Monday Monday Monday

Hello all!

I know I just updated you all last week about my job, but it has now switched again. I was all set to start at the CDC with the boys but on Friday, July 5th, I got a call from DaVita and was offered a job there. This was the job that I really wanted and was so excited when I got the call. After a couple hours of debate (about commute and the boys) I accepted the job. I will be starting July 29th! This is a full time position and will be getting $1.20 more than I would have been at the CDC. I will be working as a Credit Balance Specialist which is ensuring bills get paid and if they don't, I'll be making the phone calls to the customers. There are a lot of opportunities within DaVita and I'm excited to get started to see what my future has in store for me and my family.

Other than that, not much has changed. We are getting ready to head to California for a friends wedding, Gene. We are all really excited about it and hoping that a trip to Disneyland will be in the works. :)

The older kids will be flying back home while we are in California. They will attend the wedding with us and 1 day at Disneyland. We wish they could stay with us longer, but that just wasn't in the cards for us. This is the last summer we will have Devvin as he graduates next year and plans to join the Air Force afterwards. We are very proud of him and who he is becoming and can not wait to see what life has in store for him.

I hope all had a wonderful 4th of July and a great weekend. Here is one picture from our photo shoot last week. I hope to get the rest soon! Love to you all!

Camping Fun

In the beginning of the week, we really didn't think we were going to have good weather for our camping trip. It was raining for a good part of the week and then out of nowhere, it finally cleared up. We were to leave Friday when Duane got home from work. Of course, nothing goes 100% as planned with us. Being it my first camping trip that I had to get ready for, I wasn't sure where to start or what to do. Camping with my Grandparents growing up was easy because everyone else always got everything ready.

Needless to say, we didn't get out of the house until about 3 or 4 Friday afternoon and had a 2 hour drive to the campsite. We got out without to many problems and only remembered a handful of things we forgot but were willing to make do without.

I kept threatening that I was going to take phones away from everyone but I decided to see how they would do if I let them keep them. I was very shocked and surprised with all the kids. Hardly any use of the electronics. The kids were occupied with other things and just having fun with the family.

Since we have been back, we have been lazy. I'm sure the kids would rather be doing other things, but it's just to hot when there is no A/C to try and cool off for a minute or two. But, I refuse to complain about the heat because I do love it. :) Just have to adjust and make the best out of every situation.

Today I officially finished all my paperwork and drug screening for my new job. I will start July 22nd as long as everything comes back clean. Ha! I'm excited about this new adventure. At first it was the last resort for a job but now I'm embracing it. I'll be working as a FLEX (part-time) teacher at the CDC (child development center) where both kids will be at. There will be a lot of opportunities for me there and advancement. I'm crossing my fingers that a full time position will open up soon but only time will tell. Along with working where the kids are (but never in the rooms they are, which is good), I will be right next to the elementary school they will be attending in the coming years. I REALLY  like this as I will be able to volunteer and be an active parent in the school. This has been something that was a must no matter where I ended up working.

Anyways, I'll share some of the pictures from camping with you all. We also had family pictures taken last night and I'm hoping to get those back sometime next week. I will share those when I get them. Love to all and have a WONDERFUL 4th!

 

What a Day!

Earlier this week, Kaden got a splinter under his fingernail. We tried to remove it, with no success. I was going to let it try and work its way out, but two days later, he started complaining about it. That's when I decided I needed to do something and get it out. Called the Dr and got an appointment for the next day. Kaden was very brave and did so well while the corpsmen were working on his finger. Nikolas was so supportive of him telling him he was going to be ok and that he was doing a great job. The corpsmen were one try away from numbing, soaking, and pulling back the nail a little to get it removed. Thank God that didn't have to happen. Kaden is now happy to tell everyone that his owie is now gone.

Since Kaden did so well at the Dr, and Nikolas was supportive, we decided to buy them a new toy. They chose GI Joe men on motorcycles. We thought after all of this, we would just come home, go on a family bike ride and then go to bed. Little did we know that Nikolas would ask us to take his training wheels off his bike! He put his knee pads on, took training wheels off, and off Nikolas went. No falling, just riding! We are all so proud of him, and he is excited. We went on a bike ride and he rode his for at least a mile with no training wheels. He still struggles to start and stop but is getting better with each try.

My boys continue to grow up right before my eyes. Some I'm ready for, and others I'm not. I absolutely love it most when they are happy and proud of themselves for what they have accomplished.

Hope everyone is doing great. Love to you all! Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Olympic Game Farm/Gray Marsh Farm

The boys and I got lucky and Duane was able to take Friday off of work so we could go have some fun family time since he had to work the weekend.

I had heard about a field where you can pick berries all during the summer. I looked it up and sure enough, there was. June is the month for strawberries, and the boys LOVE strawberries. Since we were going to be a couple hours away from home, we decided to make a day of it and try out the Olympic Game Farm. The boys had been asking to go to the zoo, so we figured this would be a nice fix for now...not knowing what to expect.

Since animals prefer to be cool, we decided to go see them first and hope that they would be out and about. Come to find out, they are always out and about as their living areas are what we drive through. We were going slow enough that we were able to unbuckle the boys and let them stand to look. We were SO shocked with how cool this drive-through animal park was. The boys got to feed the animals bread, they got two bears to wave at them, and they had a blast making the peacocks squeak.

Nikolas very happy he gets to be out of his car seat and ready to fee the animals

Kaden still is in shock that the car is moving and he doesn't have to be buckled :)

Nikolas throwing some bread for the zebras

Kaden loved to throw the bread out to the peacocks

Every time he got food and you said bye, he would wave. It was so cool. Sadly, I missed the other one waving :(

Duane had to take this picture through the mirror. It's the only way we could see their faces while looking at the animals.

Being silly!

I was pretty proud of my freshly picked strawberries

Loving that he gets to eat them while picking

Can you tell he is having fun?? haha!

 

Just wanted to share how beautiful these Peacocks are when their feathers are all fanned out.

 

The Cruz family had such an amazing time on our new adventures that will become a must time and time again. We are planning on going berry picking again when the older kiddos get here and maybe back to the Olympic Game Farm as well...or the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle since we have never been there either. Now that both boys are getting older, they are easier to take places and go site seeing. They enjoy it and make it so much fun and memorable.

Beautiful Weekend

We have had the most amazing weekend with the weather and it is now carrying over into the week. It's been wonderful! 80+ degrees and TONS of outside play. Nikolas and Kaden just love to be outside and it's great. They got to play in the water at their Auntie Sial's house with some neighbor friends, play with the neighbors in our Cul De Sac, and play with friends at school today. They both are getting a nice beautiful tan and so is mommy!

Daddy picked the boys up from school today and went straight to the yard for some amazing water time. They had the time of their life. After about an hour of just them running and playing, the neighbor kids joined and fun was had by all.

 

I'm so thankful that Duane took all these photos because I was not home for most of the fun time. I was at work and then at an interview and got home for the last 30 minutes of it. We brought out the water balloons and let the kids toss those around. After that, the sun started going down a little so they started getting cold and not wanting to be in the water as much.

 

 

I'm still working on getting all the pictures from Nikolas' birthday party together. Once I do that, I will pick out a few and post them for you all to see. Tomorrow is Nikolas' birthday!! He is turning 4. We will be celebrating his 4th birthday at Red Robin Restaurant with friends and family.

 

Catching up

This is Kaden today (May 2, 2013). Getting ready to jump and run down the driveway.

These are the capes I made for Nikolas' birthday party. They were a HUGE hit and I'm so glad I decided to make them. They are all made out of felt and the symbols are spray glued on. They turned out wonderful!

This is the stack of masks I made, also out of felt. Once mom and dad got out, mom attached twine to them to tie around the head. These were also a great hit!

Nikolas on May 2, 2013. Sporting his new "baseball" outfit from Mama and Papa. It's red so it's his favorite outfit.

There isn't a whole lot to catch everyone up on. I was just busy getting everything ready for Nikolas' birthday party, which was a hit. I will post pictures of that soon (I hope, Ha!). Both boys are growing like weeds, I can't stand it. I blame Papa for Nikolas wearing size 5 clothes before he was even 4. Kaden is now fitting into 3T clothes, which is nice because he can wear Nik's old summer clothes.

Duane and I are still taking courses online; me for my Bachelor's in Accounting and Duane for his second Masters.

I hope this finds everyone well. I just wanted to drop in and send a quick hello and picture.

God Bless!

Hello all and Happy 2013, FINALLY.

It sure has been a busy couple months for the Cruz Family. Just like everyone, the holidays are very busy. We spent Christmas in South Dakota again this year and was lucky to have Andrew home as well. It's been a while since both he and I have been together at Christmas time. It's always great being with the family.

In January we had to get ready for our New Years party/Devvin's 17th birthday bash. After that, it was Kaden's birthday. I can't believe the kiddo is 2 years old already. Now that we are a couple months past his 2nd birthday, I'm loving this age. He is able to speak better now so there is a lot less whining and crying for things. He is also easier to calm down as he understands things better. Another big step we took in February is potty training. I looked through many sites on how to potty train, but I feel that not every child is the same. I don't believe those sites that say you can potty train in a day. We are now done with week 3 of training and we are doing great. Underwear all day except for at night. But, the last two nights he has been 100% dry. I really think Kaden was easier to potty train than Nikolas was. It's wonderful not having to change diapers anymore.

Now that Kaden's birthday is over, we have Duane's and then I get to concentrate on Nikolas'. He wants a superhero pool party. I'm thinking its going to take me from now until the day of his party to get everything together and organized. It should be fun though.

I hope this finds everyone healthy and happy. Like I always say, I'm going to TRY and post more frequently this year. Only time will tell on how I do.

Love to all!