Mommy's Birthday!

We surprised Mommy today by singing "Happy Birthday" to her and giving her a great present.  She loved it!


By the way, there were fuzzy pink slippers inside!

Mommy's New Do

Mommy hasn't had her hair colored for YEARS and was getting tired of the grey, so she finally splurged and had it done. Here are pics taken the day of the cut and color, Saturday 7/24/10. Do you like it?

Vacation Time - Indiana PA - Day 5 - Travel

Hi, Isa here. Well, we sure did have a fun little vacation in Indiana PA. From Mack Pool to Yellow Creek to the big Reunion. But on Sunday 6/27/10, it was time to pack up the car and head home.

First, some last pictures with Kira and Marlon:

And here I am having fun playing peek-a-boo in the car on the way home:

Vacation Time - Indiana PA - Day 2 - Mack Pool

Hey, Xia here. When Mommy was a kid/teenager, she spent A LOT of time at Mack Pool. Thursday, 6/24/10, our second day at Grandma's house, we decided to go hang out at the pool because they had just built a kiddie area for this summer. WOW, was it every impressive all of the cool stuff they have there now! Mommy was very proud of me as I would not go into a pool last summer. I would only stand on the steps.

Here I am enjoying the awesome slide!




Isa enjoyed wading around with Mommy:

And splashing with Mommy:




And just being her cute self:

We all loved climbing on the squishy starfish:

Then we had a nice surprise, Mommy's cousin Julie showed up with her kids Isabella and Grayson. We all had a lot of fun!

Here's Grayson:

And Isabella:

Kira and Marlon had fun in the deeper section. It is quite a fight to get your chance on the shark! Here's Marlon claiming the shark for he and Kira:

Kira made it!

What a fun time for all of us!

Evening Antics

Mommy here. I have to say life is quite the whirlwind these days. Though it's a beautiful, fun, amazing time in our lives, I still can't believe how much work it is to raise children. I'm not complaining, I'm just constantly wondering how so many people have done it!!

As soon as I come home from work, it's kid central and I do love it. Here, on Tuesday 6/1/10, you can see me trying to get dinner together with both Xia and Isa clinging to each side of my legs! I mean really Xia, must you mash your head into my butt to look at Isa on the other side?!

Here's Isa peeking through:

After dinner it's play time for a bit, and then the bedtime routine begins. Here they are having their milk and oateeos. It's all worth it during these times of pure fun and joy. Just look at Isa cracking up! How can I for a moment complain about not having any time to myself anymore. I am going to enjoy this while I have it, because in the blink of an eye, they will no longer be clinging to me!

Grandma Comes for a Visit!

We always love it when Grandma comes for a visit. She came on Wednesday 5/19/10 and stayed until early Monday morning 5/24/10.

Here's a picture of her with Isa taken on Thursday 5/20/10:

And who knew you could have so much fun with a 7Up box? Is it a helmet or an alligator trying to eat Xia's head?



Here's some pictures of us after we got home from church on Sunday 5/23/10.

Firs Isa looking very cute:

Then Xia, cute also:

A family shot of the girls:

And a good clip of some serious Isa walking:



Thanks for the great visit Grandma. We'll see you next month at the big reunion!

It's a Fairie Festival

It's the Mommy. We had fun on Saturday 5/1/10 at the Fairie Festival at Sproutwood Farm in Glen Rock PA. Here we are in line at the entrance - note the protesters at left. We were warned that we were crossing into the "river of fire" by attending the festival. ..

Xia had a blast amidst the huge bubbles:




Paula went ALL OUT on the costumes for Kira and Marlon. LOVE the fan wings she came up with. Kira was nice enough to let Xia wear a pair of her old wings. Note it was like 90 degrees on this day so we were ALL hot!

Xia kept wanting to climb one of the trees in the forest. She forgets that she's only 3 and kept getting stuck in there. Kira helped her:

Marlon didn't need ANY help. He's quite the tree climber:

Isa enjoys some beads hanging in the trees:

We even got to see some live blacksmithing:



Let's all sit down in the cool shade for a bit. Here's Isa with Aunt Paula:

Kira and Marlon enjoy some fresh-squeezed lemonade:

Back to the bubbles...


Let's pose for some photos:

Hurry, we don't want to miss Miss Posie's Tea Party! Miss Posie tells us a story:

Her helpers pour us some tea:

Hey, they're serving cookies with our tea!

Before we go, Xia wants to get some photos as a blond fairy:

We all made it home safe and sound. Some of us a little more wiped out from the day than others. Good times!

It's Taxes Time

Mommy sure looked busy on Friday 4/9/10 getting all of these things called "Taxes" ready. I don't really know what they are, but I didn't appreciate them taking Mommy-time away from me. So I decided to pitch in and help...

Look at me adding up all the numbers:

I'm sure with my assistance there will be no risk of an audit at all!

Time to Dye Some Eggs

Hi, it's Xia! Mommy and I had some fun on Saturday night 4/3/10. Using the same kit we used last year, we dyed some Easter eggs.

Pretty good, eh...

Here are some videos too:

Mommy's Library Day in the Life

Be sure to go over to Mommy's work blog to see her post: "Library Day in the Life". There you will find a link to a picture/video tour of what a typical day is like for her. There's lots of pictures of the family mixed in with her work stuff. Enjoy!