rockin the 80s in the 00's

Oh yeah. Annabelle is sportin' the side ponytail today (totally her request), so I put her hair up, and she runs into the bathroom to check it out and comes out struttin' like she is walking the catwalk...then says, "hey Ella come look at my hair". Ella replies: "ooooh". Annabelle says: "is that a good oooh, or a bad oooh?" Ella replies: "a bad oooh."

Toes!

So we painted Ella's toes for the first time the other morning, a sparkly pink! She was so very excited! We are working towards painting the fingernails, but she has to stop chewing them off first! She has incentive now. I'm hoping it works! At least she has stopped chewing off her toenails. :-/

Fashionista?

I just had to post a few pics of Ella's recent fashion. She has been all about picking her outfits lately, and we can't help but smile at the awesome creations she comes out of her room wearing :) There are so many more, but here a few that we actually captured on camera...

A blessing to me

So, as you all know, I like to run, and have been doing so for the last few years pretty consistently. Running to me has been my release, my exercise, my breath of fresh air, and a challenge when I run in races. But it also is time away from my family when I train for a race. This has been a spot of contention in my marriage over the last couple of years, and mostly because my husband did not understand what running means to me, and was not happy with my absence. So as we worked and talked through this rough spot, Chris began to let it go, and at least partially understood why it was so important to me, and became less angry with me for taking runs. This year has been even more amazing, as God has now given my husband a desire to be more healthy, and he has lost 40-50 pounds, by eating healthier and RUNNING! I had secretly hoped that one day I could run with my husband, that he would see the joys of exercising outdoors and that we could do this together. It is hard to get away for runs together with small children, so when my mom came to visit in June we went on our first run together, and I must say, I got a little emotional. I feel like I have a new husband, and it is so wonderful to enjoy running together! Pics of weight loss will come soon :)

California in 2010

We took our annual trip to Cali this last week, and drove our little family down to Camino,Ca instead of Santa Rosa this year, as Chris' mom and step dad were there with family on a vacation from Morocco. So we spent a week in Camino. Where, you might ask? Up in the foothills of Tahoe (about 45 min from South Lake Tahoe). It was beautiful, and we had a really great time relaxing in the beauty that this small town had to offer, and catching up with Chris' mom and step dad that we haven't seen in a year! Plus some very needed stress-free time together as a family. Not to mention two very gracious hosts: Glen and Gigi Gentilin who let us overtake their home for a week. Our week of adventure included:

Good down time with Grandma Precious and Papa Tom
Many family meals out on the back deck
A visit from Amber's mom and sister
A visit from tata and uncle Kevbo
A 4th of July picnic at our hosts' church
Hula hooping
Art lessons
Visiting good friends
Running on a new trail
Watching a family of Turkey's roam the neighborhood
An air conditioned home
Two lost teeth
Lake time
Swimming
Hot sun
In N Out
Really yummy ice cream
Sushi and amazing homemade Korean wine
Toy Story 3
Cool new Hello Kitty and Disney princess sunglasses
Sleeping in new princess sleeping bags
1000+ miles driven with 4 and 6 yr. old girls
A nights stay at The Days Inn

Growing.....and cutting

Annabelle couldn't take the excruciating hair brushing I put her through each morning, any longer! She has been asking for short hair for quite some time, and I kept saying , lets wait until summer. Well summer came. We have a neighbor who is a hair stylist, and offered to cut Annabelle's hair. Annabelle is the most excited that she has bangs. I have never done bangs on her before. It also just so happened that we went over and did the hair cut at our neighbors house on the last day of school, so watching that haircut was almost more than my heart could handle. Last day of Kindergarten, and a haircut. Not only all that, but now all she wants to do is run around the neighborhood park, playing with all the neighborhood kids. We have entered a new phase of life. It is bittersweet to say the least. I made a last day of school cake for Annabelle, congratulating her for a job well done. I am so amazed at how academically inclined she is! It is so fun to see her love to learn. She tested off the charts in all things with words/phonics/reading this year, and is in a summer reading program through the library. New beginnings are good. God is good. Amen.

Before

During

After

Ella turns 4!

Our baby is no baby. It is unbelievable that I have a 6 and 4 year old. Where the heck have the last few years gone? We celebrated our spunky little monkey last weekend. My mom and Dad and Andi and Kevin came to join in the fun, with a family BBQ pizza extravaganza, complete with margherita pizza, BBQ chicken pizza and mac-n-cheese pizza, courtesy of the birthday girl. Not to mention she had mac-n-cheese for lunch. She can inhale that stuff. I really need to start making it homemade, and freezing it. Then the next day I teamed up with a good friend whose 4 yr old had a birthday a couple days before, and we did a joint birthday party for Logan and Ella. It was a big carnival party at the park, that would have been awesome, but it of course downpoured, so we did it indoors, and it turned out great anyway! A glimpse into who Ella is at age 4:

- LOVES mac-n-cheese
- chews off her finger nails and toe nails with her teeth (she has nubbins for fingers)
- loves to play dolls and loves any dolly accessory.
- her best friend is another little girl named Ella.
- she still enjoys a good cuddle with her mommy.
- she continues to be a shoe thief and is especially attracted to high heels.
- she really does say the darndest things, alot of the time.
- she has a tender heart and can be very nurturing.
- she loves to be read to.
- candyland is her favorite game with go-fish coming in as a close second.