Can we build it? Yes we can!

Rich & I have been promising the kids a jungle gym for months and this weekend we made true on that promise. Thanks to a sale at Toys R Us, hours of back-breaking work taking out the old concrete and planters that were original to our backyard (circa 1950's style) and box full of wood and bolts that all looked the same and we ended up with a great play place for the kids.

They took full advantage of the big boxes, making one a boat with rakes for paddles- notice the life vests. I think that means I've taught them well at the river... or in a fake boat on our front lawn:)Oh my Lord... What did we get ourselves into.... With little help from Bob the Builder and his side-kick, Wendy the builder.The finished product! Hallelujah!! Now all we need is to lay some sod down ... and can someone get me a margarita??

Almost a Month in Pictures...

I am SUPER behind on blog updates... so I threw this biggy together. Hang in there... it's out of order, but these are our special moments from late April till now.


April 28th- Elijah tuns 5!!! What else would do but a Wall-e birthday. We love you!

Mackie & Papa had QUITE the b-day surprise hiding in the backyard... so FUN!!! Can't wait till Kyle & Coley come to town so they can all fly away together.

Auntie Laura always goes big for birthdays... she took us to the Angel game. Eli is a huge fan of getting to dress in his "A" gear and yelling for a few hours and not getting in trouble... Let's go Angels!

The 4th inning held another big surprise... Elijah got a shout out on the score board!!! He was so thrilled. He told everyone sitting around us that his name was up there and he was 5!!

A close friend came along for the game... notice he has his own hat... a definite "Eli touch".

Sierra's 1st big game... look at the wonder in those eyes.
Daddy is taking over caring for the kids on Tuesdays... he created his own water park on this Tuesday. The kids are loving "Daddy Day".

Mommy & Sierra went for her 1st pedi. Are you kidding me??? It was so flippin' adorable. I wish we could go all the time.

Disneyland is free on your birthday- so we made a day of it. We fell in love with California Adventure ... it was our 1st time, so we went ahead and got annual passes. You gotta love any place that has life-size McQueen & Mater!

Auntie Laura partied along with us.

I LOVE this pic of Sierra and I in the Brother Bear Adventure area. She was terrified of walking across a bridge that was see through.

Eli wore his Wall-e costume & was selected to be the audience volunteer at the Playhouse Disney show. It was hysterical at the end of "performance" he took a bow. We died laughing!
Rope swinging like a big 5 year old.

Sierra has wild long hair... so I went old school, like my mom used to do for me, and put her hair in foam rollers after bath time. I never expected her to sleep the whole night with them in, but she did...
The result... such pretty little curls. Now it's a nightly routine.
A foggy day at Pelican Point in Newport. Our favorite beach to take the fam... we took Sierra the first time when she was 11 days old. It was gray out and that was a bummer... BUT there were so many crabs crawling around the beach & that was awesome!

Mother's Day at Laura's House. Laura offered a clean, beautiful setting, and I made the lunch. Nama had some sweet moments with the kids.
I know that reaching your hand out for a snap shot is NOT the most flattering, but I wanted to make sure that I got a mommy pic with each little sweety.

Laura & Dad taught the kids The CLASSIC... Twister. It was hysterical. Eli kind of got it... but he cheats.

OMG!!!! I got to see Lady Gaga at KIIS fm's Wango Tango. I was 2nd row center. Are you kidding me?? Soooo memorable! She was amazing- thanks Cousin Erin for the ticket ho0k-up.

Sonrise Preschool Mother's Day Luncheon- Eli was supposed to draw "Mommy & Me", but he drew himself and Wall-e. Gotta love him. I wanted to kiss his little robot loving face off!
We planted our own Family Plant... what a cute idea.

Nothing says I love you Mom like a tie-dyed coffee filter hat... I'm keeping it Forever!