My little helper

Before Madison got up this am, Sophia was helping me clean up the kitchen. What a great little helper she is! I wonder if she does windows? And baseboards? Hmmmmmmmmmm....lol!

School Pictures Today!

Just a couple of Grace before her 3rd grade pictures today! She looks so grown up!

Grace's 1st day of 3rd Grade

Can you believe it? Grace was off to her first day of 3rd Grade today. She's growing up so fast. Poor thing though - it's supposed to be 105 degrees today, I hope they don't melt and have the A/C on high!

Sometimes they all get along!.....sometimes!

The girls were all settling on the couch after their bath tonight to wind down with a kids show and I turn around and see Madison and Sophia perusing through a One Step Ahead catalog. It was so cute!! They were checking out the Halloween costumes in there. Then I tried to get a picture of all three of them smiling and/or looking at the camera and this is what I got....I tried!! :o)

Biking in the Backyard

Each of our girls has taken to riding bikes this summer. Grace taught herself how to ride a two-wheeler in just a couple days and Sophie and Madison rip up the pavement on their trikes!! Madison is also trying out Grace's little bike with training wheels. Now all Dave and I have to do is get bikes of our own to keep up with the girls!!

Viva la Mexico!!

Dave and I just got back today from a much needed weekend cruise to Mexico sans our little monsters! We had such a great time. My mom came down on Thursday afternoon and Dave and I left to spend the evening at Disneyland (yes, again!!) and then we stayed at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro until the emarking of our ship on Friday. We cruised to Ensenada, Mexico and went hiking in the Sierra Madres, went wine tasting, drank WAY too many shots of tequila and dos xx's at Papas n Beer (CRAZY PLACE - CRAZY!!!) and just relaxed and slept in. Food was incredible - weather was beyond gorgeous, about mid 70s. Everything was perfect!! We are looking forward to making this a yearly event (hopefully!!).

My sanity is somewhat trying to return....we have two - three year olds in panties!!

Yay, the incredible has finally happened.....two-three year olds are potty trained!! Yay! I thought this was going to be the death of Dave and I. Madison decided that she wanted to be potty trained on our Disneyland trip with Grandma. Sophie just decided a couple days ago that it was time. No accidents, making it through the night ....trained!! She said that only babies wear diapers and pullups. AMEN!!

Way to go Sophia and Madison!! We are so so proud of you two!!

Vicodin and Photography Don't Mix!

A very good friend and neighbor of ours was graciously taking pictures so Dave and I could be involved in the unwrapping of presents. This friend is a Deputy Sheriff and had an incident with a K-9 biting and tearing into his calf while he was apprehending a suspect. Because of this, he is taking vicodin for the 27 staples in his leg. Now, this is what happens when vicodin and a camera are mixed.....(But we love Kevin anyways).

The last picture is a picture of the camera man with his beautiful wife, Rhonda. They are expecting their first child at the end of Nov./beginning of Dec.!

More Sophie Birthday Party Pictures

Sophie's 3rd Birthday Par-tay

Saturday we had a birthday party for Sophers. The weather was a little cooler than it has been - it was just about 100 degrees. A friend our ours let us use her inflatable water slide. This thing is HUGE and it was THE BEST!! The kids were on it all day long into the night. (I can't wait to see my water bill after this - eeee gads. Thank you to all who came from near and far to party and celebrate with us!

Happy Birthday Sophia!

Disneyland Trip #3 with Meggin and Molly

Yes, in a month I have been on three different Disney trips - yikes!! I swear they were going to welcome me by name when I walked in this time! This last one, my friend Meggin and I took our "big" girls only. It was fabulous! We were on the road to beat LA traffice by 4:30 am and we were in the parking lot at Disney before 8am. We road Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Runaway Train, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Pooh (just because we were right by it) by 10am! It's amazing how much you can get done without a stroller and getting there so early. We hopped over to CA Adventure after that and went on the new Midway Mania ride. Grace and I ended going on that ride 3x! You may ask....am I sick of Disneyland.....NOPE!! I'd go back tomorrow!! (We've gotten our money's worth out of our season passes!)

Disneyland Trip with Meggin and Molly

More Pictures From Disneyland With Cousin Lisa

Disneyland Trip (The first one this summer!) with Cousin Lisa

Well, I posted a bit out of order.....when it comes to the Disney trips, we went on our first one the second week of June with my cousin Lisa who was visiting from New York. She was out applying for a job in Palm Springs and came up to spend time with Dave, the girls and I, then we all went to Disneyland for some fun!! (And to get out of the heat here.) We had a such a great time and did I mention that having ONE adult for every ONE child is the PERFECT way to do Disney!?!

My Girls Weekend Trip to Chicago!

The first weekend in June, I went to Chicago to visit with some friends from around the world - literally! I swallowed my fear of flying and stepped on to a plane for the first time in almost 6 years! We couldn't have picked a worse weekend weather wise, with tornados, lightning, rain and wind storms but it was worth it. We all met on the internet when we were expecting babies in July 2005 and we all keep in touch. We've meet up in Vegas a couple of times and this was our first time in the Windy City. There was lots of shopping, a little drinking and tons of wonderful conversations. These women are from all over - Luxemborg, New York, Florida, Tennessee, Califorina, Nevada, Chicago, and more. I had a great time!!