Get Me Outta Here!

We took off for a nice little Fourth of July/Birthday getaway with the girls in our trailer again. We headed to Lake Isabella, and when we arrived at our campsite, there was a slight sinking feeling that this was going to be a LOOOONNGGG 6 days. It was HOT (100 degrees or so), there was a big forest fire a few hills over so the sky was smokey and gray, the whole place was super dusty, kinda creepy, and there were little biting black flies everywhere! Ugh. We spent the night in hopes that things would seem cheerier in the morning. The next day, after driving around the little town to see what else there was to do in the area, we realized that we needed to 'get the heck out of Dodge'! So we decided that after such a lovely experience the week before up in Monterey/Santa Cruz, we packed up and headed to cooler waters (literally). These are pics of Eden and Emma hanging out at Pebble Beach. A good time was had by all...

A Chip Off The Old Block

We celebrate the Fourth of July a little early here in Menifee. We went to a parade, followed by a little fair, complete with a pie-eating contest. Austin took 2ND PLACE in his age group...Im not sure what the time was, but I can say I've never seen the boy eat so fast! Robert, of course, couldnt have been more proud.

Emma & Eden go camping

Well, we survived our first (of many to come) family camping trips. God blessed us with a travel trailer so the girls, the dog, Robert & I packed up and took off on a mini-vacation/trial run. It was actually a lot of fun, and the girls did really well for their first long roadtrip. We drove up to Monterey/Santa Cruz which took us about 10 hours, but we made it in one piece. We spent the first day there just hanging out at the camp site so we could work the kinks out of the trailer - its an older trailer and has a few quirks, but they were minor. The second day, we met up with Robert's aunt Annie for lunch, which was a real treat; and then did a little sightseeing - we went to the beach and drove up the coast. We're already planning our next trip over the Fourth of July, and also a super road-trip cross-country to visit my family in the mid-west. America - here comes the Grizwold's...er, I mean Gilliland's!!! Oy.

Kisses for Eden

One of Eden's favorites are kisses from her big sister...most of the time they are met with the precious full-body grin that only a baby can give. Other times, they are met with a big ol' scream fest, as Emma's kisses can sometimes be a little bit overdone. Either way, they are learning how to love each other as only sisters can; and thats just fine with me. I have 3 sisters, and over the years we've hurt each other, and made each other laugh our heads off; but most of all the love was, and is, always there. Im so thankful that my girls will have that too.

Its Gettin' Hot In Here

Man...its only June and its HOT! I took this picture at 9:22 IN THE MORNING and in the sun its already 120 degrees. Its gonna be a long, hot summer. Thank goodness for swimming pools, beaches, watermelon, popsicles - and of course, the Almighty Air Conditioner.

Pool Party Animals

Momma's Got A Sweet Ride

Well, its official. I've completely sold out to Mom-in-the-'Burbs life...its the end of the world as we know it. My wonderful hubby bought me and the girls a new (to us) mini-van! Who knew that just a few years ago a girl living in NYC would end up in the middle of nowhere California, with two kids, and a mom-mobile. Its actually a very nice vehicle, and a much needed one; and I am actually, although its painful to admit, so excited about it. I took it out for its maiden voyage tonight, and broke it in (fittingly) on a little trip to the grocery store. NICE. However, I felt it necessary to crank up the base on the radio, just to remind myself Im still edgy and cool.

Ode To Elmo

I just want to say a big hearty Thank You to Elmo and the makers of the Mam Pacifier. With a sick toddler, our $5 Elmo Movie (that would be Telly and Gordon stuck in Grouch Jail on the TV there in the backgound), and a long-lost pacifier, were my lifesavers today. Emma has a funky something going on - probably teething related, but one can never really know. Her little two-year molars are coming in, and she woke up today with a weird cough, red/watery eyes/and a runny nose...and of course, she's practically inconsolable. While trying to get her down for nap, she found a pacifier that got wedged in between the wall and her bed...she'd been without any for over two weeks, and instead of convincing her she was a big girl and didnt need it anymore, I took the cowards way out - I said a little prayer of thanks for my angels (or maybe it was hers) watching out for me, stuck it in her gooey runny-nosed face, and tiptoed out of her room 3 minutes later breathing a sigh of relief. We'll tackle big-girl stuff again in another week.

Keep her in your prayers - we're still hoping to make it to the Family Get Together on Sunday as long as The Funky Somethings are gone.

The Fruit of No Labor

After 3 years of nothin', our little apricot tree has produced fruit! We finally planted it in the ground last fall, and after many months of wondering if it would make it, it started to green up. Its had many obsticals to overcome - mainly, we kept the poor thing in a pot for 2 years and rarely watered it. Its also lived through many a wind storms, in said pot; as well as being chewed on by a dog, to not be named, and even beat up by the neighborhood kids a few times. The 10 or so apricots have actually tasted pretty good - and I think Emma liked the fact that they were a cute little Emma-sized fruit she could eat all by herself.

Eden LIVE!

Here's a little live feed of our little peanut. Pictures just cant completely do justice to her cuteness!

Sunday at the Park

We took off to the park on Sunday afternoon...to tear the kiddos away from the t.v. and video games. Emma followed Austin around and thought it was pretty cool that her big bro would ride the dinasaur with her and take her down the slide. And after a dinner of yummy pizza, Austin left for middle school camp for a week.