While I was out with the ladies, Darin took Ellery shopping for her new soccer gear. The only requirement for the 3 year old division was shin guards, but Darin felt it was important for her to have cleats as well. Who knew they made both in pink and black--perfect for our girlie girl! Stay tuned to hear about the season(it makes me giddy just thinking about it).

"Oh yes, it's lady's night, and the feelings right, Oh yes, it's lady's night. . .Oh what a night, Oh What a night!"

I know I have mentioned on many occasion how much we love living here. One of our favorite perks is our proximity to the beach. We live about a mile from the ocean and take full advantage of this amenity. Our favorite things about the beach: 1. endless free entertainment for the children 2. beautiful scenery for all 3. surfing for daddy(& "pretend" surfing for Ellery) 4. best place for a picnic 5. amazing sunsets. Here are a few pictures from a recent evening at the beach/park.

Darin and I before attending an amazing "summer soiree" in the neighborhood. We had an incredible evening filled with dancing, drinking and eating(not necessarily in that order).

Today was the first day of Ellery's second year of pre-school. She amazes me in so many different ways, but I especially admire her confidence and independence. She walks right into her new classroom with no fear or concerns(while her mother wants to stay and observe and protect her). She has been asking me for about three weeks when her school starts again and she could hardly wait to get out the door this morning. Poor Dane was so upset to see his beloved sister leave, and pitched a fit when he could not join her in her classroom. Check out the face he made at me when I tried to capture his disappointment.

I am ashamed to admit that while living within 30 minutes of the world famous San Diego Zoo, I have not been in over a year! Darin's cousin and aunt kicked me into gear and we took the children on Tuesday. It is such an amazing zoo, one that you could truly spend your entire day touring and still not see everything. We now have our memberships renewed and will not neglect this fantastic resource again--shame, shame, shame!

As most of you know, I lost my beautiful mother in 2005 to colon cancer. On Saturday, I joined a great group of friends in the "Relay for Life" benefiting the American Cancer Society, in honor of my mother. The event raised over $60,000 and our team won several awards, including the "most spirited team" for our fabulous t-shirts. Double click on the pictures and you can read what our shirts say--I think our shirts summed it all up!!!

On Thursday, we ventured up to Orange County and hit the water park in an attempt to beat the heat!! I was accompanied by several of our good friends and their children. The kids had a BLAST and were completely exhausted by the time we left--mission accomplished!!

This morning on one of our weekly visits to Target, Ellery looks at the salesperson checking us out and asks, "Mommy, is that a lady or a man?" Keep in mind that the salesperson is standing about 2 feet from her. I quickly tried to re-direct her attention to something else so she would not ask a second time, as it took me a minute to figure out the answer!!! You have to laugh at the innocent truths of young children.

On Saturday we ventured out to the horse races to celebrate our good friend, Beth's birthday. There were a total of seven couples who rented a huge party limo(yes, we were trying to be responsible adults), and headed down to the Del Mar races. Although we did not win, we had a BLAST and enjoyed the company of our great friends!!

Who is this child and where did she learn to smile like this? Here are some pictures of Ellery with her best friend, Tatum. This is the only face we can get her to make in pictures these days(not to mention it looks like she is trying to hurt her friend). She says it is her "princess smile"--trouble!!!

I realize that all mothers eventually feel a sense of sadness when they realize that their babies are growing up. My youngest baby is only 17 months, but I already feel pinges of pain when I think he is losing his "babyness". I sometimes think he looks like such a big boy, but then quickly tell myself that is still just a baby. In these pictures, he looks more mature and he desperately wants to follow the big ones. Slow down, sweet boy, mama isn't ready for you to grow too big just yet!

On Sunday, we attended Brayden's 3rd birthday bash in Orange County. The children had a blast swimming, chasing ducks, playing Frisbee, and eating LOTS of carrot cake. It was a beautiful day and fun to see family. I love the pictures of Dane with his almost 90 year old great grandpa--simply priceless!!