Do you have a handle on life?

The question that is on my mind: Does anyone have a handle on their life? Or, do we all just live in a constant state of chaos? I feel like I am constantly just trying to get a handle on things, but never get there. Does anyone have advice for me? Please?!?

Daddy's Day

We had such a fun Father's Day. It was so relaxing. The kids made Jay breakfast in bed....French Toast. I passed out chocolate chip cookies for all the dads at church. After church we had our weekly grilled cheese sandwiches, Sunday nap, and then lots of games. Risk, Hearts, King's Corner, you name it. We completed the day by having pulled pork sandwiches. I love how Jay is so low key and loves the simple stuff. If it's un-fussy, he's happy.

I am so grateful that my kids have Jay for a dad. He is so awesome. He understands each kid individually and has such a good relationship with each of them. He's always such a good example for them, too. Even when things don't go his way, he's open about it and a good example for how to make things better next time, or how to get over it and move on. Besides being a great dad, Jay is the best husband ever. I love him more and more as time goes on. Time may be taking it's toll on the two of us, but I still see him as the same guy I married. That's cheesy, I know. But true. It's a weird thing, after you've been married for 16 years, you see a picture of your spouse, and wonder when he (and you) have aged. Sorry, I won't get any gushier. Jay has been the source of joy, a life-saver, best friend, cheering section, coach, motivator, and all the other good things in life. He's also been the pain-in-the-butt when he needed to be, which makes him even better. Anybody that will put up with my crap for as long as he has deserves some sort of reward.

I also need to pay tribute to my dad. He's always supported me, even when he wasn't crazy about what I was doing (cheerleader in high school, getting married at 18, etc). He works harder than anyone I have ever met. He's always looking at how to make things better for everyone else. At the same time, he's realistic. He doesn't judge when things don't go perfectly. I have always held my Dad's opinion in the highest regard. I have always wanted to make him proud of me. Even now, at 35, I still crave my dad's approval. My dad has a big & tough front, but underneath he is the most empathetic person ever. I have no doubt that if I needed something, my dad would come through. He always has. Love you, Dad!

Back Where We Belong

Everyone is back home where they belong...finally. When we left CA last week, Rebekah stayed in HB with the grandparents for an additional week. Eric was home for 2 days from wrestling camp, and then had to go on the Trek (a pioneer-like camping/reality experience with church) for 4 days. David went to baseball camp for 5 days, 9am-2pm. With all this free time, I did nothing. I don't know why. I didn't get anything done. It was like going into hibernation for a week. Anyway.......

We came home from our San Diego/HB trip on Friday night. David started a baseball camp on Monday morning. Intense pitching and hitting coaching with pizza for lunch every day. His dream come true. It turns out that it was a good thing for us to shell out WAY too much money for his week-long training, because he made the Little Leage All-Star team. After the regular season, 2 kids from every team are nominated for the All-Star team, which goes to regional, state, and national championships, and the Little League World Series (of course, they have to make it that far first). Last year David was nominated, but wasn't drafted (selected by the "Alll Star" coach). This year, he's first on the list! Yea, David! I'm so proud of my ball-playin', 11 year old, future hall-of-famer!

Rebekah had a fun week getting spoiled by the grandparents. She got to fly home (first time on a plane) Saturday. I missed her so much. There was much less talking going on without her:) I thought she might be a little freaked out by flying alone, but she was fine. All the people, signs, crowds.... no problem. She's such a born traveler. It helps that she's my thrill-seeker and probably thought that flying out of John Wayne Airport was like a boring roller coaster. She said the worst part was the two little kids behind her who kept fighting and yelling at their mom the whole time. All I could do was smile at that one. (Don't worry....that mom is actually one that I have never been. We've never taken our kids on a plane. They're so deprived.)

Eric left for the Trek on Tuesday morning and got home on Friday afternoon. He had such a good time! We basically had to drag him there, but it all ended good. Anytime you tell an almost 15 year old boy that he has to miss football for a week, wear pioneer-period clothing, push a handcart for 20 miles, sleep out in the open, etc.... he's not going to be thrilled. Once he got there he decided to participate in all the "stuff" and see if it was worth it. I'm so proud of him! He mastered the handcart, including tying down the load properly (apparently that's tough), killing a chicken (complete with plucking it, gutting it, and cooking & eating it...nasty!), being Mr. Personality at the square dance, and all sorts of other stuff. I even got a call from his "Ma" telling me how much fun he was, etc. It's so nice to hear the good stuff your kids do. You usually only hear when they do something stupid.

It's back to normal now........we're holed up in the house because it's 110 outside!

Are we gonna move out of this hell, or not? (to be continued)

San Diego Decompression

Sometimes you just need to decompress. Last week, Eric went to wrestling camp in SoCal. The rest of the fam and I went to San Diego for a reprieve from the heat and to take a mental and physical "breath of fresh air". Warning: lots of photos!

First up was Mission Bay. You know how the crowd at Mission Bay is kinda crazy...my kids are not so much. Apparently they are very sheltered....I thought they were going to crawl right out of their skin. After walking around getting creeped out, we people watched some more at a corner taco shop. Like the homeless guy sitting behind the kids? He was shootin' the breeze with this totally creepy hippy lady with not enough clothes on. It was hilarious to watch the kids' faces....sleezy people, college party animals, scantily clad old women, homeless guys... so funny!

Next was Sea Port Village. A LOT tamer. We had a Ben & Jerry's at 11:00. I can't think of a better vacation brunch. Can you?

Later we had a BBQ with our friends, the Banks. Bekah decided to be a monkey...the Banks' kids thought it was great. We always have so much fun with them. For me, it's like stepping back in time to when I had three little kids under 5. How did I live through that? It was so nice of Brett and Kami to feed us, too! (Thanks, guys!)

A trip to San Diego isn't complete without seeing Shamu. Kami and the kids met us for part of the day. It was such a great day. The weather was perfect!

I always have such a great time with Kami. It seems like there is never enough time to get all the way caught up. I am really thankful for the time we did have though. Kami is so awesome. She basically saved my life and I will always be indebted to her for that. She is such a great mom, so patient. She is a great and talented triathlete (I'm sure she'll be pro one day), and a great friend. She is one of my biggest supporters, and I am so thankful that we are friends. Love you, Kami! Thank you for EVERYTHING. I'll have to post my Kami-the-lifesaver story sometime, but trust me....she's great.

The rest of our trip was spent up in the OC. That's where the relaxation ended. Back to real life. We had an extended family crisis to attend to. Jay's mom has cancer. She is one tough lady. If anyone can kick cancer's butt, it's her. Still, it's going to be a scary, emotional, and trying time for a while.

We missed seeing some cousins we had planned on getting together with. Next time, Jackmans and Potters for sure!

We had a great trip and are not happy to be back home. It's hot. Like 105. It was weird to not have Eric with us for the week. I missed him!

I miss the ocean. A lot. There will be another trip soon.