Disneyland!!

So we are in southern California for a special event! A wedding and Jon is one of the groomsmen. Cory and Edna are getting married at the Disneyland hotel! Did I mention that I love weddings? We decided to have a little fun the day before the "magic" happens. We started off the day with a little hair and make up. Rylee was Belle, Taylee was Sleeping Beauty, Britlee was Snow White and Jon and Brody were Lincecum (Disney owns ESPN). The kids looked DARLING! And felt beautiful and tough walking around in their dress ups. We walked around with Christie, Dennis, Blake, Chloe, Grammy and Grandpa and had a great time going on rides and seeing shows. The kids sure were pooped by the end of the day, especially Britlee. While Jon was at the rehearsal dinner Britlee started working really hard to breathe  - fast rate, accessory muscle use, retracting, audibly wheezing and just exhausted. So I first humidified the bathroom air by running the hot water shower for a while which did nothing then I chilled the room to it's lowest setting and bundled her up over the air conditioning. Again nothing worked. So I decided she needed more help than what I could give her. Jon finally got back and in the middle of the night we decided to call for an ambulance in hopes they would just give her an albuterol treatment but instead he refused and took us to Kaiser. There she received a chest X-ray, 2 breathing treatments and oral prednisone. It worked like a charm and she was her old self again. She has no lung history neither does anyone in our family and she tested negative for RSV. I can't remember what the chest X-ray showed. It was the weirdest thing, something bothered her lungs and I have no idea what it could have been. Glad she's ok, because we were starting to get a little worried. That's my little Boo at the bottom of these pictures in the pharmacy waiting for our prescription. So scary for us. Love that little one. It was an adventure trying to make it back to the hotel from the hospital and Britlee and I took a nap most of the day while Jon took the kids to the pool before the wedding that evening.

Wager Anyone?

Another soccer game and a visit from Grammy and Grandpa! Thanks for coming to watch the kids in their soccer games. Of course he's got to sit on that bad boy before Jon sells it.  Nothing in our house stays very long. I think I've mentioned this many of times that Jon's hobby is buying and selling, not keeping and enjoying. Wager anyone?

9/11 Climb

Today I took the kids out of school to support Jon climbing for one of the fallen fire fighters from the 9/11 attack back in 2001.  I remember I was at BYU just coming home from a class and saw the news on the TV.  Sad. 343 fire fighters died that day trying to save lives, there were many more dead that day. Every year they climb the Renaissance Tower 4 times in downtown Sacramento which equals the same amount of stairs of the Twin Towers that fell in New York. At the top if the 4th climb they place the name of the fire fighter they climbed for in a twin tower replica. This year Jon climbed for Fire Fighter John D. Marshall and was able to do it with his whole crew. 

**John D. Marshall was a 35 year old firefighter for the FDNY on Engine 23. He lived in Congers, New York and worked at Ladder 27, near where his father had served as a police officer. He was doing a rotation on Engine 23 on September 11th. He had a wife and two children.

Rylee and Brody After School Sweaty

It's hot outside!  "I have sweaty", thanks Kid Snippets!  And thanks for the popsicles MOM!

Lazy Silly Sundays

Another Sunday relaxing as a family without Jon. I love how these kids dress up and pose for the camera! They're so silly!  Love them! Rylee stole my phone and took a picture of herself and her kiss face and blowing a saliva bubble, YUCK!

Rylee Soccer

Today Rylee also had a soccer game and this year her team is called the Pink Dragons.  I'm team mom again, yeah. This team is good and really got their stuff together. The coach has them doing plays and set ups. They're on it!  Rylee hears a lot of yelling which is not working out so well for her because she told me this in her yelling voice, "Why is the coach always saying BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!" Funny how she doesn't hear direction, which is what the coach is yelling, but she is hearing the tone and volume of her voice only. Very interesting. Now I know why Jon says he can't hear me when I yell. Sounds like an oxymoron to me. HA! This year she is learning a lot. It'll all come together soon. This year she has decided that she loves being goalie and wants to be goalie every game.  That makes me nervous! She sure has enjoyed those half time and end of game snacks! In this picture Rylee and Ava are the captains for this game. Rylee has on a yellow penny because she's playing goalie for the first half of the game. GOOOOO RYLEE!!!

Brody Trojan Soccer Game

This is Brody's first year playing soccer and he couldn't be more excited!  He's been dying to play the last couple of years watching Rylee and helping out on her teams. His team is called the Trojans and his coach is Rob Slinger. Let's face it, kids play soccer for the half time snack, the tunnel and the end of the game treat! Ha! Brody is so fun to watch because he is aggressive and plays very well. He makes lots of goals and touches the ball often. Everything he touches he puts 110% percent into it. GOOOO BRODY!

Lost Tooth, Literally

So today Rylee lost her tooth at school which is what she's been waiting for on purpose.  She refused to pull it the night before at home because if they loose a tooth at school then they get to take the "Tooth Bag" home and fill out a special packet and share it with the class. She loves getting in front of the class so she yanked it at school. Now as you can see she has a helmet on and I've been riding bikes home with her every day from school. Mrs. Salcedo gave her a special necklace container to keep her tooth safe. On her bike ride home the necklace came lose and her tooth was lost.  She was so upset because she was worried that the tooth fairy would not come because their wouldn't be a tooth to leave under her pillow. So she wrote the tooth fairy a note instead. SO CUTE!  Of course the tooth fairy still came and left her a dollar as requested.

Tom & Alba's Sealing

Uncle Tom and Auntie Alba got married on March 17, 2012 at Oma's house with an intimate crowd and beautiful decor. Even the late G-poppa (Robert Little, Oma's dad) was there, which was the last time we saw him before he passed about 8 months or so later. Today was Tom and Alba's sealing in the Oakland Temple.  This was the first sealing I have ever attended and it was wonderful to say the least. Renee and I shed tender tears together as we held each other in the sealing room watching the ceremony take place. The temple is a wonderful place. It truly is a place of peace and calm. Clarity seems to come like it is something obvious that you've always known whether it be something that is right, or good, or true, or just something that you need to be working on or doing better with or paying more attention to, etc.  It's funny how you can step out of the temple and so easily forget those feelings or inspiration that was felt or revealed to you. I understand the need for constant temple attendance because the temporal world so easily helps you to forget the spiritual and teach that they are separate and disconnected. Not true, the temporal and spiritual are one and connected; not separate. I'm very grateful for Tom and Alba's example to me and my family. Today was also Auntie Aimee's birthday and she was having a hard day because it was so full. She is amazing and has so many things on her plate. Life is hard balance when you are good at so many things; people expect and ask for more from you than others. I'm grateful that the family could all be there to show their support and love for them. I love my family more and more everyday, which is not to say that we don't have hard times because we do. But it's very different when the general graphical curve tends to be upward. Someday we will be an eternal family, when the time is right. Until then everyday I can act like we are an eternal family. I don't need a special sealing or blessing to be working towards honoring those covenants I will someday make. I love the "Rudnicki 6"!

New Sewing Machine Please!

And the answer is...."NO I CAN FIX IT HONEY! NO NEW MACHINE NEEDED!" Darn. Sometimes it stinks being married to a handy man. But isn't he just so darn cute working with a sewing machined? Seriously, he did fix it. Ok, I'll keep the "new" one. And now it's ice cream time to celebrate!

We miss you!

Jon's been gone for 4 days and the kids were pretty sad to learn that he had to stay another day last minute and they were counting on him coming home. They were sad so we decided to make him this and they tried hard to make sad faces, but they were laughing by the time I got my camera out. HA!

Captain Jon Rudnicki

Today was Jon's official captain's promotion ceremony, though he's been a captain for quite a few months now.  It was a very nice ceremony. They first started off with hors d'oeuvres at the Children's Museum and allowed the children to play and enjoy all the activities they had to offer. Then we congregated in the meeting room in the adjacent building to hear all the promotions from the past year. We love our Jon and were so happy to support him in this big change for him.  More responsibility means more stress.  But so far for Jon it's been the good stress that pushes you to be better.  He is well respected and has carried our "Rudnicki" name very well. We love you Jon! Thanks for letting us be a part of this! 

Rylee & Taylee Sister Love

I love these two cute girls and they love being silly for the camera as usual!

Rylee's Gymnastics Jr. Summer Games

So Rylee had a gymnastics performance celebrating the summer games. She is in recreational gymnastics so they don't do competitions but performances for the parents to show off what they have been learning. Rylee has a great time every time they put these on and we love watching her! Great job Rylee! She sure is powerful!