My new favorite. It looks even better hanging from my neck.

These three friends have this etsy shop called the r house couture where they make fantastic necklaces and other jewels. Soon they will also have onesies and t-shirts that have great sayings like "I (heart) adoption". You should check out their little business. Leisha brought my necklace to me when we hung out last week. I fell in love instantly.

I met Leisha through blogging. She was kind enough to help out this poor uncreative blogger (me) when I posted this. Then we met irl at this. Now we are good friends and our kids adore each other. We went, with our families, to Hee-Haw Farm on Monday and had a very dirty - I mean good time. We can talk and laugh for hours. She is uber-creative and talented - insert my jealous face. Love her!

So there is, yet again, another reason for blogging. You never know what friends you will meet out there is cyber-land.

Rewind - 4th of July

This year we took advantage of the long weekend and headed to Vegas for the 4th. Our great friends, Jake and Amanda, live down there and it seems like we are always looking for a reason to visit. Their kids are about the same ages as ours and they love to play. We stayed at Green Valley Ranch - which I highly recommend - it was great! We played in the pool, watched "Ice Age 3", ate fabulous food and shopped. Good times.

Eli and Jaxson

Blakey - aka Gilligan

The daddies and their babies

woo-woo

the big boys
(i know, Blake's hair is ridiculously long and does not look wonderful in any of these pictures)

Blake, Jaxson, Ryleigh, Eli

There was a band playing at the outdoor shopping area and the kids were diggin' their sound. They danced . . .

and even busted out the break dancing . . .

and were done.

Our hotel had a big firework show. We sat out at an amphitheater by the pool and watched.
*I really know how to sit like a lady, right.

Thanks for another great time in the sweaty desert. We love you guys!

Nothing kicks a "funk" like. . . .

This was Eli & Blake's first shot a the "Happiest Place on Earth". It was a success. Much fun was had by all.

I decided we needed to take a mini-vacation in a warmer climate, so a week later we loaded up the car and headed to find Mickey and friends. We drove to Vegas on Friday and then finished the trek on Saturday. Armed with ponchos, jackets, fruit snacks, juice boxes, two very excited boys - scratch that three very excited boys, and a new camera that is teeny enough to fit in my jeans front pocket (even when the jeans holding the pocket were overly tight). We stayed at a great hotel that was a quick 5 minute walk from Disneyland. Eli's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Blakey's was Pirates. They both thought the Nemo Submarine was great. . . I thought it was a horrible death trap. Eli was not a fan of Space Mountain. "Mom, that blast off one is very scary!" Ben and I both loved the new Toy Story Ride in California Adventure - super fun. I was especially taken by the ginormous corn dogs via the Corn Dog Castle. They were seriously delish, even Ben enjoyed one. The weather was fabulous. It only rained on Monday (our last day there). Saturday and Sunday were beautiful enough to have me looking at southern California real estate. I mean really mid-sixties in February - come on. We even swam in the hotel pool. Well, I sat in the hot tub while the boys swam. We drove back to Vegas on Monday and met up with these good friends and went to the dinner show at the Excalibur. It's called the Tournament of Kings and our kids were fascinated with all the horses and jousting. Good times. We came home Tuesday and my heart was lighter than it has been for some time. Thanks Benji, for dropping everything and taking us on a fun get-a-way. We are already planning our next trip there in November!

getting ready to walk in the gates

standing in line for pirates - our first ride

a bug's world was a hit

we lost one very sleepy two-year old for a little while

blakey - still sleeping
eli - getting ready for a bug's life

very excited

he woke up

the pixar parade in california adventure was awesome

blakey loves his ipod, especially in long lines

no one wanted to ride with me on autopia (or on any other rides, really)
apparantly dad is way cooler - shocking

that scares me a little

blakey got a new tigger

eli with brother bear

getting ready for toy story

blake had many fun moments in this hidden closet of mirrors

this is as close as he would get

this is what three days in disneyland will do to you

the big brown blob is eli snoozing

jaxson, eli & ryleigh watching the tournament of kings

the king of france - at least in vegas

Vegas, Baby!

For the long New Year's weekend, we traveled south to Las Vegas. We stayed with our good friends, Jake & Amanda. Thanks guys for hosting again! We had fun hanging out, bowling, shopping, playing at the park and letting the kids play their DS's. We always have a fabulous time when we are there!

super blake with his cape . . . aka blanket

i love these slides things for the kids

eli figured out how to cross the monkey bars all by himself - he was very proud

blake can't ever be told he is too little so he found his own "monkey bars"

got caught in mom's purse