Eat! Eat! Eat!

Every mom likes to document the first time her baby eats food... today was that day for Olive. She was taking down the rice cereal pretty well in spite of Brock yelling, "Eat! Eat! Eat!"

Grounded.... not quite.

So in early Spring 2009 some friends planned a fun exotic vacation on a cruise through the Hawaiian Islands... I thought the idea sounded so fun and I wanted in on the adventure... unfortunately in a marriage there is compromise. We weren't able to go... here they are in September in Hawaii.
I thought that since I wasn't able to go on the cruise, I would send them a little reminder of them each day. Here are some of the photos I sent them.

(They had Hawaii... but I had Glee)
(I still had my baby to love)
(I had my own friends :)
(Sick kiddies... no fun)
(How was the food on the cruise?)
(Who needs a pina colada when you can have a Diet Coke)
(so sad... home cleaning up the playroom)
(at home... SO FUN!)

So sad I couldn't go -NEXT TIME FOR SURE!

Olive is 5 Months Old

Today our little Olive is 5 months old and I can't imagine life without my little angel.
I chose this picture because it was the most recent and this is her face expression. She isn't mad - she just has this pout about her - then all of a sudden she'll throw a giant smile your way.

It's weird how instantaneously a baby becomes a part of your life - so much that it is hard to remember life before they came. Olive has been such a dream baby to have... she is so easily enjoyed at our home. Brock calls her Oli and adores her. Paige is like her second mom. And Owen loves to kiss her softly.

Some of Olive's recent activities consist of:
Rolling Over - she finally got those huge thighs and butt to roll and does it all the time now.
Playing in the Exersaucer - She loves it and will watch the kids as she plays.
Sucking on her fingers - yes, this baby will now spit out her Binky (that she has taken since birth) and suck her 2 fingers instead... not sure what to do about it.

I'm getting so sad that she is growing so fast. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at her and just wanted her to stay that way forever - I can say that I have never wished that on a baby before - maybe it's because Olive is our last and I know how fast the baby stage goes. Sniff... sniff...

Fun Weekend

Fun weekend - my mom came to town. John and I got to go away for one night. Sorry, no pictures, I forgot the camera. We also went to a wedding with Wendy and Jake... here is what we do when we are bored... bring out the camera!

Good angle Wendy....
Trying to compete...
John is making a funny smile here - come on honey, give me a good one!
Earlier that day my grandma, my mom and I went to lunch at Dukes on the pier in HB. It was 4 generations including little Olive. So nice.
Great-Grandma, Grandma and baby Olive.

First Day of School

These two were so excited for school to start... not nearly as excited as me! Yeah!!! Paige is a big 2nd grader now and Owen is doing his 3rd year of Preschool (5 days a week). Wish us luck!

Oh and here is a glymps of the first day of school. I think there are more parents than children.

Lake Mead

Labor Day weekend we headed out to Lake Mead with the Lowry family. So fun!
Olive took her first dip in the lake - it was so hot (107) that it was the best way to cool off. Don't mind the pout... she loved it.
Move over Edward Cullen - it's Brock Zimmerman. These sunglasses kill me. He was Mr. Safety - always holding on to something and no wanting to get in the water. Don't worry - he wake boarded with John - we have it on video though.
The kids out on a rock - the water was so warm... it had to be at least 80 degrees.
Paige and Tess in the raft.
John and Owen wake boarding. He cried the entire first time they went, but the second time he liked it a lot more.

Summer Highlights

Here are some highlights from Summer 2009:

Surfing... definitely surfing! The kids really took to it. You could find us at the beach almost every Saturday and Monday night taking the kids surfing.
The beach. We spent a lot of time at the beach.

The tide pools. Owen was addicted. When we went to the Montage he would spend the entire time looking for sea creatures.
Olive growing... she was the best this Summer - Oh and I learned to make tutus... so fun!
Brock and Ezra. I like to say that this is the summer these 2 fell in love. Truly!
Wild Rivers. This was our 2nd Annual trip and the kids LOVE it.
The pool. We spent at least a few days a week at the pool. Here is Paige and Tess having a talk while relaxing at the pool. So fun.

Owen Turns 5

Owen has been asking for the past year when his birthday was... no joke... literally a YEAR! I don't know who was more excited him, or me (so he'd stop asking). We wanted to do something fun and different like a Reptile guy - Lori wanted to do the same thing for Chase who was turning 4... what a great idea! Minus the 100 degree weather that day. I really think it was the hottest day all summer long. Here are the hosts... with the special guest!The birthday boys were first to hold each animal and got to sit up by the Reptile Specialist... they thought it was pretty cool - we took a lot of video and got Owen kissing this snake!
All the kids were into it. They all wanted to take a turn holding the different creatures, here is Paige holding a baby tortoise (sp?)... I guess this thing grows SUPER huge - too bad because it would be an adorable pet.
I volunteered to hold something (thinking it would be the huge snake) - to my surprise it was this scorpion! Yes, it is poisonous. Yikes - I didn't like this one.
This toad looked fake it was so huge and so green. It's the second largest toad in the world and they feed it rats... SICK!
Owen loved each animal that came out - seriously he was in his element!
Lori and I thought it would be cute to make Snake cakes... it was so hot that by the time we went to serve them my eyes and face melted off of it - as you can see my scales were already falling off (and that was from frosting it the night before... it was seriously SOOO hot!).

Besides the heat (melted crayons, melted gummy worms and melting cakes) it was a SUPER fun party. I was surprised at how much ALL the kids were into it. I would definitely do it again!

Paige Visits Grandma & Grandpa

Thanks to Jim and Adrienne and their trip to Utah, Paige was lucky enough to hitch a ride along with them and stay the week with her Grandparents. They had a lot of fun, going to the zoo, kayaking, going to the Dinosaur Museum and a few plays.

I think it's safe to say that Paige wore them out! This girl doesn't stop... she really doesn't. Thank you Mom & Dad for having her - she will always remember it!

Pioneer Park on Pioneer Day

Today was Pioneer Day and we just happened to be going to Pioneer Park. Wendy set it up and a bunch of us met up in Tustin for a change of scenery.
Here are the kids.... HEY! Where are the Brian girls?!?
It's nice to cool off with some water.
Uh... Oh! Owen is trapped.
Gotcha! Yep, all three were trying to get others wet.

Great park on another great summer day!