Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

KYLE TURNS *18* YEARS OLD!!!

SURPRISE!!! We had a surprise party for Kyle at our house. I think he really WAS surprised when he came in the front door!

His Auntie made him a beautiful banner for all of his friends to sign.

This is a photo of some of his friends waiting for him to come in the door. He has such a great group of friends, and I am lucky that they hang out over here a lot of the time, so I know most of them! He has a diverse group of friends, because he chose to go to two different high schools.

Just came in the door...his friends all rushed to him and it was a giant group hug!!

We hired a DJ and it worked out GREAT! We moved all of the furniture of the front room and into the neighbors garage, the kids danced the night away!

We had Mexican food catered by one of the Mommy's in my program. We had beef burritos, chicken taquitos, bean and cheese burritos, beans, rice, fruit and salad. They didn't touch the fruit or salad??

They food was set up in the garage with tables and chairs...after eating, the adults hung out in the garage. The house was SO loud!!

Kyle and Chelsea! So cute...she was my "partner in crime" and helped me to plan the party and execute it perfectly! Thanks Chelsea!!

The "birthday cake" was 6 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts stacked up on pedestal plates. It looked so cute and the kids thought I was a genius!!

Kyle and Christian...the 2 cutest boys on the baseball team!!

18 candles...blow!!!

BLOOooooooooooooooooow!

What is a party without a pinata?? Cracked me up how excited the 18-year-olds were about the pinata!

I think the party was a huge success! No one got hurt and nothing was broken. The police were not called and everyone was gone by midnight!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!!! I love you so much!!

Happy Birthday MOM...60 Years Young!!

Even though I promised that I would not have a party for my Mom, I couldn't help myself! We had a small surprise luncheon for her closest friends and family. I think she had a great time...I hope so!

Some work friends from 20+ years ago, a new work friend, and Emily...my cousin who is such a dear!

We had pasta prepared by Sabatinos...it was delicious...and salad...and garlic bread...

The birthday girl, her great neighbor, her "Forever Friend" Linda Mac, and my 2 BFF's Kelly and Kristin. Kelly and Kristin helped me SO much the day of the party...they truly are a blessing to me!! Thanks girls...love ya!

Holly made Grammy a birthday banner. I hung it in the front entrance so she would see if first thing when she walked in the front door...and then SHE CAME IN THE BACK DOOR!!!

My first attempt at a homemade German Chocolate Cake with Coconut/Pecan icing!

Happy Birthday to the Greatest Mom EVER!!! We love you SO MUCH!!

Halloween Gingerbread House

Chelsea brought over a Halloween Gingerbread House kit and they put it all together. It looks SO CUTE!! AND...they didn't make a huge mess in my kitchen!!

Here they are just starting....

The finished product! I'm impressed...and they had fun! Happy Halloween to my ghosts and ghouls!

Darrell Finished the Half-Marathon!!

Darrell has been training and working really hard, and today he finished his first half-marathon in L.A. It was so exciting and I was so proud of him, I couldn't believe he could run 13.1 miles!!! I hope he's never chasing me, because I can barely make it around the block!!
HOORAY....for an injury-free finish!!
Resting his legs after the race!
MGD was giving away free beer to all who finished the race...wow, run all that way for a free beer!!!
These shoes have clocked many miles, and I'm sure many more to come. the orange band on the shoelace is a computer chip to track his mileage and time.

Good job Love!!! I knew you could do it!!

Homecoming Dance for KYLE!!

Kyle went to the Homecoming Dance with his friend Torrie. She is a beautiful girl who is a great friend to Kyle. She actually has a boyfriend who graduated last year, so he couldn't go to the dance with her. Kyle was her "date." Before the dance, they all met at Tortilla Flats on Lake Mission Viejo for dinner. I think there ended up being about 30 kids there!All of the Moms were there taking photos...we looked like paparazzi!! Look how beautiful they look!! I love that my baby is turning into a handsome awesome person, but I hate that he's growing up so fast.

Austin, Torrie, and Kyle. What a lucky girl!!

One of the loves of my life...

In keeping with "Dana tradition"...a photo of the boys shoes!! I wish I would have taken a photo of the girls shoes. Seriously, some of them were 5 inches high!

Some of "the group." Most of these kids have been over to my house many times. They are great kids!!

Kyle with his beautiful friend Ceris! Don't they look like Ken and Barbie?? I'm so happy that Kyle is enjoying his Senior year and is taking in all of the High School activities. I am most definitely blessed to be his Mom!!

Sno On the Go!

We have a new Snow Cone shop close to our house, and Nathan has been begging to try it out. The night before school started seemed like a perfect time.

Look at all of the flavors of syrup. They had wedding cake, green apple, and chai tea. You name it, they had it.

It's called Sno On the Go. Who would believe that snowcones could pay the rent?

Darrell and I shared Tropical Treat. Pina Colada snow cone with fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream down the middle. Sounds weird, but it was delicious.

Not a great picture, but you get the idea.

Nathan was happy with his Blue Raspberry/ Cherry combination. He ate the ENTIRE cupful of sugary goo and was humming through the whole thing!

My happy boys! School tomorrow...

Last Day of Summer...

How do you know how many teenagers are upstairs in your Bonus Room? Count the shoes at the bottom of the stairs!! I so love to have my kids here with their friends. Ya, it's loud and crazy and I go through cases of soda, but there is nothing I'd rather have here than my kids and their friends. We had a busy, yet relaxing summer. Does that make sense? I took a little blog break and did not take a ton of pictures...my family is happy that I did not have a camera in their faces at every second of the day. So...tomorrow is back to work for me and Wednesday starts school for the kids. Back to the routine, which I love. Even though I like summertime, I am ready for back-to-school time.

Okay, I must go make my lunch and prepare my "teacher cart" for tomorrow! Good-Bye summer, we'll miss you.

Larry Had Surgery...and He's Doing Great!!

Larry had a big surgery today (I'm not sure if he wants the World to know, but he had his prostate removed) and he's doing great. The boys and I went to visit, Darrell is on a business trip this week, and he was eating Jell-O, asking for real food, and telling the nurses that he wanted to go pee.

He was cracking us up...singing the Jell-O song as he ate his food!

He FINALLY got some real food and it was horrible. We think it was either meatloaf, Salisbury steak, or a hamburger patty with gravy.

We're so thankful that Larry made it through his surgery and is recovering now. We love you so much Larry aka Grampy!!!

Boys and Guns!

Those of you who know you well may be shocked at these photos!! Yes, I admit that I was the Mommy who would NOT let my children play with any kind of guns. I'm a Preschool Teacher, I teach peace and using words and non-violence! I didn't even want them to have water guns...but I've given in. BOTH of the boy AND Darrell love guns. All kinds of guns. Grandpa Jim introduced Nathan to his rifle and the kid now needs to go to Firearms Anonymous. He is hooked!!

Look at the concentration...

Then, Kyle came into town. He was NOT going to let his twirp little brother do something that he had not done. So...he loaded up, put on the earmuffs...and shot away.

Of course, not to be outdone by his kids...Darrell shot the GLOC. I know nothing about guns, but I know that this gun was so loud my ears rung for 3 days after this shooting spree.

He is so cute, even with a firearm in his hands!

Nathan and Eldon...like old Pros!!! This was one of the highlights of our Kansas trips for the boys...for me...not so much!!