie and her clan
drove all the way down from northern California so we had
a full house.  the double bunk beds came in handy as the boys
all slept in the bed/playroom and leslie set up a pack n play
for little aria in the guestroom. i did my best to make a cozy bed
for aunt jen who slept on an air mattress in the library.

us aunties spent time loving on our new niece,
and happy to learn that she is easy going. 
she let us all hold and love on her, and the grin she gave us
made us fall even more in love with her.

the first day of leslie's visit was spent just catching up and eating.
early that morning, a big pancake breakfast was prepared - with fresh
fruit, whipping creme, powered sugar, etc.   we tried to replicate
cute pancake christmas figures {santa, snowman, etc.}, but ours didn't quite
turn out as pretty as the ones from pinterest.  no one seemed to care.
the boys had fun and more importantly, they were yummy.

 
 
 
 

 

christmas 2015

as promised, the boys DID manage to stay in their rooms until 7am,
but came bounding into our bedroom seconds after yelling
"it's time, it's time and jumping on our bed".
{their enthusiasm could have waken the dead}.

i am usually a morning person,
one of those annoying people that almost jump out of bed ready to start their day. 
because i was up so late, i was exhausted.

i asked that the boys wait 15 minutes so i could get a few minutes more of rest
and wash my face before the christmas morning festivities began. 
they groaned and said i was torturing them {they had been up since just before 6am,
but they went back to their room.

i staggered to the living room, called them in and had my camera in hand.
the boys came running in tearing around the tree, looking for presents with
their name or initial on it. {santa uses letter tags as muchas he can these days}
one present was obvious as it was a little bigger than the rest.

it was a mountain bike.
santa brought scoutie a new bike since he had outgrown his.
this one has gears which will help him bike around around our hilly
neighborhood more easily. finn still needs gears, but he has a birthday just
around the corner so we'll see.  santa brought finn lots of space related books,
and he brought both boys some star wars legos sets.  

for 2 years i've been wanting a way to get all our bikes to the beach/bay easily
since biking there isn't really an easy option since we are farther away.
santa brought me a tow bar to have welded on my prius so I can put a bike rack on.
it's not a glamorous gift by any means, but it's exactly what i had been wanting. 
{it ties into something the boys hear me say all the time....things aren't important,
experiences and people are}. a trip or event is always my preference over things.

my new tow bar and bike rack will bring me together with the people i love,
AND will bring us lots of new and fun experiences together.

auntie jen flew in christmas eve so she was able to witness the festivities
{and gets auntie awards for waking up at the crack of dawn every year to see her nephews
experience christmas morning}.  we were glad to have her.

auntie leslie and her family arrived around midnight for the next several days.
more to come.



christmas cookies

my dear girlfriend melissa contacted me a week before christmas
asking if i was taking some off work before the big day and if the boys might be
interested in baking {actually decorating} sugar cookies with her two kiddos. 

of course i responded, crossing my fingers the boys hadn't outgrown decorating cookies.
since i have a little more room in my kitchen, i offered to host the baking play date!

melissa arrived on monday bearing cookie dough, extra pans, sprinkles and icing.
i pulled out all the christmas sprinkles i'd had stored away and the bin of cookie cutters
i have collected over the last 15+ years....half being acquired when i was in the
big brother/big sister program back in our college days. c tried to get me to donate
them but i refused. i knew they'd come in hand someday.

the kiddos had a blast...the little ones more than the big one. 
finn is on the cusp of the "i'm too cool for cookie decorating phase", but he was a trooper.
kennedy, at 3 now, absolutely loved it and is in the stage where she wants to do everything
by herself, and i mean everything. the psychedelic looking cookies are a results of her
newfound independence and willpower.

we had a wonderful morning...and it was a real treat to have a little girl in our home!

top: logan {6}, scout {7}, kennedy {3}, finn {10}

 

~ to entertain kennedy while the bookies baked,  I dug out the treasure chest
full of loot from scoutie's 5th birthday.  kennedy adorned herself in every necklace
she could find in it and went home with a few jewels on her fingers. *wink* 

holiday head party

i don't think i've ever posted about the annual 'holiday head' party,
but i've meant to, especially now that it's in it's 15th year!

it all started back in 1997.
christopher and i had just moved to san diego from tucson
and reconnected with all the friends we had made the summer prior
when c was doing his internship here.

when christmas rolled around, the group had a party/gift exchange and
one of the guys gave a glass head with a bunch of pencils in it as a gift.
here 'tis and i can hardly believe pier one still has it in stores!

it was such an odd and random gift,
that someone in the group decided to adopt it for our annual holiday party.
at the end of our annual party, our names go inside the head {it's hollow},
and whomever's name gets drawn hosts next year's party.
it is and will forever be known as the holiday head party.

oh, and i can't forget to add that the recipient of the head
must display it in their home at all times until the next party.
as finn pointed out, it's just like the gerber cup
{which i've been known to hide sometimes}
c always find and pulls out to display proudly.

anyway, this past sunday night was the big party,
and because the host welcomed children this year,
and the boys are older, we decided to bring them along.

the gifts given and received were very thoughtful and it
reminded me how far we all go back and how well we all
know each other. we've shared alot through the years.
kate, our newest member of the group, and the girl i recently
ran the half marathon with, was my secret santa.
she surprised me with 4 tickets to the nutcracker!!

i've never seen it live, so i am SUPER excited.
the tickets are for this friday night and though i planned on
taking the boys, i remembered they will be gone.

c decided very recently he wanted to play in the snow with
the boys so he's taking a roadtrip to visit trevor and the family
in brianhead this weekend.

since i still have so much to do before the holidays
{i haven't even ordered our cards}, i decided to send the boys.
also, the nutcracker tickets can't be exchanged, and there was
no way i was missing it.  i just have to find new dates.
jen's committed to being one of my dates.

in the meantime, i've been trying to get ready for christmas.
thanks to amazon, i'm almost done shopping. the boys however,
are more than ready. 

they tell me every day how many more days until the BIG day.
this year, they haven't talked much about santa. i think it's because
finn has some serious doubts.  at 9 years old, i imagine that's normal,
and i wonder when a change will happen.  he wants so badly to believe.
{and i don't discourage it}

i just hope the magic of christmas for him lasts a little bit longer...

happy new year

with all that is going on in our crazy household,
we missed our window for getting out christmas cards,

so we opted for a New Year card this year. 

wishing you and your loved ones a FANTASTIC 2013. 

it's gonna be a great one...i just feel it!

christmas day 2011

we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
candles in the windows, carols at the spinet,
yes, we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
we need a little christmas now.


for the past few weeks, scoutie has repeatedly asked me to
play the glee version of this song over and over in my car.
he loves it and if truth be told, i love it too.
if the holiday was longer, i might feel differently,
but it hasn't grown old to me yet.

after lots of anticipation, the BIG day arrived.
typical in the gerber casa, the boys woke at dawn.
finn continued last year's tradition and came into our bedroom
jumped up on our bed and sang 'jingle bells' at the top of his lungs.
he had warned us the night before he would do be doing this
{still it didn't seem to help prepare us}

the boys were so excited to see if any 'magic' happened in the night.
they yelled up to us "santa came and there's no coal" {like they had doubts}.
i wish i could have gotten downstairs before they did to capture that first look on film,
but i didn't have my running shoes on yet.  i'll be better prepared next year.

this year, scout was able to search out presents with his name on them,
going as far as reading which ones came from santa, mom and dad and auntie jen.
he wasn't able to make out the ones from grandma and grandpa yet,
but next year i have no doubt he will be able to read all the packages.

i think the packaged stickers he received from auntie j and santa were his favorite gift,
with the creature peeper and watch-a-bug from grams and gramps a close second.
finn's favorite gift was a new lego set which kept him building in his room for the entire day
{literally} breaking briefly for candy from his stocking and skyping with family.

when i look back on this christmas, here's what i hope to remember:

• finn playing christmas carols at our piano 
• our first christmas paper chain
• making a gingerbread house with the boys 
• chili on christmas eve
• cute robot jammies
• special ornaments
• happy holiday movies 
• auntie jen with us
• skyping with loved ones
• being the recipient of the most thoughtful gift i ever received, one that made me cry tears
  {and will always make me cry} when i pull it out. i will treasure it forever. .

my heart is full this holiday season.



scout too engaged with his 'spy gear watch'  for pictures

my silly two, finn (7) + scout (4)

countdown to christmas

image: supermommoments.com

this morning at the crack of dawn,
scout came into our bedroom announcing he was going to "cut the chain".

he was referring to the paper chain that we made 2 weeks ago to
help the boys {scout especially}count down the days until christmas.
time is a tricky concept for young children and this chain has helped so much.
i only wish i would have thought of this years ago when finn was his age.

the boys are enjoying it so much, this might become a new tradition for our family.
we can keep as simple as this year's chain {all white}or fancy it up using  variety
of papers, patterns and colors. oh how i love this idea!

only 2 chains remain as i sit and type this post tonight.
by 6:30am tomorrow, scoutie will have cut another one,
and one will remain. it will be christmas eve.

with my shopping done, cards out, and presents wrapped
{only possible with help from auntie jen tonight},
i'm relaxed and am ready for christmas.

i'll end with a sweet photo i snapped of scoutie at his
preschool class christmas party last week.
he was really enjoying this sprinkled covered cookie!

4th of July 2011

i am so far behind on my posts. 

first, i wanted to share some highlights of our roadtrip to utah.

as c warned, we were up and on the road at 3:30am the sat. morning before the 4th.
we had the car packed the night before so all we had to do was crawl to the car.
i slept until it got light and spent the most of the trip reading this book.
c did all the driving (bless him), and got us into brianhead, utah around 11am.

as the boys say O.M.G!! {spelling out each letter}
brianhead is just as gorgeous in the summer as it is in the winter. 
the boys and i had only seen it covered with snow so this was
a real treat for us!  the weather was perfect - sunny and about 80 degrees.

we spent a few days at the cabin hiking, caving, eating/drinking, playing board games
soaking in the jacuzzi, and the kids enjoying the treehouse that grandpa shay built.
a few photos highlights:

utah gerbers in the cave

the view was amazing!!

we headed back down off the mountain the morning of the 4th so we could

see trev and shannon's new home in st. george. it's lovely and it has a pool.

the kids swam for hours.

me and my boys before fireworks
(scoutie didn't nap - too much excitement)

exhausted kiddos watching the fireworks from parking garage in st. george
(scoutie didn't make it to the grand finale)

seeing how well the cousins play together and just talking into the night with
trev and shannon reminded me how lucky we are to have them within driving
distance to us.  we really enjoy our time together with this sweet family!

out with the old, and in with the new

happy new year friends and family!
i can't believe it's a 2011 already.
i say it every year, but where did the last 12 month go?

i've been spending the first day of 2011 recovering from an 11 mile run yesterday (so sore)
taking down our christmas tree and holiday decorations and getting our home back in order.
as much as i love the holidays, it always feels good to take everything down and
pack away neatly for next year. i feel like i can now officially start the new year.

after cleaning all morning and waking from a very long nap,
i did a little reminising as i looked back at my 2010 blog posts.
my little blog has been such an easy way for me to capture bits and pieces of 'my life with boys'.
i never thought i'd actually keep it up so long and how much i actually enjoy it.
blogging more than anything for me, has helped me to slow down and reflect more.
i am so glad i've continued to keep it up and i would venture to guess
the grandmothers are also enjoying it too.  

2010 brought lots of changes and adventures for me and our family. 
some highlights:

- selling our pb beach cottage (and getting what we wanted for it)
- moving to a new community (point loma)
- scoutie starting preschool at the rock
- celebrating my BIG bday in mexico with the boys and my mom
- a girlfriend weekend getaway in the desert
- lots of visitors to san diego: my niece lindsey, christi, grammy(s), and cousins
- i became a new auntie to nephew, jayden shappard
- i became an 'adopted' auntie to several of my girlfriends babies
- a trip to florida to visit with loved ones
- c and i had our first REAL getaway together (D.R.)

fortunately, one thing did not change,
c and i are still employed with our same companies.
we feel fortunate for this.

with the start of a new year, new year resolutions have been on my mind all week.
since i was a teenager, i've always made resolutions.
though i don't always keep all the ones i make,
i do manage to keep a few of them.

it's taken me forever to figure this out,
but i've learned my chances are better
if i keep my resolution list small - focusing on the MOST important/meaningful things.
this year my list is really short - just 3 resolutions! 

i did some on-line research to find tips on how to keep new year's resolutions because
let's be honest, we can ALL use the help in this department right?!
i really liked these :

1. be specific about your goals
2. come up with baby steps
3. be accountable
4. a slipup is not the end
5. give yourself positive reinforcements
6. don't get complacent


if you are making new year's resolutions like me,
i wish you success in the year ahead.

last night we attended a fabulous kid-friendly new year's eve party hosted by my coworker.
here's my firstborn toasting to a new year (even before east coast time)
little brother is always glued to big brother's side.

a happy finn (and slightly anxious scoutie)
bringing in 2011

finn and lucas toast to a new year

2011 is going to be a GREAT year - i just feel it!

can't you? *wink*

fun on the 4th

i love holidays and to me, the fanfare isn't really important, it's simply about family - spending quality time with my loved ones. fortunately, this 4th, the boys and i were able to enjoy lots of family time. now, i'm sitting and wishing it wasn't over already. trevor, shannon and the kids drove from utah and we can't thank them for making that trek. we've driven it a few times and we know it's NOT easy, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. with the utah gerbs in town, and with jay and his family now living in san diego, the weekend was full of family and fun activities. this included a neighborhood parade (non-motorized), lots of tennis between the brothers, a few good runs for shannon and i, a beach/surf day, pool day, time with cousin 'maddy' and auntie jen, bocce ball and badminton, a little baking by the kids, a backyard bbq and a competitive game of pictionary. i look forward to next year's 4th and hopefully being able to share with extended family. who knows, maybe we'll even see the fireworks if the kids can make it that late! *wink*