Carlsbad 2012

Loaded up on Audio books for the drive. They really came in handy. 

A long, long drive. Check out the crazy looking clouds!

O & I at Seaport Village - a traditional stop on the way to Carlsbad. 

Climbing trees at Seaport Village

First full day of vacation. Breakfast at a delicious waffle sand before we head to the beach. 

First day at the beach! Owen = no fear. Austin hid behind me when he saw the ocean, haha! 

Austin preferred to stay around the adults and play in the sand and with buckets of sand crabs. 

Not a bad gig. 

On an off beach day, we went to the outlet mall. A highlight for me every year, that's for sure. We did the trains! $6 well spent. 

Favorite summer clothes. 

Our hotel had a great pool and fun splash pad area. One day we just stayed in and enjoyed it!

The boys looooooved the "hot pool". They spent quite a lot of time playing in it. 

Another beach day. Owen's showing me his shell collection. 

Cutie patootie

Family walk to get donuts

Bubbles on The Green

Boogie boarding - his own special way. Pretty much just running along the surf dragging the board behind him. 

Some night we would go out to dinner and some nights we cooked and ate on "the green". This night we grilled carne asada. 

Every night when it got dark we would gather around the fires and talk and laugh. The cousins would play and it was just so fun.

One night we made s'mores over the fire. So tasty. 

Worn out.

Last day in CA :*( Visiting with Papa & Nana before the long drive home. 

A few thoughts:

• This vacation was a lot easier than I anticipated it to be. Sure, there were moments, but overall, the boys were entertained by their cousins which left time for me and Ryan to relax and chat with the family. 
• One of the highlights of the trip was playing cards late at night with Doug, JoAnn, Chris and Tara while the kids curled up on the bed and watched movies. 
• The boys slept wonderfully almost every night of our 7 day vacation. I was very nervous about this. Last year Owen had night terrors during vacation and it was miserable for everybody. But not this time! Both boys slept in most mornings!
• I think this was the best year yet! Can't wait for next year!

Insta-Friday: A Peek into My Week

Linking up with 

We had a movie night one night. Popcorn, blankies and Megamind. 

I made cookies on several occasions. I love having a tub of Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough to eat bake on a whim.

Since Owen started school, I've found myself with time to spare in the car. What can I say, I'm prompt. You'll probably be seeing a lot more pictures like these. 

Family night at my dad's house. He threw a couple bags of ice in the water in an attempt to cool it down. It didn't work, but it kept the kids pretty entertained. 

Austin and I are finding our new groove while O's in school. On Wednesday we went to the gym, grabbed a latte, and played play-doh. 

Had a sweet coffee date with my mom in law. Tried a white mocha latte for the first time, stirred the whip into it for some extra sweetness. I think I found my new favorite Sbucks drink. 

This morning dawned overcast and rainy, a welcomed relief from the 110+ degree weather. I thought it called for chocolate chip pancakes. 

First Day of Preschool

Owen had his first day of preschool yesterday!

He was SO ready. We drive past the school every day, wave hi, talk about it. So when the big day came, he was up and at 'em at 6am!

Waiting outside of the preschool was HOT. I couldn't get a good picture of him in the sun. 

When it was time to go to class, he just went right in. Didn't even look over his shoulder. 

I admit I was choking back the tears as I carried Austin away. Preschool is only 3 hours a day Monday through Thursday, no big deal, but I was realizing that this marks the beginning of his "school years." And that someone else was looking after and taking care of my baby. And he's growing up and there's nothing I can do about it. 

Austy took it hard too. He starting bawling once we got into the car. You can't tell here, but he's pointing at the school behind us and crying "Owwweeeennnn". 

I didn't quite know what to do with myself when we got home! I did spend some special time with Austin coloring (his love language). 

When we picked Owen up, he came out smiling. The teacher said he did great. Yay!

After school we met Ruth and Luke at McDonald's and had a fun lunch. No pictures; the boys were too busy playing!

The highlight of my day was when I received an email from Owen's teacher about an hour after I picked him up. She sent this picture with the caption "he made his way back to the music table!" Wasn't that sweet of her to send? I thanked her for giving me a glimpse into his first morning at school!

Ry's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my To Good To Be True!

He turned 29 on July 6th. We went out with Jeff & Ruth to a fancy schmancy dinner at Pappadeaux. I think the highlight for me was trying fried alligator. And it was good. 

Anyway, back to my main squeeze. 

It was a fun night of celebrating Ryan and the wonderful guy that he is. We laughed 'til we cried, stayed out late, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Fun times. 

Happy birthday, baby!

Photo Dump

I just realized every one of these pictures is either of my kids or my food. 

Sorry. 

Here's what we've been up to lately!

For starters, Owen has pretty much given up his nap. He does sleep 2ish days out of the week, but I know that won't last forever. The other day, after his "rest time" in his room, he was zonked out on the family room rug within 5 minutes. Why couldn't he just do that in his room...?

Shopping with the boys is always an adventure. This day I caved and got them their own Icees. Very exciting. It was the most blissful Target trip I've had with them in tow. 

Another way to entertain them: visiting the "big ants" lobsters at the grocery store. Add a free sugar cookie from the bakery and they're happy campers!

We spent lots of time with the cousins last week. Trevor asked me to take a picture of him cuddling Owen. 

Lexie + Austin = BFFs

Highlight of last weekend: I took O on a date to see the new Ice Age movie. He did soooo good! Granted, I kept the popcorn/Icee/sour candies coming. We had lots of fun together and it was very special time, just the two of us! Much more enjoyable than his first movie experience!

The other day I made my favorite banana bread recipe and added chocolate chips and walnuts. And smeared it with Nutella. It didn't last long, but man, it was good while it lasted. 

Since Owen starts preschool on Monday (!!!!!!!), I took him to get a professional hair cut (not a #6 buzz cut from Mom). He flipped a lid last time we went to a salon (the annoyingly expensive one for kids, no less) so I was a little hesitant. But off we went to Great Clips, and he did fabulous! He was so still and polite and cute. I was so proud of him that we went to get ice cream at Sonic afterwards. We hung out in the car and listened to music while we ate. What a sweetie. 

Today we needed something indoors to do to beat the 11something degree heat. Nana joined us at the mall, we got Starbucks, walked around. It was such a nice Friday morning.

Tonight: popcorn & movie night!

Pictures from our vacation up next! And Monday, pictures of Owen's first day of preschool! Yes, my baby is starting preschool. I don't want to talk about it. 

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day started out nice! Owen and I ran to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts. We gave Daddy presents and gave him the day off of chores and diaper duty. 

Ryan had been feeling sick the night before and thankfully we made it through church, but after church he started feeling worse. Owen also was acting off, lethargic, and was having some tummy trouble. All in all we had to cancel our plans in the evening (grilling out with the in-laws and Chris & Tara) and stay in. Good thing, because a few days later Ry was diagnosed with Strep. 

So Father's Day was a bit of a bust :( But Ryan's birthday is coming up this week and we have some fun plans, so hopefully that will make up for it!

Love you babe, thanks for being a wonderful father to our littles!

My 25th Birthday

My 25th birthday was a nice one. Ryan took the day off to be with me. We went to breakfast. 

Taking pictures of each other. Ha.

I was spoiled with presents and sweet cards. Tara and JoAnn got me the first 2 season of I Love Lucy. 

After breakfast and hanging out a bit, my dad picked me up for lunch. We went to On the Border and ended up talking for 2 1/2 hours! I love my dad! No picture though :(

Snuggles with Austy. 

The In-Laws came over for a bit in the afternoon to visit. For dinner I had requested to pick up Pei Wei carry out and eat at home and rent Sherlock Holmes 2, which we hadn't been able to see in theatres. I was very excited to watch it, but it ended up being kinda boring (in my opinion), and I fell asleep about half way through. Ha! Way to party, Danae!

Since Ruth was out of town for my actual birthday, we celebrated the next weekend. We got dinner at Olive Garden (YUM), then saw Snow White and the Huntsman. 

After the movie, we relaxed and chatted at Starbucks. Since we're both using MyFitnessPal and trying to keep calories down, I opted out of my sugary frapp in favor of a chocolate milk. It was just as good, even though I felt like I was 8, especially when they call "kids chocolate milk!" at the counter when it's ready. 

All in all, a very nice and relaxed birthday. I got to spend it with all of my favorite people and felt very loved.