Birthday Nienie

The Big Day! Eden's 3rd Birthday party. Easily one of the best days of her little life. She was all smiles all day. Cute Nienie.
(side note: lots of friends have asked how we came to call her nie. when she was a bit younger and a bit less loquacious, she couldn't quite pronounce her name. "eenie" was her pronunciation. so i began calling her nie or nienie. and it has stuck.)



Some of the group. Note the princess decor. Of course.



I am a cupcake fiend. This is simply the easiest way to serve birthday cake to 3 year olds. It was nice to have a pool right there to clean off fingers.



This is where Charlie spent the majority of the party. In Mimi's arms. (my mom) She was so good to hold him so I could play with the birthday girl and make sure that everyone was having a great time.



We love our birthday girl!



He woke up just in time for presents.




Fancy Nancy hat. A huge hit and her new favorite bedtime story.







Surveying her haul. She got so many adorable things! Thanks friends!







From Left: my sister Abby, my sister Cami, mother of b-day girl, father of b-day girl, my brother Johnny, Johnny's wife Marsha.






Truly a wonderful day. Could she be cuter?

passing the time

Do all children get a kick out of the same things?? Mine are really loving the backyard, the beach, and the tub. And I must admit, I am having a pretty grand time myself.

Even though it is pink, this is Charlie's favorite place to spend time in the backyard. He could sit and play in this thing for hours.

He is a one handed driver already!

Eden is attempting to be a big girl. She doesn't usually want to ride, but she always wants to push Charlie.

Fresh faces. Clean smells. Ahhh.

Mr. Blue Eyes

My 3 year old. Doesn't she look grown up?!

tag

This looked fun to me today.

You can only type *One Word!*Not as easy as you might think. It's really hard to only use one word answers. You can only type one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? Counter
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair? Short
4. Your mother? Fantastic
5. Your favorite thing? Sleep
6. Your dream last night? Nada
7. Your dream/goal? Happiness
8. The room you're in? Den
9. Your hobby? Cooking
10. Your fear? Accidents
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
12. Where were you last night? Pool
13. What you're not? Loud
14. Muffins? Blueberry
15. One of your wish list items? House
16. Where you grew up? Vegas
17. The last thing you did? Clean
18. What are you wearing? Bermudas
19. Your TV? Great
20. Your pets? Jack
21. Your computer? Slow
22. Your life? Busy
23. Your mood? Optimistic
24. Missing someone? Cami
25. Your car? Dirty
26. Something you're not wearing? Tank
27. Favorite store? Anthropologie
28. Your summer? Grand
29. Your favorite color? Yellow
31. When is the last time you laughed? Am
32. Last time you cried? Months

26 years of age

the birthday girl.


the date.


the dinner.


the view.


26 is not so bad.

4th of July (better late than never)

We had a splendid fourth. We watched fireworks from Grandma Ruth's house. Right on Lake Mission Viejo. Prime spot. Charlie and I watched fireworks cheek to cheek. Eden got nervous and chose to watch from the safety of the couch. I guess the booming can be avoided and the ooh and ahh moments can still be enjoyed through a window.
Unfortunately I neglected to get anymore pictures than this one family shot. Oh well. There is always next year.

why quiet time is bad

note charlie's hair

how many pics does it take.....

to get a decent shot of two rowdy kids????

more than 11 i guess.

Eden the Photog

just a few photos eden snapped the other day (and with only minimal help from me). she is really into my camera lately. she always wants me to take her picture. she might just be a natural.

Powell Around

so our long anticipated powell trip flew by. it was so much fun. and the kids were downright splendid. ok, not that wonderful, but so much better than i expected. we had a great time overall. no sunburns, no major injuries, and only some sleep deprivation.



macie and eden enjoying a boat ride and trying to keep their life jackets from choking them.



a walk in our picturesque camping spot. superb.



mommy and nienie. i love this little girl.



benson and eden loved to pretend they were taking naps. benson actually ended up taking a nap. eden, of course, did not.



the little man. he was such a trooper. sleeping even though he was sweating to death. he loved having so many people around. in fact, he is going through withdrawal from not having enough going on around him.



morning faces and morning hair. love it.



auntie erin and macie giving charlie some of that constant attention he came to expect.



the only family shot i got the whole week because my battery died mid week.



she had fun, i promise.



tubing with sky. someone had to do it, why not me??

all in all a great trip. next year? not so much, but maybe the year after!