hiking with the pesmarks

our family went hiking with the pesmarks this afternoon. since they live on mt. diablo we thought we'd start from their house. it was a beautiful afternoon and the kids were excited to be outdoors together. the men and the kids left denise and i in the dust. we didn't seem to care though. :) it was a great hike--some major uphill climbing with amazing views, and a killer leg workout.

the amazing view from the trail above denise's house.

pesmarks on top of the world! well, mt. diablo at least. haha!

here's us. yay tompkins family!

Connor's loose teeth

connor went to the dentist for a cleaning last week and we found out he had not one, but FOUR loose teeth! what a surprise! we could see his new tooth already coming in before the others were ready to come out. he was so curious as to what was going to happen and how. once kaleigh mentioned the tooth fairy, the questions just kept coming. haha! kaleigh reminded me that connor needed a tooth pillow of his own. so i dusted off my sewing machine and made one just for him. he was so proud!

his tooth was barely hanging in there two days later. he let val pull it out. what a brave kid!! i don't do loose teeth well...i was in the other room, covering my ears and shutting my eyes. :) once the tooth was out, he kept looking at himself in the mirror, while i kept asking to take his picture. he wanted nothing to do with that though. so the few pictures i got were of him squinting or not being able to see his new space. oh well. the tooth fairy left connor a note and $5, just like kaleigh's first tooth (she reminded us of this). our little buddy is growing up!

back to life. back to reality...

back to work!! yikes! the past 2 weeks have been amazing, wonderful, terrific, fabulous, and just what i needed. :) i have relaxed, refreshed, and recharged my body and mind...it feels so good! in a way, i am glad to be going back to work and the daily routine of life. i enjoy the people i work with, i have missed seeing some of the familiar faces that make me smile (both adult and child), and i definitely need to get back into my normal sleep routine. ha!

Happy New Year! 2011

we rang in the new year with lots of laughter, fun, friends, and family...the best way to do it! i'm looking forward to this new year to begin and the adventures that are ahead.

the neighbors love to ring in the new year with a bang! we saw many fireworks last night and even had some of our own. :)