She made it home safely AND a day @ the park!

Last night was Ali's winter formal at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. It's the first dance that was not only NOT at her school (10 min. away) but 40 minutes away. AND they were taking a limo to and from. It was also Ali's first time going with a boy to a dance. Ali went with a friend of her's and I got to meet his parents and everything so I felt much better. The limo driver had a great system down about making sure everyone that entered the limo, left with him that night to come back home. Again, HUGE relief for me since I really had limited control of the situation. Needless to say, she made it home just fine. They didn't get home until 1am so she spent the night at a friends and came home today. She didn't say much except for it was fun, dinner only took 20 minutes, and some of the kids in the limo were annoying because they wouldn't let them blast the music. I guess that's the "parent's" version of the night....I am sure I will get bits and pieces as the days go on.So, today was a beautiful, sunny day again in southern California! I think it hit around 84 degrees and it was a little breezy. What better day to head up to the park. AJ and Ali didn't have school due to finals week but Ryan did so I waited for Ryan to get out of school and then Jack, Ryan, and I headed up to a new park in our neighborhood. Jack had a blast playing in the sand and climbing and sliding and running and...well, you get the idea. Here are some highlights of the day.

The Transition

In our home, as hockey season winds down we transition into baseball season and this year that transition comes a little sooner that some of us would like...ok, all of us. AJ's team did not make it to playoffs this year which is a big disappointment but it is what it is. Ryan is not playing on a travel team so his hockey season is really all year round so he is just starting up again playing in Aliso Viejo for the Eagles. We also found out this weekend that Ryan made the AAA Angels for baseball which is a step up for him this year so that will be exciting to watch starting in March. I know Doug is disappointed because he thinks that people who like baseball HATE hockey (I don't get that one), but we will enjoy watching Ryan rock the cute bball uniform and make some amazing plays.

On another note, this is finals week so my high schoolers have been prepping which in Ali's case means study groups, practice tests, late night studying, and lots of notes. In AJ's case that means watching lots of Comedy Central, playing XBox, and then looking over some notes the morning of his particular final. They both always do pretty well, it's just interesting the different methods they have of prepping and just how different they are in general. In a few short weeks they will be turning 16. We had originally planned on having a suprise party for them both but something beyond our control took over and we are now just taking them out to dinner. It should be fun and I can't wait to see what the next few years brings with them both getting their license, jobs, and probably not being home as often, although Ali is hardly home now. I guess this is why God has blessed me with two sets of kids....one set that will go off to college sooner than later and one set that will still be here for years to come. It makes me sad to think of what things will be like but thankfully I still have a few more years of my housefull. This pic has absolutely nothing to do with this post but I couldn't resist...he's getting so big...where's my little baby gone???

A VERY busy weekend but NO PICS

This weekend was C-R-A-Z-Y! It started out Friday with Ali's first basketball game to cheer at for the season. Capo won by almost double which made it not such a great game to watch but it was fun to see the girls cheer. Saturday Ali had a cheer competition at her school but because of being sick so much this year, she's an alternate.....for now....but despite not having Ali, her team took 1st! While Ali was at cheer, AJ had hockey and Ryan had baseball tryouts so I opted out of Ali's competition since I currently am only one person. Then last night we went to watch BCL's Bantam team play J Serra Catholic and then we ended up going out to dinner. Today Ali had to work at the dance portion of the competition ALL day and I had to work concessions from 12:30pm until about 5. It was about 90 degrees today so it made for a LONG day but it was really great to talk with some of the other moms and catch up with some I hadn't seen in a while. AJ had a hockey game while Ali and I were at their school so Doug took all the boys to the rink where my great friends Michele and Cynthia watched Jack and Ryan for me while Doug and AJ were on the bench.......thankyou, thankyou! So, here I am finally sitting down for one of the first times this weekend. I am exhausted! Despite all the fun and craziness, I did not take one picture to add to this blog. Hopefully this week will be a little more exciting and more pics will be taken! :-)

In just over a month.......

these guys will be 16! That means jobs, driving, and probably me losing my mind! Where has the time gone? This was at our wedding.....the kids were 4 and still thought we were better than peanut butter which in this house is pretty big.

My baby is 21 months today! :-(

Yes, it's true! Jack is officially on his way to being 2. Only 3 more months and I will be contemplating things like potty training and when we should move him out of his crib.....aaaggghhhh! I am sooooo not rushing things! After having 3 other kids, I am in no hurry. Jack, on the other hand, is in a BIG hurry to become just like his big brothers. He is obsessed! He wakes up in the morning and one of the first things that comes out of his mouth is "hockey"...then "ba-ba". :-) He loves to watch hockey, play hockey, and just run around saying "hock-ee", "hock-ee". Doug is oh-so proud. I swear I am going to die at an ice rink!

So, the reason for my no-blogging is that my mom was visiting and I really wasn't in the mood to blog. We did alot of hanging out with AJ's hockey games in between down in Escondido and Ontario. Her and I also went and saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which was a great movie. It reminded me a little of Forrest Gump only with a little sadder ending. Brad Pitt was yummy as always although I haven't quite looked at him the same since he hooked up with Angelina. Anyway, our biggest accomplishment this week was probably sewing. I had gone through AJ's pants back in October and he had some great pants that I had spent like $70/each on but they didn't fit him anymore. Luckily most of them fit Ryan but were just a little long so Gammie hemmed all 9 pairs! Thanks Mom! I also had a pillow that needed mending, a blanket that needed a few stitches, and we made 3 blankets! Oh, I can't forget to add that my mom also knitted Jack 2 pairs of socks and me a pair of slippers! That women is a machine! :-) New Years was pretty blah for me and mom. Jack had a cold so I didn't really want to take him anywhere but we had been invited to some friends in Villa Park so Doug took AJ, Ali, and Ry and they had alot of fun. Mom and I watched movies and barely noticed when it was a few minutes before midnight and then as soon as the ball dropped and Doug had called, we were off to bed. Overall the week was alot of fun as always with my mom here. Not too much shopping this time since the holidays had left us both pretty broke but we managed to have fun anyway. Unfortunately the week ended with us all getting the stomach flu. My mom actually left yesterday feeling crumby and today Ali came home from school early.....I am hoping to keep this to a minimum since I'm not a big fan of puke.

Anyway, happy new years everyone from the Sheridans!