Friends to creatures great and small

I can't ever remember the day anymore but some day not too long ago we decided it would be fun to feed the squirrels or at least go look at them. There is a long patch of grass by our house that is home to many squirrels and we told Zoe we would take her to see them. My experience with squirrels has been with the timid ones. I have to say I was a little scared and feared that one might quickly scamper up my arm and perch itself on my shoulder. These squirrels were psycho and more aggressive than I've ever seen one be! As we raced away on our bikes I seriously looked behind me to see if we were being chased. Maybe it's evolution? Kind of like teenage girls?

I am now at a respectable age where people don't ask how old a girl is, they just wish her a happy birthday. Disneyland is free on your birthday and if you already have a pass you get a $72 gift card to spend on merchandise. So, really I went to Disneyland and got a free Billabong jacket. Thank you Walt Disney, it was just what I wanted. We spent a long day there it was a sweaty lot of fun. As we were leaving I remembered to take out the camera and that's what we got.

D.I.Y.

It's Monday morning Jamin has taken the next two days off to help celebrate my birthday and I'm thinking,"finally some help with the kids". Jamin is thinking,"why don't I replace that faucet this morning, it'll only take an hour". So, with that, I am already annoyed. Jude has been sick all week so we have been home bound with a crying baby (no offense Jude). It's apart of life, it happens but my light at the end of the tunnel was the next couple of days that I'd have Jamin home. So an hour turned into like six hours and I think five Home Depot trips and the new faucet was not fitting properly. I was stuck at home again with grumpy kids and a grumpy husband from a do-it-yourself project gone wrong. I was not having a good day and could not foresee myself feeling better anytime soon. I WAS WRONG! Jamin eventually got the faucet figured out. When I saw it working I got excited for my gorgeous new functional faucet. I was so proud of Jamin for figuring it out too! He and some guys at Home Depot collaborated on the project and he did it.

Part II "I'm 3 years old!"

Zoe loves birthday parties. She has been talking about her birthday for the last 6 months. For her bedtime stories after a book or two I tell her one non-book made up story. She usually requests her birthday story where she can add her input, like, " and Scooby-Doo was there with ice cream cones and sprinkles". Because we had been talking about it constantly I had a lot to live up to. I must say it turned out to be a great day. Being 3 has never been so good. We started out with a Tinker Bell party where Zoe got to wear her new Tinker Bell outfit from Grandma and all of her friends came over, good right? There was tiara decorating, necklace making, and cup cake decorating where you could put on as many sprinkles you like. There were balloons and presents. This could have been the perfect day with just this that ended some time after 1pm. Well we just kept the party going. We had a lot of family in town but I really wanted her to have a kid party so some of the family went to the beach and we celebrate later with a bbq. We all have to eat anyway and it made room for Zoe's friends in the morning. Zoe did a costume change into yet another Princess type dress she got for her Birthday and was amazed when she got a Scooby-Doo cake. Why aren't store bought cakes good? I didn't want to eat more than a bite. No matter, the point was it had Scooby-Doo on it and I didn't feel up to decorating one myself. I did the Elmo head last year and it took a while but the Scooby mold was way more complex and I didn't have the time. Zoe was just beside herself all day. Third birthdays are meant to be enjoyed where there imaginations are just developing and the world is a magical wonderland. While it's this easy to please a child, Party On! Unfortunately, the over indulgence will end when the cost of amusement goes up. Sorry Zoe, in advance for no Super Sweet Sixteen party. It's for your own good.

Part I "I"m 3!"

Putting in the lawn

Summer has swept us away. So much to blog about so little time. I am going to document in the right order. We have since painted the front of the house but haven't finished the trim so that is for later. Here is a long awaited update on the house. There was no grass in the backyard and the front yard was weed in infested so we killed it and put in new grass. When I say "we" I mean Jamin. He put days of work into preparing this yard to have sod lay on it. He rota tilled the back and front yard, added top soil, and rolled it. We had my dad and nephews drive down to help lay the sod but as we began our process one saturday morning the same men who trimmed our trees happened by and offered to lay our sod for a couple hundred dollars so we went to the beach instead. A proud moment for us when a few weeks later we actually got to mow the lawn. I'm sure we wont always be excited to do that. Most of the plants were taken out of the front yard so it looks quite different from when we moved in. The front door is new too.

Precious Moments

It was one of those days I was really tired so I asked Jamin to watch the kids while I took a nap. The nap was amazing! Thanks Jamin! What was even better was finding these two cuddling on the couch when I got up. It was just one shot too. The darn camera woke Jamin up, sorry about that. My cup runneth over. I have so much to be thankful for especially for my sweet little family.