Oh the last month or so

So since my last post a lot has been going on in the lives of us.
I turned 28, I met my sister in DC, Wesley turned 5, we all had spring break, and had a BLAST!


1st: My trip to meet Alex in Washington DC was so much fun and I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet Her. She is an amazing person! We have so much in common and we talk and carry on as if we have known each other all our lives. Besides getting to really know each other we toured DC like crazy! My favorite parts of DC would have to be the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery. It was an amazing experience and one I would experience again! This trip was fun, emotional, and life changing. I learned a lot from Alex and am so glad to call her my sister.

Now as for the rest of the last month we have been busy!Between my birthday, midterms, Wesleys birthday, swimming, spring break, my cousin coming to visit, Disneyland, the beach, whale watching, and the usual life on-goings i don't know how we have even had time to just sit and enjoy the moment... But at least we have enjoyed every single moment during the busy happenings! We have had so much fun and I wish i could honestly replay this last month a hundred times over. The time spent with my kids especially the last week was much needed therapy for me since the previous weeks had been so hectic and the post weeks are going to be even more so hectic with all that's going on and the end of my ride at RCC is coming to an end! WOOT! So excited to have finally come to the completion of one of my goals I set for myself 3 years ago!

Well I hope you enjoy the pictures of the last month of all the fun we have had. I will try and keep posting the next few months, but chances are I won't have time to post much until after June 9th. But keep looking you never know. Even if it is just
a few short snippets=)

Until next time...
Keep on keepin' on
Love the Crazies!

Been far far too long!

Well it has been over a year since my last post folks and yet again I failed miserably!

But better late then never right?....
haha

Anyways the last year has been full of ups and downs and rights and lefts, but we are still standing and going strong.

Amber update:
I am still going strong in school. This is my last semester at Riverside Community college and I graduate on June 9th with my AA!!! WOOT!!! And if all goes according to plan I will have carried my 4.0 to the very end! This fall I will Transfer to Cal Poly Pomona in search of my BA and hopefully I will find it by 2013. That is my goal! This semester is crazy for me but I love it and it is full of active classes. Since I only had to take 2 more classes to fulfill my transfer units but I had to carry a full time schedule I went ahead and took Hiking, weight training, and 2 dance classes, which are so much fun and will whip me into shape! Other than school not much else is going on. However I will be meeting my sister Alex for the first time this week which is so exciting and I can't wait! I will have to post pictures when I get time when I get back.

Kayla update:
Kayla is incredible! She is doing well in school and excels in Math. she still struggles with reading comprehension, but she is coming along nicely. She is also in swimming and is an awesome swimmer! I am so proud of her and her many accomplishments! One thing that I am extremely proud of her for is her ability to be such a hard worker and a great person. She was rewarded for her personality and kindness to others. Her teacher tells me she is great with all the kids and is the nicest and happiest of them all. This I believe is so great!

Wesley update:
Wesley is incredible! (I know I said this about Kayla too but its true my kids are incredible!) He is in preschool and is loving every second of it. He has made alot of friends and is more outgoing and less shy now. He has this personality that just gets you rolling. He is one of the top in his class and is ready to move on to kindergarten this fall. (yikes)LOL He is at the beginning stages of reading now and I think he might be reading by the time Kindergarten rolls around. Wesley is also in swimming and LOVES it which is shocking considering he wanted nothing to do with sticking his head in the water less than 2 months ago. He is doing great and loves his teachers. Hoping both kids will be little fishes by this summer.

A few other exciting things to share...
My Brother and Letisha were married last August which was amazing! And we got to see a lot of family that we hadn't seen in a while=)
We went to Utah again for Christmas which is always a blast yet some how stressful sneaks into the picture as well. Not sure how that happens but we handle it well.

So we are doing great. I Put up a collage of Pictures of the last year so you can see all the excitement we have been having!=)

Until next time
Loves, hugs, and kisses,
Ambs

A Special thanks to My momma

I just wanted to let you know how amazing my momma is!

She is the most amazing mother and Grandma in the world we are so lucky to have her! She has been there for me through every thing and I can not thank her enough for all that she has done! I also want to thank her for being the best grandma nana ever! She is so amazing with my kids and my kids adore her! On top of being a great mother and grandma she is also a great person altogether! And no matter what she is always giving to others even when she rarely gives to herself.

Mom you are amazing and an inspiration to me! I am so glad to call you mom and so glad I have had you through all these rough times! I am sorry for all the added and unnecessary stress that my problems have added to you! But just know everything you have done and are doing are never going unnoticed!

I love you mom!

Thank you for everything!

6 months later

So it has been half a year sine I have updated my lovely blog! I feel horrible because I know a few people enjoy to see what is going on in my life that do not play the facebook or myspace game! So to them I apologize greatly for my failure to keep you updated over the past 6 months! Anyways... So the last 6 months has been crazy! For me school is still going really well and keeping me busy every step of the way, but I have maintained my 4.0! (yes I love to brag about it!) I have had my very low moments and very high moments with school! But I made it through another semester well 2 if you count the short winter semester! I am on track to get my AA by December of this year or spring of next year I have yet to decide what I want to do since I may have to wait until fall of next year to transfer to Cal Poly. A special thanks to Ernie for all his help and patience with me! He has been here for me during all my highs and lows of the last year and a half!



On the other end of my life the kids are FANTASTIC they are doing well and growing up so fast, but they are such amazing kids with the biggest hearts and best personalities! I am so blessed to have them as my children! We have been having lots of fun going here there and every where. As I mentioned in my last post I think (briefly) Kayla got to swim with the dolphins at sea world for her birthday compliments of Nana. She had so much fun and I can't wait to take her to Mexico to swim with the dolphins there! We have also made trips to Disneyland (I know I know) enjoyed the movies, had campouts in mommy's room, visited Utah, had a day at circus circus,just to name a few of the fun family things we have enjoyed the past several months.

So more on Kayla... She is getting so big, but oh she is beautiful! She is doing so well in school! She loves math and picks up on it like you wouldn't believe! My mom taught her times tables and she picked that up quick! She isn't the biggest fan of reading, which I hope changes as she takes on more interesting books! Uncle Ryan has introduced her to Harry Potter so I know once she gets into that book she will find she really loves to read! At school she always gets a great report from teachers on how amazing she is with her positive attitude and her willingness to do what needs to be done. Kayla also has gotten into the whole "green" campaign. She loves to recycle, she loves the world and all things in it! I tell people she will be my little Hippie=D lol She is on her way to doing so many great things and I am so excited to see her grow and change! Kayla is also the best big sister ever! She is so great with Wes and she is so patient (minus the moments of frustration that come with the territory of being a big sister) with him and helps him learn so much! A few weeks ago she saw a commercial about how you can teach your baby to read and she decided that Wes could do that so she sat and wrote out simple words and cut them out into flashcards, she showed Wes the word and acted out or showed him what it was and sure enough he picked up on them and the next time he saw those words he knew them and could read them! Aw it just melts my heart how amazing my kids are!

Now on to Wes, he is doing great and like all kids he is getting so big! It is hard to believe that he will be 4 in less then 2 months! It amazes me how quickly he picks up on things and amazes me more how smart he is. He is stubborn and knows how to play the card well! LOL He likes to tease everyone because he knows he can get a laugh out of people! He does daycare now so I can attend school in the morning and he loves it! He has tons of friends and a girlfriend ;) there. It is so cute listening to him talk about Isabella (his girlfriend) and it is so cute to watch him when he gets there, Every morning when we get there Wes searches for Isabella and when they spot each other Isabella runs over and gives Wes a big hug! It is the cutest thing ever! HAHA He says she loves him, but he can't kiss her! So that is good! Wesley is getting so good at all his learning books and is picking up on all the concepts really well! All preparation for kindergarten! AHHHH I can't believe next year he will be in school! He is a great little brother too! He always wants to play with sister and spend time with her! It is so great that my kids enjoy each other! I could go on for days about my kids and brag about every single thing they do, but that could literally go on for days! LOL

Other news! MY DIVORCE IS GOING TO BE FINAL ANY DAY NOW!!!!!! So so so so so HAPPY it is finally at an end! Now I can officially close that chapter in my life! I do have to say that despite the end I learned so much the last 9 years of my life! I went through numerous ups and downs in my marriage and I learned so many life lessons that most people never even dream about having to learn! But I am grateful for all those lessons as I know that I am a stronger and better person for them and I can take on the world! I can now begin to expand my wings even further and conquer all my goals with no one holding me back and telling me I can't go for my goals because its to dangerous or that job doesn't make enough money or that my goals are impossible!!! So far I am right on track and before I know it I will be done with school and on my way to checking off all of my goals one by one on my terms!

I also went back to Mexico but this time to Cancun! My friend JoAnn moved from Vallarta to Cancun the end of last year so I decided to pay her a visit in her new paradise! I do have to say WOW!!! I loved it there! She has a place right on the ocean where she can wake up every day to the sunrise right outside her window! My vacation was so relaxing and fun! I hope to go back often to enjoy more of it! I am so blessed to have JoAnn and her family in my life! Alright well I think I have ran out of time for now but I will be returning soon with more! I hope all is well with you all!

Loves, hugs, and kisses Amber Lukes =D

Sorry for the delay

Just wanted to let you know that pictures of the sea world adventure will be up asap I am just experiencing some issues with the pictures at this time. Sorry=(

HAPPY '7TH' BIRTHDAY TO MY KAYLA!!!

Happy Birthday Kayla (my) Shay;) I love you so much more than you know=)
Another year has passed and it is just so crazy that My little princess is '7'!!! It is so amazing seeing the changes she has gone through in the last year. She is just the most amazingly loving, caring, sweetest daughters a mom could ask for!!!

update

Alright so as my mom so lovingly pointed out I need to update my blog... I am so lousy at this thing but hopefully I will get better...
Anyways....
So this summer we have been busy doing fun family things and it is not over yet we have a few things planned in the coming weeks that I think will put a huge smile on someones face... Can't say much as it is a surprise... But since the last update we have had a few family fun days going to Disneyland a couple of times and to legoland... We have been swimming to help the kids improve a bit seeing as they are in swimming lessons now, which they are doing awesome in. Kayla started in level 2 just 3 weeks ago and has graduated to level 3 already! She is already jumping off the diving board and she loves it, but this week she promised me that she will jump off the high dive, but we will see=) Wes is doing great but he is being really stubborn at the same time. He will not put his head in the water, but he has taken a huge step forward by not needing a towel every time water gets in his eyes. But I think he will stick with level one for a bit longer. One thing that is way exciting is that Wes is finally potty trained!!! He had been pulling the stubborn card with that too but We finally got it down!!! I am so excited because this means no more diapers for me!!! Ever!!! On another exciting note Kayla is now in second grade as most of you know and even after a month the improvements she has made are amazing!!! She is now reading harder books with very little help, so this makes me very happy and I think her seeing me read is showing her that reading is more enjoyable than torture;) LOL
Lets see...

We also had a Birthday party for Kayla with her friends last weekend which was a blast but oh so exhausting... It was a more traditional Birthday party, with the games , (and yes pin the tail on the donkey was included as you can see from the pics), birthday cake (cupcakes), piniata, and goodie bag feel... And it was oh so fun, but I am glad it is over. But I would like to thank Tish,Ry, Mom, Carl, and Ernie for all their help without them I don't think I would've been able to handle all those kids... BUt it turned out great and the best part is it but a smile on Kayla's face=)

With me I am still going. I am still on summer break from school which has been torture on my mind as it often wonders when my mind is on hiatus... HAHA but I start school again the end of this month and I will be pretty busy with that as I am attempting 16 credits this time. But I will get'r done and hopefully with my running 4.0. (crossing my fingers)! The last month I have been able to enjoy a lot such as Disneyland and Legoland and swimming, but I have also had the opportunity to go to Faith Hill and George Lopez which were both amazing and so much fun=)

I think that about sums up this update.

Loves, Hugs, and Kisses
Ambs

Back from Utah and so glad

So as some of you know My kids and I were up in Utah for a week and we have now arrived back home so little miss Kayla could get back to school... She started 2nd grade today and I just can't believe it...
They are both growing up so fast...
Anyways....
We had a great time in Utah and had a blast with our friends and family... The kids spent some time with their dad and had a blast with him. I am glad we got down there even if it was only for a week it was fun for all... I only wish I could have seen more of my friends, but I decided that next time I am there I am going to plan a huge party and we will all just get together so we can see everyone at once. It is so hard trying to see everybody... I miss you all!!!
On another note because I went to Utah I missed the summer semester of school and will have to tack on another semester of school but what a do I think I am doing it the right way it keeps me sane!!! I work my butt off but it all pays off when I see a 4.0 on my transcripts at the end of the semester!!! WOOT!!!
Well I hope you enjoy the pics!!!
Loves, hugs, and kisses
Ambs, Kayla and Wes

I also wanted to share with you some of the other things we have been doing the last few months... So here is another slide show with various pictures from Disneyland, The Christmas Carol train tour, Reagan Library, our Camp out in moms room, visiting with aunt Mandy and Dallas, Cup cake Creations from Kayla, Wes and Auntie Tish, Picnics, The Beach, and also Stage Coach... It was all so much fun!!!

Its been toooo long...........

So I woke up this morning and one of my first thoughts was that I have not done a post on here in almost 2 months... So I just thought I would let you know that we are all well and doing great. But we have been extremely busy (well more me than the kids ) and this has become the last priority. But I will try and get a few updates and pics up here as soon as my school ends which is next week. Then I won't be so caught up in school work....
I hope you all are well and I hope to see you all soon=)
Loves, hugs, and kisses
Amber and the kids

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WESLEY!!!!

So My little man turned '3' today and I can not believe it!!!!
Again I am reminded at how time flies!!! OY!!!

I am so grateful to have such an amazing fun spirited little guy in my life it has been so great to see him grow and learn... From the first moment I held him to now I know what an incredible joy was added to my life... He has such the personality that can get anyone to smile from ear to ear!!! His way of thinking and talking is almost like a mini comedian at times... LOL He brings so much joy and laughter to my life and many others... He is the most incredible, sweet spirited, fun loving, inspiring, happy, little guys you will ever meet... (He too has a slight attitude and sneakiness about him, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.)



Wesley, I love you more, mostest, ever, always, too infinity and , BEYOND!!!
Love your Mommy=)