Beating the Heat

Last weekend was scorching hot! My fantastic husband had been watching the weather all week to plan ahead for the great weekend! He heated the pool Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to bring it out of it's long winter hibernation so that we could enjoy the summer like weather laughin' and splashin'!!

When I asked Charlie to smile, she didn't comply. Instead, she busted out with these pop lyrics...
"Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur..."
(You gotta know the song to truly get a chuckle!)
Click this link to hear the song and picture Charlie doing "her thang"...
Click Here

She finally smiled for me!

Ryan the rule follower was certainly ready for her turn to pose!

Charlie had an ear infection so she wasn't allowed to submerge her head. Here she is holding onto mommy's legs because she was getting pretty bored of not being able to swim like Ryan.

Just loungin'

Ryan made herself a cozy spot for lunch.

Charlie found herself a cozy place to not get her ears wet but still travel around the pool.

The next day we decided to get out and wash all of the dishes from the playhouse and kitchen! Nothing like a little housework while you swim! Gotta teach 'em some chores early! LOL!

Charlie got a time out. She is not liking it so much.

Ryan's new signature smile.

All of the clean dishes drying in the sun! Whewww...we worked hard!

Whoops... I think we might be missing something here Charlie!

(I had told the girls it was time to get out, take off their suits, wrap up in towels, and head inside. I think Charlie only heard the "take off your suits" part because she did that quickly and proudly and headed right back in the water with that sneaky little laugh of hers! Oh boy are we in for it with that one! Gotta love her!)

My Beach Babes

Last week during Spring Break, the girls and I spent some time at the beach. Just lying there relaxing and watchin' my babes, I just kept saying how grateful we are to live so close to the beach. 2-3 hours at the beach and then a hop-skip-and a jump home is the way to go! On this particular day, we stationed ourselves across from Naples on the bay near "Horny Corner" (I know... not a very appropriate name! I think that is a college thing... I hope!!) It's nice because I can park just a stone's throw away to get the stuff in and out of the car and the kids had other kids to play with because all the Long Beach kids had Spring Break that week as well.
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Well, I thought they would have other kids to play with! Look at the deserted beach in this picture of Ryan! There was no one there! Maybe it was too early for most mommies... we arrived at 9:00! The girls didn't seem to mind and neither did I! They would run up and down the beach over and over again and I wasn't nervous about losing them in the crowd! Charlie didn't waste any time getting in the water and Ryan loves to dig.

Charlie is getting ready for her morning snack!

And then right back in the water!

Ryan is more of a "sand girl" I'd say! She likes to build things!

Just the first of many days at the beach! I am so glad the weather is starting to get nice again!

Easter Brunch at the Carey's

After the Easter Bunny dropped off the baskets and a few pink and purple eggs (exact numbers for each child of course), we headed to San Marino to Ginny and Tim's for Easter Brunch. It was fantastic! Funny how the Easter Bunny knew that the girls would be at Ginny's that day because he dropped off a whole trunk full of eggs for the Ryan and Charlie to go on a hunt. It started from the moment we got out of the car. The girls started finding eggs out by where we parked and in the driveway... they were in heaven!

One of Charlie's first finds.

Ryan is so excited that the Easter Bunny got my phone call about going to Ginny's. She was very, very nervous that he wouldn't know where we would be on Easter.

The Coleman Sisters
Liz (Ryan and Charlie's grandma), Casey, Ginny, and Mary

The girls literally ran through the house to the front yard for more and more eggs to find.
Heav-en!

Ginny and Tim have a huge front yard that was blooming with beautiful flowers everywhere. It was the perfect "stage" for the perfect Easter egg hunt!

That sneaky bunny hid eggs in the cut-outs in the side of the house!

Look who found the Golden Egg!
This was a new tradition for me but the Coleman family (and my hubby growing up) has been doing it for ages. One "golden" egg is hidden that has lots of money inside! Ryan was the lucky recipient this year.

Well, then we had to distract Ryan because a certain somebody was sad that she didn't find the Golden Egg so Aunt Casey quickly got to work on a solution.

Then, while the big girl-super-hunter was good and distracted another Golden Egg miraculously appeared very close to Charlie's proximity! She was the happiest girl in the world with her Golden Egg!

Two attempts at a family photo by the rose garden.

Tim, the resident chef cooked a fabulous brunch for everyone.

Grammy, Marzie, Ryan, and Gigi hang out on the patio before brunch is served.

Brunch is served! Here is Lindy and Grammy enjoyed the yummy feast!

Charlie had the pleasure of sitting with Marzie at brunch.

Ryan got to sit next to Gigi. They were both so well behaved.

After brunch, the girls tested out their new swimsuits in the pool!

All I have to say is...Real men wear pink!

Thanks for having us Carey Family! We felt so blessed to be a part of your special day!

Easter Bunny Basket Hunt and Discover

Easter morning is so fun in our house. The girls love to get up and look for where the Easter Bunny has hidden their Easter baskets. It is so fortunate that Charlie's favorite color is purple and Ryan's is pink because it makes it very easy for the Easter Bunny to make things "equal" around here. The girls were so cute. When Ryan would find a purple egg around the house or the purple Easter basket, she would say, "That's for Charlie not for me!" No arguments ever broke out! What a clever Easter Bunny :-)

Charlie found her Easter basket first. The Easter Bunny had hidden it under the dining room chair. It surprisingly took quite a while to find it!

Ryan found her basket inside the shower downstairs. Godmommy Katie told her that she thought she heard the Easter Bunny taking a shower and shaving. Ryan repeated that story all day!

Both girls checking out the contents of their baskets... making sure that everything is "evie-stevies"

Along with lots of fun loot, both girls got some new swimsuits that they loved.

And a new beach towel. Hmmm... how did that Easter Bunny know that was exactly what they needed? Again, what a smart bunny!!

Our Own Kind of Easter Bunny

On the Saturday night before Easter, Ryan's Godmother Katie came down from San Francisco to stay the night with us. She arrived in the afternoon and we made the most out of our afternoon and night.

The girls showed Katie their playhouse and tricked her to go inside by taunting her and saying that she'd be too tall to fit! Katie showed them that she fit just fine but the girls were the real winner but they got a new playmate inside their playhouse.

Katie was a trooper... she sure loves those girls! Got down on hands and knees to draw, and draw, and draw every kind of purple fairy that Charlie wanted!

We took Katie to one of my favorite restaurants as a "bachelorette" back in the day. It was just 2 blocks from my apartment in Belmont Shore and was fan-tastic for happy hour! I reminded Steve (probably 7 times) that we should go there more often! I even found out that they rent out the back patio for private parties- Hmmmmm... ???? Always loving the idea of a new party on the horizon... now I just need one to plan!
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Katie and her girlies

Ryan and her Daddy

Me and Steve

The girls loved to wave and yell hello at the passersby.

Katie and the girls on the pier in front of the restaurant.

Later that night, after the munchkins fell asleep, Katie helped put the finishing touches on the needs for Easter morning (if you know what I mean)! But if you ask me, having Katie come was better than any ol' stinkin' Easter Bunny! The girls thought so too!
Thanks Katie!