Little Boys

They just do these kinds of things!

Uh Oh!

The Convicted
The Jury of her Peers (It was a long trial!)

The Severed Appendage

The Victim

As my mom and dad are off cruising through the Panama Canal, their dearest dog decided to "de-nose" poor Goofy. We held a trial and the jury only deliberated for a few seconds before deciding she gets ousted on her treats for the morning. A fair sentence for such a heinous crime. Only 13 more days until our parents return!!!

More Concert Pictures

Love the hair!

Raif and his Grandma
Grumpy Bailey before she decided to have fun

Kelly and Lexy

My mom and dad enjoying the food
Note: Jaymee was there, but she brought a friend and they were out scouting the field. She did join us for a few dances, but somehow managed to escape the camera.

Street Dance at Naples Concert in the Park

Bailey dancing with our neighbors Annabelle and Vicki
The party was tons of fun

Eli and Lexy

Raif and his Mommy

My dad and Raif
We had our last concert in the park to celebrate the last day of summer. The Elm Street Band, a local favorite, played at the concert. Our neighbor, Roland, is a member of the band and they played lots of fun music and got the whole neighborhood up and dancing. My mom, dad, Kelly, Eli and Jaymee and Lexy joined us for the fun. A great way to celebrate a fun summer!

Brunch at the Maya

Borrowed Sarah and Aaron's picture off of facebook, not sure how to make it bigger :)

Sunday morning Aaron, Sarah, Colby and I went to the new Maya Hotel in dowtown Long Beach for brunch. I really suggest going there for a fun time. It was one of the best brunches I've had in a while. The weather was perfect, the meal was great, and the company and conversation are always fun. Downtown Long Beach is one of those places lots of residents forget to go to. It is so beautiful down there and the city is making a great attempt at keeping it alive.

Our New Patio Furniture

Tried out the new fire pit

A little vino to add to the night

Colby and I finally got our new patio furniture that we have been eyeing all summer. Thankfully, we live in southern California and will be able to continue to enjoy it throughout the year. We had a fun, quiet evening at home on Friday with dinner outside and roasting marshmallows in the new fire pit.

How Many Tutus Can One Princess Have?

Bailey wanted to play dress-up, she went into her room, and this is what she came up with.

Which brings me to another fun story from preschool. Mrs. Riggins, her teacher, told me how Bailey greets her in the morning. Bailey walks up to her, waits for her to be done talking with whomever she is talking to (I love when they follow the manners you taught them), and then promptly goes into telling Mrs. Riggins about what she is wearing today, from head to toe. Starting with hair accessories, all the way down to today's choice of socks and shoes. Bailey then dives into Mrs. Riggins fashion choices for the day. She starts with her choice of hairdo, then earrings, and goes down to toe nail polish and shoes. Today, there was a mom who has two boys, that listened to this exchange. After Bailey was done, the mom told Mrs. Riggins that she was seriously considering trying for a girl because it was so much fun to listen to all of the girlie stuff! I hope that mom doesn't try and have another baby and gets a boy and then comes to hunt me down with a vengeance.

Bailey's Lunch Time Talk

So, I pick up Bailey today from preschool and her teacher has a fun story to tell me.

Mrs. Riggins, her teacher, tells me at lunch today there were lots of flies. Bailey proclaims, "Mrs. Riggins, I don't like flies."

Mrs. Riggins replies, "Do you know who does like flies, spiders. They love to eat flies."

Bailey responds back, "That's great. You know who else doesn't like flies? My mommy. She doesn't like flies in her wine!!!!!!!!"

I love it! I'm sure there will be many more stories to share as the preschool year continues.

1st Day of Preschool

Bailey outside of our front door.
Lunch bag in hand ready to get in the car.

Story time with Mrs. Riggins

The very attentive students.

Listening to the story.

We had a successful start to preschool. No tears (from all parties involved)! We had gone for a few visits this summer to get her acquainted with the school. She was a bit hesitant when we got there, the school was a buzzing from all of the excitement. But, within a minute or two, she sat down outside for a little free play and even followed her teacher into the classroom to get the day started. We stayed just long enough to snap a few quick pictures, and then waved good-bye and Colby and I were off on our way. It's been a solid hour now and no phone calls from the preschool!!!! It's eerily silent in the house, Raif is snoozing away and so are the dogs. I think I shall go have another cup of coffee!

Grandmommy Dorothy's Birthday

Great-Grandmommy's 92nd birthday.
Colby's Parents, Grandmommy and us.
We joined Colby's parents and Grandmommy for her 92nd birthday at Virginia Country Club on Monday. We had a wonderful lunch followed by a delicious creative cakery cake. Bailey and Raif are fortunate to have 3 great-grandmas still with us.

Block Party at the Ireland's

Bailey with her decorated bike.
Aaron won the chili cook-off and Colby came in 3rd.

Raif enjoying the little bounce house.

Bailey striking a pose in the bounce house.

Bailey riding her bike in the parade.

On Sunday, we went over to Julian Ave. for the Ireland's block party. The fabulous neighbors of Julian Avenue did a wonderful job of having lots of fun activites for everyone to enjoy. There was a chili cook-off, bike decorating followed by a parade, a bounce house, and lots of fun games and activities. See the Ireland blog www.aaronandsarahireland.blogspot.com for more fun pictures.

Last Summer Trip to Disneyland

My mom and I took the kids to Disneyland one last time before summer was over. We stood in line for the princesses and Bailey actually wanted pictures with her brother and the princesses. Raif wasn't sure what was going on. He sat there staring at the princesses but finally looked over at the camera for some cute photos.

Raif Learned to Clap

I love this age. They learn so many new things and are so proud of themselves!

My Garden

Red Leaved Banana
Red Leaved Banana with Picturata Aucuba

Unkown Palm, I forgot to ask

Persian Shield

It's been a lot of trial and error, but with a big Boomer dog who likes to urinate all over my flowers, I had to switch to some bigger, more sturdy plants. I absolutely love flowers, but Boomer and Lily have killed almost all of them. I went with my dad to Armstrong's and got some tropical looking plants to go in the garden. Hopefully, these will last. My favorite is definitely the red leaved banana. It should grow to about 12 feet tall, it will be fun to see how big it gets.

The Ice Cream Boy

Yummy!
So Good!
Bailey, Raif and I went over to my neighbor Anne's house for a playdate with her two girls, Annabelle and Vicki. We had tons of fun, and she introduced Raif to these tiny little popsicles that are "slow melt," perfect for little ones. She thought Raif was so cute with them that she brought him another one for a treat at our house. Needless to say, I had to go and buy some at the store. Bailey eats these in about a minute. So, she gets the big popsicles and Raif gets the baby size ones. Bailey no longer has to be chased around the house by her brother to get some of her popsicle. Now he can have his own!