My handsome little man

It's hard for me to believe, but my baby turned 4 a few days ago! It seems like just yesterday when he was just a little puddle of baby poured into the baby seat. I'm convinced that nothing makes time fly quite like having children. They are my biggest blessing!
We had a small (as that's all they would allow!) birthday party for FH at the Hands On House. He requested that months ago for his party, so that's what we did. It was a pirate theme, and he had an absolutely fantastic time. He truly felt special, and isn't that what a birthday party is all about? Enjoy the pics!

Time is flying!

Here I thought I was going to have so much time on my hands this summer. I thought I was going to be struggling to find things to do with the kids that would keep them entertained and keep them from getting bored. How WRONG I was!!! I can barely find the time to do the laundry and keep the house cleaned! I give all the credit in the world to the mommies who go out every day to work outside the home. I sincerely don't know how you do it. I'm pretty sure I would lose my mind!
FH is finally starting to feel better. Turns out that while we were on vacation he developed a "raging" double ear infection and the beginnings of bronchitis. Mind you, his ears and lungs were both clear before we left for the beach. So apparently the amox. he was on all week didn't help him at all. He's on a stronger antibiotic now and I'm seeing signs of improvement. Isn't it awful to be sick in the summer?! It also happens to be his 4th birthday tomorrow, so I'm hoping he'll be well enough to celebrate!
We all had a great time at the beach. Much fun was had, and much swimming was done. There was a great tide pool every day, so the kids had a blast playing in that. We had to drag them off of the beach...me too, for that matter! I would stay there all day if I could. Feels like home to me!
So here are some pictures from the beach. How blessed we are to be able to take that trip. I am the lucky one to have 2 sisters-in-law that I get along so well with! Enjoy!

Just got home

We were having such a great time at the beach that we decided to stay until today (Friday) instead of coming home on Wednesday as originally planned. Got some cute pics of the kids...will give you a teaser. Unfortunately, despite being on amox. since last Sunday, FH is still running a fever and not feeling well. Looks like we'll be back at the ped tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed for me. And in the meantime, here's a cutie!

Off we go!

The kids and I are leaving today for Rehoboth Beach with Frank's sisters. I won't have access to the internet while I'm gone, but I'll be back on Thursday. I haven't finished last week's card yet, and I just looked up this week's so I can mull it over a little while I'm gone. I'll get them both done and post pics when I get back.
BTW...Mel, LOVE what you did with the nursery! Can't wait to see more pics.
Time for me to run. Wish us lots of sunshine!!!

As promised, here are the pictures of the water slide. We ALL had a blast on that crazy thing! Even Dad and Elizabeth got in on the fun.


Needless to say, the kids completely wore themselves out and slept very well at night.


Take notice of the last picture. See how FH looks like he's flying? Well, he was. Instead of just sitting down and sliding like everyone else, he thought he'd spruce it up a little and LAUNCH himself down the water slide. Unfortunately for him, he threw himself exactly as you see, bounced off of his belly, and flew straight over the side!!! He landed on his back on the neighbor's driveway. (You know that lawns in Southern California are not large!) Thankfully, he escaped with only a lump on the back of his head, a couple of small scrapes on his back, and a healthy respect for the power of the bounce! I'm sure I don't have to tell you that he didn't launch himself at all after that. I was very grateful, because my step-sister (who happens to be a nurse) was there and was keeping an eye on him all afternoon. I'll tell you, that's the stuff that heart attacks are made of!










Despite FH's practice flight, we had so much fun and look forward to our next trip to Cali when Grandpa Bob and Grandma Elizabeth will pull this little gem out again!

A couple more.........

I got a little carried away with the beach pictures, so I thought I'd split them up. I'll put some of the others here in this post.

Happy Wednesday! I'm going to post a couple more pictures from our trip to CA to share with you. We had such a great time and I came home with close to 1500 pictures. (My dad and I both go a little nutty with the camera.) The idea is that if you just keep snapping away, the odds are on your side that you're going to come up with a few great shots. And we did, indeed. As I said before, we spent Zoe's birthday at Disneyland. We also spent one day at Huntington Beach, and another at Universal Studios. And I'll throw in a couple of pictures of the water slide that Dad and Elizabeth bought, too. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! We ALL got in on the water slide action! The beach was really great...Dad got FH's first steps in the Pacific caught on "film". (Guess I really can't say that anymore, can I?) So here you go............enjoy!

My sweet girl..........

Zoe turned 6 a couple of weeks ago, while we were in California. Does it get any better than spending your 6th birthday at Disneyland? Peter Pan said Happy Birthday to her TWICE!!! Pluto even signed, "Happy Birthday Zoe" in her autograph book. Too cool.
Anyway, we recently had her party with her friends--it was a glamour girl party. The kids all had a fantastic time being super-girly. They got their hair done, their nails done, they got to play dress up in fancy dresses and do a fashion show, all while the soundtrack to High School Musical played in the background. Even the mommies were singing along...if you only knew how many times I've heard those songs! But I guess it beats the Wiggles.
So I thought I would share a couple of those pics. Hope you enjoy!

Card Challenge

Here they are, my pictures for the first 2 weeks of the card deck challenge. (I didn't have the blog the first week, so I'm posting pics from both weeks.) The first question was "If you could choose to be a princess, which one would you choose?" It was a no-brainer for me. Hands down, Ariel all the way. If I could live in the ocean I would in a New York minute. Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE the beach!!! And the second question was "What makes you twitterpated?" See the card for the answer.
I had an absolute ball doing these cards and can't wait for the next prompt. I never would have fancied myself a scrapper, but it has turned out to be really fun! I've also been doing some stuff with our pictures from California and also from Zoe's birthday party. Again, lots of fun. The kids have really enjoyed it, too. They like looking at the fun paper and reliving the stories told in the pictures. It's been great for all of us! I'm really liking this new creative outlet!

Trying to play around with this a little bit. I should really be out mowing the lawn or folding that mountain of laundry that's waiting for me, but this seemed like much more fun. Zoe is at camp for the morning, and FH is at preschool, so I'm doing something that I want to do for a few minutes! (wink, wink) Let's see if this works. If it does, you should be looking at a picture of us from our recent trip to California.........wish me luck!
OK, I just previewed it so I know that it worked! Sometimes I am just too impressed with myself!!!
Happy day!

Happy 4th!

The next few days are going to be nutty for me, so I just wanted to tell everyone to have a happy and safe holiday! Safe travels to those who will be out on the road. Will post more when I get a minute...great pics of the kids to share!