Our Summer

Well, we had a fun summer. It was so nice to have Bella home from Preschool and just relax. My mom stays very busy now with her photography but we did sneak in some days of shopping and eating! We still love to eat on the Franklin Square together and now Bella does too...





Our family usually stays very busy and this last summer was definitley no exception! Bella turned 5 years old and she wanted a Birthday party that her friends who are boys could come to and feel comfortable, so instead of the usual princess theme, we went with a Buggy Birthday Party. It was so much fun! I love baking and decorating cakes so I made her a Beehive cake and then I added bumblebee cookies and ice cream with gummy worms...





The kids put foamie stickers on doorknob hangers and visors and all of them were so proud of their crafts!



We blindfolded the kids and had them stick their licked oreos on a poster I made for the "stick the spot on the ladybug" game. Bella won both games. Im not kidding- every party she goes to, she wins the game. She was nice and gave the prizes to her friends though.



My parents helped with the kids downstairs and my mom took pictures of course, while Grandpa and Nana helped with Garrett and Ethan. Im so thankful!!









Bella loves her girlfriends...






Jason and I have alot of immediate family here, so we separated the friends party and the family party for my sanity. Im glad we did! Bella had a wonderful time at her family party too....








I made a Butterfly cake this time and it was so cute- she loved it. I propped the wings up with m&ms but the stinkin things started breaking anyways.






For part of her 5th year celebration, we suprised Bella with a trip to Dollywood. Its so funny because everytime the commercial came on for Dollywood, her eyes would get huge and she would say "Oh my gosh mom, we gotta go there!" She does not do this with Disneyland commercials.This might be because she knows I love Dolly. Anyways, now she does too. We had a good time!







Here she is at 11pm in the hotel reading the Pigeon Forge brochure...too cute!



We spent alot of time at our neighborhood pool. Poppi and Mimi bought swimming lessons for Bella so she had a great time.





But the very best part of our summer was the trip to Destin. We took Bella to Hilton Head when she was a baby but she doesnt remember it and the boys have never seen the ocean. I wasnt sure they'd even get it at 2 years old but they did. The kids played in the sand every day and had so much fun.







Jason even invented a beach "time out" chair...



The condo we stayed in was dreamy. It belongs to the Crooks and let me tell you, Scottye did an amazing job decorating it. I told Shannon that it felt like Shabby Chic Heaven...





The condo is on a golf course so there was plenty of this...
There was a dreamy bed on the deck overlooking the green...




We will be visiting the beach every summer. We made some wonderful memories!







Shortly after we got back from Destin, it was time to get ready for the first day of school. Bella goes to a wonderful Pre-K program and the boys started a Mothers day out. Here they are on their first day of school. (Ethan did not cooperate for the pictures).



I was a nervous wreck leaving the boys. They kept saying "you okay mom." When we got there, they were trying to run ahead of us to their new school. They were waving goodbye to us but they kept looking back to make sure we were still there!


There was a "First day of school" cake waiting for them when they got home...


We love being surrounded by our family. Here they are spending Firetruck day with Grandpa...





And then Jason had a great idea....



We are now loving our new school routine and just enjoying the beautiful Fall weather.




We love meeting Poppi and Mimi for picnics on Poppi's lunch breaks!

Im sure I will have plenty to share with you as the holidays draw near. Talk to you soon!

Greetings friends!

Welcome to our site!

I have decided to start a blog of our family so that our friends and relatives that no longer live close by can feel like they are right here with us! The kids are growing up so fast. It feels like just yesterday Isabella was crawling around with her Winnie the Pooh toy. Now she is 5! She plays with makeup and wears dress up clothes and has best friends. Bella has been in ballet for a few months and she loves it! She does jazz and tap as well. She is so sweet and makes friends wherever she goes.

Garrett and Ethan (please dont call them "the twins"!) are 2 years old. They will turn 3 on the day after Christmas. Can you believe it? On Christmas day 2005, I was at my parents house and we had just finished opening our presents and I knew I was about to go into labor. I remember when they were born, how I looked at them in their incubators. They were born two months early and they looked so small with wires all over them and tubes in their mouths to feed them. I cried and felt so angry that I was only able to hold them 30 minutes a day. All I wanted to do was take them home! I wanted them to get in my way in the kitchen while I tried to cook dinner. I wanted to experience the terrible twos (times two!). I got my wish.

My sweety sweet husband is Jason and he is the best dad! The kids love when he comes home every day! The garage opens and they start screaming "daddys home" and run to the door. He is a builder and has run his custom trim company since 2000. His work is amazing. Some of his projects include the model home in West Haven and a house in the Brentwood Parade of Homes! I am so proud of him. We are going on 8 years of marriage and still crazy in love!

I hope you enjoy our new site. I thought I would play catch up first, show you what our summer was like, then just post updates as we go about our (crazy) life! Stay tuned... I will have alot to share with you!