Fun at the Nut Tree, again....

My sister lives in the Bay Area and we live up here in Roseville. We love to meet half way in Vacaville at the Nut Tree. Now that it has been redone it is a great spot to spend a few hours. Lots of shops, restaurants and things for the kids to do. This trip, it even had a small pumpkin patch. We had lunch at Panera and caught up on each others lives. Of course we squeezed in a stop at Charming Charlie's. I convinced my Mom and Jen both to buy something. HA!! What a fun way to spend Columbus Day. The weather was beautiful too! Love my sister and my Mom. I hope when Chelsea and Charlotte grow up they want to hang out with me.

Annual Church BBQ

Every year our church has an annual fundraiser BBQ. This is our 2nd year going. We always have a great time. The food is delicious, the company fun and the venue was in our new church this year. Last year the church was still being built. The have a bounce house, face painting, temporary tattoos, raffles. We won a prize this year!!

We have really got to know our new church family and have made some great friends.

Our 1st Trip to FairyTale Town

A friend invited us to join her at FairyTale Town. I had tons of chores to do but decided to be spontaneous and throw the kids in the car and take off. They had never been there and I had been wanting to take them for quite some time. They had a blast! It is located in beautiful William Land Park.

Court Party-End of Summer Fun

We moved to our court 2.5 years ago and we haven't regretted it once. It is fun living on a court and having lots of neighbors who like to get together and have fun. We threw together a last minute dinner party last week. Round Table pizza, beer for us, juice boxes for them lol!! We rode bikes, ran thru the sprinklers and had lots of laughs.

Our Two girls

Chelsea and Charlotte love playing in our backyard. We've been enjoying the nice weather, sneaking outside for water table fun, hide & seek, and they love to help me with gardening. We scored some great toys at garage sales that the girls love to use. I can't believe how quick they are growing up. One evening we went outside to work on my photography homework. This is the best of the bunch.

Court Fun with our neighbors

We were just thrilled 2 years ago when our new neighbors moved in and they had a son about the same age as Chelsea. We love having Ben, Amy and Bryce as our neighbors. They have become our friends as well. Bryce and Chelsea love to hang out. Bryce loves to spray Chelsea with water, show her bugs, explore the front yard and show her his cats. Ben, Bryce's Dad is always so patient with Chelsea. Loves to help her on her bike (while I wrangle Charlotte or chase her down the street). We love spending time in the court and front yard with them.

She said "yes to the dress!"

The three of us headed into San Francisco on a mission to find "the dress." After stopping at a favorite spot, The Coffee Bean we arrived at the Amy Kuschel showroom. We had an awesome consultant named Maggie. She was so patient, helpful and easy to talk too. After trying on at least 6-8 dresses we narrowed it down to 2. Then after much discussion, she finally chose her dress. We can't wait to see her walk down the aisle in her dream gown. Only 9 months away!! She took off for Union Square to have some champagne and celebrate. After a nice lunch outside on the Square we did what we do best, shop!!! What a special and fun day! I LOVE having a sister and we both agreed the day could not have been more perfect. Spending it with our Mom and each other. Congratulations Jen!

My younger cousin, Olivia came for a visit in August. She wanted to come before school started. And to get out of her hometown for a bit. We had a such a fun time being around her. Getting to know her better. She is growing up so fast as her parents would agree. We went school shopping, and on many walks. We tried out SkyRobics together. We did baked, did some crafts with the kids.  She was a big help to us and did not complain one time. She loved spending time with our 2 young girls. What a pleasure it was having her here. We hope next Summer she wants to come again. Love you Liv!

Now that Daddy is home in the evenings we get to have family dinners. We love it! We have been BBQ-ing a lot this summer. Trying to eat healthier too. Both girls love to come play outside while we enjoy an "adult beverage" and grill. Family is the most important thing to me. We feel so very blessed to have these 2 fun loving, sassy, smart and energetic daughters.

Playing with the camera....

I can't believe my baby is turning 4 in just 6 weeks. Where has the time gone? She is getting taller, and leaner. Her looks are changing. Her vocabulary is exploding. Her sassiness is never ending. She is starting her 2nd year of preschool. She is my little buddy, best friend and when I look at her my heart wants to explode. I never knew how much I could love someone as much as I love my kids.

Charlotte and her blankies

Charlotte has become obssessed with her blankies. She usually wants to take them with us places. Including dragging it on the floor or Target or taking it to the mall. Yuck! That's what washing machines are for, right? Every morning she brings them to breakfast. She wants them touching her while she eats. I had to remember these moments. 

Cupcake Camp

Today we joined a few friends and their kids at Icing On The Cupcake for Cupcake Camp. I surprised Chelsea and took her. She loves "pupcakes" as she calls them. I knew she would have a blast. What a fun event! 

Silly girl with the 3D glasses

People always says treasure these moments. They will be gone before you know them. Life is so busy and sometimes it is hard to do this. At least for me. I try to stop and grab my camera and snap away. I want my girls to have plenty of photos to look back on and remind them of their youth.
Charlotte found these glasses in the toy bin months ago. She loves them. She puts them on a lot. She knows they make us laugh. She even insisted on wearing them in the shower and bathtub. When she put them on tonight I thought to myself, grab the camera. Quick! I want to never forget the joy on her face when she puts them on, looks to me for a reaction. My heart just melted. I love her to pieces and feel so blessed by these moments.

Summer Time Fun with the sprinklers

We had our good friends Jona, Alyssa and Carter over for dinner. It was a super hot night so the kids ran thru the sprinklers while we cooked dinner. They had a blast!

Easter-Part Two

My parents hosted the Easter celebration this year. They have a big enough house now to have everyone over. The morning was spent at church, then back to my parents for my Mom's famous Eggs Benedict and Bloody Mary's. The kids had an Easter Egg hunt after breakfast. It was so fun to have all the family in one place at one time. It had been awhile since that had happened. Family is SO VERY important to me.

 Lindsay and John asked Chelsea to be their flower girl for their wedding. I bought Chelsea a book about being a flower girl. I had Aunt Lindsay read it to her to explain how it all works and how important her job will be on their big day.