Wow….we are so emotionally exhausted but we are so grateful to have been selected to participate in the Every 15 Minutes experience. I know that all of us are forever changed as individuals and as a family. The whole experience was so amazingly realistic and each of our hearts have been touched in ways we never would have imagined. I honestly believe that I will remember this educational experience and the emotions that go along with it for the rest of my life.

I commend the students, teachers, rescue workers, SJFD, SJPD, the ambulance people, the trauma team people, the morgue lady, and everyone who was involved in putting this together. Thank you all for everything you do everyday to make such a positive impact on our lives and those around us. God bless.

I’ve been sifting through our old digital photos, trying to get them sorted into at least some kind of category (like year!) and in one humongous “photos” file, instead of a little in this file, and a little in that file. Anywho, I recently stumbled on some holiday pictures from my first Christmas in 2000 with John and the girls. They were so small!!

Best dam experince ever!

Ok, so I said I wasn’t going to make a resolution for this year. And technically I didn’t make it until yesterday, so maybe it doesn’t count as one. But, I have “resolved” to learn how to use the features and my camera more effectively this year. So hopefully I won’t miss out on great shots like this one:

Unfortunately, this was the best I could do and John-John is still fuzzy. If I had learned how to use my camera last year, this picture would have been better! Hopefully I’ll be able to capture shots more quickly once I figure out what all the settings are!

So, one year ago today I started our family blog. I have to say, I definitely like it better than scrapbooking – at least I actually blog something once in a while, where with scrapbooking, I would buy the stuff but never make any pages. This seems to be slightly more cost-effective.

Speaking of anniversaries, John and I celebrated our 5th anniversary a couple weeks ago while we were at the beach house in Santa Cruz. We had a relatively relaxing day, followed by dinner at the Shadowbrook. I’ve never been there but heard great reviews, and they were right! The setting was beautiful and the food was delicious. It was a nice romatic dinner with just the two of us – which we don’t get very often!

The Five of Us! Denise, John 3, John 4, Kaileigh, & Alanna – At Yosemite – October 2005.

Spy Kids 3D

Yesterday was Johno’s birthday! I think he enjoyed it – the kids and I did. He had to spend the night in LA so unfortunately he didn’t get the “birthday boy breakfast in bed” routine, but maybe this weekend

He did get a new one of these:

 

See him showing it off for the camera! I think he’s happy with it

 

 

 

 

 

I already called dibs on his old one. Yay! I finally got an iPod! I feel inspired to go to the gym so I can use it. Ok, maybe not.

 

Anyway, I hope you had a great day yesterday sweetie! Happy Birthday!!! We love you!! 

 

 

       Thirteen Things about Dad aka John III

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

John had a meeting down in LA earlier this week and took the girls with him. They flew down late Monday afternoon and had enough time to go out to dinner at the Universal Studio Walk. Tuesday the kids slept in while dad went to work then goofed around at the hotel pool until he collected them for a late lunch. Tuesday night they went to the ??grove shopping center. Wednesday they headed for Magic Mountain! Dad went on a couple rides, then broke out the laptop and worked while the kids had fun. I’ll post some more pictures soon!