VBS 2011

Last week was VBS at our church with 450 kids and 150 volunteers. The theme was "The Big Apple" and it looked like NYC all over the building. It was quite nice dropping Abby off for almost 4 hours and having the morning with just Leah to spend some quality time and get a lot done. It sure was a long week though as Abby came home tired and it threw Leah's nap schedule off a bit, but it was well worth it. Abby loves singing the songs she learns and I'm always surprised how much she retains. VBS was so important to me growing because my mom always ran the show. She was the one putting on the goofy costumes and getting the kids all hyped up. It brings back a lot of memories.















Abby was a little shy on stage during the final rally. She had her hands up to her face for most of the time. This is the only instance where she is ever shy.

Mini Family Reunion

At the beginning of this week my sister and her family moved from California to Cincinnati, Ohio. They flew into Ohio, dropped their stuff off and drove 10 hours out to Connecticut to come see all of us. We are so excited to have them with us this week and can't get enough of the cookouts, sleepovers, and playdates together. It's pretty crazy watching 7 grandkids running and screaming together, but we love it.

Camping trip

A few weeks back we took a weekend camping trip along the coast of CT with some good friends. It was the perfect getaway. The girls really seemed to enjoy it. We went clamming, swimming, made smores, took walks, and played. Needless to say, we are thoroughly enjoying our summer.

I think Pottery Barn is trying to tell me something...

The past month or so I have been gathering ideas of how I would like to update the bedroom that will soon host all three of our children. I haven't formally announced on this blog that I'm pregnant, but I figure if you're reading this you probably already know by now. I told Brian that if we have a third girl I'm using it as my excuse to give the room a girlie make over. When we had Abby we didn't find out what she was, so I made the room delightfully neutral. I have thoroughly enjoyed the room as my thought process has always been, I'm the one who is in there the most during late nights, rocking children to sleep and nursing, so I need to enjoy it. However, I'm itching to do something a bit different. Abby is such a girlie girl and would love nothing more than a pink and purple room, not that I'm going to go that route, but I would like to give to room a bit more character based on each child's uniqueness and personality.
It's so much fun to have a creative outlet that isn't work related. I've been searching online and various magazines, building my story boards and gathering ideas. Today I was flipping through the Pottery Barn Kids magazine and ran across two spreads that use my girl's names. Man, they really know how to market!

Time to catch up

We are way behind in blogging and need to get back on board. I thought I would start with this... love this kid!

Abby's 4th Birthday

We threw a Fancy Nancy party for Abby. Abby absolutely loves being fancy. She will only wear skirts and dresses, pink and purple. She even refuses to wear skirts with shorts inside them. At times it can be frustrating for me when we are in a rush and the only clean clothes (some still with tags) are pants, shorts or not as girly skirts, but I'm so happy that Abby is able to express herself by being girly and I do my best to let her be independent. Anyway, Abby wore her fanciest dress and had a blast with all her friends.
We started the party by reading a Fancy Nancy book. In the book Fancy Nancy's parents aren't very fancy and she has to show them how to dress up. We played a game and each of the kids were able to pick out something fancy for Brian to wear. Brian was so great to go along with it and look goofy for the kids. After that, we had a backdrop with a little photo booth for the kids to have their pictures taken. I must say it was a lot of fun and even some of the parents got into it.


Happy Birthday to my beautiful Abby. You are such a blessing to us. We love your sensitive spirit and bright personality. We love you more than words can say! Mom + Dad

Trip to Cali - so much fun!

Last week we had the best vacation we have ever had as a family of four! We had been talking about taking a trip out to California this spring for over a year to see my sister and her family. Little did we realize, there would be a few factors that would change the dynamic of the trip. Since my knee accident we weren't sure if it would be all of us going or just Brian and the girls. After my surgery the doctor gave me the ok to fly and we were thrilled to be getting away. The timing didn't seem that great, but it turned out to be perfect. We were in desperate need for a vacation and I was in desperate need to get off the couch. Also, my sister and her husband just found out they are being relocated to Cincinnati, OH and decided to make our trip their last attempt to see the some of the greatest southern California attractions.

The flight out was like the royal treatment for me. I called the airline and asked if they could put me in a seat with extra leg room, so they bummed me up to the 3rd row. I was wheeled to the plane and enjoyed free food and movies. When I got off there was a wheelchair waiting on the jet-way to pick me up. Brian was such a great sport with the girls in the 16th row. He managed to keep them occupied for the 6 hour flight. What a great guy!

We spent time swimming in the heated pool, going for walks, driving up the PCH, taking pictures and going to the beach in Malibu. Had a wonderful Easter celebration at church, dying eggs, having an egg hunt and yummy dinner. On Monday our family took a day trip to Griffith park and had a great view overlooking LA and the Hollywood sign. The girls enjoyed playing on the playground and eating ice cream at Chick-Fil-A. Tuesday we all headed to San Diego and went straight to the zoo. We roamed the park with a double stroller, triple stroller and motorized cart. Wednesday we spent the day at Sea World, which we all loved. Thursday we slept in, swam in the hotel pool and headed back, but stopped on the way to have dinner with my uncle. It was so great to visit with him. After getting in late that night, we turned around the next morning and headed to Disneyland!! It was such a blast. Abby loved meeting the princesses, especially Rapunzel.

Even though it was a jam packed trip, we all had so much fun and wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe to extend the trip because none of us wanted to go home and have the rest of our family with us. We all relaxed, took in the sun, loved playing/hanging out with family and soaked up every ounce of it as we possibly could.

Pictures of Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway












































The girls anxious to start the egg hunt, which Abby dominated.




















Naomi, the most content baby in the world.








































































































Coronado beach.



























































































































































































































The girls passed out in the strollers at the end of a very long day.