InstaFriday: Summer days and Summer nights

I can hardly believe that summer is quickly coming to an end.  We are trying to squeeze in as many fun things as possible before the crazy fall schedule begins.  This year we will have three kids in school.  Three kids with homework.  Three kids with sports schedules.  (I get tired just thinking about it).

This week we took a trip to Disneyland.  As nearby residents, we have annual passes to Disneyland.  But because we have passes, we are very picky on when we go.  Generally we avoid Disneyland during the summer because of the huge crowds, but this week we decided to make an exception.

The trip was worth it just to see this face.  Of all the rides at Disneyland, this one prefers the simple merry-go-round.  Pure joy.  Love it!

 

Waiting to watch "Captain Leo" with the kids.  It cracks me up that the kids love the Michael Jackson music so much.  I catch them singing the songs at home all the time.

Waiting for Space Mountain with the boys.  Eliza is tall enough for this ride, and she has been on it.  Once.  I don't know if she will ever go on it again. 

We were invitied to a beautiful private beach for a birthday party.  Talk about making a girl wish she was rich enough to live in this type of affluent community.  Small private beach.  No crowds.  No hassle with parking.  No long walk.  If the beach was always this easy, I would be there all the time!

Loving my new PicFrame app!

Sunset.  My favorite time of day at the beach.

 

Tired (but happy) kiddos.

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Link up at Life. Rearraged with your instagram photos from the week

Who carries cash these days?

I sure don't.  I hate how I can have a $20 bill in my wallet, and all of a sudden its gone.  Where did it go?  What did I spend it on?  I can never remember, but it always happens.

Also, not carrying cash comes in handy with the kids.  When we are at a baseball game and the kids ask for money for the snack bar I can honestly say, "Sorry babe, I don't have any cash."  Same thing at swim meets.  "Sorry, I don't have any dollars for you today."  Or for treats at Disneyland.  Or for vending machines.  You get the picture.

But, every once in a while not having cash comes back to bite me.  Like when my kids lose teeth.  There have been a few times when the tooth fairy was expected to visit, and either Keith or I have made a late night trip to get the required dollar bills.

On Monday night, as I was getting the kids ready for bed, Noah shows me that he has yet another loose tooth.  This is the first time that Noah even mentioned that this tooth was wiggley, so I assume I had at least a few days.

I assumed wrong.  My assumption failed to take into account Noah's tenacity.  When he went to bed at around 8:00, the tooth was loose, but was no where no falling out.  Fast forward an hour later, Noah came downstairs with the tooth in his hand. 

You see where this is leading don't you???  What I failed to mention was that Keith was out of town on business.  It was now 9pm.  All four kids were in bed for the night, two were already sleeping.  Noah just lost his tooth, and I had absolutely no cash.  Grrrrreeeeeaaaattttt.

So, after Noah placed the tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy, I began a mad search throughout the house for some dollar bills.  When my search turned up nothing, I debating borrowing a dollar from the boys' stash.  I quickly dismissed this idea because they would undoubtedly count their money in the morning and realize that some money was missing (and would probably blame their little sister which would cause an all out war).  I also debated calling a neighbor and asking for a dollar.  In the end, I found a lonely dollar bill tucked at the bottom of a bag.

Crisis averted. 

Lesson of the day for me:  keep a stash of cash in the house just in case the tooth fairy needs to make an unexpected visit.

Here is a shot of Noah when he came downstairs with the tooth.  He is looking more like a jack-o-lantern every day.

InstaFriday. The Inaugural Edition.

InstaFriday. 

Time to pull all the random photos of your iphone and put them together in a blog.

We were lucky enough to have friends invite us to join them at their cabin up in Arrowhead for the weekend. 

Swimming in the lake.  Playing games.  Eating s'mores.  Thunderstorms.

Check out the fabulous view from the cabin.

 

There is nothing like spending quality time with good friends.

Strolling the Arrowhead sidewalks with Miss Viv.  We decided to spend some time outside while the rest of the kiddos were busy playing in the (extremely-filthy-made-me want-to-dip my-children-in-Purell) Arrowhead arcade. 

13 years.

I can't believe it.  Some days it feels like we have been together forever, and other days it feels impossible that it has been 13 years since we said "I do." 

So happy to be married to my best friend.

This is what happens when you leave a two year old unattend for more than three minutes.

Baby lotion.

Gobs and gobs of baby lotion. 

She was pretty proud of herself.

The boys are really into playing practical jokes.

This is what I found when I walked into their room one day this week.

Apparently we have zombies in our house.

The boys loved it. 

They loved it even more when both Keith and I walked in and were so "scared" we yelled and screamed.

Who can resist this face?

The big red bow.  The coordinating baby doll.

Our incredibly talented friend Linn took photos of Vivian recently. 

The photos are so beautiful. 

Check out a few images from the photo shoot here.

Finally, a bit of good clean fun with the girls.

It truly is the little things in life that are so much fun.

Summer Date Nights, part III (the girly edition)

So this week was my date with Eliza.  And being a girl after my own heart, Eliza decided on an evening of shopping and frozen yogurt.  Woot!  That sounds like my kind of evening. :)  I love that my girl likes to do so many of the things I like to do.

So, off to the mall we went.  I was determined to resist all of the stores that I usually gravitate toward and let Eliza have complete control over where we went.  So our trip included shoe shopping, a large amount of time at the Disney store, and a trip to the Apple Store.

First up, shoes.  At the ripe-old age of four, Eliza loves shoe shopping just as much as I do.  Of course she gravitated toward all the sparkly twinkle-toe shoes.  Especially the ones that light up.  I tried to get her to focus on some more practical mary-janes for Kindergarten, but she was not having it.  We ended up reaching a compromise of one pair of white closed-toe sandals, and pair of silver glittery sneakers that has just the right amount of flair for Eliza (also, in case you didn't know, Stride-Rite is currently running its Buy One get one half off sale).

Next up, the Disney store.  Our number one goal was to find a gift for a friend's birthday party, but Eliza's focus quickly changed to looking at items that she wants for her upcoming birthday.  First on her list is a "Tangled" costume.  At the front of the store we saw this costume:

Of course Eliza loved it, but when I looked at the price tag it was $150.00!  For a costume.  That my daughter will wear outside.  Probably in the dirt.  Or she will wear it on playdates.  Or to bed.  No way am I ever going to spend that kind of money on a costume. When I commented to the sales lady about the price she emphasized the embellishments, the stiching, etc.  (Insert eye-roll here). Its still just a kids costume. 

The sales lady then showed me this "Tangled" costume that was priced at a mere $50.00. 

Still over priced if you ask me.  And honestly, it was not all that different than the $100 costume.  But according to Eliza, she "Has to have it!"

After visitiing a few more stores (including the much beloved Apple Store), we headed out for frozen yogurt.

Love this girl.   Love her sweet spirit.  Love her sense of adventure.  Love how girly she is.

Move over Katy Perry

Vivian has arrived.**

Vivian's current favorite song is Katy Perry's "Firework." 

In fact, she loves grooving to all the songs on Wii's Just Dance. 

For me, it is a useful tool for occupying my energetic two year old while I try and cook dinner.  Get the music going, and I have a good 4-5 songs to quickly get things done.

And without further ado, here is Vivian in her dancing debut:

** Legal Disclaimer:  I do not want, nor encourage, my children to follow in the footsteps of crazy pop-stars.  Just had to make sure that was clear.