First Day of School July 28th

Aren't they cute!

My 2nd baby is growing up!

Too smart and pretty for her own good (with a little sass on the side!)

Who can believe we are actually sending the kids back to school in JULY!!! It just seems wrong. Granted we get 2+ weeks in October and 2 more in March, but still. It is only 100+ degrees outside and here in the ever sunny AZ we should still be at the pool. Anyway, Collin was so excited to start school and go to the big school with Alexis. He was so excited to pick out school clothes and get himself ready for his first day. Alexis is of course so grown up and the first day hardly seemed like a big deal. She was glad to go and see her friends, but would have loved to have a few (or a lot) more beach days. Collin's teacher this year is Mrs. Thompson and Alexis's teacher is Mrs. Johnson. They both seem so wonderful and I know they will both do great and learn a lot! I of course had to go into school with them and walk them to their classes and I loved that Collin got a little nervous once we got there and wanted me to walk right in with him to his desk. It's always good to know that they still love you and want you to look out for them! Love you guys!!

Happy Birthday Logan (July 11th)

Our little daredevil!

Happy Birthday to Logan and Sam!

Nothing better than blowing out their own candles and making wishes!

They were so proud of their presents!

My little cutie turned 3 this year and what a firecracker he is. This year I was still in Atlanta so I wasn't able to spend the day with him. So when I came home my friend Jennifer Powell and I threw our boys a birthday party. Sam and Logan's birthdays are only a few days apart so it was easier to get all the kids together instead of doing 2 seperate parties. We found a friend who had a bouncy rental company so we got a water slide and had hot dogs and cupcakes. Some of the kids were a little timid at first, but overall they all had such a good time. It's so funny to see these little things sail down the waterslide. Thanks to everyone who made it!

Happy Birthday to Me (July 9th)

So what a birthday. Ever since I turned 30 (only 5 years ago, YIKES!) let's face it birthday's have not been something I have looked forward to. It's the middle of the summer and everyone is gone and Paul is usually working and I am either pregnant or have a new baby and it's too hot to really go out. Well, this year was different.....sort of. When I moved out to Virginia and in with my friend Heather we started throwing each other birthday parties. Her's was Cinco de Mayo and it was always fun to get the friends together for dinner or what have you. And mine was in the dead of the lovely humid summer so we would either go dancing, to dinner or even a swimming party once I met Paul.

This year Heather and her friend Janet were exhibiting in the Atlanta Home and Gift Show and I decided to invite myself along. As some of you know I started a business making hair clips. I am in a showroom in LA and I figured since I would have a place to stay I would go to Atlanta to try and find another wholesale warehouse and maybe some new ideas. Well, there ended up being 3 different buildings, one with 20 floors, one with 18 floors and one with 14 floors. I walked, and walked, and walked and walked some more until each and every day I couldn't feel my feet. I would have thought I would lose 10 pounds in the process, but with Heather and Janet's booth being right next to Gourmet Foods, apparently that didn't happen. It was nice though to have some girl time and we all had a blast spending the days and nights laughing and having fun. I also formed myself lots of new business titles and hope to expand on them some day. For instance: Sterling Pear (their company) director of "Sparkle", Personal Shopper, Gourmet Food taster, and Personal Designer (my new favorite!) With so much fun, and so many nice people and so many wonderful catalogs I even had to buy a new bag to bring them all home. Now I just need to figure out how to make all my many new talents work and keep tabs on my contacts. (I am always open for suggestions!)

Collin and Alexis at the beach-June

So now that my family is too big it seems I am not invited to the beach as I once was. This year my parents took Collin and Alexis and I got to stay home in this lovely heat with Logan and Slade. While I was pretty sad thinking I was going to be busy with the two crazies it actually turned out to be pretty good. Paul and I sure realized that it doesn't matter that it is our two hardest kids, just that it is only 2 and not 4 and life sure is easy when a couple of kids are missing. I invited myself over to my friend Jennifer's house one day and the boys had lots of naps and Paul and I even made it out to lunch and dinner a couple of times (and even Costco) with the 4 of us. Now we only had to think about how crazy life was really going to be when the other 2 returned. (Pictures will follow soon!)