Summer Fun

July already . . .wow! It sure has been a whirlwind of good times since Nicholas got out of school on June 12th! We've been enjoying the lazy days of summer at the beach and at Wild Rivers Waterpark - even better spending all these good times with family! Here are some pictures -

Our first beach trip of the summer. One of the only good pictures of the boys!

Wild Rivers trip. Keanalei and Nicholas, don't they look so grown! Glad she got him to smile!

Noah loved the mini water slides. He was alot braver than I had thought he'd be. He had such a good time that day!
Breaking the rules while the lifeguard wasn't looking. Not supposed to go down head first. Yikes!

Big Stuff! Nicholas going down a fast water slide into 7ft of water. He had a blast going around the water park with his cousins!

Daddy and Noah getting ready to go in the lazy pool! (Everyone's favorite!)

The Crew at the lunch tables! L-R Desiree, Christian, Tasia, Nicholas, Keanalei, & Aaliyah

Ciara and Noah such cuties!

Bonfire Beach Bash! Me and my boy, he's almost as tall as me!

Noah loves to play in the sand!

And lay in it and roll in it! He's truly ALL BOY!

A favorite shot of mine, my two handsome boys!

Sweetness, Kalani & Noah! He loves his older cousin!

KJ, Noah, & SJ - Noah hangin' with the big boys!

Always running around, Keanalei, Nicholas, & Desiree

Noah and Peter Joe. Thanks PJ for being such a good big cousin! He loves you!

Playing in the cold water, they must be young! :)

Noah, Peter Joe, & Nicholas! Shaka! (look at how Noah does Shaka)

Water come & get me! Funny boy!

He loved the game of having the waves chase him. It was so sweet to see him play in the water and enjoy the beautiful ocean!

Good Times, L-R Peter Joe, Aaliyah, Nicholas Desiree, Keanalei, Tasia, & Noah boy!

The end of the evening photo! Reminds me of how truly great it is to have such a wonderfully big family and how these ordinary summer days are made extraordinary because of each and every one of them!

Checkin' In

Summer has officially begun for us! The weather is yucky though . . . so it kinda feels weird. We've been busy in and out of the house with graduation ceremonies and parties and it'll continue to be that way until the end of the month. Even though it's busy, I absolutely love it!

No pictures right now, I'll try next time. I just wanted to check in and mention a few things:

• Nicholas made Honor Roll the entire school year


• Bummer, Nicholas did not make the All-Star team for baseball but might be playing for a traveling team during the summer & fall season


• Nicholas has been away for the last 3 nights with his cousins enjoying Disneyland (it's his first time away on an overnight trip without us)


• Noah is talking more, putting more and more words together to make sentences


• Noah's so super friendly to everyone and never forgets to use his manners! (yay for that)


• Has grown way Too accustomed to sleeping with his brother (we're having a tough time now that Nicholas is away)

Just wanted to mention a few current things about the boys!

I've been looking into this little gadget . . .anyone have this. I really want one! I think I might beg Jay to get me one . . . :)

off to start my housecleaning and laundry!

Sunday's Mud Run

This past Sunday Jay and I ran the Camp Pendleton World Famous Mud Run! It was, by far, the most physically challenging thing I have ever done. I am so happy to say that I ran in it. I can't explain just how mentally challenging it was . . . I mean it is a given that it was challenging physically. But there were so many times during the course when I'd look ahead and see so much ground that was still left uncovered (we ran hills like nobody's business) and I felt discouraged, I really did! I think for me, it was such a mental thing, and at moments I let it get the best of me. I wish I hadn't and I regret that I didn't savor the fun moments of the race, I was just anxious during the entire thing, trying to push through it, trying to gather my strength, my breath and my courage to stay in the run with Jay.

Jay was so awesome . . . he never left me. And even when I wanted him to just run ahead and leave me (because goodness knows he ran at my pace) he stuck with me. He helped me over the 5 foot walls, he, with every step of the way was encouraging and we ran in through the finish line together. Thanks honey, thanks for being so great to me yesterday and everyday. Our time to finish the 10k (6.2 miles) was 1hr. 27 minutes almost 28 minutes.


Here are some pictures of race day . . .

Jay finishing the race!

Me finishing the race!

Mud Run Accomplished! (fyi, my undershirt is a sports bra)


Yeah Baby!

That's my guy . . . always "all smiles!"

Mud Galore!

So happy I did it, but so happy it's over with!

Happy to see Sherry, Alonso, Adam, & Samuel! Thanks guys for coming to cheer us on!

Us and Adam and Samuel!

My partner in the run and in everything I do!

Me showing Samuel what the toughest part of the course was, Combat Town where all the steep hills were. Kicked my butt!

Me and Jay standing in front of the course map!

Noah congratulating Daddy!

Noah congratulating Mommy!

Good times for sure! I highly recommend doing this run if you're ever in the area! All different levels of fitness were there participating . . . if anything it's an excuse to run through the mud and crawl in it too! And sheesh, if I can do it, I know anyone can.

Baseball season over :(

Baseball season is over . . . :( Believe it or not I'm pretty bummed about that. I really do look forward to watching my boy play ball. Yesterday Nicholas had his basball banquet here are some photos

Noah trying to keep still during the baseball banquet speeches :) At least he looked cute trying!

Okay, this has to be one of my favorite photos of my boys! Jay told me later that evening that he had to hold back tears of overwhelming happiness! This shot does no justice for how stinkin' cute this moment was! Noah adores his brother and wants nothing more than to be like him, and the fact that Nicholas does not mind moments like the one above is truly a blessing! You had to be there - it was the perfect moment between these two brothers!

Super cool coaches! The head coach had photos taken of each of the boys on the team throughout the season. He blew them up to 8x10 and gave them out to each player. Can you see Nicholas'? He's holding it. His coach said that Nicholas' photo was taken while he was on 3rd base, getting ready to steal home and right before Nicholas almost gave his coach a heart attack! :) They said wonderful things about him, things like he has to be one of the smartest baseball players on the this league and one of the fastest. Okay, I know, I know I'm being a proud mama! :)


Group team photo! A great bunch of boys! I'm gonna miss seeing them twice a week and once on the weekends!



And how we ended the evening. Boys in bed and daddy reading a book to them. Well more so to Noah, but I think Nicholas enjoys it too!

Lots & Lots of Pictures!

It's been awhile since I've shared some photos. I finally uploaded the latest, here they are and enjoy!


Memorial Weekend

While I was cleaning the loft I heard silence. This usually isn't a good thing when it comes to my boys. But fortunately this is what I found when I peeked in on Noah. Sitting quietly reading a book. :) This makes me happy!

He loves to look at all his books. He loves storytime and is always saying, "Book me?" Translation, "Read to me." Love it!

Here he is, Mr. Motorcycle man! Thanks Uncle Jay for letting Noah ride on your bike! This truly was the highlight of his evening, well that and hanging out with Duke! Noah, you're such a Motorcycle Stud!

The Cousins just chillin' in the back of auntie Sueritta's house. l-r, Samuel, Adam, Nicholas, & Noah!

What handsome little guys . . . Noah and Adam. Look at Noah's feet. He absolutely loves to run barefoot. My true island boy :)

Everyone say "TapOut!" The boys hangin' in the backyard waitin' on the UFC fight to start. l-r Noah, Adam, Nicholas, Kelly, & Samuel

Noah's best bud . . . Duke! It was so sweet to watch Noah play with Duke!

Noah warming up to the crowd at auntie Sueritta's house! Cutie patootie!

This Weekend 5/30/09

Mum mum Judy hanging at our house yesterday after Nicholas' baseball game.

Mommy & Noah cheesin' it for the camera.

Mum mum & her boys. They're always sad when she has to go back home!

Showin' mum, mum some love! Kisses to you!

A proud mum, mum and proud grandson for sure!!!

Mum, mum and her boy Nicholas!

It's hard to get Nicholas to smile! Look at how great he looks when he does. All it takes is a little tickle from mum, mum Judy. And Noah snuck in on this picture. He loves the camera :)



What we did this morning:
It's time to clean at the Charfauros home!

Teaching Nicholas the responsibility of vacuming. He already makes his bed every morning! Next up to learn, cleaning his own bathroom.

Noah doing his part, picking up all his books off the floor. Such a helper boy!

Nicholas letting Noah take over the vacuming. Hmm... why do I get the feelin' this might become a habit of Nicholas' :)


Well I hope you enjoyed the pics. The boys are growing so fast, but one things for sure, they'll always, no matter their age, be mama's boys!

Until later . . .

Happy Day - Happy Day!

It's Thursday and what a day. I woke up to Jay tapping me lightly to get up before the boys did. He was already up, the coffee was made and all I had to do was roll out of bed and brush my teeth. So nice!

Our Memorial weekend was pretty much low-key. Jay worked the entire weekend, and besides going to my cousin Sue's house, the boys and I stayed home. But it was nice, Sunday afternoon I bought the boys McDonald's took it took the park and had a mini picnic. We missed Jay, but it was nice to sit outside with the boys with absolutely no care in the world - besides how high we wanted to go in the swings :)

Tuesday and Wednesday Jay and I went out running. Both days we ran 3 miles. Now I must say this is huge for me because I don't think I've ever run that distance before. And even better, I am totally and completely enjoying each time I go out and run. It's theraputic, it clears my mind in a way that I crave so often when the days get so hectic.

There are a few things I want to share, one from a blog I love to read and one from a book I'm currently reading.

Here's an excerpt from Donna Downey's Blog

i have been working a lot lately on developing my concepts of what living a life inspired means...and more and more i am reminded that choosing to live inspired doesn't just mean with paints and colors, but also looking at life more creatively...finding creative ways to look at situations with a more positive outlook or in this case solution.

creativity lies in the tiny moments when we decide to do something differently and try new things...stretching outside of our comfort zones on all levels and accepting the things we cannot change.

i love this message today...simply accepting the things we cannot change.
the next step forward can be the moment that can often redefine how we see the world.

And here's an excerpt from the book Cold Tangerines that I am SO enjoying. I have mentioned that this book is like a Splash of Happiness in each chapter.

Friendship is acting out God's love for people in tangible ways. We were made to represent the love of God in each other's lives, so tht each person we walk through life with has a more profound sense of God's love for them. Friendship is an opportunity to act on God's behalf in the lives of the people that we're close to, reminding each other who God is. When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life. We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can't always see from where we are

-shauna niequist

Both these excerpts are inspiring to me; to walk today with a little more pep in my step and to walk a little more in HIS WAY! I have a fridge magnet that reads - Give your feet a Good Workout, Walk in His way. Here's to a beautiful Thursday, filled with many blessings your way!

*Shout out to my cousin Joe, (aka little Joe always and forever to me :)) I will post picturs of Kelly boy and mom soon. I promise. Lots of love your way!

One of those Days . . .

From the moment I woke up this morning I've just been having it rough! Noah was super whining all throughout our morning routine. Oh my goodness, at one point I just felt like crying. Hopefully it gets better . . . I just have to remember to breathe and slow down.

Hopefully I can go out for a run today. I feel like I could sure use it!

It's Monday, my favorite day of the week because I love beginnings - I love the chance to start fresh. I'm hoping to get some exercise in today during Nicholas' baseball practice. Jay is off and we'll probably run the track. We got a late start this morning and didn't have a chance to get our workout crossed off our list earlier in the day. Last week I focused on my weight watchers program; I had gained 5lbs and just wanted to get back into eating healthy. It felt so good - even though I only lost 1 lb! I decided it's much better to focus on eating healthier and in good portions rather than focus on the actual # on the scale. Weight watchers helps me to do this.

On another note, Saturday I hung out with my mom and we had such a lovely time! We went shopping - tried on ALOT of clothes and it was so wonderful of her to spoil me and buy me a few things! So I'm excited, I have a few new things in my closet and I'm so grateful (it's very rare these days that I will buy anything for myself. My two growing boys are in much more of a need than I am!). None of them are fancy, as I am a "plain jane" but I now have a few new bermuda shorts and a couple cool flirty tops to match! Again, thank you, thank you mom! I love it all!

I'm off to read a little while Noah naps. It's heating up here in Southern Cali! Summer is creepin' in - I can't wait to hit the pool & beach!

Just wanted to share a picture I took of me & noah last week (love camera self-timers)! This is how I spend my days - hangin' out with this cute little dude!

Happy Monday!

Books

I'm reading this book right now and I am SO enjoying it! I started it awhile back ago and couldn't really get into it; but I picked it up again and now I am anxious to keep turning the pages. I love when I can find a book like that. I have a running "summer reading list" that I've started to jot down. This summer it's going to be about reading . . . YAY!!! Love to read.

Summer Reading List

• The Painter from Shanghai
• The Shack
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven
• Resilience
• Mommy Grace

I have also finally ordered Cold Tangerines! Super exctited to receive this one in the mail!

Good Day to everyone! Happy Sunday - many blessings your way.