Happy BIrthday Elle!

Happy HAPPY Birthday to my sweet 5 year old!!! 

I remember this day 5 years ago like it was yesterday! 

Where does the time go?!

It's actually 12:40am right now as I type this and since Elle was our east coast baby, this is the exact time Elle was born 5 years ago (3:40am)! What sweet memories fill my mind as I sit here and remember that day!

We're celebrating in the morning with buttermilk pancakes and chocolate milk and then heading out to Utah with a stop for the night in Vegas to swim and celebrate at my parents timeshare! I have a bag of presents for Elle to open one every hour - should help to make the drive a bit more enjoyable! Since we won't be back til the end of the month, I had to take a minute before I head off to bed to post this picture from our family party on Sunday. Elle requested a bunny cake and her daddy made sure not to disappoint!

Oh how I love my cartwheeling, barbie loving, dollhouse playing, story telling, little girl! She truly has a heart of gold. I couldn't imagine life without her! Love you Elle!

Girls night!

This past Friday we had a free Marriott stay that was expiring, so instead of letting it go unused, I booked a room at the nearby Residence Inn and decided to have a little girls night out with my 2 favorite girls!

We checked in after Cal woke up from his nap so we could use the pool before Spencer got off work.

Spencer picked up pizzas on his way home and met us up in our room a little after 5pm. I wanted time before bed to hang out just with the girls, so we say goodbye to Cal and Spencer soon after dinner. I let the girls decide what they wanted to do first and they choose the park! So we went over to the park right by our Marriott and ran around and played for bit.

Then we headed off for some shopping at the dollar store. I let the girls each pick out a treat to share.

We took our stash back to our room where I did everyones nails while we laughed, talked, and ate!

I loved how Madi counted how many pieces of candy she ate, and then thought that by eating a piece of pizza at the end would cancel out all the sugar!

About 8pm we all got ready for bed and decided to take a picture of us with our book. We ended up laughing so hard we had to start wiping away the tears! 

We finally calmed down and I read from Madi's Nancy Clancy book until I couldn't stay awake any longer. The girls were both fast asleep by 9pm. Spencer and Cal joined us in the morning for breakfast and swimming until 11.

What a fun night  and great memories with my sweet girls! I look forward to many more girl getaways in the future!!

4th of July week with the Oylers

The Tuesday after getting back from Lake Arrowhead, the Oylers came to visit! We were super excited that they had decided to fit one last trip in before their big move to Mississippi! We jam packed as much as we could into 5 days of fun! 

Some of the highlights of their trip . . . 

* Golfing (Tuesday afternoon)- what's a Chad & Spencer reunion without golfing?! Ryann and I did the mom thing and hit up the park with the 6 kids then home for dinner and bed all before the guys made it back home. 

* Disneyland! Spencer and Chad braved the crowds and traffic 2 days before the 4th of July and took the 4 oldest to Disneyland for the day. Ryann and I were given strict instructions to have some fun! So my niece Brittany came over and baby-sat Cal and Will for the afternoon so we could go shopping, out to lunch, and then for frozen yogurt. It was a super relaxing day - much needed for both Ryann and myself! Then we stayed up late talking until the Disneyland goers returned just before midnight!

Madi's first time on Splash Mountain!

Elle and Chad's favorite ride!

* The Beach! We went to 3 different beaches over the 5 days they were here. 

Ricon Parkway on Thursday 

Leo Carillo for tide pools Friday morning: 

A few of us climbed the sand dune after tide pools (Chad and Spencer were both complaining about too much sun and stayed in the car to cheer the rest of us on)!

Carpinteria State Beach on Saturday with lunch at Padaro Grill!

* Quiet time!
It sure is nice having friends who also believe in quiet time and early bedtimes! Below- kids are all huddled together trying to watch a movie on the ipad quietly so not to be separated for their quiet time!

* Good food and games!

Boy do we eat good when we get together with friends. Spencer planned some awesome meals and every night we'd stay up late playing Hearts and eating skittles and twizzlers! 

* 4th of July Festivities! 

Thanks Oylers for the fun visit!