Glimpses of Summer

 The first day of summer was yesterday, and in the great Northwest, it was gorgeous!  The girls have been begging to get in their swimming pool and it was finally time to indulge them.  (Actually, we pulled out the pool on Friday!)

We had our good friends over for dinner the other night & their boys & our girls all sported some pretty awesome ice cream goatees.  Couldn't resist!  :)

Bee & Bug

I can't even begin to tell you how fun my girls are at this age.  

Here are a couple of fun moments in the last week or so:

 Elmo Slippers:  I can't hardly contain the cuteness of giant slippers on this tiny body.

 Bee:  Modeling the towel I made her after her bath

 Sun bathing.

 Bee comforting Bug after a minor injury (that of course called for the "ice kitty.")

 As cousin Becca would say, "Cuteness overload."

Uhhhh . . . yeah.  Bee loves her kitty & her kitty loves . . . um, . . .

Baby Shower . . . and so much more!

A dear friend of mine, Danielle, is 6 weeks out from meeting her 1st little girl (joining 2 brothers!)  We threw her a shower on Sunday.  Not only did she get some great gifts, we had a lot of fun:  from eating to creating to praying, it was a fantastic afternoon.

After looking up a few shower ideas, we decided to for-go games and instead set up some more "crafty" things to do.  The first was simply a memory book.  Using a pre-made scrapbook, guests were invited to write advice, a note, or a Scripture inside.  Blank pages will be filled in the photos from the shower.

 The second activity was a Baby's First Alphabet Book.  I pre-made the pages by gluing the letters to the scrapbook paper.  Then I brought glue, extra scrap booking paper, scissors, and pens for people to decorate the pages.  Although I loved this idea, everyone got a little too busy with the third project to do much with this one!

 Lastly, I brought piles of fabric scraps, some shapes and designs to trace, and a bucket full of onesies.  Guests were invited to design a onesie for Danielle's little girl.  This was a super fun activity!  We had guest choose a design (or make their own), iron heat & bond on the fabric's back, then cut the design.  After the design was complete, we ironed it on the fabric.  Now my job is to stitch around them!  HA!

 

 And what's a party without food?!

 Our friend Brenda hosted the shower and did a beautiful job setting up the goodies! 

 

 My friend Bethany made the salted caramel & chocolate cupcakes.  You can find her blog here.

 And what really makes a shower?  The people!  We had a fabulous time!  Thank you to all who made this such a special day for Danielle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy: A favorite play toy!

 Daddy:  A favorite play toy!  We love daddy!

LIfe's SO good . . .

 . . . in Mexico.

And you wonder why I haven't been blogging?

 View South from my hotel balcony.

 View North from my hotel balcony.

 This is where I spent my week--reading while sunbathing.

 Restaurant & bar only steps away from my lounge chair, not that it mattered since the pool boys delivered food and drink to me.

 View of lagoon & sea right behind my lounge chair.

 Amazing sunsets every night.  Love watching the sun slip into the sea.

 I actually didn't even eat this, but it was pretty.

 Sunset with pirate ship in view!  :)

Sunset on the Malecon--the "boardwalk"

I got a new bathing suit--a 2 piece that looked pretty fine on me.  The swim suit is still cute as ever, but the body in it . . . well, "morphed" after I enjoyed many sides of frijoles accompanied with cervesa.  After 1 week of living a hedonistic lifestyle, I'm back to eating like a rabbit to undo what's been done. 

I'm thankful for 11 years of marriage, 2 beautiful daughters, and their grandparents who were willing to babysit so we could vacation for an entire week. 

The 7-letter Word

The word that ought not be spoken has been spoken in our home:  minivan. 

To those who do not (yet) have one, it is the very symbol of family un-coolness.  Those who do own one sing of their amazing features, (yet non-owners remain unconvinced). 

I'm not sure anyone sets out to have a minivan, and many of us--while still kid-free and in our early 20's--swore we would never be owners.  And yet . . . so many have given into the minivan trap.  And we--yes, my family--are the latest victims.

About 2 years ago, a friend of mine got a minivan.  She tried to convince me.  "Just give into the stage of life we are in."  Misery loves company, I thought.  Not in the market for a new car, I laughed it off.  Recently, we found out our Honda Passport was dying a slow but sure death, and we began to look for a suitable vehicle for our family.  We ruled out larger, V8 engine vehicles because we wanted better fuel economy.  I pushed for a Mazda 5 or a Subaru Outback, but when it came down to passenger & cargo space, a minivan became the only affordable option. 

With a very, very limited budget, I didn't get all the things on my wish list, but we got an amazing deal on a used van that only had 24,000 miles on it.  I can't say I'm not disappointed that I didn't get leather heated seats, but we have what we need and I'm grateful for that.  So Rebekah, I gave into our stage in life.  It may take a while to embrace, but I am enjoying keyless entry for the first time in a long time!

Bargain Shopping

All this plus another sports bra (not pictured) for under $28 at Old Navy.  

I know!  Right?!

And on a total random note:

Confession:

I ate a huge piece of coconut chocolate cake/cream roll thing at lunch. 

It was decadent.