Crayola

I've said it before and I'll say it again.....thank you to the genius at Crayola who came up with WASHABLE markers!!

Summer....

Here are a smattering of pics from the summer....it's been a fun one!

Mia rockin' Mommy's glasses at the water park!

This may not seem like a big deal, but Jake got his face painted!  This is one of those things that he sees other kids doing and WANTS to do, but for whatever reason, can't bring himself to join in the fun.  Well, he went for it and got a cool A's baseball "scene" done.....he was SO excited.

Mia riding with Uncle Tim on an innertube!

No, Mommy....we weren't playing with your phone.

Can you find the child sleeping in this bed?  Mia has SO many things in her crib (that she insists on having in there), you can't believe she can even sleep. 

No do?

Mommy's Birthday!

Cousins!

A very Happy Birthday.....

It's rare that I can surprise Brian......and really, it's tough to come up with good gift ideas for him (and most adults, I think).....but this year, we GOT HIM GOOD!  Brian has been BEGGING for a puppy for quite some time.  We have been without a dog in our house for 2.5 years and I was holding firm that we would not get one until Mia's birthday next year.  But things changed.  Long story short, there was a string of events that led me to this cute puppy, who just HAPPENED to be available the day before Brian's birthday.  So going against my better judgment, I put down my deposit and agreed to make this addition to our family.  I only knew for about a week before his birthday, and it was tough to keep the secret.  Julie and I drove to meet the breeder and were gone from 8am-4pm on Friday.....and then I picked up the kids from Grammie's house and rushed to beat Brian home (it's 1/2 day Friday's at Clorox, which means he DOES come home before 8pm :).  I prepped the kids, tied a bow around the puppy's neck, and voila.....SUPRISE!  Here is the video from when Brian came home....it's probably not that exciting to watch, but notice how the kids completely ran away when Brian walked in....leaving the poor puppy just sittin' there!  Apparently they needed more practice on the how to pull of the surprise!  In any case, it was great fun and Brian was beyond shocked....in fact, I think he's still in disbelief.

And here are some pics from the weekend......the kids are in heaven and so is Brian.  After 3 days, the dog has been named Charlie (middle name is Teddy, per Jake).....he's super cute and is well behaved so far.....for a puppy.  I'm sure he'll keep me busy.....when we had Bailey, we didn't have toys all over the ground, so that will be interesting, I'm sure.  He's a sweet guy and we are all very happy with our newest addition to the family!  We hope he likes us too :)

4th of July

I love this holiday.....getting the kids dressed in red, white and blue, bbq-ing with friends/family, and of course, the FIREWORKS!  It's fun since they are legal in Dublin (though I'm pretty sure most of the ones we saw were NOT legal!  Our annual block party reminds me of simpler times and I enjoy it every year.  This year, we were at cousin Katie's wedding for the weekend but made great time coming home from Santa Barbara and were able to enjoy the show put on by our pyro neighbors.....it was great!  Here are some pics!

Katie's Wedding

We had a great weekend in Santa Barbara celebrating Katie's wedding!  She could not have been a more beautiful bride and the whole event was perfect from start to finish!  Jake and Mia were the "flower children" and were pretty darn cute too.  Here are some pics!

 Julie officiated the wedding and of course, did a fabulous job ;)

Mr & Mrs. Pananen!!

 Mia was the FIRST one on the dance floor....in fact, she danced for quite some time while the adults were finishing their meal, etc.  When I had to physically remove her from the dance floor so that Katie and Jake could have their first dance, she was NOT happy!  

 Jake and Grammie....cuttin' a rug!

She fell asleep in the middle of the reception....music blaring, people dancing.....and she was out like a light!