Mount Rainer FC Tournament Dec. 29th, 2009

A few weeks ago my brother Scott called and invited Ashlyn to play in a club soccer tournament with his daughter, Ashlyn's cousin, Allie.  We of course accepted thinking it would be a fun opportunity to play with her cousin.  Yesterday was the tournament and it was an absolute blast! Allie scored 5 goals over 4 games and Ashlyn scored 3..officially 2.  Oh..it was indoor soccer so it was fast paced, and constantly moving with subs on the fly.  Ashlyn primarily played up front as a forward with Allie with a little bit of rest time on defense.  It was fun to see the girls work together to score and just fun to see them out on the field together..it "almost" gives us a reason to move back home..I did say "almost."  Anyways, thanks Scott, Allie, Coach Stacey and MRFC for a fabulous day of soccer!

Ashlyn and Allie "Kober Girls #13"

Mt. Rainer FC

Coach Stacey getting the girls pumped for the Championship Game.  It was an incredible game, super fun to watch and exciting...the girls came up short in the last three minutes and lost 1-0.  Ashlyn scored a goal that bounced around in the box...the ref chose not to recognize the goal but we all know it was!  Way to go Shooters!

Christmas in Seattle..2009

This year our family traveled to Seattle, Washington to enjoy "Christmas in Seattle" with our family.  We left on December 18th in the afternoon and arrived Sunday the 19th after driving straight through.  We made it in 16 hrs..It has been very cold since we have arrived, but has felt like winter which we love.  We enjoyed Christmas Eve with our family at my parents and enjoyed a quiet Christmas day with a few visitors dropping in.  The girls have LOVED being with their cousins and getting a lot of play time in.  We are looking forward to the remaining few days here and ringing in a new year!  Here are just a few pictures from our trip so far.. 

Thoroughbred with Friends

Traditionally every year now we walk Thoroughbred to see the beautiful display of Christmas lights.  People come from all over Southern California to see them.  It is quite the production, but we enjoy going every year.  For the past four years now we have enjoyed seeing the lights with our good friends, Chuck and Carmella.  This year we drove and enjoyed them from the warmth of our car...then returned to Chuck and Carmella's home for some nummy treats!

AYALA USA CHEER COMPETITION 2009

Abby's cheer team competed in their first competition of the season today and it was a huge success..more than taking first place, all three cheer teams qualified for Jr. Nationals which is held at Disneyland in the Spring!  Abby did a GREAT job.  This year she is on two teams, a younger and older team.  She hit all of her stunts and looked solid.  What a fun day...but definitly exciting!  Off to the next competition!

Happy 12th Birthday Ashlyn!

Ashlyn Grace Rich

11-29-97

Happy BirthdayAshlyn!  We are so proud of you and the beautiful girl you have become.  You are a wonderful daughter to have.  Sensitive and thoughtful of others, you are a good girl.  Remember we love you! Have a happy birthday..and remember...NO MORE PRIMARY!

Happy Halloween

Happy 40th Birthday Dave

Dave

The boys..

ok..we'll be serious!

The girls taking advantage of Dave....

Me and Dave
Josh and Jen

Suzann and Scott

Trisha and Tracie

Larry and Nacole

Jeff and Robert

So after stressing and planning what to do for Dave's 40th Birthday, I decided to invite a few of our closest friends and head to dinner at Lucille's BBQ, a favorite place of ours. We had a great time eating and visiting and definately laughing a lot...my throat was sore the next day. All of our friends that we invited were able to make it but one couple. It was small but full of BIG fun. After dinner we headed to my girlsfriends house (she graciously offer..so so nice!) for cake and presents, slide show and a little pool. We again had a great time socializing with our buds. Tonight we will be celebrating quietly with our family..enjoying dinner at CPK and cake at home. Thank you to all of you who have made Dave's 40th birthday memorable and special! Happy birthday Dave, we love you! ps...he loves the Apache Helicopter!

Happy 10th Birthday Abby.....

About 2 Abby 9
Abby and her girlfriends Friday night after dinner.

Our Abigail Lorraine turned the big "10" yesterday August 18th. We celebrated over the weekend by inviting 4 of her friends to dinner at Spaghetti Factory, then to the movies to see Bandslam and back home for a sleepover. Abby had a great time and I think her friends and sisters did too! Yesterday Dave and I brought pizza to Abby's school and enjoyed lunch with her and her friends. She then celebrated at cheer practice that night and shared homemade cupcakes for everyone! I think she enjoyed her birthday and is already making a list of things to buy with her birthday money! Thank you to all who made her day special!

Blog to check..

My friend requested the address to one of my favorite coupon blogs... it is cloud9couponing.blogspot.com. If you go to this blog...she has links to many more. krazycouponlady.blogspot.com is one of my favorites. Hope this helps!

That Was Fun!

Ok, so all my life I have been a "pick it up and buy it" kind of girl. I know horrible, but it is true...I have gone through my life at different times attempting to do the coupon thing, but usually I forget the coupons at home or don't plan ahead. Well during my trip to Seattle my sister Sarah and my Mom told me about their coupon adventures and how they were really working at saving money on groceries...everything really. They turned me on to some cool blogs that follow deals, coupons, sales ect. I have to say I have become a little addicted to reading those daily...even sometimes going back for seconds. Well anyways, so I have been doing this for about a month now and I have definately seen savings..it is amazing what you can learn by actually "reading" the grocery ads that come during the week...my favorite mail now. So today after careful planning I set out to Von's and Ralph's. Von's is the same as Safeway. I didn't even hit my beloved Winco. Anyways, I was pleased after I was finished shopping at both stores. Funny thing was, my girls got a kick out of it too!

Von's OOP- $63.78

Savings- $82.79

Ralph's OOP- $36.82

Savings- $59.06

Total Cost before Savings- $242.45

Total Cost After Savings- $100.60

Total Savings- $141.85

Yes...I know there are some of you out there that could of probably cut that number in half...but since none of our stores double anymore and I worked with what I had...I didn't do to bad. I was kind of proud actually. Anyways, I thought I would share with you my adventure and challenge you to create one of your own! Happy saving! :o)

I Survived The Sleepover!!!

Amber's birthday was on June 15th...because of soccer we decided to hold her big 8th birthday sleepover on Thursday. No I never do things simple as my sister would say...but as my mom would say...our family is full of traditions! This is ours...we have a huge, crazy, fun sleepover for their 8th birthday. We had girls from church, soccer and school,15 in all, but it went well! The girls had a blast together and it was a great way to kickoff the summer. BUT, with that said, I can proudly say that I survived my final major sleepover...

Thank goodness!

Raeley, Amber and Jade
Twins, Savannah and Madelyn(Shield fans, they were Vic's daughter)
Amber and Madison

Thirteen...missing Ashlyn and Eva the camp leaders. That pool saw A LOT of action over the last 24 hrs..The girls had a blast. I thought it might wear them out...not so much.
"Amber's Tent"....Where all the fun was! We had a camp
theme this year. It was a lot of fun. The tent is huge, but we barely
fit all fifteen girls inside. Needless to say, they were NOT cold last night.
Eva and Ashlyn....the camp leaders! They
were so helpful! You have to love those "older"
children! Thanks girls!
The cupcake "Birthday Cake ".

Amber's new bike. We drove to three different storeslooking for that perfect bike..and in the end, we ended up back at Target! We LOVE Target!

Happy 8th Birthday Amber!

Born June 15, 2001

About 4 months
About 4

Present

Happy Birthday Amber-Lizzie! We love you and can't

believe you are already turning 8! You are the baby of

the family, but you are growing into such a big girl! We love

you and we are so happy you are part of our family!

Happy Birthday!

USA JR. NATIONALS

Abby and her CSA cheer team competed on February 28th in the USA Jr. Nationals. The competition was held at the Hyperion Theater at California Adventure. The Hyperion is where the Aladdin stage show is. It was really fun! The girls did great, although they did not place...due to a last minute change in scheduling by USA, we found that they moved our team to the wrong division..one that was at a higher level...We didn't know this until later and STILL thought they did great! Abby nailed her stunts and smiled through the whole routine. Now we are gearing up to head to Las Vegas for the next competition..I am sure they will be great and WE will have lots of fun!

Outside the Hyperion

A few teams lining up for awards.

The team outside the Hyperion following the awards ceremony

Abby and her best buddy Abbie...

Having fun playing at California Adventure following the morning competition.