A Weekend With the Z Fam

Our friends the Zollingers (Jeremy, Tenia, Cali, & Milo) came to visit for the weekend. We had so much fun with them. We went to the beach on Saturday in Seaside. We watched the weather and it was supposed to be around 70 degrees, but the weatherman is a big fat liar! It was freezing! The wind was blowing and it was super chilly! Cali and Brighton didn't even care though, they were happy as could be playing in the sand and running around. It's funny how kids are like that. The adults were shivering and thinking we should leave and the kids were just zoned in on the activity, oblivious to the weather. We also took the kids to the carousel by the beach and they LOVED it! It made me excited for Disneylad this week. Brighton was seriously in heaven with Cali here. She loved having a little buddy to run around with! They were really cute together and got along so well. The favorite activity for those two was hiding behind our couch cushions. They would laugh so hard and played back there forever! Funny girls. There is a little clip of them hiding at the bottom.

Happy Birthday To Me!

So yesterday was my 29th birthday. Wa-hoo! I love birthdays! Don woke up at 6am (and he is NOT a morning person) to make me pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream and to decorate the house all birthday like before he had to go to work. Sweet guy. I spent most of the day with Brighton and she sang "Happy Bowday to Mommy" about a hundred times, which I of course loved. :) We all went out to dinner and then came home and ate my yummy Coldstone b-day cake and I opened some gifts. A friend asked me if I hated being almost 30. I really have to say that I don't at all! I don't want to be 20, I want to be 29! 20 was great and all, but I love my life right now more than I ever have. I am so happy and content and I really have no desire to be any younger. So yay for 29 and watch out 30, here I come!

Here is a little birthday singing clip from yesterday.

The Fourth of July!!

We celebrated the 4th this year with our neighborhood. We had a barbecue, did the whole fireworks thing, and just hung out and talked while the kids ran around and played. It was a pretty low key day, but a fun one.

Here are all of the cute little neighborhood girls. They are all really good about including little Brighton and she loves to follow them around and just wants to be involved in whatever the big girls are doing.

Sparklers were a hit with Brighton. The fireworks, however, scared her at first. By the end of the night though, she was used to them and was even requesting that we light "more pretty purple fiowooks."

Caleb and Brighton pushed these little strollers up and down the street forever! Poor Caleb is the only boy in a neighborhood swarming with little girls. He needs a little buddy to play ball with!

A Week of Fun With Grandma & Grandpa part 2

Here are a few more pictures from when my parents were in town. My camera died and we couldn't find the charger so we had no way to get the pics of the camera until now. Anyway, these pics are from Multonomah Falls. What an incredible place! Bri came prepared for the little hike with all of her sparkly necklaces, her sun glasses, hat, puppy, and of course, her princess purse full of My Little Ponies.

Also, I just want to say HAPPY 40TH WEDDING ANIVERSARY to my parents! You two have been a great example my whole life of what a healthy, happy marriage is all about and I have learned so many positive things from observing your relationship with each other. Congratulations on 40!! I love you!

A Week of Fun With Grandma & Grandpa

My parents came to visit last week and we had so much fun with them!!! These tiny little pictures are of us at Cannon Beach. I don't know why I can't make them bigger on here. Grrr. Anyway, it was 98 degrees in Portland that day and we decided we needed to get to the coast! It was a gorgeous day in the 70's there and we walked in the water and dug around in the sand. Brighton had a great time...for the most part. At one point we were walking along the edge of the water and Bri lost her balance and fell in. Let's just say that she didn't like that too much! The water out there is freezing! Her dress was drenched so she spent the rest of her day at the beach in her diaper. She wanted nothing to do with the water after that. I'm hoping she has forgotten about her little incident since we will be at the beach in California in a couple of weeks.

I have the best parents (not that I'm biased or anything) and we all loved spending the week with them. Besides the coast, we also went to the rose gardens, the gorge, shopping, and we even had a grown up night downtown. We also had a lot of time to just hang around the house to talk and play games. My Dad and I smoked Don and my Mom in Rook again...and again...and again!! Not to rub it in or anything. Ha. ;) Brighton loved having her Grandma and her Papa (as she calls him) here. For a few days after they left, anywhere we would go she would ask if they were coming with us. I've said it a thousand times and I'll probably say it a thousand more, but I really wish we all lived closer! Sigh. Someday.

In case it's not totally clear, in the clip below Bri is saying "I love to dance! I love to dance! I love it! I love to dance!"

Whether she is outside, in the kitchen, or at the grocery store, sometimes she just feels the need to start dancing around singing about her love for dance. Such a little free spirit. I love it.