Posh Tot

A couple months ago Maddison found this book hiding high in her closet, waiting for the day when she refrained from ripping pages out and graduated from board books. You would've thought I was keeping from her the most important information she'd ever need in her whole life by the way she reacted when I reluctantly let her thumb through the pages. Needless to say, it became a quick favorite, an every day read.

Little did I know the impact it would have on a girl's need to accessorize, or how broad it would expand the vocabulary of an 18 month old to include "fucshia," "plume," and "merci." No outfit is complete without her sunglasses, especially when at the pool. Tantrums arise when I try to help her drink bottled water. She prefers to sip on it all by herself.

I think I just have to accept that my baby just isn't much of a baby anymore. She's singing her ABC's, doing someraults, speaking in sentences, pretending, humming along to my music in the back seat, climbing, jumping (well, trying to), telling me what she wants for lunch, and pretty much just making me smile all day. I love my spunky little girl!

Powell

It's been a week since we've returned from our trip, but I haven't been in the mood to blog for a while! I started work last week, and that seems to zap my energy and make me long to be back on the lake. (Although I really do like my new job.) We had way too much fun on our exclusive family-only trip. (I mean, check out Sarah's face-and I can guarantee that's nothing more than water in her red cup :). Our kids were in heaven. It's definitely in their blood. All three of them even wakeboarded for the first time! I'll let the pictures do the talking...

It's always sad to leave Lake Powell "behind." But because JD surprised us and drove all the way to make it for the second half of the trip, we got to make a little getaway out of it. Eric and Sam took Maddie back with them on their flight, and JD and I stayed at the Trump in Vegas. We had a blast!

Every Little Girl

Needs a pair of pink cowboy boots.

(That's how I justified spending a little too much for a Cowboys and Indians bday party)

A Quick Trip

...Or was it a long trip? After taking the "scenic" route, Grammy and Grandpa White arrived last weekend at 4am on Sat. morning. We were so happy to have them stay with us, even if it was just for a day and a half. We sure packed in alot of fun while they were here!

JD gave them the tour of our town and his building in the morning, we ate sandwiches from the market, and then headed down to Golden Gate Park. It was so lovely, and we can't wait to go back and see more. Grandpa wanted to drive around to some of the historical sites in the city, and then we were off to Fairfax Scoop to have the world's best organic ice cream. We got a sitter to watch Maddie, and we were off to eat halibut at a little french bistro in town. JD and Mark were not disappointed! Then we saw Inception and I won't say whether or not I heard my father-in-law doze off. (Granted, he was running on about 3 hours of sleep! :)

The next morning we went to church and came home to eat yet another top notch meal cooked by the king of meat himself. He needs to open up a restaurant. Seriously he's got talent. So then we had to say goodbye, and poor Maddie woke up the next morning asking for Grammy, who wasn't there anymore :(. Come visit us again soon! We had a blast.

Thrilled!!!

Remember how I was looking for that perfect job?Well, after a long process, I just found out that I got exactly the job I was hoping for! Looks like I'll be back in the ER working per diem afterall. Couldn't be happier!

Cuteness

Auntie Sarah captured some cute moments of our babies:

They love eachother so much. It's fun to watch them play together.Maddie misses her partner in crime...

Summer Catch-Up

Well, we've been way too busy to keep up the blog, but I'll give a quick re-cap of the highlights:

Hiking to Bon Tempe Lake

Hanging out on the Russian River

Visit to Oakland Zoo

Swimming at Uncle Mike's

Trip to the Jelly Belly Factory

Morning jogs that end up at the park

4th of July in Coronado with Whites

Capistrano Beach, Centennial Farm, Newport Beach

Playing Tennis

Spending a week with the Lindsey cousins

And we're off to Lake Powell in a couple weeks! Why does Summer have to fly by so fast?

Maddie's Daddy

"Let me tell you a secret about a father's love,

A secret that my daddy said was just between us."

He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then.

It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

-George Strait

The day JD became a father

Father's Day 2010

There's nothing better to me than watching these two love on each other.

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there.

Talk went well. Thanks to those who left comments.

Expect some mail in the near future!

Daddy's Day

A Few Reasons Why I Love My Dad:

He is genuinely kind and loving to everyone

His knees are blown but he still rips it up on the tennis and bball courts

He cares about his family and always calls to get the scoop on our lives

Simple things give him great pleasure- shaved ice, diving into his pool, Pellegrino

Growing up, no matter how busy he was, he was never too busy for us

He makes his kids want to be better just by being himself

He is the ultimate creator of fun

He's dedicated to serving the Lord in whatever way he's called

He makes a mean bowl of guacamole

He's wise, generous, and trustworthy, and always seems to know just what to say to make it all better

He has a special spot for Maddie in his heart and loves to talk to me about how brilliant she is

He doesn't care if she steals his Cheetos then wipes her fingers all over his white shirt (see Miss Cheeto face below)

There's no reason not to love him!

I'm speaking in church this Sunday and need some input from all my blogging friends. I want to know what you love or respect most about your father (be it quirky or mushy). Leave me a comment with your email address and I'll put everyone's name in a hat and send the winner a little surprise in the mail. (Giveaways seem to motivate comments, and frankly I've procrastinated too long and I need them in a hurry!)

p.s. Watch Glenn Beck on Fox News Channel weekdays at 2pm, or DVR it like we do. If you are concerned with the moral decay of our country, biased mainstream media, corrupt polititians, etc., etc., I think you'll like his approach to restoring America by learning from our Founding Fathers and restoring the Constitution.

Dillon Beach

Yesterday we went to the beach after church with some friends. The weather was hot and beautiful, compared to last time when it was so windy and we froze to death!

Except the water was still freezing!!

Maddie got pretty upset that her daddy would take pictures of her getting splashed by a wave instead of come save her.

We love living near the beach, even if it isn't Newport Beach!