Juning 2026

We're making our way quickly through June. We've completed VBS, and now we are on to the next camp, Idrafoje, next week. Three out of four kids will attend. Addie will experience what it's like to be an only child for a few days. Of all my kids, Addie is the quietest. She usually keeps to herself and reads a book, so it'll be pretty quiet around here. Lovely. Summer is such a mixed bag of boredom and excitement, iPads and camps.

I asked the kids who wanted to come to Vons with me, and Angus volunteered. He regretted his decision about 10 minutes in. 

My kids are always next to each other or on top of each other. It's cute. They're like puppies.

Dan and I forced the kids to go on a hike. It was a 5-mile hike, and Angus talked the whole time, so toward the end, I made him take a break from talking. Three out of four complained the entire way. 

You can guess which ones, haha.

Heard around here: 

Angus: When I grow up and start driving, I'm not going to honk at people. Everyone makes mistakes. (He said that after I honked at someone for stopping at the roundabout)

Life Update

It's been a while since I did one of these:

Angus - 11 yrs old

Angus is still the happiest person I know. He is always in a good mood except for nighttime, when he's tired. Then he is the unhappiest person I know. He still talks all day long to anyone who will listen. Angus will be going into sixth grade in the fall. That's the first year of middle school around here. Currently, he wants to be an airplane mechanic when he grows up. He does not want to go to college. He will definitely end up going to a trade school of some kind. He has always been super curious about how things work. Angus will hang out with anyone of any age. You will often find him outside playing with our 7-year-old neighbor girl. He has tons of friends and is well-loved at school and church. He's a rule follower and would love it if everyone else were too. He will dance and sing along with any song. He likes a good party but has a limit to his social battery. I think he releases his social energy too fast, then runs out. Angus's spirit animal would be a Labrador. Energetic, friendly and adorable. Has zero enemies.

Addie - 12 yrs old

Addie is growing, thank goodness. Not sure she'll break 5 feet, but we have our fingers crossed. She's going into 7th grade in the fall. She is the most confident of our children. (Angus is a close second) She is my most independent one, too. She LOVES reading. Currently, she's reading a series that I had to go to two different libraries to find in its entirety. She typically reads about 400 or 500 pages a day. If you know of a really good series like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, let me know. She loves fantasy. She and Winter are writing a book. They're almost done with it. It's around 400 pages. They plan to write a whole series. Not surprisingly, Addie wants to be a writer when she grows up. She could also illustrate. She's an amazing artist too. She likes swimming, but other than that, adamantly hates all sports. She gets A's in school without trying very hard. She's loud and crazy when she's with her friends and is usually the leader of the pack. She's a lady of few words so when she talks, I make sure to listen. She rarely asks for anything, so when she does, I usually get it for her. Addie's spirit animal would be a house cat. Happy to keep to herself in the shelter of her own home. Playful at times, quiet at times. Will pounce when angry.

Winter - 15 yrs old

Winter is quite lovable.  She's goofy and fun. She's usually happy and is still my free spirit. She often turns negative situations into positive ones. She often tells me about her daydreams and is really good at relaxing. She's very affectionate and is always down for a hug. She cries easily and is usually smiling or laughing. She can do anything she puts her mind to. She loves to preface every request she asks of me with an explanation. She's persuasive and usually gets a yes out of me. I usually just cut her off, though, and make her ask the question without the spiel. She is not a natural rule follower but has learned over the years that it's better for everyone if she follows the rules if rules need to be followed in certain circumstances. But she loves to gently push the boundaries. Winter has tons of friends, both male and female. She is very playful. I love that she'll still play nerf wars with Angus and his friends and have a blast doing it. Winter is thinking about being a nurse, but mostly she just wants to hang out with horses all day. The nursing thing will allow her the funds to have a horse =) Plan A is to marry rich. She takes her permit test in a couple of days so hopefully she will pass and start driving. She'll be going into 10th grade in the fall. Winter's spirit animal would be a Golden Retriever. Like a lab but not as energetic. Playful but also good at relaxing. Also has zero enemies.

Mya - 16 yrs old

Mya is a very impressive young lady. She has always been great at tackling problems and finding solutions. She works hard at everything she does. She's usually "so busy." =) She is organized and usually has everything she needs handy at all times. She's a planner and loves talking to Dan about her future. She loves babies and plans to have as many as possible. She loves event planning and decorating. Think of Monica from Friends. Holding babies and organizing are her top two favorite things to do. Currently, she's helping everyone pack for camp and loving it.  Mya is a party animal, surprisingly. She loves dancing, being goofy and letting her hair down, literally =) She works hard and plays harder. She loves singing too and is great at harmonizing. Mya is going to be a senior in the fall. She can't wait to be done with school and have a grown-up life. She plans on going to a junior college that specializes in radiology. She wants to be the one to give ladies mammograms.  That way, she'll make money and not have to deal with bodily fluids. She's a bit squeamish, like her mom. She'll probably have 10 side jobs, including organizing people's homes, babysitting, decorating tote bags & shoes, and baking cookies. She hates spending money unless it's at a thrift store and loves putting money in her savings account. Mya has been driving with a permit for over 6 months and is almost ready to take her behind-the-wheel test. Mya's spirit animal would be an Otter. Like Mya, otters love sleeping and snuggling, and they are always holding their babies. Mya loves the ocean too. She will spend hours just treading water in the waves at the beach.

Dan - 50 yrs old

Dan has 4 years and 9 months left before he can retire, but who's counting? =) Dan loves being a dad. He challenges our kids and they challenge him right back. The girls are at an age when they have started making fun of us and are less intimidated by Dan. He can be tough on them at times, but I think everyone is turning out quite well =) Dan is a lot like Mya. He likes to clean; a messy house gives him anxiety, and for fun, he organizes our money in Quicken. He loves the stock market. I really have no idea what he does in there, but I think we're making money. Dan is the happiest when his whole family is home and we have nothing on the calendar. He likes to make lists and check things off one at a time. He loves good food so he often cooks at home. He's a homebody. Unless we are going to Newport Beach to eat good food. He'd rather do that than stay at home. He also likes to go with me to our local Mexican place for a margarita and some tacos. Actually, we both love that equally, I think. We probably do that once a week or maybe every 10 days. We sit and laugh, and people watch and discuss our kids and friends and work. Dan's spirit animal would be a lion. If you knew Dan well, you'd know that it fits. He's brave and confident. He can be fierce & intimidating, yet loving, protective and loyal. Oh and he loves a good steak =)

Amie - 45 yrs old 

These days, I have two part-time admin jobs that keep me on my toes. One is for an amazing lady who coaches executives with ADHD, and the other is for one of the pastors at our church.

I love hiking, camping and the beach. I love my space. I love Fisher, our yellow lab. I take him everywhere with me if possible. Of everyone in the house, I am the most non-affectionate one. I'm social. I just don't like all the touching. Probably because 4 little people (and Dan) touched me non-stop for so many years. But I love hanging out with my family, singing, dancing, and laughing. We laugh a lot. I love making mom jokes and twisting their slang into something cringy only a mom would say =) I mess up the words on purpose to make them roll their eyes. I say things like, "Mya, you're so on fire right now." To which she responds, "Absolutely not." I love playing board games. I love singing loudly to Disney songs and Les Misérables. I'm the peacemaker in the family. I hate fighting, bickering, bad moods, and negativity. I try my best to keep everyone happy. I'm sure that's not healthy, but it's how I am. In my perfect world, everyone would be calm and content. Koombaya and all that. I love music. I love my audiobooks, and I love thrifting. Okay, that's all I can think of. I described myself and asked AI what my spirit animal is. I got this result: "Your energy points to one spirit animal above all: the Sea Turtle — calm, steady, nature‑loving, peaceful… but with a protective shell when the world (or your family) gets a little too loud." I LOVE sea turtles. I'm kind of obsessed with them, so yeah, that's so perfect. 

That's all for now! See you in July! 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

she always wondered what it would be like...

Happy Blog Saturday!

This is going to be a lot of words because a lot has happened in the last two weeks. 

Winter's incident - 

I can count on one hand the times I've needed to call Dan at work. One time we had a rattlesnake in our backyard and I had no clue who to call. Once, my car got a flat tire a mile from his work in the rain with my dog in tow so the fire department came and changed it for me =) Not sure about the other times I've called him but I'm sure there were a few.

On a Sunday night at 9:30, Winter tried to cut her finger off. I was nodding off on the couch as I often do. She was cutting cardboard with her cardboard cutting scissors to make some sort of cardboard house. She gets pretty creative when she's grounded.

Addie yelled from upstairs, "Mom, Winter cut her finger!" I think I responded sleepily with something like, "Okay, get a bandaid." Then Winter informed me that it was bleeding quite a bit. I asked to see it. Bad idea. That stuff makes me instantly queezy and I need to sit down and fan myself so I don't pass out. I quickly looked away and said, "Oh my gosh, Winter! I think you need stitches!" 

Winter burst into tears and I think she said she hates needles more than spiders or something like that. It was hard to understand her with all the sobbing. Everyone was confused when she started talking about spiders but I put it together.

Dan's good at medical stuff, being a paramedic and all. He's pretty good at knowing when stitches are required and when a steri-strip will suffice. With a neighborhood full of kids, he's been called to the scene multiple times over the years. So I called him. He had Winter take a video and send it to him. He called back and wasn't sure if we should go to the ER. I hate the ER. The smells, the fluorescent lights, the sick people coughing, the sitting and waiting, no thanks. I would much prefer nodding off on my couch on Sunday nights.

Urgent care was closed. Dan suggested I call one of my nurse friends. "Oh, good idea." I said. I have a few of those relatively nearby. Katie is my go-to because she's smart, easy-going, and has 3 boys so she's used to kids getting hurt =) Only problem is, she's the busiest person I know so I wasn't sure she'd be home.

So I gave her a call and to my relief she was actually home and wide awake unlike her sleepy friend. She said, "Come on over!" So we did. She looked at the cut and was also on the fence. She called a nurse friend in the ER and got a second opinion. We settled on bandaging the cut and getting a splint (to immobilize the finger) from CVS ten minutes before they closed. Thanks Katie!

When we got home, Winter said, "I've always wondered what it would be like to cut my finger really bad. Now I know." It is almost healed now. I did not take pictures. Winter has the video if you want to see it =)

VBS - 

For the last two or three weeks I've been obsessing over VBS snacks since I volunteered to be in charge of them for the 2nd time. Church of the Open Door VBS snacks have a reputation. They're not the snacks you had when you were a kid. They're a bit more gourmet. So although I'd love to serve grapes and goldfish crackers, I think the kids would riot, so I went in another direction. 

My kids and I came up with a menu and themed names, Mya made some little posters, and I think overall it went well, besides a few kids who received overcooked or cold-ish food. There really is no easy way to serve warm, prepared, plated food to over 400 kids. We did our best. And it was a lot of fun. I had an amazing team. Not sure I'm allowed to post pics of the Jr. workers so here are some pics I am allowed to share... and Dan snapped a few action shots of me =) 

He helped out when he wasn't working. It was fun to be the one in charge for a change. Usually he runs the show at home and I'm happy to let him. He kept his suggestions and questions to a minimum. And I actually liked having him there. I say that because, on the rare occasion that I make dinner instead of Dan, he's not allowed to help me. No one is allowed in the kitchen when I'm cooking. Not sure why it bugs me but it does. VBS is obviously a whole different thing.

Already thinking about next year's snacks =) Let me know if you can think of a relatively affordable crowd-pleasing snack that is good at room temp =) 

My girls volunteered as well. Mya helped lead the music & dance moves, Winter helped walk the 2nd graders around the campus, and Addie helped in the craft room. It was Angus's last year as a camper.

 There are about 150 volunteers who run VBS. It is such a huge collaboration. It's pretty amazing. My favorite part has always been watching over 400 kids jumping up and down, singing about Jesus. A close 2nd is watching the teenage boys who are not too cool to join in =)

And here's a pic of Angus using my entire flossing container before VBS =) 

Other Shenanigans - 

Thanks to Shanon for telling me about the donut option rather than the cone of shame. Fisher was recently fixed. Everything Dan buys is patriotic if possible =) Fisher loves it. When we take it off he just looks at it until we put it back on him. It's his security donut=)

Winter was hot so Angus suggested she lie on the floor since heat rises.

HUGE NEWS. Mya cut her hair! If you know Mya personally, you know that her hair has always been her thing. She treats it like a child, tending to it daily, buying special shampoos and creams to protect it and obsessing over how long it is. She has had hair down to her waist for about 10 years now. She has been thinking about cutting it for a while. She actually thought about going shorter but I talked her out of it. We went to see our fabulous stylist and buddy Ericka. Mya donated 12 inches to Locks of Love.

Angus's first wedding. =) 

Congrats to the cutest couple ever, Alli & Alex 💕

Mya and Winter take American Sign Language at school. Their teacher invited them to sign the National Anthem on the field at the Angels game. We are Dodger fans but we were happy to make an exception for one night. =)

Happy Saturday! Wishing you a wonderful June week ahead.  

I'm not sad, okay I'm sad a little

 This week, as I scrolled through grad pics on Instagram, I was happy to see kids I've watched grow up finally make it to that big day that marks the end of a huge phase of life when your parents are there, guiding you every step of the way, and the beginning of a new, exciting and scary phase when you step out on your own and start steering your life in your own direction, usually having no idea what you're doing. 

I don't have a High School graduate this year. Mya just finished her junior year. Dan and I have been talking about how excited we are to finally have 2 schools to drive to instead of 3. I really didn't think about the fact that this year would be our last at Stanton Elementary. I like to think of myself as not too sentimental or emotional like other moms. I see them crying and wishing their babies would just stay little forever. I welcome the growing and changing. I look forward to the day when Dan and I can enjoy retirement. 

Yesterday, the school invited all of the 5th-grade parents to watch their students parade around the quad while the younger classes cheered them on and gave them high-fives. An elementary grad walk if you will. All of a sudden, I was talking to another mom and Forever Young by Bruce Springsteen blared through the speakers and I caught a glimpse of Angus and I couldn't finish my sentence. It hit me all at once. This is my baby and this is our last day here at this amazing school. I wasn't prepared to be sad about it but there I was trying to hold back tears as I watched my 11-year-old make his way around the quad, one last time. 

I started remembering all the Halloween parades in that very same quad when Mya was little and dressed up like a little angel with a crooked halo, and Winter was always a jaguar every year. Angus threw on the first thing he could find, usually. And I laughed to myself when a memory of Addie dressed up like a chicken came back. She was so angry because people were calling her a chicken. The nerve 😄 Stop it, stop it I said to myself. I am not getting emotional. 

Then one of the teachers who taught all four of my kids was urged to walk behind the 5th graders because this was her last year too. I watched her, walking & bawling. Everyone clapped, acknowledging her retirement and the wonderful teacher she has been for so many years. That was it for me. Too much. I can no longer say I am not emotional or sentimental. I'm just like all the other saps.

Bye-bye Stanton Elementary. Thanks for an amazing 11 years. We'll actually miss you a lot.

Maycember

Hi =)

I've decided to start blogging again. Once a week. On Saturdays. That doesn't mean it's going to happen. That's just the goal. Currently, I'm barely surviving Maycember. They call it that because it's just as nuts as December. But no gifts at the end. 

But we do get summer. I love summer. As long as there is a beach, a pool or AC. Then I love summer. I love sleeping in, not doing school drop-offs and pick-ups, not helping with homework, not fighting with kids about outfits, lunches, showers or getting out the door on time in the mornings. And no more friend drama for a couple of months. Just sibling drama =) 

I love floating in the pool, sipping on a beverage. I love going to the beach and looking for dolphins. I love camping with my family, staying up late, watching movies and eating popcorn & sourpatch kids. I love all the rules that don't exist in the summer. Bring on summer.

My role as a mom has shifted quite a bit now that the kids are 11,12,15 & 16. I've gone from micromanaging 4 little people to being pretty hands-off. I'm mostly just an advisor now. I love it. The driving thing is stresesful, however. Didn't really think about that too much until it got here. Now I'm realizing how many ways there are to get into an accident. None so far, fingers crossed and knocking on wood =) Oh, I forgot about PMS. There's a lot of that these days with 3 girls and a mom. Pray for Dan & Angus. 

Heard around here: 

Mya: Sometimes when I’m really bad, I go to the garage fridge and steal a sip of orange juice straight from the bottle.

Mya: Mom, I'm washing all the brushes. You want me to wash yours? 

Mya: Addie, come back! I want to talk to you about organizing your life!

Angus: Having zero dollars is kind of embarrassing.

Angus: I'm going to skip college

Me: And do what? 

Angus: You know, a job.

Me: What kind of a job? 

Angus: Maybe a farmer.

Me: Where's your farm gonna be? 

Angus: Maybe Africa or something.

Angus: When I grow up I'm moving to La Quinta

Me: La Quinta? 

Angus: Yeah, La Quinta!

Me: Umm why, La Quinta? 

Angus: It just looks awesome.

Me: Where did you hear about La Quinta?

Angus: An ad. Apparently, the fun never ends there! 

Me: Did the ad tell you that it's really hot there?

Angus: Dangit!

Me: Check out this picture of a guy I used to date, Winter. (showed her a pic of Brad Pitt, who she's never seen or heard of)

Winter: Haha, imagine.

(I don't understand why she doesn't think I could get a guy like Brad Pitt 😄)

Look how Winter decorated for my birthday in 5 mins before she left for school. She's usually running behind so I'm not sure how she squeezed this in. I was already gone, dropping off the littles. 

But I love how she didn't let the streamers hang. Do you want to know why? She knows I hate stuff hanging down in that opening because I have to push the decorations out of my way as I walk through 1,000 times during the day. But I hang decorations (streamers/sparkly curtains) there every time the kids have a birthday because they love it. That's what moms do. 

Fisher says hi =)

Dan made me fish tacos for my birthday because that's what I requested. Dan makes the best fish tacos. He even makes salsa with mango in it. He also bought me vegan coffee-flavored ice cream for dessert that I didn't even know existed. It's been years since I've mentioned that I love coffee-flavored ice cream, mostly because I can't eat it. Ice cream hates me. But he found vegan coffee ice cream. 💖

I love that my family knows me so well =) That honestly means more than gifts from my Amazon registry, even though I love those too of course.

I guess I should say something about Addie since I mentioned the other 3 =). Addie is amazing. She's confident, social & uber smart. Most of her grades have an A+ next to them. When there's just an A with no plus next to it, Dan asks her, "Addie, what happened here?" just to mess with her =) She's still so tiny. Mya always comments when we drop her off on the side of the road (across from her school) that she exudes so much confidence as she's walking away. She's always amazed that she just gets out of the car, says bye, and doesn't look back like she doesn't care that she's all by herself, so tiny, walking down the street toward her crowded school. =) And she doesn't. She's all good.

Things I've learned lately - (just one thing actually)

I've learned that when looking for hotels and airline tickets, the best plan is to look at one of those 3rd party sights like Cheaptickets or Priceline for the cheapest price, BUT don't book it through them. They've done the work for you by finding the best price. Now you just go directly through the one with the best deal at the moment.

Book it directly through the hotel or airline. The customer service is WAY better. Getting a refund through a 3rd party is really hard. And you end up actually saving money because those 3rd parties charge you hidden fees so you end up paying the hotel/airline PLUS fees you didn't know about for the 3rd party. This is just my experience. Feel free to disagree =)

I've decided to leave book recommendations each week, or each blog. Let's be honest, I don't think I'll be able to keep this up each week. 

I listen to audiobooks all the time. (I use the free library app, Libby) I listen to them while I do laundry, dishes or food prep. I listen to them in the car on my way to pick up or drop off kids. I listen to them on my walks. So yeah, I go through quite a bit of books. Here are my most recent ones:

Sorry, some of these may have language or sensitive subject matter. I don't remember which ones, specifically. If you're sensitive to some things, you may want to ask chatgpt about it before reading =)

The Favorites by Layne Fargo - I give this 4 out of 5 stars. It was well written. It wasn't in my top books of all time. It comes highly recommended by book accounts on social media, however. Great story. I would recommend it. Kind of a "whodunit" vibe. I liked all the voices in the audiobook.

This Book Made Me Think of You - I give this 4 out of 5 starts too. I liked it a bit more than The Favorites. Totally different writing styles. This had a cozy vibe to it. It takes place in a small town in England and involves a little bookshop. Very cute. The plot is a little sad and it was a bit predictable but I kind of like that sometimes =)

Every Summer After & One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune - I loved these books and I plan on reading more of hers. While reading these, I found excuses to put my earbuds in and listen more. That's how I know it's a good book =) 

The Nightingale, The Great Alone, The Four Winds, & The Women by Kristin Hannah - I love everything Kristin Hannah writes. She's such an amazing storyteller. I give them all 5 stars. I can't do two of her books in a row because they are very heavy and often depressing, but they are all based on real events like the Vietnam War, The Great Depression (Dust Bowl), The Holocost etc. I like these books because they are all from the perspective of women. These books made me mad and even cry sometimes but they always end on a good note. And I learn so much about the time period they were written about.

Great Big Beautiful Life, People We Meet on Vacation, Beach Read, Funny Story, & Book Lovers by Emily Henry - I give all of these 5 starts. I will read anything she writes. These are good books to take to the beach or on vacation. They are light and fun.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - This is a lovely book and the movie is now on Netflix =) Also lovely. I highly recommend both. Five starts.

Okay, that's all for now. I think that's a good start =)

Happy Maycember! To all the moms with school-age kids and to all the amazing teachers, we got this! Five days to go! (in Glendora)