cousins...

first, pictures from my fabulous weekend... chagrin falls!

date night...

double date night... lori and andrew met us for dessert!

the gift!

placemats and napkins!

the wedding...

my mom!

my daddy. gee... where do you think i get my good looks?? kinda scary, huh?

at the pool with libby and will!!

libby jumping in!

no-fear nora...

gosh, i LOVE this boy!!!

sweet baby boy!

english cousins!

amos cousins!

after a great weekend, we drove up to pittsburgh yesterday to see cousins. we actually saw THREE sets! what a busy, fun, full day! it's pouring rain out and thundering. a weird sound for this california girl!

my kids are growing up so fast! i can't believe it! james can say so many things now! and nora is like a 13 year old in a 3 year old body! nora is on an "i love you"-saying kick. she constantly tells me how much she loves me! it's SO precious! i am loving it.

fun weekend!!!

a pic from the pool. my DEAR friend kristen met us there with her boys. her family is SO SPECIAL to us! i was the first person to hold her youngest son!!! and my kids had a blast with them.

then, aunt lu came and nora LOVED having her around. they went 'sploring all afternoon!!

jamey loves to say CHEESE!!!

loving time with aunt lu!

celebrating dd's 21st birthday!!!

happy birthday!

smiling!!!

telling daddy what to do!

sweet family!! we love having daddy back with us!

my little walker!

jamey wanted to jump in the pool. seriously. he got up on the diving board and said, "i jump"...

family!!!

nora was quite tired when we got home!!

what a great weekend! david got home just in time for dinner last night. we had a BEAUTIFUL dinner out on the deck, put the kids in bed, played cornhole and bocci, and just hung out!! today, byssa and i ran 5 miles to our friend's pool, and then had a GREAT day at the pool.

the kids swam, mom-mom got us lunch, the boys showed up after golf. then, daddy took the kids home and they all napped while i relaxed at the pool! now off for a DATE with my hubby!!

jamey and the birthday boy!!

we love our dd... and love his birthday! we are getting ready to go out to dinner to celebrate!! i remember when he was born, 21 years ago! stef and i were taken to summer camp by my mom-mom when my mom was induced. i called that evening at dinner (which you were NEVER allowed to do) to talk to my mom! it was so fun! and so sad that we weren't there to see him. there was a big fight the next saturday, the whole way home, as to who got to hold him first. for probably the ONLY time in my life, i won a fight with stef and got to hold dd first! WOW, i am old!!!

wow... a lot of pictures!!!

the princess!!

my dd!!! (ps... it's this kid's 21st birthday today! happy birthday dear brother. thanks for loving my kids like i do! you are the best..... i am so thankful for you!!! and your faithful reading of the blog!!!)

sweet friend titus!

my boy and his cheese!!

loving libby lu!!

james on the ride!

the roller coaster!!

the ferris wheel.

sweet kisses...

holding on to her brother.

driving the boat.

the up and downs!

waiting...

riding!!!

the train...

sweet friends.

birthday party!!! the popcorn was a bigger hit that the cupcakes.

decided to get all creative and cook the cupcakes in ice cream cones. the kids were not impressed! sad for them...

again with the popcorn!!

birthday ice cream at home.

she told mom-mom that her princesses were "begging" to watch a show. so, she brought them all to mom-mom's bed and lined them up there.

did i mention we went to memphis kiddie park for nora's birthday. we had a great time! james, especially, loved the rides! it was so fun that even he could go on them!!! and had such great friends- libby, titus and graham!!!

it's been a busy and good week. the pool twice (the first day, it rained and i ran to get lunch. in my suit and cover-up. i think i looked a bit ridiculous! some sweet friends have offered us the use of their pool all summer!!! it's so nice to go with NO OTHER kids, and just lounge! we have enjoyed it so far! and they tell us they are happy the pool is getting used!!!

one thing i have realized is that with being home, i want to be up with the action. i have been staying up WAY too late. it's time to go to bed earlier! especially since at least one of my kids is up around 6am every morning. they change who gets up earlier, and the other one usually sleeps in until 8ish. although, it's 9:30 and james is still sleeping!!!

nora has started napping again. it's made her SUCH a pleasant girl! we are having so much fun. and james is really starting to talk! pop-pop and byss are two of his favorite words to say, although dd is his FAVORITE person in the world right now! also, the phone was ringing the other day, and he said "hello". SO CUTE! he had mom-mom's phone is his hand later and it rang, and it freaked him out. he wouldn't look at it and pushed it away! funny boy...

last night was martini night with the girls and we had SO MUCH fun! angelfood cake martinis! and great girls night... i got to meet one of lori's good friends and we bonded over sewing and our love for certain designers!!!

speaking of sewing, i just finished a new project i am OBSESSED with. it's for a friend's wedding this weekend, so i'll post pics after i give the present!!!

favorites...

today was a wonderful day... church was great. got to sew (except i butchered the project. TWICE!!). good dinner, wonderful company. brandos stopped by and it was so fun to just hang out!! now, watching my FAVORITE movie!! with my girls on the couch!!!

nice bunt, alice..

pretty sweet, huh?

i did MUCH better than last time. having my eyes open to shoot is significant progress! i got him right between the eyes and then the heart!

what a wonderful day. it started with my daughter. she woke me up (after going outside, first- she told me later...), with piggy bank in hand and asked for the penny promised for staying in bed. then, a 4 mile run with my girls. lori and i ran together seven years ago! fun to be doing it again. and byssa, my newest running partner. it was a GREAT run! i was really dreading it. my 4 mile long run was TOUGH last time.

come home and had my AWESOME protein shake. then, got the kids settled and the fam and i went shooting. yup... at the range. my family owns a few guns, and i got to practice with them. i even got the feel of some and don't like shooting some (the glock was NOT my favorite). it was fun.

came home and vegged out for a bit, got to ichat with daddy, then a quick trip to the grocery store. (minor downside to the day- we had a MELTDOWN in the store!!!) wonderful dinner, kids in bed, some cornhole and bocci out back, a movie back inside. wonderful!!