Happy Birthday Ellie!!

We love you and hope you have a fantastic day and a wonderful year!

How much does your hair weigh?

Today Emma was looking at my hair and she said, "Mom, my hair is longer than your hair". She then ran her fingers down the length of my hair and counted "1...2...3...4...5...6...7..." and then she did the same thing to her hair but she counted really fast "123456789 - see my hair is nine pounds." Then she asked me how much pounds my hair is. It was pretty hilarious!

California time!

First day at the beach! The weather was perfect. The kids had a great time. Thanks Hilly Bill, Katie and Ellie for making it so fun for Owen and Emma! Hilly Bill is Emma's new name for Hillary.
Balboa Island with Nana and Grandpa! We have walked around Balboa so many times I can't even count but it never gets old. The first day we were in CA we made a list of everything we wanted to do and this was at the top of the list. We got to do everything on the list except get a balboa bar:(
Santa Barbara Pier. We visited Nate, Cari, Grace and Ben at their new house in Montecito. We had a blast. The kids were very sad to leave. We miss you guys!
Can you even tell Cari is pregnant and due next month??
I love this picture. One of the older girls took this on the nature walk. It just cracks me up. Kids are so cute!
I have a ton of pictures from the trip - I will have to do a California time part 2 and maybe 3 or 4! We can't wait for next summer! Thanks Nana and Grandpa and Nate and Cari for having us. We love you guys!

Can I please have some goldfish?

For fall break we went on a trip to California. Grandpa bought a few snacks for the kids for the car ride home. Emma asked all day to have some goldfish but I told her she had to wait until we were driving back to Arizona - as soon as we hit the freeway she asked one more time and Hillary took a picture of the happy moment!

Belated birthday post for Owen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!!! My little guy turned 6 today! I can't believe it. I feel like a bad mom today. Owen woke up at 5:30 am and wondered where his decorations and presents were (for my kids birthdays I decorate one chair with ribbons and a birthday sign and put their presents on the table). I felt horrible. I was too tired last night to do it and I thought I would wake up before him! So we decorated together and then he got to go and pick out his birthday present with Joe. He got a new BMX bike - it is pretty nice! He is very excited about his new bike. I will post a picture asap - i loaned my camera cord to someone and they have not returned it yet! After decorating we had a yummy breakfast (waffles) and got ready for Owen's party. We had both of our families over for hot dogs, pineapple, chips and cake. Owen requested the gourmet lunch menu! We had a great time. At the end of the day Owen said to me "Mom, this was the best birthday ever!"
I am so grateful for Owen. He is the sweetest boy and he is so caring. I will never forget the first time I held him. I think a first born holds an extra special place in a mother's heart. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such an amazing little boy. He is just so good! I love him more than he will ever know. Happy birthday buddy - I love you!