Papa Bonafede

We lost a member of our family- 'Papa' Carl Bonafede, this past Saturday evening. Matt's grandfather had been an exceptional athlete in high school (which I just recently learned), a soldier in the Marines during WWII, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather to many. There are many things that we can thank him for (Matt's family's love of sports and music), and others we will remember him for (his love of golf and USC). We know he is definitely in a better place now, at peace and at rest. He will be missed!!

Not So Private...

Since I have had many people saying that they cannot log in to see our blog (many of which I do the blog for in the first place), I have decided to make it open for anyone to read. I will just have to censor it so crazy people won't be trying to find my family!! Anyways, hope you all enjoy!! :)

Construction Zone!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I just can't sit still when things have been the same for too long. What can I say- I love change!! That being said, I think we bit off a little more than we could chew with this project. I had the hair-brained idea that we would open up a wall from our front living room to our kitchen. Sounds simple, you say? Did I mention that entails closing off a door to outside, moving the plumbing, electrical, gas for the washer & dryer, and modifying cabinets? Not so easy I guess... Here's some pics of our "not-so-easy" project:

The "Before"

Here's that plumbing stuff I was talking about...

Matt has spent 2 full days under our house... not so fun!

Here's the advertisement for the importance of wearing safety goggles!! (The day before Linda managed to get something in her eye, which scratched her cornea. Two trips to the Dr. later...)

Chloe doesn't know what to think of all this madness! She's NOT a fan of change- it makes her nervous (just like most Weimeraners, I'm told).

Our new view from the kitchen into our front room- GLORIOUS!

And our new doorway into the kitchen...

I will post more pics of the finished product when it's done (hopefully soon). Until then, Matt will be under the house once more while he repairs some of the mistakes he made- OOPS!! I give him credit for trying at least...

School Days...

School starts today!!! We had an awesome morning- the kids were excited to wake up, had a nice walk to school, and a teary send-off (for Mommy anyways). All made for a great first day of school. I still can't believe Camryn is in 1st grade and my little man Ty is a Kindergartener!! They were both very excited and had NO problems whatsoever!!

Ty & his teacher Mrs. Ancich

At his desk...

...and reading their first story together :)

Here's Camryn meeting her teacher, Mrs. Osborn (who also had Uncle Kyle and cousin Mikayla as students!).

"Bye, Mom & Dad!!"

At her new "big girl" desk

We can't wait to see how this year will unfold- I'm sure with LOTS of adventure!!!!

Last Days of Summer...

In my last ditch effort to keep up with our blog before school starts, I have included some (tons) of pictures of the activities we did this summer. It truly went by SO fast!!!

Let's start with Tyler's karate graduation. He earned his yellow belt (his first SOLID color!) a few weeks ago, and was so proud! It has been amazing to see the transformation in him over this past year and a half! He has changed from a shy, timid boy to a full fledged karate champion...

He also did swim lessons this year...

Here's us at the OC Fair on the kids' favorite ride!

This summer we got to spend an awesome day with Auntie Jill-Nicole! Had lunch at Fashion Island, got Sprinkles cupcakes (YUM!) and hung out at the beach.

This was the day there were record 20 foot high waves! (Check out the top of the waves hitting the bottom of the pier!)

Cami was so proud of her sunflower she planted- it was taller than her!!

Cami was part of the Junior Cheerleading Camp at La Serna last week. She had a blast, and Mommy had a blast... from the PAST!!

So many good memories in that gym... but I feel old!!

One of our last outings was Ice Skating!! The kids had been asking to go this summer, so we finally gave in. Daddy was super excited to take the kids to his old stomping grounds and showed them how it was done!

And last, but not least, Camryn had her 'Diva Dance' performance at the Community Center tonight. She was SO cute, and had a great time rockin' out to a Hannah Montana song!

The cupcakes I made...

Cami with her teachers Tiffany & Bri

The Little Divas!!

So that about sums it up, and now we are ready for school!!! Stay tuned for much more....