Teeny tooth

Little Man lost his first tooth this morning. We are all so proud and excited. I'm just not sure how he is able to chew his food with teeth this small! I am surprised they haven't all fallen out by now- look at the size if this thing (Sorry- took picture with my phone):

Long Blogging Hiatus=Fantastic Vacation

We are headed home today. The kids and I have been on vacation from July 4th until today. Here is a recap:

Camping near Santa Barbara
It was not exactly the sunny beach camping trip we had in mind, but it was a great trip. We packed up the minivan with camping gear and some excited children. My mom and I had 5 wonderful days of campfires, chilly days/nights, and filthy dirty dirtball children. Little Lady was not so keen on the whole sleeping at night thing (which I am attributing to teeth in the hopes that future camping trips are a delight with her). Squeaker was in his own nirvana. He was covered in dirt, played hard, rode his bike, climbed trees, and slept like the dead. Little Man was equally covered in dirt and mastered off-roading on his bike. He spent the rest of the time climbing trees. We spent very little time at the beach since it was quite chilly and that was just teasing the boys. But we took long walks, swung in the hammock and roasted marshmallows. I can't wait to camp again. Just next year, I hope to go later in the summer to ensure warm weather.

Myrtle Beach, SC
After driving back from camping, we unloaded the car and repacked with suitcases and headed to the airport with Daddy. We met his family at Myrtle Beach and had the most wonderful time. The weather was HOT, HUMID, and perfect for spending a lot of time in the water. We did a little sightseeing and a lot of visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Em and Uncle Will. It was fantastic. We were VERY VERY sad to go. And, we are all pining to go back!

Northern VA
Following our fantastic week in SC, we headed up north to VA where we let Daddy go visit his coworkers and earn some money for all our gallivanting. The kids and I got to hang out and visit our friends. We have such wonderful friends and I really wish they would all realize that they need to move to San Diego because we miss them terribly already and we haven't even left. I don't know how the kids will do living so far away as they get older, but for me, these friends are the best and I think they will always have a permanent place in my heart. As one friend said, when we are around each other, it is like we never left. Perhaps all those memories of our first-borns playing together for 3 years, nearly every week... perhaps it is that we were there sharing and helping when we needed it the most, I am not sure, but I have loved this week and I am not ready to leave here either.


All in all, we have had a great July and look forward to spending the rest of the summer at the beach and getting the kids back into a routine before school starts in a month. Oh, and LAUNDRY.

Hope you are having a great summer, too!

Wish You Were Here

One benefit to early mornings is a deserted beach.

Not exactly the warmest week we've had camping - but we are still having a great time!

Gross

So, routine "quick" trip to the grocery store - with all three kids-- and half way through the store I was getting suspicious about all the chocolate cake I kept stepping on. So, finally I peeked into the car cart, where both boys (who were surprisingly good) sat, and found one boy covered with chocolate cake. Hands and face, completely covered. Since I had not given them anything to eat, and I had not gone through the bakery section, the only conclusion I could come up with is that someone had left a partially eaten cupcake in the cart. Plus, I saw the cupcake paper in the bottom of the car. Well, who knows how long it had been there, but it is now all over Vons. Unfortunately, the store employee didn't get my "wink wink" and was not as upset as I would have hopped for the huge mess we made. :( Oh well.

Lessons leared:
1. Check all nooks and crannies in the cart before children enter
2. bring paper and pen everywhere to write a note to store employee for desired reaction to child's apology
3. Cross finger and toes that my children's immune systems can handle anything!

Baby "Talk"

Little Lady loves to use her signs. She loves it so much, I worry that she is jumping the gun a bit if she can't get something right away. Here are a few she uses frequently:

Help
Daddy
More (recently she has been more precise... used to clap)

Other signs with no photographic evidence: eat, milk, cracker (intermittent), hat, dog, bird, monkey, 'night-night', water.