In case you were wondering what we've been up to......

Yes, we really did have to take out shingles on the inside of our new house!  It is actually MUCH EASIER than horrible glued on wallpaper!!!  The kids loved pulling it out!

Trying to get horrible wallpaper off of the stairway walls!

Kathy Jackson just came to see our house but was quickly put to work.

You can see Alice is in there too!

Our new little town.

Grandma Patsy is the wallpaper whisperer....she was amazing at getting the WORSE wallpaper off!  She spent days peeling, scraping and soaking those walls.

Master Bathroom.  Two things to notice, the floors and the nice metallic gold and silver wallpaper which was underneath the first layer of wallpaper.  Any ideas on how to get that off?  Patsy even tried without success claiming that we would have to just wallpaper over it!  And what's up with the vanity in every house in this area...do women actually have time to SIT and put on their make up?

Look!  No wallpaper.....Ramon worked hard patching and prepping this wall!  This is a picture of our flooring crew.  This poor guy spent two days sanding these stairs!

I would like to point out the baseboards that I alone pulled out throughout the entire house!  It was actually fun....not wallpaper!

Erik studying the door frames.

Grandpa Ramon teaching Erik how to put in door frames....can you see the beautiful job he did behind them?  They look amazing and it took Ramon days and days to get those on!!!

Kate doesn't like the loud noise the nail gun makes.

Sammy trying to learn as well!  Grandpa let Sam do some sanding for the framing, you should have seen his face.  He loves this stuff!  Again notice the nice metallic wallpaper closer up.  Kate's having fun!

Jose and Luke ripping up our kitchen floors.  They took a wall out and the drop ceiling out in a matter of hours!  Again do you see Sam taking notes?

A view of the nice laminate flooring that was placed just so we could get our loan approved.  Not keeping that around!

The kitchen with wires hanging from the ceiling, sub flooring and exposed pipes!
For our weekend, Erik will be tiling with our real estate agent in our master bathroom.  He is, as I type (yes it is 10:45pm), placing flooring in the bathroom and screwing in screws every 6 inches for a nice even floor.....sound like fun?  One day we will sleep again.....just not tonight!
I cannot express our gratitude to Patsy and Ramon for all of their help!  Erik told me when they left he felt a huge weight on his shoulders!  They carried our burdens for a week and a half!  We are so blessed to have their talents, expertise, service and love.  They are such examples to us about how to live and serve and make the world a better place.  We love you Grandma and Grandpa!

Meg in James and the Giant Peach

There is a story about a little boy who goes on an adventure on a Giant Peach with giant bugs.  They start in England and end up on the Empire State Building.  Along the way they squish two horrid aunts, fly away from sharks by way of seagulls, hundreds and hundreds of them, see cloudmen and finally end up feeding hundreds of hungry little children with one delicious peach.  We all thought that the very lady like ladybug stole the show and many others agreed with us.  Upon finding our star after each performance she was surrounded by little children wanting autographs and pictures.  This was the first performance at the new Firehouse Theater in Pleasanton.  It was really special to be the first show there.  This production has been such fun!  Meg was able to shine and enjoyed every minute!  She had to cram homework into her weekends since she was practicing for this production throughout the week nights on top of soccer.  She worked hard and always woke up with a smile on her face and energy for her days.  We are so proud of all the wonderful things that Meg does!  We are also excited to have her around the house more now that her show is over......we missed her!  Her sweet grandparents even came out to support her and see her shine.  

The Star Ladybug!

Meg's Daddy couldn't be prouder!

Meg and cast accepting their applause.

Meg's biggest fan club.

We are so proud of our little ladybug!

Sam and Kate love their big sister.

Best Photos Ever!

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Temple Visit

Meg

Look at my baby!  Isn't she amazing!

Alice wouldn't hold still for a second!

We went to the temple last Sunday for Meg to tryout for a performance at the temple lighting celebration over the Thanksgiving holidays.  It was the first time that I had gone on top of the temple.  The view of the Bay and San Francisco was breath taking as usual.  The children had a good time walking around the grounds together on such a great day!

Kate turns FIVE!

Kate drawing a princess on her first day of Preschool.

Kate helping Ms Shelia make a water table for preschool.

Kate with Claire and Ryan at preschool.

MAKE A WISH!

BLOWING OUT CANDLES!

Licking the frosting!

Kate's new bike helmet.

A new outfit for Julie.

Kate had a fun birthday!  She went to her first day of preschool on her birthday and got to celebrate with her school friends.  She even got her favorite snack, orange creamcicle yogurt and strawberries!  We celebrated with hamburgers and cake as a family and Kate got to open her presents after.  She is our special little girl!  We love you Kate!

Labor Day Weekend fun

Alice having fun with her daddy at our community pool.  Just listen to her laughing and look at her little legs kicking....so cute!

Kate's friend birthday party!

Kate invited her friends for a swimming birthday party.

Kate Jackson, Tess Barthalamue, McKenzie Mapes, Sophia Falcione, & Sasha Jones.

The birthday girl!

Taking Kate out to dinner for a fun family birthday treat!

Going to church

I went to church alone a few weeks ago with Kate, Sam and Alice.  Kate was upset over something I don't recall.  She would not sit on our bench, she sat on the row in front of us with her arms crossed in front of her, laying on the bench on her face with her bottom sticking up.  At some point two women I don't know and who don't know us came and sat on the end of the row blocking Kate's ability to re-join us.  I didn't notice until we had taken the sacrament that these women didn't offer it to Kate.  She of course noticed and started saying loudly how hungry she was.  One thing to note about our ward is that it is a quiet ward especially during the sacrament.  Eventually it was time for the water and again Kate missed it.  I don't remember how that happened, she may have been pouting at the time and refusing it.  Of course she eventually climbs over the bench in front of us and begins saying very loudly how thirsty she is.  NO!  She doesn't want Alice's sippy of water.  NO!  She doesn't want the fishy crackers.  "Mom, you're just going to have to go up there and steal that bread and water!"  Of course the Berkmoes' sitting behind me start laughing, which makes me have to hide my smile from Kate and then she yells, "It's NOT FUNNY!"  Eventually she is placated to some extent and calms down.  At which point I wonder how any single parent could survive church more than once with more than one child?

Being a Pink Girl

I looked at the bright pumpkin orange colored phone my husband handed me, "Wow, orange huh?" "Yeah, they had  pink, but you're not a pink girl," I was told.  "What?  I'm a pink girl!" I insisted.  So the next time my ironman watch died (it happens every 2 yrs or so) Erik replaced it with a pink one instead of my standard black.  I thought it was great for the first little while and then it started to get dirty, you could see the chorine yellowing it, and it really didn't match anything I wore.  I guess I don't really own much pink, really only a pair of biking shorts and a pair of socks.  I guess the closest I get to pink is salmon colored which really is orange not pink.  So what is a pink girl anyway?
I have a darling friend who I would say is a pink girl even though I don't think she wears much pink, she is just so feminine.....she even has flower cutouts on her basket organizers under her bathroom sink, which is full of feminine things like nail files and cotton balls.  She even has pretty curly hair and always wears feminine shirts and jewelry.  I have another friend who is a pink girl too.  She just plain wears pink and is always put together and has her nails always done...they would even look good pink.  If I tried to wear pink on my nails I would look like a mom who is trying to be a teenager....give it up!
I don't really know what a pink girl is, but I think Erik knew me better than I did.  I'm not a pink girl.  I don't really feel so feminine as I think of my two friends being, I feel more practical or plain I guess.  I wear ponytails and NEVER do my fingernails, and my poor sweet daughters....yes all three rarely have bows in their hair unless Meg is dressing them up.  How did they end up with me as a mom?  Imagine the women out there dying to dress up a beautiful little girl in some sweet outfit with matching hair accents and I end up with three I can barely keep their hair combed....which is why I love their new short hair cuts(:
No, I'm not a pink girl, but I am a lot of other colors out there and hopefully my children and husband can enjoy the other colors since I don't have the patience to deal with pink that gets dirty too easily.  I discovered that when you wear black you can't tell!  I was surprised how happy I was when my pink watch finally died and Erik bought me my black standard again...YES!

Someone's Been Busy

This is what happens when someone leaves their cereal bowl on the table and Alice is hungry.  Yes, I made Sam clean up the floor and table since he was the one who left out his bowl!  Of course I had to clean it up too, along with the baby, whom I had just gotten ready to visit Erik in the city for lunch.  This was her second breakfast.

So this is what happens when mom is fixing dinner and Sam is supervising the baby!  I think they were both pretty happy in the mud, Sam just had enough sense to not get caught.

Yes, these two events both occurred today.....nothing like extra laundry and more bath time(:

Meg's Piper of Hamlin

Meg as the Lame Girl with townsfolk and the Piper.

Meg's fan club!

Meg as the Lame Girl!

Meg performed in her Opera today.  She was a child in the first performance and the lame girl that gets left behind in the second performance.  It was so wonderful to be able to see how so much hard work has paid off.  Bee Chow is the Cantabella Children's Choir Director and with the help of many people has put together an amazing performance.  You could tell that singing was the strength in this performance.  Every note was perfect.  The timing was perfect.  It was very professional and amazing to watch all of these darling little children hit their notes with such confidence.  It was beautiful to watch and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be a part of this.  I am sad that it wasn't better attended.  Meg is hopeful that her soccer team will come to tomorrow's show.  We did have some dear and sweet friends come see Meg perform: Shelia & Emily Alt, Leah Faith, Susan and McKenzie Bezzant (all the way from AZ!), and Adam and Michelle Rich!  Such cute support and love(:  This has been such a fun experience for Meg.  This is a close group and she feels connected with them.  I am excited to see her perform tomorrow and so grateful that she is continuing her singing with Bee and the Children's Choir in the fall!  What a wonderful group we have discovered!