Another perfect day!

We have had the most beautiful weather this Memorial Day weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. We are getting spoiled with this perfect weather. Today we went to Chris's dad's house in the later afternoon for dinner and a pontoon boat ride. Thanks for having us over, Randy and Terrie! Here are some photos of the day:

Mira showing off her new life jacket!



Amelia loved "driving" the pontoon with Poppa Randy:


Mira and Randy on the pontoon:


My girls on the boat (don't worry, we are still docked, so they don't have their life jackets on yet):


Chris on the pontoon:


Amelia in the convertible:

Mira in the convertible:

On the tree swing:

Sharing a moment with Poppa Randy:

Funny story:
Someone brought mini-cupcakes to the party and Mira had 3 right away. I told her she couldn't have any more, and then caught her with one later, and with another one after that! So 5 mini-cupcakes later, I told Mira she absolutely couldn't have any more that day. Later in the car on the way home, Mira said, "Mom, I just wanted you to know that I ate all those cupcakes because I was doing a taste test to see which one I liked the best." Smart girl. I could tell she had been working on an excuse in her mind. I asked her which one she liked best from her taste test and Mira said, "All of them!"

Hope you all have a fun and safe Memorial Day tomorrow!

Memorial Weekend Cookout with the Neighbors

Chris and I invited a few of neighbors over tonight for a kick-off-the-summer cookout. We had so much fun with them, as we do many evenings. It's a great neighborhood with lots of families with younger kids. We're really fortunate to live here among such wonderful people. All the kids were great tonight, playing in the bounce house or just running around in the yard, while the adults enjoyed conversation on the deck. Thanks for coming, everyone! We had lots of fun!

How many kids can you get into a bounce house? Lots!

Amelia and Jane:


Zach and Kelly:



Jamie, Kami, Michelle, Addy:

Nick, Chris, Ryan:

The kids had a great time together:

Amelia:

Mira:


Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Pure joy!

When was the last time you felt joy like this?


Or frolicked like this?

Or pranced like this?


When was the last time you enjoyed the moment?

Wonderful May Sunday

What a beautiful day! We had such a lovely day today. Relaxing breakfast, a couple of errands, lunch out, a little shopping. When we got home this afternoon, Chris and I took out the bounce house we bought this spring for the first time and set it up. It drew a few neighbors over, and the adults sat around and talked for a couple hours while the kids played. It's a great way to tire kids out and contain them at the same time! It was a wonderful afternoon. Here are a few photos of the girls enjoying their new toy:

Mira is showing me her gymnastics skills:



I can't believe how old Amelia looks in this one:

Amelia trying out the hippity-hop:

We hope you all had a wonderful Sunday too! Should be a beautiful day tomorrow!

Birthday Party!

Mira and Amelia had a lovely birthday party today! It was wonderful to see so many of our family members for a long visit. Thanks so much to everyone who could come (and to those of you who sent gifts, even if you couldn't come. But we missed you!)

We had a delicious lunch (honey bun sandwiches (yum!), pasta salad, fresh fruit, and chips), a delicious if not slightly-too-sweet cake, and Mira and Amelia opened lots of great presents!

The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins for the day. Amelia and Chris are resting now, and Mira is watching a video to relax. Here are a few photos from today.

Me and my girls:

Mira, Cara, and Abby:

Amelia and Nicholas:



Waiting to blow out their candles:


Enjoying that cupcake!

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to wish my mom a very happy Mother's Day! I wish we could have been with you. For sure next year. I love you so!

And I big thank you to my husband and Mira and Amelia for the beautiful flowers and cards. They are so special to me. I love you all!

Mira and Amelia are the two reasons I can celebrate Mother's Day. I love you both so much. You are wonderful, bright, beautiful, sweet little girls. My life wasn't complete until I met you both. Thanks for filling my life with such joy every day.

Mira goes to kindergarten orientation!

Out of the mouths of babes. I always tell Amelia she is a little Hoover because she eats up her fruit so fast. Tonight, Mira took it one step further and applied the term to her:

"Mom! I'm Hoovering these craisins!"

On a wonderful note: Mira had her kindergarten orientation tonight. I can't believe she's old enough to start kindergarten in the fall. With a late May birthday, she'll be one of the younger ones, but she is so ready to start school. She loves to learn and can do simple math and letter recognition. Her memory is better than mine!

At orientation, Mira got to see a classroom. meet the teachers, and ride a school bus. She says her favorite part tonight was the snack time. She's really excited to go to school, and two of her daycare friends will be going to the same kindergarten with Mira in the fall. All three of them will be getting on the bus together. Safety in numbers, I say!

In front of her new school:

In the classroom:



Here are Mira and Amelia in their pirate ship (or, as I like to call it, the cover to the sandbox!):

Happy birthday, Amelia!

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet, sweet Amelia Kaye! We love you so much, Sweet Pea!

Amelia had a party at daycare today. Here are a couple of photos of the party:



Then came home to balloons, presents, and a cupcake.


We are so proud of our youngest. Amelia is a really funny little girl. She really keeps us laughing. She loves Elmo, books, apple juice, string cheese, pancakes, and fruit of any kind. My favorite moments are when I am putting her to bed. She'll pick a book, and after we read it, I'll say, "Ready for bed?" and Amelia will say, "No. Rockabye." She wants to rock and sing a song first. Usually we sing variations of "Elmo's World," using each member of the family. A sampling:

La la la la, la la la la, Amelia's world.
La la la la, la la la la, Amelia's world.
She loves her pappy, her blankie too.
That's Amelia's world!

I wouldn't trade this little girl for anything. We love her so! Happy birthday!

A lot o' celebratin'

Uff-da! May is a busy month! Between my and Chris's anniversary today, Amelia's 2nd birthday tomorrow, Mother's Day, Mira's 5th birthday, and Memorial Day . . . we have a busy month! One holiday down, 4 more to go!

Mira got an early birthday present from her cousins, aunt, and uncle in Australia. It's a beautiful dress-up outfit. She loves it!

Mira and I decorated Amelia's high chair with her favorite balloon character and streamers.

I can't believe my baby will be 2 years old tomorrow. She is really mature, but still a little girl. She's so funny.You should hear her singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from The Lion King soundtrack and "Take a Chance on Me" from Mamma Mia. It's so cute to see her singing at the top of her lungs in the back seat of the car.

Chris and I had the same idea when it came to our anniversary. We bought each other flowers and got Sawatdee takeout (thanks, Mom and Dad!).

My flowers to Chris. I love you, Honey!


Chris's flowers to me:


My sweet girls:

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

I want to wish a happy anniversary to my sweet husband. Wow, 8 years! I love you so much and am very glad you are on the mend. Here's to a wonderful year!