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!

The Chicken or The Egg?

My mom is probably gasping for air right now, yelling and screaming to get this out of his mouth. I did mom, don't worry. Bailey has all of these fun plastic food pieces that Raif loves to put in his mouth, along with everything else on the floor. This is half an egg, someone so wise decided to make plastic food that breaks apart with velcro creating twice as much to pick up! We did not experience this with Bailey, she rarely put anything except food in her mouth. Although this is absolutely hysterical, it reminded me that I need to be on constant watch for small parts and pieces. This will probably be one of those deja vu moments when he turns 21 and thinks it's a good idea to stuff a whole hard boiled egg in his mouth after having too much to drink. Doesn't he really look like Colby now? :)

Post La Zoo

Raif got out of the pool for a little break
Bailey and Raif cooling off

Raif loving the water

My little ham loves the camera

Bailey did not want her picture taken with her brother

After we got back from Africa, I mean the LA Zoo, Bailey asked to go in her little pool. How could I say no after treking them around in 100 degree weather. Raif was loving the pool and figured out how to crawl in and out and in and out of it. It was a nice way to cool off after a hot day. These little pools are so worth having. I got this one when Bailey was about Raif's age and we are still enjoying it!

LA Zoo

Fun little play area for the kids
Raif and Bailey on a play hippo

Zebras were right at home in 100 degree weather

Bailey, Reagan and Paige

Bailey and Reagan near the gorilla exhibit

I can't believe Sarah talked me into going to the zoo on the hottest day of the summer :)

Actually, I said let's go to the zoo before we checked the weather report. And by then, we were already geared up to go. Sarah was probably ready to kill me by the time we already sweated off 2 bottles of water and about 10 pounds of water weight! It was a hot day, but we saw so many fun animals and they all seemed to be up close so the kids could get a great view of all of them. Paige actually fell asleep in the stroller, and Raif decided his stroller was too hot so he wanted to be carried. We ended our day trying to find the elephants, of which you can't see them because they are building a new elelphant sanctuary. I think our next trip to the zoo will be upon it's completion!

Bailey is 3 1/2 Today: A Look Back at Fashion

Stage 1: I could dress her in whatever I wanted.
Stage 2: The Princess Phase (Still Going On)
Stage 3: The Star Dress Phase (Still Going On)

Stage 4: The Night Gown Phase (Still Going On)

Stage 5: The No Clothes Stage (Still Going On)

Bailey is 3 1/2 today. As I sit here looking back at her fashion through the years, all 3 1/2 of them, I revisited some of my favorites, and some of hers. As you can tell by the captions,

Stages 2-4 are still occuring, while Stage 1 is long gone. I am looking forward to preschool when we no longer have to experience Stages 2-4 in one day, at least not from 9-12:30!

Happy Retirement Dad!

Dad and Mom
Kelly, Eli, Jaymee and Lexy

Dad and Mom with Jaymee and Lexy

Dad and Mom with Bailey

The flower arrangement. The colors don't really show up in the picutre.

Colby and I hosted my dad's retirement party on Sunday. We had about 30 people come and celebrate. I didn't get a chance to take any other picutes, someone really needs to help out with that (Kelly?). After 37 years of hard work, he now gets to have a some fun. So far, he's painted my cousin's new condo (Hooray for Sally!), waxed my mom's car, Kelly's car, his car (I'll get to that in a second), my car, and Colby's is next. He's flying to my aunt's house in Washington to help her paint her house, and to visit of course. Not looking like much of a retirement??? Well, he did go out and by himself a bright and shiny new red corvette. It is the second car he has had new that I can remember...he normally drove my mom's hand-me-downs. Everyone that he tells seems to have the same comment, "Good for you, you deserve it!" And he does. My mom and dad are going on a crusie through the Panama Canal in September, and then on to Germany in 2010, I forgot the month. It seems that I am going to be spending a lot of time with my two four-legged sisters, their dog's Maggie and Katie. We are so excited for my dad and mom to be able to have some fun together and travel. Congratulations Dad!