Sand, Sand and More Sand!

Everyone asks me what we did when we were in California... We mostly went to the BEACH! Five out of the seven full days we were there (not counting the traveling days) we went to the beach. We loved every minute and I can definitely say that we got our share of sand and water for the year! (Although I did feel a little bad for Carrie, who has no kids and therefore could go many cool places in California but was stuck with us... she asked me one day "are we going to go to the beach every day?")

Our camp was pretty sweet. We had a shade tent where we put up a camping table, chairs and Mike's pack-n-play. A big umbrella would give shade too. By the end of our trip we invested in some boogie boards, more buckets for Abbey, and paddle balls.

Abbey loved the sand and making holes where the surf would fill it up with water. She would find other peoples abandoned holes and clam them as her own. She also loved to play in the water.

Mike got to play in the sand a little, but mostly he hung out in the pack-n-play with his toys and would take great naps lulled by the sound of the waves.

Us adults enjoyed reading books, braving the rip tides to body/boogie surf, and laying in the sun. And of course we ran after the kids a lot!

By the end of the week the rest of my siblings and their kids joined us for a day of beach fun. It was nice for Abbey to have Wyatt and Luke to run around with, instead of mom and dad! And Mike got to hang out with Stella in the tent!

Beach House

Carrie, Tim and I decided that we wanted to find a beach house for our stay in Newport. We succeeded with finding this one.

(Abbey loved the flowers in the front, she was showing them off to Johnny, who was taking the picture!)

It was perfect for our beach needs. We were able to wake up, cook and eat breakfast, put our suits on and walk to the beach. When we wanted lunch or we were all done for the day a short walk to the house is all it took! No driving the car trying to find a spot for 45 min, no paying for parking! It was great. The only down side was having to still do dishes and sweep up all the sand! But who really complains about doing dishes when you have eaten french toast, carne asada tacos, and chicken shish kabobs! Not to mention bananas foster for dessert!

(Tim making french toast our first morning)

We were also really close to the pier, which meant we were close by all the shops to walk into and good restaurants like Spaghetti Factory. We would pack up the kids and go. I'm so glad we decided to invest in a double stroller before we left. We got a good deal on it and I can't imagine our vacation with out it! It was a life saver.

By the end of our stay we had to pack up and stay in a hotel for two nights. We missed the beach house... but it was nice to have some four star luxuries, ie house keeping!!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Okay, Carrie and Christine have the majority of the pictures from California that I need to have in order to post more about our vacation. So in the meantime I thought I would post about Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Timothy!

(This is Tim with his Birthday Dessert... Ricotta Cheese with Cocoa and Splenda, read why further down! There is a candle in it but you can't tell in the picture.)

Tim turned 27 this Friday. He actually had this weekend off so we have been enjoying another mini vacation with him home. It was a lot of fun to celebrate, we made sure it was low key seeing as we really had all the fun we could imagine in California the week before. So I let him sleep in as long as he wanted. Once we were ready for the day, we went to the San Tan mall to let Tim pick out some new cool sunglasses.

After which, we were treated to a Sweet Tomatoes lunch with Tim's parents. Who were kind enough to watch the kids so we could go to a matinee. Finishing off his day, I made Tim a gourmet South Beach Diet Dinner (Who says South Beach has to be boring!?!), and gave him a massage afterward.

I hope he felt pampered and relaxed, that was the goal! And yes, you read correctly. Tim started the South Beach Diet earlier this week. The final nail in the coffin was the picture of him in the surf looking back at the Life Guards boat that Carrie posted on her blog. He is too funny!

Happy Birthday To Me!

(yes I had a real cake with the full 26 candles)

That's right, it's my Birthday today! 26!! But we celebrated in style yesterday. Tim was so sweet. He thought he had a lot to live up to his celebration the day before! He started with letting me sleep in!! Soooo nice!! And finished it up with breakfast in bed (waffles with pureed strawberry) and a hot bath with fizz ball all to myself. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the waffles... he presented them beautifully (I think we have been watching Food Network too much!). Then before my bath was over Abbey was taken to Christine's to play the day away with Wyatt. Leaving us free to go to the mall and shop for some clothes for me! I'm not that bold to take pictures of me in my clothes, so you will have to settle for pictures of Mike at the mall.

He looks sooo chubby, probably because he is!

A little boy even made a comment to his mom about how fat he was and pushed his cheeks together like a fat boy and said "his cheeks are like this mom!" I'm pretty sure he got more giggles from others throughout our mall trip! After shopping we ate at Olive Garden for linner, it was really good. Then on to pick Abbey up and drop me off to get my toes done!

Finally at home again, we relaxed with watching a chick flick... perfect!

Wahoo!

After a long days drive to Newport, California... all the bathroom breaks and nursing stops were rewarded with a wonderful meal at Wahoo's! It was no mistake that this is where we decided to start off our week in California. Wahoo's is one of our favorite places to eat with the best fish/chicken tacos.

pure joy...

If I look tired and worn out... its because I WAS!! Tim drove which means I got to deal with the kids demands to keep them happy and entertained, complete with me squeezing my big rear in between the carseats! All of which was washed away with a squeeze of lime!

Mike didn't get to taste Wahoo's this year, but he enjoyed all the stickers on the walls!


Abbey enjoyed her "dang quesa-dilla", look at that smile of satisfaction.

Wahoo's didn't disappoint this time either... our only regret was that we didn't go back to eat again before we left for home. Not to worry though, our vacation was full of a lot of wonderful food and events... prepare yourself for Newport Beach, California 2008!!

Terrible Two's

Abigail has a new talent of finding trouble. She knows when you aren't really paying attention to her and takes advantage of it fully! After about three times in the last month of the same thing happening, I have one thing to say to my wonderful husband...
The stuff gets everywhere... and a two year old can empty the entire bottle, all through the house, very quietly with out you noticing, while you are trying to take a little nap early in the morning! And trust me, it is no fun trying to clean up!

Wyatt the Hairdresser

Earlier this month I watched my nephews, Wyatt and Luke for a few hours. (Here they are all together in a rare moment of stillness while watching Cars. It was the calm before the storm!)Wyatt and Abbey are pretty much exactly two months apart, Wyatt being older. They have a unique bond. They are crazy together! Crazy having fun, crazy fighting over toys, crazy being hyper, crazy laughing... just plain crazy!! True to their craziness... I caught Wyatt cutting Abbey's hair in her bedroom. It was pretty funny. I heard swishing like scissors from her room and knew in about two seconds what was happening. Sure enough Abbey was standing near her door with Wyatt behind her cutting chunks out of the back of her hair. It was pretty comical... I have a hard time explaining what they looked like... the best way is to say that they were just chatting away like they were enjoying a day at the hair salon! Abbey was completely happy and trusting of Wyatt, standing still for him. Wyatt was confident and chatting away as he was cutting! I tried my best to get some pictures of them in action but they knew they were doing something naughty. Therefore you see the progression of the door being slammed in my face! I have to say, Wyatt did a pretty good job considering he is a two year old. He took some pretty good chunks out but amazingly they blended pretty well. After getting her hair professionally trimmed and blended, you can hardly tell except for a small chunk near the crown of her head. I would say Wyatt has a good future in the hairdresser business!! (This picture was right after the incident... assessing the damage!)
PS sorry about the quality of the pictures... the flash wasn't on and they turned out a little fuzzy

August is here! (Sorry this post is so late... I forgot about it!)

Today is the first day of August. Most people think August is a boring, hot month. Not for my family. August is the month of birthdays and vacations! I have always looked forward to August growing up, probably because it was my brother Cameron's, my sister Carrie's and my birthday month! Now August means my husband Tim's birthday and my nephew Wyatt's birthday too!
(California - August 2006)

And even better, Tim and I have made it a little bit of a tradition to go to California in August! We have officially done it the last two years and will do it again this year! I can't wait!! We will be going to Newport for a whole week! Towards the end of the week my family will be coming out to join us and go to Disneyland in honor of my mom! Mom loved going to California, she grew up in Southern California. She loved the beach and Disneyland. Not long before Mom and Dad's accident we went to California for our first Webb family vacation. We went to Sea World that year and not Disneyland because the kids were too little to enjoy the experience. I know mom was looking forward to taking the grand kids there. So this year we will be going. I can't wait to see Abbey on the rides. She will LOVE them. I am really excited to take this vacation and celebrate every ones birthdays. I love August!!

(California - August 2007)

California - August 2008 Soon To Come!!