4th of July

We took a little trip up to the bay area for the 4th of July to see Michael and Michelle and their boys. We left on the 4th, in the morning, and got there some time in the afternoon, just in time to go to a little swim party/bbq with them. And that night Daniel, Michael and Damon went to a fireworks show.

It was a pretty chill weekend with them. We went to the park Saturday morning to play. In the afternoon, the boys (all except Brixton) went golfing, and Michelle and I went to do some fun things nearby. We watched the boys hit a few balls at the driving range (it was Daniel's first time ever golfing, so Michael had to teach him how to do it, and he had to get a little practice in) and T off, had a fun little train ride and went on the merry-go-round a couple times before going to get some dinner and putting the littles to bed.

We went to church on Sunday, of course, and then just hung out and played games that afternoon/evening. Daniel, Brooke and I took some time that afternoon to go see one of my good college friends, Madi, who lives near where they do. And it was so lovely to see her. :)

We left Monday morning for a long trip back. We had an awesome time with them, though!

On the train! They're so cute!

Brooke loved riding the deer on the Merry-Go-Round

Brixton was so good to help Brooke around his favorite park. Good cousin!

I think they had fun hanging out together all day. :)

Cruise!

Daniel, Brooke and I took a cruise with my parents back at the end of May. We did a little short cruise from LA to Mexico for 4 days ... well, 3 full days and 4 nights. We had fun! Brooke was sick for the first part. She threw up about an hour after we boarded, not from sea-sickness but from an actual sickness. She had a fever on and off for the next 24+ hours. But that didn't stop her, or us! She was a good sport about everything.

There's our sweet ride!

Apparently we couldn't go on a cruise without some cool hats. So Mom bought a couple for us!

The ship took off in the evening of the first day, Monday. The next day we were anchored just off of Catalina Island. We explored a bit and walked around the island. But Brooke was still pretty mellow and tired, so my Mom and I took her back to the ship for a nap while my Dad and Daniel went on a little snorkeling adventure.

Brooke was fascinated with the seagulls that liked to land on the ship.

Day 1: Catalina Island

The 3rd day we were in Ensenada, Mexico. Not the most beautiful part of Mexico I've seen, but still pretty fun. We drove out to the big attraction, La Bufadora, a blowhole. It was not as exciting as people made it out to be; but there was about a quarter of a mile stretch of road that we walked down that was lined with little stands and shops. The people were selling everything: food, treats, clothes, souvenirs, ... And we spent our share of money. :)

We also took a little horse-drawn tour of the city. Brooke liked to see the horse, but she didn't love touching or riding it.

The little shops on the walk down to La Bufadora

Also, we got to play with a lion cub! It was pretty cool.

At La Bufadora

A little Mexican snack for Daniel. :)

Brookie and Grampa

After our excursion, we stopped at a little restaurant for some real Mexican tacos, which were delicious. And my parents paid a Mariachi band $5 to sing and play us a little song.

Our last day was at sea. We just hung out on the ship, played games together, did some mini golf, napped, hung out at the pool, etc. We had a fun time!

Living life . . .

We are having a nice summer.  Other than looking forward to having a baby girl in October, nothing too exciting has been happening.  We are just enjoying our summer by hanging out as a family and going to the pool.

A few weeks ago we went to feed ducks at a local pond . . .

 Brooke is getting very good at all her animal sounds.  Instead of saying quack though, she says "cack, cack, cack".

 Brooke just being cute!

 Stephanie Mitchell made this great robe for Brooke a while back.  Doesn't she look cute!

Our baby is a . . .

Due October 2014

 Leslie is looking great!!

What a babe!

 Leslie came home from church today looking so cute, so I decided I had to take a picture.

Baby bump: 21 Weeks

Brooke's hair has been a bit scraggly lately so Leslie took the matter into her own hands and gave her a haircut . . . (her hair was done by me today so don't judge).

 

Looking forward to another girl in the house!

Family Day

We are having a great family day today! My co-worker, Evan, was nice enough to let us borrow their bike and kid trailer so we went for a family ride this morning.

Then we rode to the park and had a fun time . . .

So ...

This probably isn't big news anymore for most of you reading our blog; but ...

We are so excited! I can't wait to find out what the sex of our baby is. And we don't find out for another 2+ weeks. Aaagh!

I've loved this time we've had with just Brooke. We do a lot of fun things together. But I'm excited for another little unique person to join our family. And I think Brooke is ready to have a built-in playmate. She gets tired of just hanging out with me. :)

Having fun as a family

Last Saturday was a fun family day.  Daniel has been wanting to go visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for a long time and we finally got around to it.  It's located about an hour from us.  It was very impressive and we really enjoyed learning about President Reagan.  Also located there is one of the previous Air Force One's.  When we walked into the room we said, "Brooke, look at the plane!".  Then all we heard for the next hour was, "plane, plane, plane, plane . . ."  It was fun. Brooke even lasted for most of the museum!

But then, when we were on our way out and on the lookout for a place to eat lunch, this happened...

 

Oooooo, my baby is so sweet!

Most little girls love dolls and princess stuff, but Brooke is all about cars and planes! After the Reagan library, we drove to the outlets in Camarillo and made a little stop at the Disney Outlet store.

Brooke was only mildly interested in all the princess dresses, dolls, and paraphernalia. But once we migrated over to the boys section of the store, she couldn't get enough of the cars, planes, balls, etc. It's so funny!

On the way home, we stopped at some fruit stands and snacked on these beauties all the way home!

These strawberries lasted all of 3 days. It was a great day, and so fun to be together all day long!!!