V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

We had a terrific vacation last week, thanks to our generous friends and family who showered us with shelter, food and TONS OF FUN!

Sunday: Our week started out with an Astros game where we met up with Uncle Spencer and Aunt Erika. (Thanks to Aunt Chris for the amazing seats!) It was Ella's very first game...there were a lot of "firsts" for Ella this last week:

dad and ella walking to the game:


ella & uncle spencer:


us:


Monday: The beach with Nana and Grandpa!!! We got there early and the weather was perfect. Nana and Grandpa rented some chairs and a large umbrella so we could cool off from the sun whenever we wanted to. Ella LOVES the water. And by "LOVE", I mean REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LOVES it. She walked in the water until she couldn't anymore and then sought refuge in a big chair under the big umbrella while Nana handed her snacks and entertained her by building sand castles.

on a mission:


loving the water:


Tuesday: Nana hosted a party for the girls and babies. There were too many babies to count. We had a blast and the food was delicious! I managed to get a few pics of the kiddos in action:

ella and dad on the slide:


baby john:


jessica and chloe:


jack showing the young ones how to successfully scale the rock wall:


the line to the slide (luis, mark, alyssa and cooper):


miss lorelei, looking like a baby doll:


just chillin' (ella, courtney and june):


Wednesday: We went to Mimi's house with the intention of going to the zoo that afternoon. We drove there, but hurricane Dolly had landed so we made a v-line for the Children's Museum instead. I don't have any pics, but Mimi does so I'll have to get those out later. It was a TOTAL BLAST for Ella. The Tot Spot was like a miniature world for toddlers and Ella played like Mom, Dad and Mimi weren't following her around . We can't wait to do this again!

Thursday: We hung out with Mimi, Grandpa, Uncle Nick, Aunt Hillary, Uncle Michael and Kristi at home. Dolly was bringing more rain and it was just yucky outside. We had a little birthday party for Uncle Michael and also got to congratulate Michael and Kristi in person on Ella's new cousin that should arrive in March 2009! Ella got all dolled up for the festivities:



Friday: The ZOO and an afternoon play date with Miss Kim and Collin. What a terrific day!!!

this is too good to be true:


taking in a show:


clowning with the elephant in the show titled, "what the poop?":


on the carousel:


passed out before we got out of the parking lot:


Saturday: Spent Friday night at Great Grandma Rosie and Great Grandpa Steve's. We went to Aunt Dawn and Uncle Tony's house on Saturday for a birthday party for Aunt Anna. We got to take a boat ride...Ella had mixed feelings since she had to wear a life jacket the whole time.

at aunt dawn's and uncle tony's house on the water in sargent:


ella and great grandma rosie, looking out at the water:


playing with cars:


Sunday: We hung out with Great Grandma and Grandpa on the property before heading home.

on the tractor:



hanging out:


There were a million sweet moments with friends and family that weren't captured on film. We were so happy to share this time with everyone. We look forward to making many more memories...

We are PAR-TAY'd out!

Harris turned 4 on Thursday, but we celebrated this milestone with him and lots of other rug-rats today. There was plenty of grilled meat and water splashing to go around. Here are some pics of the "kids" in the pool:



Ella wanting to get in on the action:



Ella and her new friend Caleb with a MOHAWK: (he was soooooo sweet and sooooo cute!)



Ella could scale this vertical ladder in about 30 seconds flat. Of course, Dad was a spotter just in case....



Ella and I crashed on the couch as soon as we made it home:



The end of our action packed 3-day weekend? NO WAY!!! Our overnight guests have arrived...YAY! Great Grandma Rosie and Great Grandpa Steve are here and have even agreed to accompany us to the playground first thing in the morning : )

Here is Ella eating up all of the attention that Great Grandma could dish out..and a little ice cream:





With that I am going to bed! 9:30 pm and still enough time for a good night's rest.

Happy Fourth of July..and Fifth!

So, Friday was a fun day. We had a few friends over for hot dogs and homemade ice cream. The exotic dog of the day award went to the salmon weiners brought by my sister and brother-in-law. They said they tasted just like......a hot dog....smothered with all the fixin's of course. It was warm and at times, down right hot. Ella and her friend Rowan found a great way to cool off together:



There was the wacky sprinkler and froggie swimming pools also available for the kiddos..in the shade. I don't have pics of those things, but I'll have to ask my sis because there is a good chance she has some : )

Today we were able to wind down in the luxurious estate of our friends Eric and Shannon. They have a REAL POOL! Here are some pics of Ella enjoying being the only shorty and getting all the attention:



Shannon is playing with Ella in this pic:



Overall, my pics are crummy (the watermelon shot being excluded as that was actually taken by Rowan's daddy, Sean) and don't reflect how much fun we've had the last couple of days. On our way home from our friends today we surprised Aunt Charley at work which was fun. We made it home in time to grab a late dinner and bath and squeak into bed just an hour late. Tomorrow....HARRIS'S BIRTHDAY PARTY! He is 4. I will have to do better with the pics.

24 hours with NANA!

On Friday when Ella heard that Nana would be in town Sunday afternoon, she got so excited that she started to walk and hasn't stopped. Here are some pics from their time together:

Sharing a popsicle just before bath time



On the Zilker Zephyr

Nana counting toes






Enjoying lunch at Mi Madres



it was lip-smacking good


If we can squeeze this much fun into just 24 hours, imagine the possibilities for our July mini-cation with the Grandparents. We can't wait!!