Sarah's Birthday at Naples Concert in the Park

Bailey and Reagan dancing
My mom feeding Raif near the end of the concert

Sarah and me

Bailey dining on fried chicken

Colby with the crew

The first Naples Concert in the Park kicked off on Tuesday. We got to listen to fun music and celebrate Sarah's birthday. We had tons of food, wine and people to celebrate. We dined on Albertson's fried chicken, deviled eggs, watermelon and lot of other delicious food. I didn't include a lot of the picutres, so be sure to go to Sarah's blog for more of the fun: www.aaronandsarahireland.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Memorial Trip cont.

Colby's dream boat.
Bailey and I driving the boat.

Raif and Colby taking a break from driving.

We decided to pack up the kids, dogs, and invited my mom to go for a little trip to Catalina. Colby's fishing trip got cancelled so we all went to Cherry Cove so Colby didn't pout too much over the weekend. We had a great time, although the weather was a bit chilly since it was so windy. Boomer was the only one who wanted to go in the water since it was so cold. We had fun cooking on the boat and went to the Isthmus to have a Buffalo's Milk and ice cream for Bailey.

Memorial Day Trip to Catalina

Bailey and my mom playing with Colby's fishing equipment
Boomer was traumatized by the boat ride over and didn't budge when the cushion was on him.

Bailey and Lily going for a ride in the little boat.

Boomer taking a swim

Lily stole Boomer's bone my mom brought. She wanted back inside.

Are You a Princess or a Queen?

Bailey was watching a segment on Noggin about a firefighters. The little girl hosting the segment said she wanted to be a fireman when she grew up, and posted the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Bailey yelled out, "A Princess!" (The things she says cracks me up)

This reminded me of when I was teaching in Long Beach. A fellow teacher was going on interviews at a new district in Manhattan and was asked the question, "Are you a Queen or a Princess?" in her interview.

We all thought it was a peculiar question, but it did spark such interesting lunch time talk. This was about 9 years ago, and my answer was a princess. I loved being taken care of and did not like making all of the decisions.

I have not thought about that question for nearly 9 years.

Well, let me tell you...9 years later, at 33 years of age, a master's degree, many teaching and curriculum positions, a husband, two dogs, two children and a home of my own that we built from the ground up...I am now a queen. I like things the way I like them, I have no problem telling people what I want or making decisions. I still get all of the benefits of being a princess, ie. I am well taken care of...and I now understand why my colleague answered a queen!

Have fun discussing with your girlfriends and I would love to hear what your answer is.

These boots are made for walking.

There's a reason we call her "Boots"

She's not looking at the camera...there's a mirror in front of her
More looking at the mirror

I was working on the computer and I hear "clomp, clomp, clomp." I go into my closet and there is Bailey in a pair of my boots.

Raif Laughing

Raif loves his Daddy and can't wait until he comes home. Here is the two of them playing on the couch.

Mesmerized Raif

Raif in his crib
This is exactly how Colby watches TV.

Now that Raif can sit up he loves to sit in his crib and watch his aquarium make bubbles and play music.

Roasting Marshmallows

Bailey and Reagan with sticky fingers
Colby showing Reagan the perfect technique

Bailey's turn

The girls tickling Paige

Paige loved her s'more

On Saturday we had the Ireland's over for some delicious crab (I love the weekends when Colby is inspired to cook). Afterwards we roasted marshmallows in our front yard. We have a built in fire pit that I am glad Colby talked me into. If you haven't had a s'more in a while, let me tell you I forgot how delicious they are.

My Sunflower

My gardeners (aka my mom and dad) came over again last week and planted more flowers. My dad bought us both a sunflower and mine currently has 7 blooms...don't be jealous dad! Thanks Mom and Dad! I love my garden.

It's Official

So proud!

I love that sheepish grin!

Raif is officially sitting up. He is finally able to on his own. The boppy pillow is behind him, since we still have tumbles, but he played in a sitting position for about 15 minutes with his train.

Ballet Class

The backs of the little fairies.
Bailey with Taylor (in black) who is Sarah and Aaron's neighbor.

The little fairy.

The dance company decided to put Bailey's class in their annual recital. I'm not sure how that is going to go since they will only have about 10 times at dance class, but we'll see. This is a picture of her on picutre day in her little fairy outfit.

My Little Seal

Bailey and Raif
Tummy time!

The seal position

Raif loves to be on his tummy. He also loves to have his legs and arms straight back like a seal. Probably not conducive to crawling! Lucky for me. My mom always says she loves it when they stay put.

Mother's Day cont. cont.

The Vega Clan
Kelly and Eli

Guyton and his girlfriend Jenn

Grandma Pat with all the girls

Kelly being silly with Jaymee and Lexy

For Mother's Day we celebrated out on the boat. My mom and dad, Grandma Pat, Kelly and her family, Colby's brother Guyton and his girlfriend Jenn, and all of us went out for a little dinner cruise and anchored up by Thumb's island. We had a fantastic dinner and lots of fun celebrating Mother's Day. It was a beautiful day and such a great way to enjoy the day.

Mother's Day cont.

My mom with all her girls

Brenda, Mom and Kelly
Kelly and her girls

Raif and my dad with Grandma Pat

Grandma Pat with her great-grand children

Mother's Day

Grandma Pat with Raif
My mom and dad with Raif and Bailey

My mom with all of her grandchildren

Jaymee, Lexy and Bailey

Our Family

Brian and Christina's Shower

On Saturday, Colby and I, along with our friends Frank and Mary Murphy, threw a couples shower for our dear friends Brian and Christina. They are going to be blessed with twins, a boy and a girl. We loaded up the kids and drove out to San Diego to throw the shower there, since Christina has been put on bed rest. We had a lot of fun visiting with old friends. I didn't get a chance to take pictures, but Mary did and pictures will follow.

Day at Disneyland

We got there on a shift change so Bailey got to see Pocahontas and Snow White
We finally meet Pocahontas

A fun picture of Bailey's eyes

Yesterday we went to Disneyland with Sarah, Reagan, Paige and Nani Shirley. Their passes run out this weekend, so we were trying to finally get together to go at the same time. Although, I'm petitioning for them to renew so we can all go together for another year. We had a great time riding the rides, and Bailey, Raif and I stayed a while after they left to go and see the princesses. It paid off because Bailey finally got to meet Pocahontas. Raif also had fun riding on It's a Small World. He is mesmerized by the entire ride.