Flamingo Girl

I can't think of anything Julia loves more than her little pink flamingo puppet Jeffrey. So you can only imagine her excitement when a package arrived for her last week from her aunt Emily that contained a flamingo dress AND pink flamingo sunglasses. She is in permanent flamingo heaven. Thanks Emily!!!

I love this picture

Blake has been doing "Saturday chores" since he started Kindergarten. It usually involves taking out trash, vacuuming and or cleaning windows. But he has kicked it up a notch. Last Saturday Blake learned the very fine art of cleaning the toilet and sink under my professional tutelage. hee hee It was actually kind of fun to teach him because he was so excited to learn. I just had to take a picture because i know that in a few years from now, swishing that brush around the toilet bowl will not be viewed as fun. Then again, in a few years he will certainly be making more than a dollar a week:)

Cousins Galore

This past weekend my brother and his family stayed with us for a few nights. It was baby and toddler mania. 3 two year olds, one 7 month old and 3 big kids all had fun. We had a great time down at the Skirball Center touring the Noah's Ark exhibit with lots of family.

And a special shout out to all of you with twins..... I don't know how you do it.

Kindergarten is for little kids.

When Blake finished his last day of school a few weeks back he very proudly announced that he was no longer a kindergartener. "I'm in first grade now" is what we heard a million times during the first week of summer break.

I really could not have asked for a more amazing, talented, kind and just generally wonderful teacher for Blake. Everytime I volunteered in the classroom I was blown away by how great she was with the kids. Thank you thank thank you Mrs. Walker!!!!!! I wish she could be Blake's 1st grade teacher but alas, I'll just cross my fingers that Julia gets her next year. Wow, I can't believe how quickly the school year flew by. Pretty soon he'll be going off to college.....well not that soon.

Happy Father's Day

This is one of my most favorite pictures. It was just a candid shot taken by my friend Alyssa at the wild animal park last month but I think it captures so much. The joy of both father and son is so evident. I love this man for so many reasons but on Father's Day I honor him for being the kind of father that will bless his children all through their lives. I hope our sons can follow in his footsteps and be great fathers someday.

Happy Father's Day Mike!!!!!

30 hours of freedom

30 hours of kid free fun this weekend with this cute guy. We had a great time. On Firday night we enjoyed going to the temple, eating at one of our oldtime favorite Thai restaurants from our dating days. And then my ultimate dream of riding the ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pierwas finally realized. (hmmm sometimes I wonder if I am a small child) I have wanted to ride that thing FOREVER and I finally got to.

This is us on the ferris wheel. I could hardly contain my excitement. I only wish I had a picture of our view, but alas my camera is really really lame.

Eating my favorite treat in the world, Pinkberry.

Lemon pancakes made with love by Mike.

Mountain biking in beautiful Cheseboro park. I probably exclaimed at least 500 times how beautiful the wild flowers were. It's that time of year.

And finally we topped it off with dinner at the local Indian restaurant. After 30 hours of fun we returned to real life. Thanks Rebecca and Dave for making this possible. I'm sure it wasn't really that fun having children ages 9,8,7,6,5,4,3 and 2 all weekend. :) But most importantly thanks to wonderful Mike for always being my loving partner in every adventure from crazy dates to crazy children!!!!

Swimming

The other day Julia came out of her room with her swimming suit on. After telling her it was too cool to go swimming she reassured me that she would put on her sweater and leggings, both of which she did at different times. This was just too funny for me to NOT take some pictures.

I think I know where we will be everyday this summer. :)