2010...So Far

In February, we took our first family trip to Disneyland! It was a huge hit.

It made it all the more fun to share it with our good friends, the Odoms.

I think it will have to become a yearly tradition. Bummer!

In March, our baby turned 5! She had a fun family-and-friend-filled birthday party!

March was also a month for hanging out with Uncle Stu and Will at their Tahoe cabin.



April found us celebrating a beautiful Easter morning with our neighbors and family.
We also were able to celebrate a true legacy of love.
Great Grandma & Great Grandpa Celestre celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

April was also the month we watched Ben participate in his first Taekwondo belt testing.

May was filled with Aunt Heather & Uncle Jake's wedding, a fun Mother's Day dinner (put on by our amazing men) and our 12th anniversary, as we hiked around

Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpias.

June was a wonderful month as we celebrated Lauryn's baptism with family and friends. It was such a special day for her. We also had a fun trip to Sutter's Mill with the McMindes.

In July, our house was filled with the wonderful chatter of cousins!

We camped, swam, and took our favorite trip to The City!

So there are a few highlights from our year so far.

It has been a fun one, full of time spent with family and friends, just the way we like it!

Winter Wonderland!

Last weekend, we made the trek up to the snow. We travelled up Hwy 50 to Icehouse Rd. and found a little spot off the main road. We went up with the Martins and McMindes. Even Grandma Funny Farm joined us! We were blessed with beautiful weather and a gorgeous view - a perfect day!

Our beautiful view!

Miss Christy and Taytum getting ready to venture out into the snow!

I just had to get this view from the bottom. Ellie and Ben made their own trails, apparently ours weren't long enough. They made this trek I don't know how many times. I made it once!

Cooking up some yummy chili and hot chocolate. Mmmm...

Ellie's Snow Angel!

After a few runs down the hill, Lauryn complained she wasn't feel so good. I felt her and she was pretty warm, so she spent the rest of the afternoon resting in the truck. I felt to sad for her, but since she's not the super adventurous type anyway, she was just fine staying cozy and warm. Later I realized her brother had been smuggling her Resess's. Thanks, Ben!

All dried off and ready to watch a movie!

Some Creepy Guy that showed up. (J/K Uncle Paul)

Lauryn dabbling in the snow!

Ben the Snowman!

Ellie the Snowbug!

Pinewood Derby

It's that time again! Ben did a great job - placed 6th - and was so proud of his car. Ben and Ryan spent several evenings at a friend's house (thanks, Chris!) & worked super hard on "The Shark."

Tooth Down!

Almost 2 yrs. ago, Ellie tripped and hit her front tooth on a door frame. It eventually died, but they didn't want to do anything with it as it held the space for her permanent tooth to come in. So this Christmas break, imagine how sad we were to find it was developing an abscess on the gum just above the tooth. So we took her in and they pulled it right away. She wasn't expecting anything to be done that day, so it all came as quite a surprise, but she did so well. I love our kids' dentist office. It has been such a blessing considering all of Ben and Ellie's issues. So, one tooth down and many more to go.

She was so happy to put her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. However, the Tooth Fairy must have been really busy that night because it was 7am and she hadn't shown up yet! So Grandma Funny Farm laid in the bed with the girls (Ellie and Taytum) holding them close as they waited for the very busy (slacker) Tooth Fairy. But all went well because they actually heard and felt the Tooth Fairy come, who (I'm sure out of guilt) was quite generous. It's funny - she's never forgotten before, however, we did find out one weekend that the Tooth Fairy doesn't come on Sunday mornings. Figure that one out!

Girl's Day in the City

Due to the fact that I have the best husband ever & pretty much raised the sweetest brother in the world, Mom, Tiffany and I were able to spend a day in San Francisco. What a great way to spend New Year's Day! We did the traditional Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, and Union Square. I think I can safely say Tiffany's favorite was Union Square with all the big department stores, however, the tide quickly turned as soon as we stepped into the elevator at the St. Francis Hotel. Now, Mom plays ignorant, but apparently, Tiffany's terrified of heights and I guess we just assumed she would find it as exhilarating as we do everytime...glass walls, perfect view of the city, what more could you ask for? The panic began as she realized we were going into the elevator and there were 32 floors to ride! The problem wasn't so much the 1st time up, but perhaps the 2nd, or 3rd time did it for her. It really wasn't our fault! The elevator kept going down, and we thought, okay, this is it. But then it would stop at some random floor as if someone had called it, and then instead of continuing down, it proceeded back up! Three times! Needless to say, on the last ride down, Tiffany was pretty much a puddle on the floor. So here we are, oozing with compassion, I'm trying not to laugh (without succeeding much) and Mom's snapping pictures! One day we'll look back on this and laugh. Right, Tiff?

Christmas

I just love having family close. It's something I missed growing up, so seeing my kids playing with their cousins and spending the holidays with family is priceless to me.