Beach Trip 2011

We got back a few days ago from our annual trip to the beach. It was fabulous - the boys did a TON of swimming (they actually learned to swim on their own on this trip!), we soaked up lots of sun, Jess took the boys crab hunting at night, we visited a favorite - The Track - with rides and games, and Jess and I actually got some down time in as well! We miss it already and can't wait to get back next year!

Last night dinner on the docks - see you next year, beach!

Birthday Party Fun!

The boys have enjoyed some super fun birthday parties over the past few weeks. Last weekend, Ben went to his friend Abe's reptile party and met a few new friends ...
Wait, do I have something on my head?

And Noah had a great time at his friend Zara's Hawaiian birthday party where he was transformed into ...

Spiderman!

A Year in Pictures

We celebrated Father's Day a week early because we're going to be be traveling next weekend. As a gift, I put together this slideshow for Jess. I'll say upfront that it's long (11 minutes to be exact), but it was so fun to go back and relive the past year through pictures - I was reminded how incredibly blessed we are.

Start of Summer

June 3 was Ben's last day of school. He had such a fantastic year! With his teachers - Mandy, Britt, Heidi, and Donna.
After school, his whole class had a pool party. There was a little "graduation ceremony" for the kids in his class who are "moving up" to the big campus at his school.
I can NOT believe we have a first grader!

The next day we celebrated Ben's birthday (again) with a party with all his classmates.
We had a scientist come and do some interactive experiments. Ben was the special assistant. It was awesome!

Noah trying on his rainbow goggles.

Everyone got to make slime to take home.

My friend Jen made this amazing cake.

On Saturday, the boys started t-ball. We have a little St. Louis Cardinal and a little LA Dodger.

Play ball!

First Dance

A Daddy, his girl, and a front porch.

May Catch-Up

May has a way of whirling right past and before you know it, POW! It's May 28th and I haven't posted any pics. We've had a crazy busy month with tons of fun activities, and I captured it all on camera. Until yesterday. When I accidentally erased ALL my pictures from May. Erased. Gone. Eliza's PRECIOUS dedication at church? Gone. Her FIRST times crawling? Gone. The ONLY 6th birthday Ben will ever have? Gone. (Insert tears here.) Thankfully, we live in a digital age where I've been able to piecemeal the month together with pics swiped off of camera phones, friends, and teachers. They're not the best pics (those are all in some cyber trash can), but at least I have them!The boys took another camping trip with Ben's class. Eliza and I sat this one out and had a great girls' night at home.
Ben hangin' with his school buddies.

Last Sunday we had Eliza dedicated at our church. It was such a special day, and we were so glad to share it with Jess's dad, brothers, and sister.
It also happened to be Ben's 6th birthday!
Traditional birthday morning greeting.
After a celebratory lunch and presents, we had cupcakes, then Jess and Uncle Joseph took the boys for their first real golf outing. Well, it was actually to the driving range, but it was their first non-mini-golf experience.
Thanks to Ben's pal Grayson for lending us his clubs!
Fore!

The next day we celebrated with Ben's friends at school,
and the following day with his friends at playgroup.

He also had a cool field trip with his class last week. They all walked to a neighborhood restaurant for Mickey Mouse pancakes!

Whipped cream squirted directly into mouth? Best. Field. Trip. Ever.

Yesterday we had a family picnic with Noah's class for his last day of school. He had such a fabulous year with his amazing teachers, Margaret and Mubarka.

And today we spent the morning at the arts festival, where Eliza got to wiggle her toes in the grass.

She's crawling and pulling up a lot these days. I'll have to take some more pics ... and save them ... repeatedly.

Easter 2011

So, I was definitely a bit camera happy this weekend, but I couldn't help myself. The kids had so much fun hunting for Easter eggs and I wanted to capture all the excitement. We started out yesterday with an egg hunt at a nearby park. Eliza was willing to sit for just this long with the E.B., and then she'd had enough (don't blame her, actually). As you can see, Noah's at that stage of really natural smiles for pictures.
But so darn cute, natural or not.

Then we headed over to church for a Spring Fling and another Easter Egg Hunt!

The boys had fun trying their hand at lacrosse.

Before making out with another gajillion Easter eggs.

And bright and EARLY this morning, they were up to hunt for the eggs and baskets the Easter Bunny had brought to our house.

E was a good sport and wore the bunny ears for the crazy lady with the camera.
Miraculously, we were able to get dressed and out the door for a beautiful outdoor church service that started at 8:45 am (I said we were up early).

Eliza waited until after church to check out her Easter goodies.

She was all about the new munchies,

and pacis! Who needs jelly beans?!

The day ended with a visit from Uncle Joseph.

Happy Easter!