Thanksgiving!

The big kids at Avila Valley Barn

I am always amazed, and a bit dismayed, at just how fleeting time is! It's picking up speed with each passing year. So, before December is over I need to document (with a few posts) the great time our family had when we were all together at Thanksgiving :) 

We had a fun, whirlwind of a week! We visited Avila Barn (above), and then Avila Beach before ending up at the Splash Cafe for dinner...Boy that place was crowded!

We also made it to Refugio State Beach. It was a joy for me to see all of my munchkins running around playing together...

 Look at these silly cousins, playing in their very own beach fort:)

L to R:  Megan, 4; Jake, 3; Caleb, 2; Karaline, 6; Zeke, 4

Of course I can't forget the three new, little cuties~all born this year!

L to R: Max, July 4; Addy, April 15; Josh August 21

Sure wish I had taken a photo with all three of my kid's heads showing, but I guess I was too taken with the babies:) Oops!

All together at last! So much cuteness at one time...I was one happy grandma :)

Sunset at Refugio State Beach Nov. 26, 2011

Even this stunning sunset couldn't compete with the beauty of my grandchildren.

More of our week to follow...

Meet Adelyn Rose

Meet our newest munchkin!

We are so happy to welcome Adelyn Rose (Addy) into our family (born April 15)!  Isn't she just a sweet little doll? :)
Congrats to the proud parents, Summer and Brian, and Addy's three siblings~they love their new baby sister!

We do too:)

Chocolate Giveaway on Munchkin Munchies

 Click the link below to enter for a chance to win! GIVEAWAY ENDED!

http://munchkinmunchies.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-tone-cookie-crinkles-and-chocolate.html#comments

Pt. Sal Hike

After Jesse graduated and before He, Lois and Caleb moved for the summer (for an internship), we were very happy to have them with us for about a month! One thing we wanted to make sure we did together before they moved on was to hike at our favorite local spot, Pt. Sal.

     Just getting started...Caleb has the best seat in the house:)

  Can you see why we love this place?  Only about eight miles from our house, as the crow flies.

  Gorgeous views everywhere you look!

 It's so green in the springtime!

It's so nice to share a place you love with the people you love:)

Happy Trails!

Family First!

Shall we say that I have been a little bit consumed with my foodie blog, Munchkin Munchies?  Coupled with the fact that I am also a Procrastinator(note the capital P)...you get the picture. I surely don't want you to think for one split second that I care more about munchies than my munchkins, so I am going to catch up with the last few seasons (spring, summer, fall) of my family life to set the record straight!  I love my munchkins (big and little)!!!

Let's begin with Jim and I attending three graduations in three different states:

Jesse in Hawaii in April (B.S. in Accounting)!

Brian in Nebraska in May (Dental school)!

and Johnny in California in June (single subject teaching credential)!

(Be sure and take notice of all the cute munchkins!) :)

We are so proud of all of their hard work! It paid off... Jesse now has a job as an accountant(and is attending school toward his masters degree), Brian is working as a practicing dentist, and Johnny is a H.S. English teacher. Blessings all around!  Woo Hoo!

More tomorrow...when Jim helps me find the photos I need in his folders!?!

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

Caleb is a happy little guy that is interested in everything! He has recently had fun honing his skills with a soccer ball and loves the Dodgers:) He looks so cute(above) in his jacket! Caleb is an easy-going little guy and likes to "go with the flow." He likes to read and is quite a "talker" too!
He's a little bundle of love and we love him! So happy to have him in our family! We love you, Caleb! XOXO Grandma and Grandpa Sparks

Jake is Two!

I know you can't see his beautiful eyes, but I just couldn't resist this sweet photo of Jake taken a couple of weeks ago when we were in Nebraska. He fell asleep in the car and I carried him into the house and onto the couch where he slept for a couple of more hours, along with his sister, Megan. What a tuckered out little angel he is! Jake's a happy little guy and a ball of energy! He's very loving and loves to make people laugh. He's also very curious and if you utter an expression such as "Wow!" or "Uh oh" or even "Oops!", Jake wants to know why you said that!?! :)
Happy Birthday Jake! We love you!!! XOXO Grandma and Grandpa

Jesse's Graduation!

On April 10th, we were so happy to be able to attend Jesse's college graduation in Laie, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu! He worked diligently to receive his Bachelor of Science(Accounting) degree, cum laude! We are so happy for him and know that He will do well in graduate school! CONGRATS! More to follow, soon!

Classic Childhood Moment

After romping around in the sprinklers one afternoon recently, and chasing Riley the lab with the hose, Zeke decided to relax his soaked little body in the sandbox:)

This One's For You, Megan!!!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY little Curly Top!!! We love you!!!
Megan is so tenderhearted and such a sweet little mommy to her dolls. She is starting to turn into a little chatterbox and we love hearing what she has to say! She is a great big/little sister all rolled into one:) We love watching her grow from a baby to a toddler to a little girl! We are so happy that she is our granddaughter!
XOXOXO Grandma and Grandpa Sparks XOXOXO

Cousins

The two little Cookie Monsters had such a fun time together! They hadn't seen each other for over a year!

Brian, my son-in-law, was in town to inquire about dental work in the area(He graduates from dental school in May). Of course we would be beyond THRILLED to have them nearby, but know that they need to do what is best for their family, so we'll see:) Since Jake is under two years old we had the great idea to bring the little fella along since he flies for FREE! It was a short couple of days, but it was so wonderful to have them here!

Cute cousins:)

The two little guys had fun running around together, playing with Riley(the lab), jumping on the bed and playing on the swing set! They got along so well:) Great grandma and grandpa Sparks even came up for dinner one night too.
Oh, how I HOPE for many, many more days of the cousins playing together! Now, if we could just get the other three munchkins here...The other three big ones too!!! :)
Love you all!!!

Karaline is 5!!!

I can't believe that the first little munchkin is now five years old! I was so happy to finally be present on her birthday, thanks to Delta Airlines!
Karaline is such a big girl now! She took the initiative and made this meat sandwich for herself! She is a loving, fun, imaginative, smart girl! She even read to me when I was there! Karaline has a zest for life and is always on the go! She is lovable, helpful and a great big sister to her sister and brother:) We are so happy that she is our granddaughter and love her very much!

The first night I was in Nebraska I babysat for Summer and Brian so that they could go to a friend's "Nerdy Thirty" birthday party. See the nerdy couple below, ready to party!

The party's over... Whew, back to the Summer and Brian we know and love:)
For Karaline's birthday party she decided she wanted a cat theme...

Isn't she a cute kitten!?! Love that pose! Karaline helped me make this "pin the nose on the cat" game. Summer made cat ear headbands, and I made cat goody bags:)
The party is about to start...just waiting for the guests to arrive. Megan is excited too!
The birthday girl with her special birthday balloon and her new stuffed Valentine kitty.
Opening her gifts surrounded by her friends. Megan looks very interested...perhaps she can play with this toy too?!?
Happy Birthday dear Karaline, Happy Birthday to you!!! Ready to blow out the candles on her cat cake. It sure turned out to be a special birthday party for Karaline! XOXOXO
Megan is dressed up like a little mommy in her hat, holding her cell phone, with a purse on her arm:) She really IS a big girl because now she is officially potty trained!!! It's not always that easy...If playing in the playroom, Megan would have to dart up two flights of stairs to make it to the bathroom in time! She always did:) XOXOXO We love you, Megan!!!
And last, but not least, here's Jake enjoying his smoothie, using his straw as a spoon:) (Brian and Karaline made these smoothies for family night and they were so yummy!) Jake is a little comedian most of the time, making all of us laugh! So cute! We sure love him too! XOXO

I had such a FUN visit!

A Visit in Hawaii!

On a trek up to Waimea Falls

I had not seen this cute little monkey since he was 5 weeks old so was thrilled to be able to get away to Hawaii for a week to visit him(and his parents) this month! He is such a happy, easy-going baby, due in large part to great parenting! He's in good hands!
My boy with his boy! The little guy sure loves the water...actually, so does the big guy:)

The weather was to my liking during my stay...cool, and sometimes breezy. I even turned off the fan and wore a sweatshirt a few times. Sometimes the sun didn't show itself, but I didn't mind...I was there to visit munchkin #5 and his parents, not to work on a tan.
Snug as a bug with his mommy at Shark's Cove.
The little beach boy was splashing about on the boogie board, loving the water action! He's going to have a rude awakening when he takes a dip in the frigid waters of the central coast this summer! Maybe we can find a mini wetsuit:)

We went to Sunset Beach one evening to watch the sunset, of course! It was a beautiful sight and Lois captured it with her camera:)

I had such a nice, relaxing visit! It was wonderful to "get away" and spend time with family that I don't get to see nearly enough! :( Of course we ate at Ted's Bakery and The Cheesecake Factory-YUM to both! And I was finally able to be treated to Lois' chicken adobo-it was DELICIOUS!!! Mahalo for the great time Jesse,Lois and Caleb!!! Love you! XOXOXO

Aloha!

Big Sur and a California Condor

(Jim started us a toasty little fire on our first chilly morning)

We traveled north to Big Sur for our anniversary weekend (Nov. 21-22), and had a great time! Our day started off with Jim's "killer" omelettes! He loaded them up with sauteed mini bell peppers(red, orange, yellow), avocados, and cheese:) YUM!
The Master Chef at work on our little camp stove!
Don't even think about it, Riley!

We were surrounded by beautiful California Redwoods in our cozy camp:)
Of course we had to visit the Big Sur bakery!
The goods! I picked out a pumpkin muffin:)
Jim "Indiana Jones" deep in the forest during our Sobranes Creek Trail hike
On our way out of Big Sur, cruising down Highway 1, we pulled over to admire the view and were treated to an impromptu air show put on by a California Condor! I have only seen a condor in the zoo, so this was a rare sight!!! It was very exciting! The condor had a wing span of at least seven feet and "he" flew over us(low) for a solid five minutes! It was an amazing, majestic sight! What a great way to end our anniversary weekend! This photo does not do it justice! (We tried to download a great video Jim took, but we couldn't get it to work!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Jenkins Lloyd Jones


(I know this is on my sidebar, but I thought I would feature it as a post today:)

Good Job, Karaline!

Karaline with her grandpa and grandma(us) :)

Living states away from most of our grandchildren, we miss out on many events in their lives:( I realized today that I forgot to mention a highlight of our most recent trip(last month-post below). We were so happy to be able to see Karaline participate in her first Children's Sacrament Mtg. Program! She had her part completely memorized and spoke so clearly! She did such a GREAT job! We are so proud of her! XOXO!

October in Omaha

Merry little music makers in the Fontenelle Forest:)
Having fun in one of the many bounce houses at BOINGZ!
Megan loves her little "Bwudda Beh:)" (translation:Brother Bear), giving him many hugs a day!
All of us entering the Fontenelle Forest
Karaline striking her signature pose:)
Walking along the "Mighty Mo" (Missouri River)
Megan feeding the goats at the pumpkin patch
The fall colors are gorgeous in Omaha!!!
Walking on the beautiful, new pedestrian bridge spanning the Missouri river, connecting Iowa and Nebraska. Megan and Jake are in Iowa, Summer is in Nebraska, and Karaline has one foot in each state! Can you tell it was windy and freezing? It was!
Jim enjoying the bridge
Pumpkin #1 picking out her pumpkin from the patch
Pumpkin #2 picking out her pumpkin
Pumpkin #3 with his pumpkin (on the hayride)
Karaline on "Jelly Bean" :)
Jake on "Jake," hanging on for dear life (with mommy's help)!
Wheeeeeeeeeeee...Karaline flying down one of the BIG slides in downtown Omaha
Saying goodnight to their very own mini scarecrow:)

Jim and I had such a fun visit! Karaline, Megan and Jake are so sweet and so fun! We sure miss them, but are so happy that we were able to visit and get a supply of hugs and kisses to last us until we see them again! Thanks Summer and Brian for your hospitality! XOXOXOXOXO