Mini 10-year reunion!

I can't believe it was 10 years ago that I graduated from Mesa High School. I still feel like I'm the same age I was back then. Last weekend I had my friends over and I'm counting it as attending my 10-year reunion! I posted these pictures & sign on my door (as a total joke) and after I did it, I was embarrased in case any of my neighbors saw it and thought I was being serious.
We did some of our favorite things we used to do...

*we had Neds for dinner (our favorite place to go for lunch in high school, others included Coffee Plantation (yummy bagels), Zuka Juice (now it's Jamba Juice), and someone's house was always fun too.

*I got Mattas chips & salsa since that was our favorite restaurant on the weekends or when we ditched! (Back then the waiters & waitresses started charging us for chips when we asked for like our 8th bowl.)

*We brought lots of junk food to snack on - this is one of my favorite memories of 9th grade actually. Hanging out at Amy South's house was so fun, and there was always Recees peanut butter cups AND pringles.

Although we planned on putting a movie on & playing some games, this is all we did for 4 hours - sat at my kitchen table, looked at old pictures, laughed, and talked about lots of fun memories.
I warned my friends that I was posting on my blog... so hopefully none of them kill me for really doing it. I pulled out some old pictures and we recreated them!

This one in denim was in 9th grade, it's so hilarious! Back row: Amy, Kristin, Me, Cara Front: Lexi, Kami

And 13 years later... all of us together again. I told Lexi & Kami that they had to sit the same way, so they did. I was told to photo-shop some boots on Lexi too but since I already uploaded my pictures, I won't do that to you Lexi!

This next picture is from our Senior year, my sister Suzanne was one of the group. I loved going to MHS at the same time as her. It's been 10 years since this picture, but why did we think it was cool - even back then - to pose like this? I don't know, but I think we were just being dumb!

(Kristin, Me, Suzanne, Lexi, Vanessa, Cara) 10 years later...
And finally - the overalls phase!
Kristin & I had fun sitting backwards in our chairs...
Kristin is due ANY DAY with her 3rd baby! Good luck with everything Kristin!

Vanessa has 3 kids and her birthday is TOMORROW!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANESSA!!

Cara lives right by me, I wish I was home more to hang out since we live so close. She has one little boy - he's so cute!

Lexi has 2 cute kids, and is the only one married to the same guy who's in all of the dance pictures we were looking at!

Kami has 3 kids and I still can't get over how hard she made me laugh that night, we need to hang out more!

Amy also has 3 kids and is still just the same as she's always been - so funny! I was so glad she was able to make it at the last minute - it wouldn't have been the same without her.

And finally, Suzanne. She was part of so many good memories, her & I have always been good friends and I'm glad she helped me come up with the "98 was great" saying - so cheesy!

I had the funnest friends in Jr. High & High School. Every single one of them makes getting together fun in a different way.

Our trip to Newport Beach

Last week I had the funnest time in Newport with my family, well at least all the girls & our kids. There's so many more memories than what I got captured on my camera, and that says a lot because I just downloaded so many pictures - I have too many favorites!

To start off the trip, we sat the kids down and had a talk with them about stranger danger and all the other rules for the week.
Auburn was already missing Bryan just hours after we got there!

Ellie & Roxy were dancing in the "condo" as Auburn called it - this was mine & Suzanne's "room" of the first house we stayed in (long, dramatic story) and where we turned our ipods up LOUD!
This is the only picture I took at the Orange Country swap meet - one rule of going there is that we get a churro (among lots of other food) - Noah loved it!
My sisters did the grocery shopping for the week on bikes. The first few days we were there, we weren't going anywhere in the cars! It took us hours to find parks and we decided we'd be taking the bus everywhere for the rest of the week. (How do people live there with that parking situation?) On Monday we moved to a new house and never ever had a parking issue for the rest of the trip. It was "awesome to the max".
The kids loving the ocean...

All 3 little kids in the bath together - that made for the sandiest bathtub ever!
PRECIOUS CARGO... (can you guess what's in the box?)
DONUTS & MILK... mmmmmmmmm!


Classic of Ellie - sitting in her "splits"

Brad (my brother on his mission) is going to love this picture:

Noah was so exhausted every night at dinner time...
Yes, he IS sleeping and stayed in this position forever!
...but he woke up in time to enjoy a tasty dinner at Knott's Berry Farm and take a picture on the chicken outside!

Noah could not be any happier than he was at the beach!

The last day on the beach, we took so many pictures - just in case we hadn't taken enough all week long.
Riggs - my 9 year old nephew
Jaxen - my 7 year old nephew
Aunt Leasy took Noah "surfing" -

...and she pulled the kids around for some fun rides on the boogie boards:

My niece Roxy (2 years old)



Another classic picture in the sand for Noah's Daddy-
I LOVE this picture:

Ellie & Noah are so cute in this one - Roxy wasn't very happy when we started taking pictures of all the kids...

... so Aunt Suzy pulled out the bribery candy / tic tacs!

Auburn was going crazy trying to get Roxy to smile. It was funny to watch but she didn't think it was very funny.
Finally, the bribes worked and Roxy put on a smile!
BFFs forever.

I made Noah & Ellie do the prom pose that my sisters & I love to do for pictures.

I love my buddy boy!

Alisse, the photographer of the family, took some really cute, clear pictures of the kids.

We watched fireworks from the sand - the beach and the streets of Newport were CRAZY on the 4th of July. The beach seriously wiped the kids out, every day!
Alisse brought her laptop with us - good thing, so my mom could stare at Brad's picture. So many times she would walk by the computer and say "Hi Brad" in the same tone she would say it when he got home from work before his mission. Every time she said it, it caught me off guard for a split second. Having the laptop was nice for the day I stayed in my pajamas til like 2:00 in the afternoon and blogged! I was too burnt to go out in the sun.
Here we all are right before getting in the cars to head back home. I was depressed. I looked forward to this vacation for so long and I already can't wait for the next one.
Thanks for making this trip possible for all of us mom! I love hanging out with my mom, sisters, Noah, and my nieces & nephews. It was heaven for one whole week!