Andrew Molloy's Birthday Party

Today we had the greatest fun at the Molloy house! It was Andrew's 5th birthday and they had an huge inflatable water slide for everyone to play on.

Brooklyn and Noah had a blast!







Here's Steve joining in the fun.




After playing on the slide for awhile, all the kids lined up to hit the pinata.



After some cake and ice cream, it was back to the water slide!





And we can't forget the cutest people at that party. :)


Thanks for the fun day, Molloys!!

I Love Fall

I'm so glad that September is here. Although it's still reaching the 90's during the days here in Cali, I love the slightly chilly morning air I get to feel as I send Brooklyn off to school. And knowing that the days will be getting shorter, and the weather will finally be bearable again, it just makes me so happy.

I also love that I get to pull out all my very cute fall decorations. Even though I have decorated my living room in fall colors, thereby letting me keep fall-oriented decor up all year, there's nothing better than being able to go all out! And that's what I did today.






My favorite fall decor though is my small ceramic village. I don't have a lot of extras for it because I haven't always had a lot of space to put it, but I still enjoy the simplicity of it. It makes me think of a small, cozy farm town where everyone knows each other.


I find it kind of ironic that I live in just such a town now.

So, to everyone . . . Happy Fall, Y'all! :)

Brooklyn's School Pictures

I just received these in the mail, so I thought I'd put them up here for all to see.

It's her first official school picture. :)

Watching the Kerman Harvest Festival Parade

Today we went to watch the Kerman Parade. We had the Nehring children with us because Lora and Kevin were headed to LA for the Nightwish concert, and the Foxes, who the kids were staying the night with, were in the parade.

It was pretty nice day, so what better way to spend it than enjoying some local festivities.






Here's one reason we came to see this parade. These are our Kerman Ward cub scouts, with Camille and Nathan Fox (walking together) and Joanne Gomez (left).


Another fun day to remember!

Update on Brooklyn's school

They've hired a new third grade teacher at Biola-Pershing, so Brooklyn will be staying there. YEAH!!

I also enrolled her in the after-school program and she loves it!

We are so blessed. :)

A visit from our Auntie Kara

My younger sister, Kara, and her punkins, came to visit our humble abode this weekend. Her main reason for coming was Brooklyn's baptism, but since she loves us so much, she decided to stay a few extra days. Yeah!

They arrived by plane Thursday morning, and after an early lunch, we decided to visit Steve at work so that Joseph and Jacob could see the helicopters. They were as impressed as a 3 1/2 and almost 2 year old can be. And even though this was the very first time that Uncle Steve and Jacob had seen each other in person, Jacob went to get hugs from him like he was his best friend!

Friday morning, after sending Brooklyn to school, we headed into Fresno to run a few errands and to go to the Oso de Oro Lake Park. Unfortunately, it was quite hot so we didn't get to stay very long. On our way home, we stopped by In-N-Out for lunch, as Kara had not really eaten there before. Washington is unfortunately lacking this establishment. :) After arriving home, Kara and I got busy working on the pyramid cake we were attempting to make for Brooklyn's birthday party the next morning. It ended up looking more like a mountain than a pyramid, but it sure tasted good!




Friday night I took Kara to Castillo's Mexican Food for dinner. Steve is the one who turned me on to this restaurant. They have the best homemade Mexican food I've ever tasted! I couldn't let Kara visit Fresno without eating here. It's a good thing she enjoyed it, too. :)

Saturday morning Steve took Noah and Joseph to the park while Kara and I prepared for the party. The girls had lots of fun, but I wouldn't have survived it without Kara's help! :) (Thanks again, K!)

Later that evening, for a fun family outing, we went to John's Incredible Pizza Co. Only Steve had been here before, with some friends of ours, but he said it was fun, so we decided to give it a try. The kids enjoyed a few rides and games before sitting down to dinner. After eating, we tallied up our tickets, picked out a couple prizes, and then called it a night!







Sunday, and the baptism, can be read about here.

Monday was the day that Kara and boys would be heading home, so we just hung out around the house till it was time to take them to the airport. We're so glad they came to visit us, and we hope they will come again sometime!

Brooklyn's Baptism

Today Brooklyn was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had decided to share the program with a friend from Brooklyn's primary class who had just recently turned 8 as well.


Brooklyn sure looked like an angel.




It was a special day for us all, and we appreciate everyone who attended.

Later that evening, we gave Brooklyn her very own set of scriptures.


And then Kara gave her a few special gifts.




And then she opened a gift a special friend from church gave to her.


These childhood milestones just keep coming, no matter how hard we try to hold them off. But I'm glad we're doing our best to enjoy this time together, while we still can. She'll be grown up before we know it.