California McMillans

Here's a happy Kira with a chocolate fudge bar.  She knows to only eat them in the kitchen. The problem is that she can't finish a whole bar in one sitting. So she puts the half-eaten ones in the freezer for later. The problem with that is she doesn't retrieve the half-eaten ones to finish; she fetches a new one. And Blakey's just excited to have any kind of food.  The rest of the kids won't eat my lentils, but Blakey likes them.  They're hecka cheap, nutritious, satisfying, and keep well in the fridge.

On Saturday we went to the County Fair.  Danny was stoked about the tractor pull, Heidi was less than stoked.  We just went at night because we had a meet and work in the morning.  We had some time to walk around so we looked at, pet and fed all the animals.  That was my favorite part. Kira loved the animals.  Scott and Tyler liked them.  Blake was amused by them.  I was fascinated in asking questions about Dairy Farming in California.  The tractor pull was about what I expected. It started at 7 which was late and a little slow paced for the little ones attention.  Luckily the grandstand had a huge area under the bleachers where Tyler, Kira and Blake could run around and entertain themselves for 1.5 hours.  Danny and Scott seemed to be enjoying the show.  It is listening to engines, which Danny loves so that made me happy.  Demolition Derbys are more fun for me.  Maybe we'll do a rodeo next for a redneck outing.  I decided to take the younger kids to the car and on the way back we

These two boys remind me so much of each other.  not only in how they look but also in how they act. They are both so sweet and sensitive.  Like tinkering with dad and pretty coordinated.  The one drastic difference is Blake is very independent but I think that has to do with being the 4th child instead of the 1st.  Fun to see since my middle two kids are not like Scott at all in looks or in personality.

On Saturday, Scott had his end-of-the-season pool party at the house of one of his teammates.  We had burgers, chips, and watermelon.  It was also a little over 100 degrees and the kids stayed in the pool for over three hours.  Scott enjoyed getting his trophy.  Francisco, Mark, and Joe were good coaches--very patient with the kids. Took these with the underwater didge.  I opened up the case and it smelled like the beach.   Scott looks pretty buff in this photo. I was excited about this picture.   I could never tuck like this.  Hopefully he never develops hip dysplasia. Good times.

Scott is a big 7-8's this year.  He is so lucky to have some great friends.  Swim meets brings back great memories of playing with friends, eating candy and racing for 30 seconds.  The best part for me is seeing Scott and Tyler play with friends.  Instead of playing cards and hanging out in tents, the boys play football and wall ball.  Even though Tyler doesn't want to compete, he loves playing.  Such a blessing for him and our family.  Here are a couple of Scott's races from the meet this weekend.  He is having fun and doing well.  He has been so close to county.  He made it at the end of the year last year so it is fun that he is already almost there in his down year.  Very proud of him.  I just want him to learn to swim correctly and have fun but that is the coach in me.  Every once in a while he'll ask me for help, which is such a change.  Last year he didn't want any help from anyone and this year he actually is willing to slow down a bit and learn how to do

Before kindergarten started Tyler was still upset at preschool and would much rather be with mom.  He would often cry and was so shy, scared and just not that happy.  We debated starting him in kindergarten since he was very young and we didn’t feel he was mature, but quite frankly, I dreamed of having both boys at the same school, close to home and Tyler in school 5 days a week for 4 hours.  Ultimately, we thought of the pros and cons and prayed about it and strangely felt good about trying kindergarten.  Before school, his teacher met with me about his heart and I told her that we were simply trying this out and if he was a distraction for her, the class or not happy, we would do something else.  I told her how he can be a challenge, had been delayed  in and out of therapies and hospitals most of his life.  So we started and the first day went surprisingly great.  However, day 2 I got a message from his teacher.  My heart sank.  He had a 45 minute tantrum. Ty

Here are pictures from the begging of 1st grade and the end of first grade.  Scott looks the same to me with the exception of his teeth.  In so many ways he is the same and different. As much as I love seeing Scott grow up and am SOOO proud, beyond words really, of who he is and what he strives to be, a part of me is said to realize this time goes so fast.   Last year Scott had little interest in learning and this year he has taken off with a love for learning (at least compared to last year).  Intelligences:  Reading: He wasn't a very good reader at the beginning of the year and got frustrated.  This was my main focus for the year.  The first trimester we really focused on this  A LOT: 30 minutes of me reading and 30 minutes of him reading.   It was a big commitment, but I wanted him to learn to read. I came home with about 30 books from the library every other week and he began to love reading and became a great reader. I was so proud of the hard work and commitment he made

It's been 2.5 weeks since my mom, dad, sister and I walked into my mom's oncologist office to be told that my mom's cancer was in the final stages and she most likely had a couple of weeks to live. We were told that we explored all forms of treatment and sadly none had battled the cancer like hoped. To continue treatment would most likely not help, but instead hinder the time she had left. Her doctor than said something that I will never forget and often ponder.  He said, "The two greatest events in ones life is their birth and their death". What a simple yet beautiful statement. Welcoming a baby into the world is full of hopes and dreams. It is the beginning of what we will do with the beautiful gift of life. As a child my mom was surrounded by a loving and devoted family.  She spent her childhood riding horses, becoming one of the best equestrian riders in the nation. I strongly feel our childhood activities aren't about the end result, but i