My Girls

These are pictures of my girls from this summer that I just love. You can tell they are just great friends and love each other. My dream is for them to remain best of friends their whole lives. I've found that having a sister is one of the best gifts in life...and they each have two.

I think His Tractor's.....So Cute

Here are some darn cute pictures of my girls with Kermit on the old tractor this summer. I even gave it a go this year. I found it to be much more difficult than I thought. I felt exactly like I did the first time I ever drove a car. The shifting thing is very different, so is stopping and going. Practice is needed for sure. Maybe next summer I'll be able to spend a couple hours in a field practicing. I NEVER thought in a million years, I would ever want to learn to drive a tractor. IT'S FUN, the kids loved it too. Kermit loves it for sure! Okay, I'll just say it....I think his tractor's sexy....(blush, blush).

Golly Ball...

Have you ever heard of Golly Ball? We're not sure why but that is what Annaliese calls bowling. =) Here are our pictures from a fun filled family day in Massachusetts. It was the Fourth of July and all of Kermit's family went with us. Our family Independence Day picnic and program were rained out....so a candlestick bowling we went. FUN! It was my first time...the gutter bumpers came in handy. =)

That night we did not go see fireworks...but we did end up seeing them a few nights later at a beach in York, Maine.....the girls LOVED that too!

Old house tour....

Cool Beans

To see something pretty cool click on the "Featured Video" thumbnail at the bottom left here.

Didn't he do great! Kermit has been busy with his corporate client work but his firm also has asked him to take on some recruiting in addition. This was his first time in front of a camera. He says he was nervous! I'm not sure why he would be...it's just a little old interview in Times Square for Businessweek... KERM, you did GREAT! XOxoxoxox No need to be modest here! Congratulations on a job well done!

The rest of the story...

So to wrap up our California Adventure I just have to say...we had a blast! I was a bit nervous for this one. I flew ALL BY MYSELF with the little ones and SURVIVED! (I tried this once before and vowed to never do it again...it was bad news.) The kiddos were great. I sat in the aisle and Annaliese sat in the aisle across from me. The twins sat next to me in the middle and window seats. We kept busy with play-doh, stickers, fancy paper and markers, Richard Scary books, treats and of course...videos. We were on the 6am flight. Did I mention that the kids did great? They were so happy at 4:30am when we woke them up. They were so excited and ready to go! My dad was there when we arrived bright and early in LA and drove us back home. Byron's family had also just arrived on their flight at about the same time so he followed us back to Riverside. FUN TIMES WERE HAD!

HIGHLIGHTS...
*Cousin Corbin's 4th birthday party.
*Fun at THE PARK!
*Fun in the BACKYARD!
*Fun with COUSINS!
*Huntington Beach, playing in water and hot dog roast.
*Disneyland.
*More Beach (Annaliese and Avrie LOVED the water. Adeline, not so much.)
*Annaliese had swimming lessons every morning the week we were there! (She was so brave and determined! What a sweetheart!)
*Survived an earthquake
*Family photo shoot.
*Did I mention, Fun with COUSINS?!
*Dinner at The Elephant Bar.
*BIRTHDAY PARTY for mom!

Whew...all that in one short week. Kermit flew in and joined us on Wednesday night, so we all flew back home together as a family. We took the last flight out...got home after midnight...but we made it! The kids once again did great.
What a fun trip! Can't wait to do it again!

Happy 60th Birthday

Better late than never, right. I'm only a month behind and determined not to get 2 months behind!
At the very end of July all of my side of the family gathered in California for mom's 60th birthday bash. A pirate themed 60th bash, no less. What a great time we all had. Mom is an August baby so all the kids went in together and got her a beautiful peridot necklace and earings. We also put together a scrapbook for her listing all the things that we treasure about her. No pirate party would be complete without a treasure hunt. My brother Byron dressed up as a pirate and helped the kids follow clues around the yard to find different hidden treasures. My kids especially loved that. Annaliese is still talking about it! They also had pirate boat races (raingutter ragata style). My mom's brother's and their families also came for the party. It was so much fun to see some of my extended family that I haven't seen in years!
It was a very fun day! Happy Birthday again mom! I love you!