Mikayla's Party

Happy Birthday my big 4 year old girl! I can't believe she is 4 already! Mikayla had an ice cream party and Magaw brought these huge ice cream wood cutouts. I made a cake shaped like an ice cream cone and we had ice cream sundaes and hot dogs and sausages and fruit too. The kids all went swimming in the backyard and the adults had fun talking and watching the kids play. It was a fun party and I know my big 4 year old loved every minute of it!
She LOVED her ice cream shaped cake!
Posing with mom and dad for a quick pic. I swear I only end up with 1 pic of me at each party just to show I was there!
Uncle Josh and Aunt Chloe just moved out here from Utah and Mikayla couldn't be happier!

Thanks for coming Magaw and Papa and for all your help with the party and the fun, big ice cream cones!
All the kids loved the party horns!
Mikayla tackled her buddy Erik and kissed him and said, "I just love you, Erik!"
Here's Kayla with Sophie and Bella, our little bathing beauties!

Happy Birthday Mikayla and Sophie!

This just makes me laugh and think of them as 80 year old women going shopping with their purses and bad hats and jewelry! Cracks me up!
March 2007

Oct. 2007-- These first few are out of order, they just make me smile! These girls love to play dress-up together and the outfit combinations they come up with are priceless! They are great friends and only 5 days a part. Sophie is older and Mikayla is tired of her being older first every year, so she has asked us if she can please turn 5 before Sophie next year... makes me laugh how something soooo trivial can seem like such a big deal to a four year old!
Sept 2007

At Mikayla's 1st birthday party (Aug 2005)
Playing at Lance Apts, 19months old (March 2006)

Halloween 2006
Sophie's 4th birthday party. The girls REALLY wanted crowns so since I couldn't find enough of one style at the store they got to make their own instead! They were huge, but they loved them! So happy birthday big 4 year old girls! I cannot believe how fast the time has flown and how big and beautiful you two are. May you always stay just as sweet and loving as you are now.

A Little Bit of Randomness...

For some reason this is THE pose lately. I say "smile" and I get this! Cute shades though huh?!
I can't resist taking pictures of the girls while they sleep. I can't get over how big Megan is getting and she looks bigger to me each night. *sniff*
Am I a nice mom or what? :) She wanted a heart pancake for breakfast so not only did I give her a heart, but her whole name! Despite what the picture shows, she actually was really excited for her pancakes! 7 letters wouldn't fit on her plate in a straight line so note to self: give next kid 3 letters in name or less. lol

Our Golf Date

We went golfing with Ben and Kim on a double date. For Kim and I, it was our first time to golf, so the guys taught us how to hold and swing a club and to tee off and putt. Kim and I learned a lot, had some good laughs, AND I even tied Ben's score on a few holes (don't tell him though since it was my first time and he's a major golfer!). It was more fun than I thought it would be and I found that a 4 iron hybrid is my club of choice. lol We went to Baja Fresh afterward for some yummy dinner and to talk. Seriously, it doesn't matter what you do, when it's without children, it is so fun to go out and spend time with your hubby and friends.

Me and my golf teacher.
Getting ready
Annika ain't got nothin' on me!
Ben checking the angle and slope before Kim sinks her putt.
At dinner afterward. Such a fun night!

Time for Some Campaignin'

Have you seen this yet? Hilarious. I laughed even harder the second time around! Whether you like Obama or not, you can't but help laugh when you see him riding a unicorn. And I don't care who you are, but Hillary hitting Bill over the head with a frying pan all while smiling at the camera--that's funny stuff. Nothing like some good political satire. Enjoy!

Matching Dresses

How cute are they?! I love this picture! Even if they aren't looking AT the camera, at least we came close! These are pics of the girls before church last Sunday.
Megan just likes to wave "hi" at the camera
She desperately wanted her paci during the photo shoot and I had to stick it in and then pull it out real fast to get a pic, then stick it back in again!
She's MAD that I took away the paci!
Give it back Mom!

I love matching clothes and Mikayla LOVES picking out matching dresses for them to wear to church each Sunday. Thank you Magaw for these pretty pink matching dresses. So pretty! I wonder for how long I can keep them matching? Something tells me when they are 10 and 7 they won't be into it so much.... oh well, I'll enjoy it for now!

My Monkeys!

Mikayla wanted to pretend she was Dora and Megan was Boots today. So, naturally, they had to eat bananas--Boots' favorite food.
Mikayla wanted a picture with the banana in her mouth and I couldn't get Megan with it in her mouth, but she's cute nonetheless. :)

No joke! This pint-sized monkey will actually devour the entire banana singlehandedly! I have NO clue how she stays so small eating as much and as often as she does!

Baby Blessing

The Nelson Family after blessing Baby Ben.
Kim. My friend. We've been pregnant together, been gym buddies, gone out together on double dates, shared numerous birthday parties, family dinners, lunches out, and playdates with the kids. We have a friendship in which we can laugh, cry, share every part of our lives with each other, help each other through the good and the bad parts of life, and she's someone I know I can always count on. I love you Kim!

Chico Loves America More Than Sacramento

So says my almost 4 yr. old!
Driving in the car yesterday...
Mikayla: Did you know Chico loves America more than Sacramento?
Mom: No, I didn't, why do you say that?
Mikayla: Because, you see how Sacramento sells lots of fireworks, but Chico has lots of flags. So they love the 4th of July more there.

All we could do was laugh and wonder how in the world this little girl can be so perceptive to the world around her sometimes and interpret the world in such a simplistic yet complex way. In her mind: more flags than fireworks means more love for America. Nuff said.
We had lots of fun yesterday! We had a stake pancake breakfast in the morning complete with games and a kiddy bike parade. Then we went to the Astle's for swimming, bbq, and fireworks in the driveway. So much fun and such tired girls I have today!

Mikayla and her buddy Erik ready for the bike parade! We only got Mikayla to smile by bribing her with a red popsicle. Megan was just ready for a nap, no amount of bribery could've worked on her!
The aftermath of a red popsicle!
Seth gettin' some air!

Mikayla's finally gotten somewhat over her fear of putting her face underwater and learned to jump off the side of the pool all by herself yesterday--LOTS!!
Me and Megan at 10:00 last night, I CAN'T believe she would not fall asleep! She just sat there quietly watching everyone and the fireworks, but would not close her eyes until her head hit the bed.

Trent and Seth chillin in the pool.

Mikayla and Gavin ready to see the fireworks!
Mikayla with the twins, Brooke and Celine.
Seth and April

Happy Canada Day!

Here's my half-Canadian cuties! Thank you Gramma D for the cute Canadian shirts! The girls loved them and Mikayla thought it was cool that she had a map of Canada on her shirt so she could see where her grandparents and cousins live!

I know Canada Day is July 1st and in a perfect world I would've posted this yesterday. But, in a perfect world my girls would also both be smiling and looking at the camera at the same time! Grrr... welcome to my imperfect perfect lil world. :)