Too Much to Sum Up

Before and After

Here is a BEFORE shot of our dinning room
And here is AFTER we painted... not a huge difference, but a BIG deal to me. I couldn't stand our last color - and this shade suites me much better. Ahhhh... I love it. I know you are probably thinking... What's the difference? Well the first color had too much Peach in it for me - the second color has more gray in it which goes with my kitchen and family room color of Silver Sage. I don't care if no one can tell the difference... I CAN.
Swim Lessons Are Over
Owen had such a blast with swim lessons - he is becoming a stronger swimmer, we just need to keep practicing. I loved his enthusiasm - he would come up coughing up water and still have a smile on his face.
Camping With The Family
Here are the kids all packed up in the car and ready to go. They were all so excited - can you believe all the stuff that is needed to camp just ONE night with 3 kids. And to think we forgot a few things... crazy! I guess you need that stuff no matter what - maybe next time we'll go for a couple days... hmmm... I'll think about it.
After we got there and set up camp we hiked down to the beach for some play time and so John could get some surfing in... hmmm... this makes me wonder is this a family camp out or an excuse for John to surf some more???
Here was the beautiful sunset we saw on our hike down - not much daylight left.
Owen collected rocks - there were a ton of these little white rocks and he put them together in a pile.
Paige picked up the big ones, then she found a cricket (yes, you read that right) and kept it as her "pet" while we were down there - I had to make her let it go, she always wants to keep the animals she meets. I have to convince her they need to go home to their family.
Brock, well he just followed the kids around and climbed on me. Cute little boy!
While John was out there we saw some dolphins in the water. He says it's always a little spooky surfing with dolphins - they are just so big and fast out there. I love watching them from a safe distance on the shore - at least there weren't any sharks!
Brock got so filthy we HAD to give him a bath - good thing we brought this tub and filled it with water - he had fun splashing around - but he didn't stay clean for long. This kid was dirty the entire trip except in this photo.
You couldn't go camping without making s'mores. I think John and Paige are the only ones who ate them. Brock had plain graham crackers, Owen ate raw marshmallows and I just roasted some marshmallows and ate them plain. To each his own... right? P.S. Notice all these pictures and none of them are of me... wonder why? Maybe John could try picking up the camera every now and again and taking a few - I wonder if my kids will grow up wondering if I was even there? That picture of me and the kids for Father's Day... oh yeah, I took it!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best dad we know! The kids were really excited to give their dad the gifts they made and put together for him.
That morning - the kids helped make a breakfast for John in bed... ok, let's be honest - Paige was still sleeping (because she was up so late the night before) Owen played with his cars and gave an occasional glance over, and Brock just begged to be held while I made breakfast. They did however want to help carry the tray into John and jumped on the bed and tried to eat his breakfast with him.
Paige finally surfaced in time to give John his father's day gifts. He got a coupon book full of things she will do for him (yeah right ;)) and a paper weight with a floating picture of Owen's head, some picture frames for his new office, an air mattress for our camping trip this weekend and a beach chair to match my Mother's Day beach chair. Happy Father's Day John!

Summer is Almost here...

Owen had his last day of speech - well, that is till the Fall. He couldn't be more excited. When it was over he ran out of the class room and yelled, "Yeah, NO MORE SPEECH!!" I guess the kid is really excited - I tried to explain that we'd be back this Fall, but I don't know if he really understood. That night Paige's school had a carnival - there were game booths to earn prizes, food, raffles and a ton of kids running around. Paige could only stay for the first hour then she had a birthday party to go to - but Owen had a blast. He wanted to "color" his hair and chase after all the kids. This guy really gets in there with kids much older and plays rough - sometimes he doesn't quite get what they are doing... we're working on it.
Here's a picture of the crowd of people there - everyone usually comes and it was really fun.
Owen crashed afterwards... it was a long day and the kid did not stop. He was running around till he couldn't take it anymore - we had to drag him to the car kicking and screaming - he was so tired.
Paige went to a friends birthday party and it was at the cutest place. It's called Bears, Buddies and Toys. It was so adorable - they do their hair and make-up, dress them up, make stuffed animals for each of them, eat pizza (even more after the 3 slices she had at the carnival) and go on a princess parade. She had a great time - Happy Birthday Claire!
Paige had her 2nd Ballet Recital on Saturday - she did SOOOO good! I was really impressed with her and the other kids in her class. I think she really likes performing so let's hope that she'll keep it up. Just look at those outfits - ahh... she was so cute! I think her favorite part was all the make- up she got to wear!
Here they are at the Dress Rehearsal!
Paige and her friend Avery - they were in different classes, but the same show - it was really nice to see some of the other kids we know perform too. Avery did the cutest tap routine!
Paige was also in the same show with her cousin Kate. Kate did a great job too - how cute are these kids!
Here is Paige and Eliza with their teacher (and Owen's Sunbeam teacher) Laura - I think Laura is easily one of the best teachers there - we loved all the costumes she picked out (Avery's too) and the routines she did.

On Saturday we watched Baby Mack! Paige was loving it - not that she doesn't hug and kiss Brock enough, but she really had a good time with Mack and I think Mack really liked her too! (Jenny - We'll have him over anytime)

Finally... A Post!

I know... I know... it's been forever since I have made a post - I think this is the longest I've gone. Good thing it didn't turn into a "picture posting war" with anyone! Well, here is recap of all the happenings here.
First and foremost - we got the inside of our house painted which was a nightmare but well worth it - before and after pictures are on there way Mom. Let's see... what interesting things have we been up to...

Well, last week I decided that I needed to have Owen's allergies tested. It's a long story as to why, but not as important as how sad it was to have it done. I heard of the pricking, but I have also heard of so many people that have had it done - that I really didn't think twice about it... that was until we were in the middle of getting it done. The poor guy cried so hard I even got a little choked up during it all. They pricked his poor little back almost 50 times. It must have been torture. When it was done he was fine and he only has a handful of "mild" allergies. The big red spot under the "H" is what a severe allergic reaction would look like - notice only a few red dots here and what were those?? Oh yeah, that would be EVERYTHING he eats - chicken, beef, turkey, milk, peas... Oh Boy!

This last weekend we went up to John's nephew's baptism and enjoyed some family fun time. The cousins had a large ugly lizard and a King snake. John has been talking about getting Owen a snake for a while now and I keep saying that he is too young to take care of it.Owen was definitely fascinated with the snake, but he wanted to hug it and kiss it - um... maybe he needs a dog or better yet a stuffed animal - you don't want to hug a snake too tight! John was so into the snake - I would notice he was gone only to find him upstairs alone holding the snake. I have to say the snake is way cool, but when Owen was done he just flung it off him... um... yeah-no!Today I tried taking some photos of the kids on our front porch for a special Father's Day surprise... it didn't go so well - time for Plan B!Tonight John took Paige on another date night. He's been trying to take her consistently each month (for the past 6 months or so), but sometimes it ends up being every 6 weeks or so. They do fun things like go to the mall, get sample make-up put on at the MAC counter, go to dinner, buy tacky jewlery that Paige pickes out, see a movie - you know... whatever. Paige always dresses herself (she always wears a dress) and does her own make-up (usually a ton) and hair - who am I to say how she should dress when she is trying to look her best for her Daddy Date? Sometimes, I just have to look away as they walk out. John is always very sweet to her - he opens the car door, holds her hand and tries to teach her how she "should be treated" when they are out. It's a bonding time for them and well, let's be honest - Paige doesn't need "Daddy Issues." Tonight they went to the Spectrum, road the Big Wheel, shopped for a necklace (I'll have to get a picture of that) and went to a new cupcake shop (to compete with Sprinkles) called Sweet Lorraines I think it's safe to say they had a great time.

Lastly, here is Brock - seriously, this guy melts my heart... and look at those teeth!

Busy... Busy...

Sorry for no posts lately... we spent the last week painting our house. A new post should be coming soon!