Sidewalk Chalk

Libby has had some fun with sidewalk chalk a couple of times lately.

The first time was just the two of us while Lexi took a nap one day.

Then, she got to go buck wild with Aunt Jen and Grammy as they decorated for Pops' birthday.

I love Lexi's blue lips in this one!  Yep, gotta love the ongoing everything-goes-in-the-mouth phase!

Birthday Bash!

August 7th is a big day in our family - my dad, my brother-in-law, and my aunt all share the same birthday.  And this one was a big one - Tammy turned 50!  After spending the day with Tam at her favorite beach, we headed to Old Spaghetti Factory in Newport Beach for the big party.

 The two birthday kids!

 Jen made this adorable cake for Pops Pig!

 The supplier of the fun attire with her victims (or beneficiaries - whatever you want to call it!).

 After dinner we went for a walk on the Newport pier.  As you can tell, it was a bit chilly.  Good thing Daddy's shirt was so big! ;)

Our family on the pier.  What a fun night!

Elsinore with the Crocketts

We invited our friends, the Crocketts out on the boat with us last Saturday.

Mark & Owen and Brad & Libby had a great time swimming together.

Shalon & Jovi and Lexi & me enjoying the shade on a great boat ride.

 And, of course, there was wakeboarding!  Mark showing off his skills.

 And Shalon got up for her first time ever!  She did great, too!

We love boating and we love friends!

 

More July Fun

With the Stewart gang here and the Openshaws down for a week, we had a TON of fun in July!  Here are a few of the great times we shared as a family.

 Lexi and Summer enjoying a summer evening walk at Montage beach.  Another of the millions of reasons why we love summertime!

 Libby and Max were best buds playing on the beach.  (This was at Laguna Main.)

 Libby and the Stewart kids.

 If you couldn't find us at the beach, you can bet we'd be at the pool! 

 We also went the Discovery Science center for a day.  It was completely free for me (I'm free as a teacher and my girls are young enough, they're free, too!) and we had a great time!

 This was inside the Shake Shack - we're experiencing an earthquake right now, you just can't tell.

And Libby and Lexi had their first trip to the movies.  After the movie, the kids loved playing in all of the Spectrum's fountains.  Nice faces, kids!

Angel Game with the Gang

The Openshaws drove down on Sunday to spend a week here, soaking up the sun.  We hit the beach on Monday, then headed to an Angel game on the train.  What a blast!

 Me and my train-loving girls!

 The train-gang has arrived!  (Brad met us there - straight from work.)

 Lexi the cheerleader with Porter and Ellie.

 Grammy and Pops with all ten grandkids.

 Riding the train means we're actually there before the game starts - fancy that!  (And there after it ends, which in this case wasn't until 10:45 pm.  Good thing we love baseball!)

 Half of the troops.

 Terrible of Lexi and me, but pretty cute of Libby and Brad.

 The other half of the crowd.

 Lexi, our little food fanatic, found another favorite - slurpees!

 Libby is still a lover of cotton candy.

 This is actually baby Reagan's outfit, but since it's still too big for her, Lexi got to wear the rare cousin of the hand-me-down, the hand-me-up.  Thanks, Britt - she looked adorable!

 What a cutie!

I just love this picture of Lexi playing with Amy and Mark.  So fun to have all sorts of cousins and aunts and uncles to play with!  Go Angels!

Game Night!

Our fantastic babysitters (and friends), the Sheas have their German exchange student, Valerie staying with them again this summer.  She was one of the girls that was part of the program I put on back in 2009, so it is so fun to have her back!  We decided to have them over for dinner and a game night (and lots of Libby and Lexi spoiling, too).

 Getting ready to dine al fresco. (Libby, Hayley, Valerie, Chelsea, and Tim)

 Brad was a little late in joining us, so Carol took over as "Lexi's assistant" for the night.  It was adorable!

 Valerie, Hayley, and Lexi.

Crazy to think that the last time Valerie was here I didn't have any kids at all! 

 Carol and Libby love to play, play, play!

It was Valerie's birthday the day before (so the Sheas all took her to Disneyland for the day), and she missed out on birthday cake.  Libby, of course, had to help her learn the way we Americans do it!

After the kids were in bed, it was a wild night of Ligretto till midnight!  woo-hoo!  We love the Sheas (and the "new Shea", as Libby called her)!

New Suit, New Ride

Our girls are really looking to impress - a new suit for Libby and a new ride for Lexi.

 My mom is starting to develop a moderate obsession, I think.  We got another new suit from her and, I must say, Libby looks adorable in it!

Lexi has finally graduated to a real car-seat!  Hooray!  And, despite the fact that the state of CA thinks she should be rear-facing till she's 2, I think she looks pretty darn cute facing forward! ;)

(Honestly, the car-seat restrictions here have long since passed the point of ridiculous!)