We are OK

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are ok. We had a large earthquake this morning a little before noon that came in at 5.4. I had just put Jack down for a nap and my mom was in our bonus room in the next room when it started and we both quickly ran out into the hallway to listen to pictures on the walls moving and to ride the wave for about 6 seconds. It was definately the longest and biggest earthquake I have ever experienced in the 13 years that I've lived here. Nothing was damaged in our home....just about every picture on the wall looked crooked and I know some of the phone lines close by were having problems. I couldn't get a hold of Doug on his cell phone for about an hour but when I did, he was fine. They are telling us that we might still have some aftershocks (27 so far) and that there is a 5% chance that this earthquake could actually be a preshock to something even bigger but that that percentage drops to 1% after 24 hours. I guess this is the trade off for living in beautiful sunny California.

Life in Lemoore

So this is day four of my adventure here in Lemoore on the Navy base with my 2 nephews and my niece along with 2 of my own. The biggest struggle is finding things to pass the time with 5 kids. Yesterday we ventured out and did the local mall which was quite the adventure with 3 car seats in my car and then using 2 strollers in the mall. Today we hung out most of the day. Mom took Taylor and Ryan and went grocery shopping while the little ones slept and then later in the day we got out the slip-n-slide for some fun. Oh, and last night I went on a long walk through the neighborhood and ended up on some dead end road that looked like something out of a movie. There was a park and everything was overgrown as if it were a cemetary so that's what I imagined it was. It was very creepy and I only made it worse by imagining that something really bad had happened there and that "someone" was watching me or following me....I seriously watch too much Discovery Channel. Anyway, I made it back in one piece and made it through another day. The kids are actually getting along pretty good and Mom and I are working pretty well together to make things run as smoothly as possible. I miss Doug and the twins though and sleeping in my own bed. There's just nothing like your own bed....luckily I DID bring my "lovie" which has been just about everywhere with me including by my side in the delivery room for Jack. I'm weird huh? But seriously, it's a pillow I bought about 6 years ago to match the bedding I have from Pottery Barn. It is so torn and tattered and been repaired so many times that I think I am going to finally give in to my moms suggestion of doing a large patch on one side instead of replacing the whole case since that's what makes it my "lovie". Ok, this blog just took a serious left turn and my secrets out......don't give me a hard time Jenn, Adam or Mark....you know what I mean....anyway, here's some photos from the last few days.Adam and Mark? Yeah right...these guys are from CA...they don't know how to climb trees!Jack trying out Austyn's bikeMiss Ryleigh in the poolA carfull on the way to the mallAustyn (3)A little blurry but I love this pic of Jack playing doctorRyleigh strutting her stuffJack (15 months) and Ryleigh (20 months)

My new perspective on life

Go to Yahoo Maps and look up Lemoore, California. That's where I'm at right now. It's about 4 hours north of my house in Mission Viejo and I'm pretty sure that if you live in Lemoore, you are in the military because that's all that's out here. My brother, Mark and his wife have never had a honeymoon so they are in Cancun right now without their 3 kids all under the age of 7. My mom and I made the drive yesterday with Jack and Ryan so there are 5 kids total in this house. It's 100 degrees and we are in base housing which is very different for me since there doesn't seem to be much around. Today I took Taylor (7) and Ryan (9) on an exciting adventure to Kmart. We don't have Kmart around my house so I was a little excited to see how it's changed and that they actually carry some pretty good stuff. So that was our big adventure for the day while the little ones slept. We bought a pool and some really cool water guns for the boys to keep them entertained. I was hoping to take them to the community pool on base but I don't have a military ID so no can do. When I was coming back from Kmart, i had to show my ID and the pass Mark got me to be on base. I imagined that I lived in a really posh gated community which I guess this is since the guys guarding it can actually shoot you or chase you down versus some of the old fart that I've come across while driving Ali to a party or something. My mom and I will be here until next Friday. So far, so good. The only person that I am putting on ebay is Ryan so far.....I've threatened to put him on a bus at least twice today.....gotta run, I think I hear mom pouring me a glass of red!

Beach Day

Ok, so this was last week but I've been a bit lazy with posting so here they are. Last Monday we took the kids to Aliso Creek beach near Laguna. I think the beach could have been better...haven't been in a while so I forgot how this one was but we still had fun anyway and got sand EVERYWHERE! Cade especially liked to eat the sand...yum!

Jack didn't want to cooperate with the camera!

Micah and Cade

Ryan and Kylie

HaPpY FoUrTh oF JuLy!!

My beautiful masterpiece that was "oh so yummy"!

Kylie (9) & Cade (1)

Ryan (9) & Kylie (9) aka the future Mr. & Mrs. Sheridan :-)Jack (15 months) & Cade (12 months)

Micah, Cade, and I

Micah & Kylie

Again, aren't they just too cute?

Micah & Cade waiting for the fireworks to start

**What a great day! Kenzie was sick so no Rummels this year so it wasn't quite the same! Spent most of the day laying out by the pool while Kylie and Ryan played in the pool for 6 hours! Micah made some great drinks while Doug bbq'ed. We ended the day with our traditional fireworks display at Mission Viejo Lake which never disappoints. Happy 4th everyone! FYI AJ and Ali WERE with us including Melissa, Jason, and Aidan but sadly no pics....Ali was the one with the camera most of the time so it's all her fault...j.k Al:-)

If I don't post for a while, it's because of.......

minus the husband....AND

My best friend, Micah and her munchkins are coming into town to stay with me for a while week minus the hubby. Jason is in the mortgage business like Doug so no time to take off right now. Our plans? Well, since I haven't seen her for a whole year (we talk everyday though)...our plans are to just hang out by the pool, hit the beach a few times, and maybe catch a broadway show if I can get tickets (fingers crossed). Micah's daughter,Kylie, is exactly 2 months younger than Ryan to the day and her son, Cade, was born 3 months after Jack. Jack and Cade are both big boys so I think we are going to have some serious sumo wrestling going on...stay tuned for lots of pics!