My girls

I honestly do not know what to do with these girls! They have no concept of putting things away. When their room gets like this, I want to pull my hair out and scream. I also have a strong desire to get rid of their toys. Having too much stuff makes me feel like I cannot breathe! I am happy that Andrew can depart with old toys that he no longer plays with, but Allison on the other hand, genuinely loves each and every one of her stuffed animals, every little meaningless toy and  all accessories that go along with her toys. She has a special story about everything she has and therefore does not want to get rid of anything. I am happy that she has so much love and attachment for her toys, but you would think that she would care enough about them to put them away... Oh well, she is only 4 years old.

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

Today we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. He knew we were coming over to celebrate, but had no idea Rochelle and her kids were coming too as well as a professional photographer. We took beautiful family photos with our backyard as our back drop. There is no other beautiful landscape than my dad's garden. I spent a majority of my childhood playing in my backyard and I love that my kids have the opportunity to do the same. It just seemed fitting to have our photos taken there. 

 After our portraits were complete, we went for a swim in the spa and played the afternoon away. We had a fitting Italian dinner with amazing appetizers and of course cupcakes for dessert.

After dinner Rochelle and her kiddos hit the road to go back home, but my family and I stayed the night. We watched a movie in the living room with our projector. We popped popcorn and stayed up late. It was a beautiful day to celebrate a beautiful man. My dad is the definition of patience and kindness. He is loyal to his family and I have learned so much from him. I have enjoyed growing up with a fun-loving and sweet daddy and I have enjoyed getting to know him since I have become an adult. I don't know what I would do without him. He  showed me what to expect from a spouse and how a man should treat a woman. He is truly amazing and I am proud to call him my dad.

Andrew's First Sleepover

Andrew was very blessed to have met his best friend, Kingston, in TK this past year. The two are so similar is eerie. They love to play dress up, obsessed with transformers, play pirates and dinosaurs and they love each other so much. I was lucky enough to be able to call Kingston's mom, Apryl, one of my good friends now. She too is super sweet and we have a lot in common. I was more than okay with having Kingston over as Andrew's first sleep over buddy. The two had way too much fun and I enjoyed hearing them laugh in the room together. Once 10:30 hit, I had to put an end to the laughter and make them go to sleep. Their first sleep over was a complete success, and Andrew is now begging to sleep over at their house now. I am happy I am raising him to be so independent and confident, but a little part of me gets sad when he is so eager to go to his friend's house all by himself.

Boogie Boarding

We have spent a majority of our summer at our local beach, but today we decided to be adventurous. We decided to pack up the car with all sorts of toys and goodies and head up PCH to see what we could find. We ended up north of Malibu at a small little local beach where the kids tried out their boogie boards for the first time on real waves. I wasn't surprised that Allison enjoyed it more than Andrew. Paul took them out individually for a little lesson. Andrew went first and didn't last that long. He was afraid Paul would let go of him when he was riding the waves. Once it was Allison's turned she loved it! Ashley and I enjoyed our time sunbathing and digging in the sand. It was a special day, we had no plans, no destination and no time schedule. It was almost like a mini vacation in one day. We ended our spontaneous day with a trip to a random hoe in the wall Mexican restaurant in an interesting part of town, that turned out to be amazing. Of course we couldn't end the night after dinner, so we drove to the Redondo Beach pier for some Bubble gum ice cream. It would be an understatement if I said that I love summer.

In-n-out

Our little "You There" is getting so big! She was even big enough to eat her very own In-n-Out burger. Only she would decide that eating it while sitting this way was a good idea.

Ashley keeps us on our toes all day long. She is starting to really play with her siblings now and tries very hard to keep up with them. She has the best expressions. One of my favorites is her crinkly nose. She knows it is cute too, which makes her extra funny. Aunt Katie has nick named her "thug" because she can be a bit rough and tough. She will be dancing in a circle, then walk up to her sippy cup and then just throw it across the room, and then go back to dancing again. She certainly thinks the world revolves around her, and that is OK because she is only 18 months old.