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 
About 2 
Abby 9
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!
Raeley, Amber and Jade
Twins, Savannah and Madelyn(Shield fans, they were Vic's daughter)
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
Eva and Ashlyn....the camp leaders! They
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!
About 4 months
About 4
Present
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.
A few months ago Ashlyn had the opportunity to join a Club soccer team. The photo above was taken of her playing in her first tournament game with her team Olimpia. It was really exciting. The above game they won 3-0, going on to win the next game 2-0 and finally tieing the 3rd game 0-0. They won their pool and went on to play the following weekend in the Quarterfinals where they lost after a great effort. Olimpia is a Bronze East team moving up Silver in the Fall. I mention this because they lost to a Silver Elite team in the quarterfinals. I wish I could take credit for the picture..but it was professionall taken by an action shots company. I think it shows Ashlyn doing what she loves..playing soccer! Now they are on to another tournament this weekend..Wish her luck!
We had a great time when my parents came down for a week long visit. My mom was full of project ideas and by the end of the week had me all set up to add food storage to our collection, files to my filing system, and with the help of my dad, a whole new toliet system! But I have to say that by the end of the week, she was band from saying the "C" word (clean) the "O" word (Organize) and the "P" word (Project). No really it was so nice having them here..we miss the already and hope they come back soon. 
I know this was a famous scene from the war..just can't remember what it was called. I think every little boy was tempted to look up her dress!
We took a day trip to San Diego and walked the waterfront down by the cruise ships and the aircraft carrier. It was a cool day especially when the fog started rolling in. 
Amber and Papa at Olivera Street.
Mom decided to make fleece blankets for the girls for Christmas. It was a really fun project and the girls enjoyed being part of the process. Even the trip to the Fashion District in downtown LA was exciting..can't say I'll do it again though! :)
Happy New Year Everyone...ok so I am a little slow. I like slow, can anyone slow down this year? It is already starting to fly by way to quickly..I mean 2009? Wasn't it just the other day that we were afraid of 2000? Anyways, the holidays were great. Since we had so much company during Thanksgiving and right after, we decided to spend Christmas and Christmas Eve with just our family. It was really nice. No stress, no cleaning, no trying to prepare for a dinner with guests, just us. It was perfect. Of course I think the girls thought it was perfect too...As you can see from the picture above, the girls were THRILLED to get a Wii...oh and may I add that Mom and Dad got the credit for that instead of the big jolly guy in the red suit..that was fun! So, we spent most of Christmas day in our jammies playing tennis and baseball, bowling, golfing, and boxing...oh boxing. If you ever want to see if you are in shape, just box a little! Wow what a work out. Absolutely crazy hard. I was sore for 3 days after playing..played again and then was sore for 3 more. What a blast it was though. I guess that was Mom and Dad's favorite gift too! Happy 2009!
Ok..so the only word I have been able to come up with is Drastic! Last week we had some crazy weather hit Southern California...we went from enjoying 70-80 degree weather to 36 degrees and a TON of rain. It was crazy..now I know what all you Seattle people are saying...come up here, I have already gotten a lot of flack...however relatively speaking that is COLD for us warm blooded people here..where the sun always shines and we wear capris and flip flops 9 months out of 12...ok, I am sounding like a baby..but it was cold. The mountains too were absolutely beautiful covered in snow. This is a picture of the mountains we see out our window. I too this picture last Thursday in the parking lot where I work. It was awesome. 
On Dec. 11, 2008 Dave was honored with a Life Saving Medal presented by the LAPD and Chief Bratton. It was an incredible honor for him to recieve this medal and stand by many other heros within the department present that day. The girls and I were really proud of him and I know the rest of his family was too. His mom and dad, brother and family from Arizona, his brother from San Diego and his sister and her family from San Diego came. He also had 3 of his fellow officers from the Unit come....the others were working. Those that came, Maggie, Louise, and Tony. We were all happy to see him recieve this medal for all of his effort. PS..since he was wearing his Class A Uniform, he decided to shave..but not cut his hair. It was an interesting look and definately got some attention!
Abby and Abbie
