Pirate Booty

 It was all Paul's idea. I am so blessed to have such a fun, creative and sporadic hubby to be the father of my children. He created this treasure map on the computer, then burned the edges and crinkled it up so it looked like a real pirate map. We hid it at a park and nonchalantly had the kids discover it. To say they were thrilled would be an understatement. On the map traced a path that lead them to land marks that they could recognize. It started at Allison's preschool, then the Queen Mary, Vincent Thomas bridge, Point Vicente lighthouse and then the Pirate Ship Park in Palos Verdes. We drove all around the path and when they saw the land mark they screamed and yelled and told us which way to go. When we made it to Point Vicente they walked around with shovels looking for the treasure. Andrew was determined to find it. And Ashley was just happy to be along for the ride. When we decided to continue ton the journey for the treasure, the road was closed due to a land slide. So of course we saw this as another opportunity for an adventure and we went exploring.

Once we made it to the pirate ship park the kids were ecstatic! I managed to bury the prepurchased treasure while Paul distracted the kids and I put two stick on top to make it with and "X". Once they saw the "X" they knew it had to be there and they started digging.

I thought they would scream and go crazy, but they dug quietly and found the treasure secretly so none of the other kids at the playground would notice that they had found the treasure.

We celebrated finding the treasure and rolled down the hill, again and again.

You There

Ashley is exploring her little world. She is able to sit up now and it teaching herself how to hold herself up on all fours. It is amazing to watch her move her knee under her tummy, and then the other knee. She will then lift her knees off the floor so she is only touching her toes and hands on the ground. She will rock back and forth and is getting up the courage to crawl. Andrew and Allison are eagerly demonstrating how to crawl and can't wait for their little sissy to join in on all the fun. She is such a ray of sunshine in our home. Paul has nicknamed her "You There". It started as a joke, but the name has grown on us, and even the big kids call her that now. Our little You There has taught Allison and Andrew just how fragile and precious babies are. They truly love her and so do we.

Happy 31st birthday to Me!

 For my birthday present, Paul's folks took us to Sea World. We made a weekend out of it and stayed in San Diego for a few days. We managed to see everything in the park, ride all the rides and see all the shows. It was not very crowded and we all had a ball.

 

 

 I remember seeing the Shamu show when I was little. I remember being there with my family and My Aunt Donna, Uncle Rick and all of my cousins. I remember getting soaked by Shamu and Paul and I both wanted to make sure our kids made those special memories, so we sent them down to the glass where they could see Shamu...little did they know what they were in for, when they were blasted with salt water from Shamu's tail.

 Ashely Marie spent a majority of her day in my sling, nursing and sleeping. On her awake moments she was happy, cheerful and full of smiles. She is so easy going.

Poor Papa was dragged onto this swirly whirly ride. The kids loved it because they twirled all around, Paul loved it because he actually got his dad on the ride, and Papa loved it once it stopped. We are so blessed to have our parents become apart of these wonderful memories that our kids will cherish forever.

 Hanging out in these polar bear caves was hands down Andrew and Allison's favorite part of Sea World. I think they could have played in there all day. They saw killer whales, jumping dolphins, went on roller coasters, and all they cared about was these pretend caves. Just reminds you of how simple their world is.

Even our littlest marine biologist enjoyed watching the fish.