Hubby is going back to work:(

Holy Cow! I just realized how long its been since I've posted anything... Not that I have really anything exciting to share. Oh wait I guess I haven't talked about my little sis getting engaged! I'm very excited for her, not to mention I'm so excited to (help) plan a wedding. It's fun since I can help with all the fun stuff but then I don't get the actual stress:) She will be getting married at the end of December here in Austin. Yay!! I took a few engagement pictures for them. I did my best but I think they turned out ok. The week leading up to the pictures Hubby kept teasing me b/c I was "reading up" about how to shoot engagement pics and taking practice shots. Hey go big or go home right?

hehe.. I was trying to be artistic.

Other than that we have just been enjoying our last week with Hubby home before he goes back to work on Monday:( We have just been swimming, going to birthday parties and having dance parties in the living room. I was going to put up a picture of Hubby floating on a float in our inflatable pool (It was funny!) but he deleted from the camera...Boo!

Scarlett cried b/c she wanted to dress up like Cinderella too!

After getting her way....

That reminds me, let me tell you what (not so little) miss Scarlett has been up to... That girl dances all the time! She dances to any toy that makes noise, music anywhere, the rhythm of our voice when we read to her and even without any music at all. She tries to mimic EVERYTHING Sienna does. She put out her hand to Hubby and said "ah!" which we think was "stop" since Sienna does that to her all day long. She also has been doing a lot of running and jumping on us, Sienna or really anything... She is one funny little girl.

Sienna has a new word or phrase daily that just makes us crack up since we have no idea where she heard it. For example at dinner tonight I asked her to do something and she replied "That would be my pleasure!" 90% of the time she loves Scarlett and will do anything to make her laugh but they also have those moments that end with Sienna's hand in Scarlett's face pushing her down. Oh sisters...

Well I'm off to try to put this house back together and get ready to for the circus that is Sienna and Scarlett that begins tomorrow....

San Fransisco

My sister, Dad and me just got back from a last minute trip to San Fransisco. The trip was bitter sweet since the main reason we went was to spend time with my Dad's uncle who has always been a influential mentor in our lives. Even though he was not at his physical best, his witty detailed stories of our family and his life were very memorable. When we were not spending time with him we were able to squeeze in some tourist attractions. I'm not sure how we pulled it off but we were able to see the Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco City, Napa Valley and many other beautiful sites! Besides the gorgeous country side, I could not get over the weather. With highs in the 70s/80s and lows in the 50s and zero humidity, how could I ever leave?

Mark did great with the girls for four days at home. He would send me pictures of what they were doing and they had a blast. I am so blessed to have such an awesome husband who is such a great dad. However, I think he was very relieved to have me home to help with those little monkeys:)

I thought this was a cable car at first....

but this was the cable car...duh!!

fireworks in the San Fransisco Bay

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Bridge

Muir Woods

Robert Mondavi Winery

China Town

Family Time:)

Over the weekend, all of Scarlett's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins came to help celebrate her first birthday. Besides showering her with gifts we took family trips to the bounce house, spray park, Oasis and of course our backyard BBQ. She is very lucky to have a so many people that love her so much!

The Big One Year Old

Spray Park with Cousins Zach and Gabe

After several pictures, Sienna said "Ok I want to take a picture now!" This was her shot. Beautiful pic Grammy!

Little Miss Sunshine Birthday

So today was Scarlett's birthday with all her little buddies. (Well Sienna's little buddies but she thinks she is one of them.) Leading up to the party, I really enjoyed making a few crafty things and a little party outfit for the birthday girl. I have to give Hubby credit for not only putting up with all my off the wall demands but also acting enthusiastic about birthday party decorations and outfits:) Though his intentions were good, I cracked up this morning when he showed me the giant "S" he had made with the vacuum lines on the living room floor!

Scarlett was so cute! She would walk around during the party and just clap and smile. She knew she was the center of attention and loved it. (Imagine that....) When Hubby was setting up the backyard stuff, she stood at the back door and watched and squealed with excitement. I was curious how she would do with her first cake but after tasting it, she could have sat there all day and shoveled it in. When she woke up from her nap she went straight to the kitchen and pointed at the cupcakes and then to her mouth. Nice try:) Even though Sienna has shown some jealously today, we all had a blast and just can't believe our little Scarley is growing so fast!

Now we look forward to our BBQ with all the family to celebrate Scarlett's big day!

Pre 4th of July BBQ

Pre 4th of July BBQ

Birthday Girl in the Bounce House

All the treats

So excited to go play outside!

Daddy the face painter. He wanted to paint mustaches on the kids but he got pretty good at butterflies.

face paint

Sienna had to have a turn painting too

At first, not to sure of the cake...

This was her "Don't even think about taking this cake!" look

"Mom look at my icing on my face!"

Where did the year go??

Hey Blogging Friends! So here is the latest...
Hubby has been home for a week now on his summer vacation. I'm going to be honest and say that last week was a "transition" for all of us.  I now know more than I ever want to know about "The Deadliest Catch" and "OC Choppers" and Hubby and the laundry have become best friends:) We are having so much fun though. I think we have swam everyday so far. Sienna and Scarlett must be growing fins by now.

Father's Day

If this doesn't capture our craziness....

When did she turn into a little lady?

Loving the Splash Park

Fishing with Papa

As Scarlett's first birthday is creeping up on me, I can't help but be emotional as I see how fast time is flying by. Not only am I shocked that it has already been a year but I feel like I was just planning Sienna's first birthday. Where is the pause button when you need it. My little party planner (Sienna) has been very excited about the upcoming celebrations. We are super excited to see all of our friends and family very soon!!

VBS for Sienna:)

Sienna just finished a week of vacation bible school. Considering, she has never been in a structured class alone for more than an hour and we had just got home from a whirl wind trip, I was a little hesitant. To my pleasant surprise, she was a natural student. She was so excited every morning and would sleepily re-hash the morning's activities on the car ride home. She told me she loved meeting new friends, singing and watching "the panda movie". Not only was I impressed with her confidence as she skipped into the class each morning, I loved hearing her talk about Jesus. A few tears were shed today since Daddy was with us (his 6 week vacation starts today! Woohoo!) and her VBS shirt was "just too big!" but she got over herself quickly. I'm just so proud of our little Diva since this time last year we were peeling her off of us at the church daycare and running as fast as we could so we could not hear her screaming throughout the building. Scarlett missed her sister but I know she loved the one-on-one time.

Sienna and her "big girl friend" aka class helper

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Whew! We are home from our Dallas/Rochester/Manhattan/Philadelphia excursion! Without going through the whole trip, here are a few highlights:

• The girls were amazing! I think I had more meltdowns then they did:)
• The wedding was beautiful and I loved that we were able to spend time with so much family all at the same place!
• Sienna was the best flower girl ever. She took her job very seriously and was very disappointed in herself when she was not able to get all of her flowers out before she reached the end of the isle.
• Manhattan is fun to visit but I don't know how families do it there. We ended up having to buy sweatshirts at the central park zoo since it was chilly and drizzling. Ha! I'm sure I wont be needing that anytime soon!
• On the train from NYC to Philly, Sienna made up a whole song about how the train sounded and how much she loved it:)
• At Sesame Place, Sienna was picked to dance in the parade with the other characters. She acted like she belonged there. Oh my little performer....

We really had a blast! Seeing Sienna's face light up and hearing her giggle or shout out in excitement about the silliest things really made the trip. Though, I don't think the passengers on our flight home appreciated "Are we landing now?" Every 10 mins for 3 hours... It's good to be home:)