39 and Counting

Jeff's parents celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary Saturday. Because we were all at the ballet recital for Isabella that night, we made plans for them to celebrate tonight. Our family, Jeff's parents, and Jeff's grandma all agreed to meet at Steve and Carols at 4:30 where a little champagne toast was to occur before heading off to a surprise night on the town. As we were toasting, the doorbell rang, Carol answered it, and the driver of the limo announced that he was there to take them out. It was just the two of them, driving in a white stretch limo (for the first time) to Red Lobster in Modesto, to celebrate 39 years together.

Enjoying a group "toast"...Yes, the kids are drinking champagne. Nicholas sipped it and didn't like it, Isabella made a funny face, and Gabby wouldn't even hold a glass.

The limo...
Carol said she felt like she was going to the prom. :-)

Cheers to you guys!!! *clink* You make 39 years look easy!

Happy Anniversary!!

**Just heard from them as I was posting this. They are home from their night out, drank all of the champagne on the way to dinner, had a fabulous lobster/shrimp/scallops/seafood dinner, and had a wonderful night. *cheers*

SMOKIN'

It is never a good sign to see a thermometer reading like this....

The kids escaped the heat by being at a friend's house and swimming while Jeffrey and I escaped to the movie theatre with his parents to watch Star Trek. Afterwards, it was the parent's pool and dinner.

Lots of swimming and AC happening right now!!

Best ticket in town

Isabella's dance recital was last night. Nights like these are right up her alley. The make-up, the dress up costumes, the curling iron, the glitter in her hair and on her body, and she LOVES being on the stage. (If only she liked posing in 104 degree sun shining weather so I could take her picture.) I managed to salvage a few.
She had 2 different performances for last night's show. The first was a song from the Tinkerbell movie and it was probably her favorite costume and favorite dance. She has been wearing it all morning and I'd lay a good bet that this will be her Halloween costume! :-)

Sweet Tinkerbell

Her second dance was the song Stuck on You and she was dressed as Elvis. This outfit was sparkly and WAY cute.

Ah...the make up. This makes me warp ahead about 10 years. The performers are asked to wear blue eyeshadow so their eyes "pop out" and every year I'm forced to buy a new "blue". Who keeps blue eyeshadow laying around anyway???

At any rate, my little Tink and Miss Elvis loves it!

And I love her!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day was kind of in two parts for me today. For the kids, the morning was filled with pancakes, cards, and hugs for Daddy. For me, the morning was filled with Skyping. I got to see my two Dads and my brother Jeff. We really didn't talk about anything important but I actually got to "see" them. Knowing that I won't be able to see them again until August (Mom and Tom) or November (Dad), this was a big deal for me. Dad was showing me what he pulled out of his garden, Jeff just sat and chatted, Tommy Boy was kinda quiet since we Skyped the night before, and the kids were interested in showing them all of our pets and just being silly. Being on Skype is possibly the best thing ever for a girl who lives 3000 miles away from her family. It was great seeing all of you! I miss you all so much and I can't wait to see you and visit with you again!!

The afternoon was filled with Jeff and the kids, a big pasta dinner in which Nicholas and Isabella made the sauce with Daddy, and swimming at Grandma and Papa's house. Every child demanded a little part of Jeff's time as he swam with them, threw them in the air, and chased them around the pool. Here are some highlights...

Jeffrey was on a raft and all of the kids decided to climb on him and play. At first it was Nicholas and Isabella until they decided to"pull into port" and pick up Gabby. How the raft stayed afloat, we didn't question!

Jeffrey and the kids...

plus Papa...

all making silly faces. :-)

Jeffrey and his Dad, Steve! Happy Father's Day Gentlemen!!

Closing day

Baseball season 2009 has come to a close. This was the first year for us playing in Merced (played in the Atwater league the previous years) and it was interesting to see Nicholas back as the little fish in a big pond. He did very well, I can see his skills growing, he's gotten used to coach pitch vs. tee-ball, and I couldn't be prouder. His team went 11-1 and everyone had a great season. Way to go Green Machines!!!

His last at-bat for the season! Connected right at the end of the bat!!! :-)
A BBQ and family time took place right after the game. Thank you coaches for all of your hard work! Nicholas met new friends and was having dinner before saying goodbye!

His coach handing him his trophy and putting his medal around his neck!

My Slugger! Great playing Nicholas! Looking forward to next year!! :-)

Happy Birthday

This is the face of a sweet 6 year old. I tried to get her to go backwards and be 4 years old again but she wouldn't have it! :-)

We left Saturday morning and headed off to Santa Cruz so Isabella could spend her birthday at the ocean. The kids nor I had ever been there, Jeff is gone for the week, so off we went on our adventure. Building sand castles, chasing waves, riding rides on the Boardwalk, eating fish and chips, basking in the sun, feeling the breeze, and smelling the salty ocean air was heaven for all of us.

On the car ride back to Merced, Isabella crashed on her new horse pillow. Grandma and Papa bought her this horse pillow that has yet to leave her side. She slept with it last night and snuggled with it the entire 2 1/2 hour drive home (much to the dismay of Nicholas who was sitting next to her and literally had a horses tail in his face). She wants a horse birthday party so her friends can come and celebrate with her but we are a couple weekends away from that. This pillow should hold her over until then. She LOVES it!!
Happy Birthday my Sweet Isabella! I hope you had a wonderful 6th birthday!

*sigh*

More Graduation pictures

The family....

Grandma and Papa....

Isabella and Daddy...

Isabella and Mommy...

Our Graduate!

Isabella is officially out of school as of tomorrow but the Kindergarten graduation party was held Tuesday night at a local park. The class sang a couple songs, accepted their diplomas and had a picnic style lunch. Hard to believe she's out of Kinder and on the way to First grade!!



For some reason, she looks so big here! The Graduate!

Heaven only knows what she's thinking here.....
Or here....Congratulations Isabella!

Love you