Grace in her classroom, working on a project with Grandma and Grandpa.
Grace and Eve jumping on the trampoline with Grandma. She was actually on there a while with them ( I kept hearing them all laughing as they would all fall down together!)
Our family with Jason and Becky's family on the boys' special day
I actually painted this tree on the wall about a year ago when the room was still Eve's. I copied the idea from a "Land of Nod" catalog.
This is a more recent paint job on a different wall. I got this idea from Family Fun magazine a couple of years ago (I ripped out the page and I've been saving it for a while!) The four knobs on the clothesline are for hanging things on.
This bird mobile is my favorite...I love how it turned out! I got the idea here.
We celebrated Grace's birthday today with a fun-filled party. She got to splash in the pool with a few of her friends, play in our newly completed backyard, and blow out six candles on her tropical themed cake! It was her first real "friend party" (we have let her invite one or two in the past, but this time she got to invite six of her closest buddies.) It was also special to have part of Aaron's family there to join in...they are always such a big help! Happy birthday my sweet Grace...I can't believe how big you are getting!
I spent a lot of time on this cake, but seeing the final result...it was all worth it! click on this picture for a full appreciation!
This little guy ripped the hula dancer's leg off on his first swing!
Trampoline fun (We are so excited to finally have our yard completed!)
Grace's surprise present was a tether-ball court (Aaron arranged this one after observing Grace's recent fascination with the "sport.") She was thrilled to have her very own (She can't play with the one at recess, because "it always has big boys playing it!")
This one was hard for me. My little Eve started preschool today. Yes, it is only until noon, and yes, it is only two days a week...but I just wasn't quite ready for this step. Doesn't she just look so little? 
So I mentioned in an earlier post that I would report on my "girls weekend" ...it was so much fun! Five of my fabulous friends from high school (and/or childhood) met in beautiful San Diego to celebrate the fact that we all turned 30 this year! We came from a total of three states, and stayed with Charlotte (the hostess with the mostess) and her husband Brady in their new home.
While Charlotte went to work on Thursday, Chelsea, Julyssa, and I spent our first day at the Maritime Museum where we got to explore several really cool historic ships right there in the Bay. We also had fun eating lunch and looking at shops in Seaport Village. Judy met us later that afternoon, and Nikki came in that night.
Breakfast the next morning at another San Diego hot-spot (Did I mention we ate really well?!)
On our hike at Torrey Pines (a trail overlooking the ocean...beautiful!)
Judy, Charlotte, Nikki, Julyssa, Maren, Chelsea
Another table shot...this time at a splendid find in Little Italy (downtown.)
We ended the evening with some karaoke back at Char's place. It got late and we all got a little loopy!
Thank you to Charlotte and Brady for letting us all stay in your home; thank you Judy for shuttling us all around in your classy van; thank you Chelsea and Julyssa for flying in from out of state; thank you Nikki for sleeping on the floor so my pregnant body could have the couch; thank you to my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law for helping watch the girls while I was gone; and thank you to my dear husband Aaron for taking care of the kids' needs and driving all the way to Southern California with them to meet me. I love you all! Wow...I feel like I just gave my acceptance speech for an Oscar!
Today was Grace's first day of first grade. She was slightly nervous this morning on our way to school, but seemed okay once we got to her classroom. Eve and I gave our hugs good-bye and made the long walk back to the car. I kept my composure (no tears like when she went to kindergarten last year) but I felt a longing to be a fly on her classroom wall. I wanted to see her face as she opened her lunchbox for the first time in the cafeteria and hear her delight upon finding her favorite sandwich, her own juice box, a container of blueberries, and even home-made cookies. I would have loved to watch her make friends at recess and see her test out all the ways of getting up and down on the new "big-kid" playground. It would have been my pleasure to accompany her on her classes' tour of the school an help answer questions about the school library and point out which bathroom was closest to the classroom. But of course, those were not my experiences to be had. I would just have to wait six and a half long hours and hear her perspective on it all. When 2:30 came around I was not disappointed. When we met her outside her classroom door she gave a big smile and said, "I had a great day!" She didn't stop talking the entire walk to the car, the whole drive home, and continued to fill us in on details as she sat at our kitchen table and finished the last cookie she had been saving in her lunchbox. No, I wasn't a fly on the wall today, but it was almost better hearing the play-by-play through her eager eyes. It was a great first day!
Grace was thrilled to loose her top, front tooth last night. In fact, the sensation of slipping her tongue where her tooth used to be made her down-right giddy (it also makes for a very slight, and very cute lisp!)
Eve, looking very proud of her castle.
Grace with her cousins on our first day at Newport Beach.
Grace and Julia were so excited about the hole they spent a good portion of the afternoon digging!
Grandma helped the kids build a huge sand castle at Corona del Mar.
Eve, Aunt Sarah, Grace and Julia getting ready to roast hot dogs for dinner in a fire pit at the beach.
The girls and I made an American Flag cake.
Eve and Grace were thrilled that their cousins were in town for the occasion!
A fourth of July tradition from Aaron's Grandpa: homemade ice cream!
We had so much fun doing fireworks in front of the house. The kids really enjoyed this part!
Grace with her sparkler.
Eve didn't want to hold a sparkler, but enjoyed throwing "poppers" on the sidewalk with Aunt Rene.
On Friday the girls and I attended a magic show put on at our local library. Both girls enjoyed it, but Grace was especially impressed with the amazing magic. She immediately wanted to check out a book about being a magician. She found one that showed kids how to do their own magic tricks and we checked it out before heading home. After thumbing through the book, she informed me that she wanted to put on a magic show of her own. So after putting Eve down for a nap, Grace and I spent the afternoon finding a few tricks that were within her skill level, making the props she needed, practicing her mystifying illusions, and coming up with a name and costume for this budding magician (Grace the Wonderful Magician.) When all was prepared she called her daddy at work and invited him to come see a magic show that night. All was ready when he arrived home from work (Eve had even dressed up for the occasion in one of her best tu-tus!) We all enjoyed a fun night of amazing magic that will be hard to forget!
Earlier this week we went on a quick, but very fulfilling trip to Disneyland. Growing up in Southern California, I've been to this magical place many times, but this was a whole new experience...witnessing my little ones' excitement for the first time! The girls had great endurance, starting the day off early in the morning and lasting well into the night with no naps. We got to do pretty much everything we wanted in one day and had so much fun spending this time together as a family.
They were very impressed by the "real castle" we got to see.
Small World was definitely a favorite!
Aaron had fun with his girls on "Autopia." Grace got to drive, but I think she was most excited about having her own drivers license given to her.
Eve really liked this Winnie the Pooh ride because there were no scary parts.
Aaron took the girls on Splash Mountain ( I refrained...wasn't sure if it might be too bumpy for my little baby bump!) The big drop made poor Eve cry, but Grace seemed to enjoy it (I was kind of surprised at how much she enjoyed the "big rides" she went on with Aaron. Space Mountain and Star Tours were her favorites.)
Grace got to dance with Goofy during the Parade.
Grace loved splashing in the waves and writing with a stick in the sand, while Eve preferred to sit on a towel under the umbrella and expressed that she thought the seaweed was "nasty."
