Happy Birthday to me (again!)

This was quite a switch....being a guest and not the party planner for my OWN party! Brian earned some big points with a SUPER thoughtful surprise party for me! I had asked for an outdoor movie screen for my birthday...for the record, I did not ask for a set-up ANYTHING like the one Brian put together. Can't say I'm not happy about the "upgrade" from what I had asked for....but most of all, SO happy about the way it played out. In addition to buying me an awesome gift, he coordinated a surprise movie night party.....keep in mind that the only thing Brian usually volunteers to do for the parties we host is test the appetizers to make sure that they're edible! Sooo, I had also booked a surprise trip to Monterey as Father's Day gift for Brian....we ended up getting home from Monterey around 1pm....I left to run an errand with Julie at 4:30pm...and guests arrived at 7pm. In that amount of time (and with 2 kids in tow!), he went to the store to buy the food, picked up the cake, and set up the movie screen, etc. AMAZED! He's going to be sorry that he ever let me know how capable he can be when it comes to these things....I'm going to expect a lot more out of him as a future party helper! Jake and Mia picked out the movie "Dolphin Tale", and Brian invited a bunch of friends and family to surprise me + enjoy the movie. It was SO fun! With the help of a few very good friends, he set up a dessert/candy/popcorn table too....he knows I have a sweet tooth! I was feeling like one lucky girl, that's for sure! Many more movie nights in our future!

MY Birthday

Birthdays are fun....I had a great day celebrating with my favorite people! Brian planned a day to Muir Woods, which was really nice. Neither of us had ever been and the kids enjoyed "hiking" around + the weather was just right. Those are some BIG trees! They brought me donuts for breakfast, we stopped for lunch on the way out to Mill Valley, and ended up downtown for Chinese food for dinner. I ate my way through the day, which was just right. The kids were really excited to give me my card and gift.....and I think Mia is still wondering when my friends are going to get here to jump in the bounce house and hit the pinata ;) Thanks for all of the birthday wishes....life is GOOD!

Father's Day 2012

We celebrated Father's Day with a trip to Capitola. The goal was to escape the HOT weather in Pleasanton, which we did accomplish :) It was pretty cool out there but the kids didn't mind at all. Had a great day with one GREAT Daddy!

Mia's 3rd Birthday Party

Mia chose an "under the sea" theme for her party....it was lots of fun and we were SO lucky that the weather cooperated! She was super excited about her big day and loved having all of her friends over to her new house. Highlight of the party - Brian was giving the kids instructions on the water balloons..."if you want to play with the water balloons, then no crying if you get wet, etc."....as soon as he was done, the kids looked up at him (mind you, there were 27 of them), and Brian saw a little twinkle in their eye....he started to run, and they ALL started to chase him with their balloons. He was the target and all of the parents and kids had a ball watching it go down! All in all, it was a great day....can't believe my baby is 3!

Mia is 3

Is it ridiculous to have so many birthday celebrations....absolutely. But it just seems to be the way it plays out these days. We have the birthday dinner with Grammie and Gramps, the birthday party, and then the ACTUAL birthday. On their actual birthday, we pretty much let the birthday child pick the plans for the day. Mia's started out with donuts, and then a trip to Camelot for some mini-golf, and then Eddie Papa's for dinner. I can't believe I only remembered to take pics at mini-golf, but oh well. Happy Birthday to our sweet, adorable, and yes, sometimes sassy, Mia. You bring lots of laughter (and noise) to our house and we are SO, so, SO lucky to have you in our lives. One thing that Brian and I say often is that Mia will always be able to make us laugh....and it's probably going to be a saving grace for her when it comes to her teenage years! Mia loves to sing, dance, and chatter....there is almost always some noise coming out of her mouth and she does have the sweetest little voice. She adores her brother, LOVES animals (including her "Charlie Boy"), and is more of a social butterfly than the rest of her DeMichiel family. Mia, we love you more than words can say and can't believe you're 3 already!!! Where does the time go?!!!