Family Pictures at the Beach

We finally did it. I've been wanting to take some pregnancy pictures at the beach for awhile now, and we finally made it happen. I'm guessing most people would take pictures like this at 7 or 8 months pregnant, so they're not too huge, but I waited till I was 4 days overdue! Go figure!

Here's a sampling of some of our favorites. Hope you enjoy! We just had my mom take them with my regular camera. So, for non-professional pictures, I'd say they turned out pretty good!

If we go with Libby (which we're 99% sure we will), I think this one is adorable!

I think this one is my favorite! ;)

The New Arrival

It has been a long-awaited event in our home, and it finally happened! No, not the baby...a new car! With both of our previous cars only having 2-doors, we figured it was time for something that could accommodate our growing family a little better. Thus, the new 4Runner. We just got it on Saturday and are super excited over it! It came complete with a sunroof (my favorite feature) and a tow-package (Brad's favorite feature), among others. And, of course, the 4 doors for loading and unloading a carseat will be fantastic! Welcome to the family!

So, that's my dad's hand popping through the sunroof - what a geek! Pretty cool looking car, though, huh? I have to say that when we were driving it home and I was following Brad who was driving it, he looked pretty dang HOT in it! Ow-ow!

The Mustache Party

One of our friends, Jake turned 30 this year and hosted a "Mustache Party" to celebrate. Men, women, and children all participated and it made for a great party. Brad got our 'staches out of a quarter machine at a KFC, of all places! ;) Turns out most of the guys could grow their own, but Brad got to go fake Fumanchu style. Thanks for a great party, Robinsons!

Scary picture, I know, but kinda cute in a hilarious sort of way.
All in attendance had to have a mustache or they wouldn't let you in, so even the baby got into the spirit of the party!

Another Amazing Baby Shower

On Tuesday, August 10th I had my third (and final) baby shower. It was thrown by a few of my mom's best friends that have been my support group and cheerleaders throughout my life: Rae, Connie, Heidi, Karen, and Rhonda. It was a fabulous evening and everything was perfect! And, yet again, our little girl got spoiled beyond measure! Thanks so much to all who planned, prepared, and attended - I felt very loved! :)

It's always so nice to have long-time friends get together to celebrate. It was a great group!

Some of the guests enjoying their dinners in Karen's beautiful backyard.
The decorations and food were FANTASTIC! Here are some of the gorgeous flowers and the yummy desserts.
The loot!!! Wow! Talk about one spoiled baby! I was absolutely amazed at how generous people were, and so touched by how many of them made something for our little girl - from burp cloths to blankets to onesies...she's all set!
Some of the incredible women that made it all happen (Heidi and Rhonda are missing, but they helped, too). Thanks for a wonderful night - it was perfect in every way!
The three generations picture...well, almost!

House guests from Washington

One of Brad's best friends growing up, Jeremiah and his family drove all the way down from Washington to spend a few days with us. Miah and Lecia have 3 adorable girls and we had a great time showing them around.

As soon as they arrived we headed to Salt Creek to play on the beach. The water was surprisingly warm! ;)Look how tan Brad looks! He was thrilled over this picture.
We didn't get to the beach till past 4:00, so I just wore clothes. Who knew that Brad and Miah would spend hours in the water???
Feeding our turtles was a favorite pastime of the girls/. I don't know who loved it more, the girls or the turtles?!
We took them to the tidepools in Dana Point, but unfortunately, the tide was still too high and all of the tidepools were covered. Brad was still able to catch a crab for the kids to hold, though.
On Monday, when Brad had to go back to work, I got to take the gang to Laguna Main for the day. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time playing in the sand and water (though it was much colder than a few days ago!).
Brad and I had gotten Angels' tickets for my dad for Father's day, so when we found out Miah and Lecia were coming, we had them get tickets too. Turns out none of them had ever been to a professional baseball game (CRAZY!), so it was extra fun to have them there. They loved it!
And we were actually early to the game - that never seems to happen with just Brad and me!
My parents really enjoyed having the cute little girls to play with at the game - they can't wait to have a little grandbaby of their own so close by!

The girls loved all of the yummy baseball game junk food and the Angels were victorious - finally! It was a great ending to a great visit and we hope the Prices will come back again next year.

House Swap

Two weekends ago we did a fun house-swap with Jen's in-laws, the Stewarts. Their whole gang came to SoCal and stayed in our house and my parents' house and we stayed in their place in Las Vegas. We had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying a quiet, mellow weekend. The pool and putting green were among our favorite activities.

Here's where we spent the majority of our time - in the "Stewart Spa Resort". It was the ideal place for a little weekend getaway. And, other than the first day, it wasn't toooooo terribly hot.

On Friday afternoon and evening, we got together with two of my good friends all growing up, Cassie and Hayley. Cassie just had a baby girl a few months ago, so it was extra fun to get to see little Scarlett! I love spending time with old friends.

My mom and I decided to use some of our relaxation time to piece together a quilt for the baby. It was really fun and turned out great, if I do say so myself! Mom did all the sewing and I did the cutting, ironing, and piecing - we make a great team!

On Saturday night we went to the Mirage to see "LOVE" - the Beatles Cirque du Soliel show. It was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend it! There were everything from rollerbladers to break dancers to trapeze-artists to acrobats hanging from ropes in the ceiling. The stage was constantly changing and it was truly sensory overload - in the best way imaginable!

After the show we walked the strip for awhile and had a great time seeing the sites of exciting Las Vegas. It really is a sight to see. We watched the Bellagio water show and had to get a picture in front of the pseudo Eiffel Tower. Not nearly as impressive as the real thing, but still pretty cool!

We finished off the trip with more time lounging around in the pool, playing bocce ball, and hitting up the putting green. Thanks, Stewarts! It was a great last hurrah before our lives change forever... ;)

Visitors all the way from Germany!

I got to spend all day on Friday with our wonderful friends from Germany: Martin, Susi, and Dean. They had shown us such a great time while we were in Germany, we couldn't wait to return the favor! Too bad we only got a day to do it...and Brad had to work most of it! But it was a great day and as Dean said, it's pretty amazing that we live on opposite sides of the world, but we still get to see each other so frequently. Hooray for modern travel!

Here are Martin and Dean in our living room. Crazy! They're actually here! It felt almost surreal to have them in my very own home, halfway around the world! It was such a treat for me to get to play tour-guide barbie and show them around our neck of the woods.

My mom was nice enough to let us borrow her convertible for the day and they all LOVED it! The true California experience, complete with sunburns and all! ;)

Martin said he loved Mexican food, so I decided to take them to the most authentic Mexican place around - Pedro's Tacos. Even though Martin and I were the only ones that thoroughly enjoyed our meals, we had a great time. And I introduced them all to Horchata...not a German favorite, apparently. They did think it was funny the the San Juan Mission is our version of "old" in California. Yeah, I guess a 200 year old mission that's falling apart pales in comparison to the ancient castles and landmarks they have everywhere around their house!

After lunch we headed to what are normally the tide pools in Dana Point. However, we've had unseasonably high tides lately and all the tide pools were covered - Bummer! Especially since I had been telling them how cool sea-anenomes are. But, it wasn't a total bust, we still had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous day!

We stopped by the Chart House (not to eat, but to take some great pictures) before heading down to Laguna Main so Susi could shop to her little heart's content! The view of the Harbor was fantastic!

We finished off the day with a great dinner at Ruby's (per Dean's request) with a party of 10 of us. Brad was finally able to join us, as well as my parents, and Dean's host family from last year. We love our Germans and can't wait to see them again! ;)

Day Trip to LA

After having coordinated and taught a German Foreign Exchange Student program last summer, I turned over my title to Jessica Shea. She took over the program this year and invited me to join them on any of the activities. So, I decided to hop on the bus and do the LA sightseeing tour with them. We hit up all the major sights: Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, The Farmer's Market and the Grove, Rodeo Drive, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It was a fun adventure and made me miss my cute Germans from last year! ;)

Our second stop was Santa Monica Pier (after seeing all the crazies at Venice Beach). Here I am, looking very pregnant between this year's German teacher, Elizabeth, and my replacement, Jessica. The three of us had a great time together touring LA!

Here we are on Santa Monica Pier. Not a great shot of the sights, but I guess that's what you get for asking a stranger to take your picture. Oh, well!

Elizabeth and I on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

After cruising through Rodeo drive, we finished off the day at Grauman's Chinese theatre before beginning our trek back home. I have to say - it is soooo nice to have a bus driver that has to fight the LA traffic, and not me!