Lake Tahoe/Jim's Birthday

Last weekend we headed up to Lake Tahoe to join my mom and Mike on their camping trip. This was our first "official" camping trip with the kids and we had a fun time, but it was every bit of much work as I thought it would be. It took me all week to pack and after 8 loads of laundry we were finally unpacked. Why don't I remember it being this much work as a kid?? It took Olivia a night to adjust to sleeping in a camper (she decided it would be more fun to stay awake all night) but after she got adjusted to our temporary sleeping arrangements, things went much smoother. We celebrated Jim's birthday on Friday night with some delicious steaks, baked potatoes and corn, followed up by a cherry pie and chocolate boston cream pie - YUM! We spent our first day down at Camp Richardson and the kids enjoyed playing in the lake with Daddy and Grandma. Cole could not get enough of the campsite and all of the sticks he could collect. He had a smile on his face for 4 days that could not be wiped off - this made all of the work worth it. Olivia was so dirty after 4 days of wearing crocs in the dirt that it literally took 3 days to get the dirt from her feet and toe nails off once we were home :-)
The weather was perfect and we had a great time visiting with my mom and Mike. Thank you both for all of your help and for all of the delicious food!!

Cole's first dip in the water on Day #1. A little chilly!
 
 
Giving mommy a thumbs up.
 

Playing baseball with daddy
 
My mom and Mike
 
Jim opening up his birthday presents
 
 

 
 

Check out the view from our campsite. That place is so pretty!
 
I love this one (and I love these boys!)
 

Mommy and Olivia :-) (I love this girl too xoxo)
 
Time to roast marshmellows
 
Cutest little butt ever.
 
 

 
 
 
 

Happy Birthday Daddy

Jim turned 34 last week and we were in Tahoe for his actual birthday, but he was out of town pretty much the entire week leading up to his birthday so the kids and I decided to make this sign for him so he could see it when he got home. The idea sounded fun but somehow trying to do any sort of art project with a 21 month old and a 3 1/2 year old never really goes as planned. And then when you add paint to their hands and feet to make handprints/footprints, it can really be a disaster! It turned out cute though and he loved it.
The other bummer is that it didn't survive the garage going up/down so after the first time we opened the door, the darn thing ripped and it was left saying "Happy daddy" for the rest of the week!

Commercials

Cole is a walking/talking commerical. Probably a sign that he watches too much TV, but he can recite pretty much all of them. For example, the other day he tells me we need to buy the sun setter and when I ask him why, his response was "Because it protects you from the suns harmful rays." Of course this is word for word what they say in the commerical. They always advertise for these butterfly kits during his afternoon cartoons and everytime he sees it he asks for them. When Jim and I were in Napa we saw the kit in a toy store and had to bring it home for him. It was actually REALLY cool and the whole family enjoyed receiving our 5 little caterpillars in the mail, watching them grow, build their cocoons form and then seeing them transform into butterflies. It is just as much fun as the commercial promises! I forgot to take pictures along the way, but here is our finished project on the day we decided to release them. Did you know the average life span of a butterfly is only 2-3 weeks :-( We would have enjoyed keeping them in their cage for longer, but with that short life, we needed to let them go.

4th of July Block Party

We had our annual 4th of July Block party this past weekend and we had another successful year! The kids and parents all had a blast and the best part was that we didn't have to go anywhere! We blocked off the street right outside our house, the guys brought out the BBQ's, the beer and set up some shade, the girls brought yummy food/drinks and this year everyone chipped in and rented a waterslide for the kids. It was another hot day this year, so having that water for the kids (and some of the dads) made all of the difference.

Olivia getting ready for the parade

Sydney and Charlotte

Nolan and Bailey

Cole got to ride his bike this year!

Olivia with her buddy Gavin

Uncle Sam (Cole didn't want to dress up again this year, so Jim had to)


The kids getting ready for the parade

The Grand Marshall (aka...Mike Brown and his hog)

"Little" Cole

Mommy pushing Olivia on the parade route

The waterslide

The kids getting their arms painted



Daddy and Olivia going down the slide



Jim's family






Time to get these fireworks started