Swimming

We joined Fircrest this year and enrolled Ella in swim lessons. The first lesson was a little rough and Ella wasn't to sure about being in the pool without me (although this was a huge selling factor for me :)) But by the second lesson she jumped in and did great. We plan on spending a lot of time at the pool this summer and I can't wait to watch her progress. Ashley lounges in the kiddy pool during swimming lessons and will be ready to go next summer.

Chelsea Handler

My friend Leslie and Liz and I had a girls night and went to dinner and the Chelsea Handler show at the Paramount this weekend, lots of laughs!

Taste of Tacoma

We took the girls to the Taste this weekend, Ella had her share of elephant ears, ice cream, popcorn and Bernie got his Jambalaya from the New Orleans. We watched the entertainment... just fyi the guy in the front is not part of the band but performed for the whole show, pure comedy!

Father's Day

 Happy Father's Day to an amazing husband and the best daddy my little girls could ask for!

We love you!

California Road Trip

Bernie and I just got back from a week long road trip to California for his best friends wedding. We could not have had a better time. In the almost nine years that we have been together we have never gone on a true road trip together unless you count Vancouver or Eastern Washington (and we don't). We had so much time in the car to talk with no interruptions from the kids or any schedules to keep, we just went at our own pace. We spent one night in Oregon and then headed to Fresno for the wedding. The first day we got in we went jet skiing at the local river which was a ton of fun. For once I was the daredevil in the relationship I think I got up to 70mph at one point :) The next couple of days the guys golfed and us girls sat by the pool, seriously it was rough :) The wedding was absolutely gorgeous taking place at the brides grandmothers home which looked straight out of old Hollywood with every house on at least an acre. Brie, the bride seriously did not let a single detail go unplanned it was absolutely breathtaking and everyone had such a great time.

The happy couple

The groom and his best man

Old college buddies

My weekend bff Jessica

The boys

Us girls tearing up the dance floor

Sonoma

Ledson Castle

After all of the wedding festivities we continued our road trip and headed to Sonoma. I think everyone should go there once in their life it is absolutely beautiful. We had amazing wines, views, and relaxation. I think we stocked our wine bar for a long, long time and joined a few wine clubs along the way. We both felt as though this trip was like a second honeymoon and have since decided that we need to make a point of taking one trip a year just the two of us. Now back to the real world :)

A huge thank you to Bernie's parents who took on our two little ones plus the dog for the entire week. The girls seemed to behave like little angels (let's hope it stays that way) and Ella even began napping again which she hasn't done in over a year! Way to go Nanny and Gramps :)

My little ladies

Almost THREE!

We have begun planning Ella's birthday party and I still can't get over the fact that she is turing THREE years old next month! Ella has the biggest heart of any little girl I have ever met. She is extremely sensitive,  just to give an example, she used to cry when watching Americas Funniest Home Videos because she felt bad that someone was hurt. She also gets her feelings hurt very easily and we hear multiple times a day, "you hurt my feelings because you said no to me." We are working on this one :)  She is my snuggle bunny and loves her special time reading before bed. I can't get over how much she has grown up just this school year, she talks so well and has such good manners and is becoming quite the little lady. She is loving, thoughtful, and caring and I am so happy to be her mommy.

Fourteen Months Old

Fourteen months old and the time is still flying by. Ashley keeps us on our toes constantly and there has seriously been no time to stop and reflect. I remember when I found out we were having another girl I just figured everything would be pretty much the same as it had been with Ella. Oh how wrong I was! Ashley and Ella are two completely different personalities and I am quickly learning that I have to parent them entirely different. Ashley is busy beyond anything I could have ever prepared for and is on the move from the second she wakes up to the second she goes to sleep. She is a complete daredevil and seems to have no fear of anything....this is the reason for the consistent bruises on her forehead. She is extremely determined  and strong willed and has such a happy spirit. She is starting to talk more and more, she says momma, dada, apollo, ella, out, up, more, this, bye-bye and a handful of other words I am sure I am forgetting. She pretty much runs everywhere she goes and seems to be pretty athletic. She will climb anything and there has been more times than I would like to count that I have found her standing on something wondering how in the world she was able to get there. By far her favorite past time is aggravating her sister, when Ella is watching a show Ashley will run across the room just to turn it off. Which of course makes Ella crazy! Although they do have their fights they absolutely love each other and are starting to play together really well. When Ashley wakes up the first thing she says is, "Ella, Ella?" Although I am exhausted by the end of the day this little girl melts my heart :)

New Orleans

Twelve of us ladies traveled to New Orleans over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate our wonderful friend Leslie's upcoming wedding. We had such an amazing trip and packed so much into the four day weekend! Thanks ladies for all the laughs, can't wait for the next girls trip :)

American Lake with Nanny and Gramps

BBQ Time!