Tears of joy and sadness

My little sister turned 25 this year. A few months ago she decided to take a train adventure across the country-by herself. She is one brave young lady. She fell in love with a little place called New Orleans. When you ask her, she will tell you it felt like home. She came back to Cali, saved her money, sold her belongings, packed her bare necessities, and moved to New Orleans. It was sad to see her go but I am so proud of her. Deep down I think she knew it was time for a change. Vinnie, Stephen, Paige and I took her to the train station. We sugared her up with cookies from Diddy Riese and sent her on her way. It wasn't easy and there were lots of tears, but we all know it was a smart choice.

Happy 4th of July

We went to the Santa Clarita hometown parade for the first time this year. We hung out with friends and had a great time.

I made these cookies in honor of the holiday. Cake batter cookies-absolutely delicious. Thank you Pinterest. 

Then we hung out with different friends to watch fireworks

                                                

Here's a random shot of my tired kids the next day

Summer Fun

Wow. It's been a busy summer so far. I finished a 5 week online class. Note to self-don't ever do that again. I passed the class with an A. Trust me, I was shocked. I have one class left and then I will receive my certification. I'm also in the process of trying to find a part-time job or at least some contract work for my business. In the midst of all that, we have been doing fun things.
We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Stephen and I went last year; however, we wanted to share the experience with Mike. It's a great zoo. My favorite part is feeding the giraffes:

Not a giraffe, but he's super cute. 

The past 2 summers we have participated in a great program-kids bowl free. Stephen can bowl 2 free games every day. All we pay for is the shoe rentals. Stephen joined the junior bowling league for the summer. Last week he bowled his highest game-101. He is having fun and each week his game is improving. 

We went with friends to see Madagascar 3

Scooter Jungle to burn off some energy

Swimming with friends

                     

Cherry Picking

And one Magic Mountain day. Whew! One month left before school starts. More adventures to follow.