Missing my 10-year Reunion

So this past weekend we were supposed to go to Georgia for my 10-year high school reunion but it was horrible timing. My family just moved from Columbus where I grew up, to Albuquerque New Mexico about 3 weeks ago. The thought of going "home" and not having my parents there was really sad. I still have an aunt, 2 uncles, and lots of cousins but they had their family reunion down in Florida so they were gone too. That was our place to stay and our baby-sitters so we decided to stay put with the promise that we will go to my 20-year family there or not. However Brandon's parents were still scheduled to take Blythe and Eli so we decided to take advantage. Brandon took me down to San Fran on Friday. We stayed there Friday night and most of the day Saturday then we drove up through Napa to Calistoga. We stayed there Saturday night and Sunday. It was so fun to get away. We shopped, ate out, went to the spa and swam in the natural spring. I have to stay that I was thinking of CHS and missing my school buddies too so to anyone from the CHS class of '97 that may read this I'm sending you some Cali love!

Philadelphia Eagles

For those that don't know yet, our brother-in-law Zac Collie signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is married to Brandon's sister Emmalee and they are the parents of our beautiful niece Shae. He will be embarrassed when he sees this but I don't care because we are so proud of him (love you Uncle Zac )! I am including the link to the Eagles as a website we love. It is fun to go and type in his name to see new pictures from camp. Check out his bio and if you weren't already, become an Eagles fan this year!

Blackberry pickin'

Tess had the best spot all day.

Sweet little face

On Saturday morning we went and picked blackberries up in Auburn with some of our neighbors. It was a gorgeous day and the kids had a blast. I actually think Eli ate the entire time and picked about half a basket. I froze several bags of berries to enjoy all year and also made a fantastic blackberry crisp tonight that we had for dessert with vanilla ice cream. If anyone is interested I will post the recipe, it was super easy.

Concert in the park

This past week was hard as Brando was in San Francisco Wednesday and Thursday for business. We were happy to have him home on Friday. Wednesday was Callie's b-day and although we did make her breakfast in bed and got ice cream that night with Erica and Mike, overall we didn't do very much with Brandon gone. So Friday we really celebrated, we went to Sunsplash, a local waterpark for the day. We all took turns riding the slides and hanging with Tess in the grass. We also had some friends join us so it turned into a group affair. After we left we went home for a quick bite and then went to an evening concert in the park. There was a band that played some classic cover songs (sweet home alabama, brown eyed girl etc) and my kids rocked out in the grass and played some mean air guitar. It was a fun day for everyone.

Tess is all over the place!

Check out those eyelashes! They almost look fake!

She has started sucking her thumb already following right in line with Blythe and Eli, next will come the silky :)

So Callie and I were sitting on the couch and turned around to see Tess had rolled over in her swing and was grinning like a little stinker! Isn't that scary? Guess the time has come to really buckle her down. She is dividing her time between rolling, eating, and screaming for attention. She is so sassy and definately keeps me busy. Callie is getting a first hand peek at how fun yet tiring 3 kids can be.

Blythe Sleeping

I had to put this picture up of how Blythe fell asleep the other night, it made us laugh!

The Fourth of July

Blythe and Eli playing the bean bag toss game

Eli riding with Brandon's help


Blythe loves riding her bike, especially when she and dad take special rides to get treats at night!

Eli's got the best seat

Callie singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Callie and I enjoying the show with Tess who didn't even cry, she was hypnotized by the lights!

Here's our pics from the fourth. We had the pancake breakfast and bike parade at the church in the morning and then a BBQ and fireworks later that night. We sang karaoke and Callie sang the National Anthem and made me cry. She also made this darling flag cake that was so good. We had a great day and thought alot about our brother Josiah who heads back to Iraq in November. We are so proud of him for his service but so sad to see him leave again. He is our families' hero and I can't see or hear anything patriotic without him coming to mind. We love you Uncle Jo! God Bless the USA!

Patriotic Sunday

This past Sunday we all wore Red, White and Blue. It made for an impromptu photo-op. Thanks Callie!

Camping with the McCollams

Nice Helmet Blythe!

Blythe, Azdin and Eli (or should I say EE) right before the marshmallow roasting marathon

Azdin was so cute with Tess


Aunt Callie with a very dirty Blythe and Baysia plus Olive and Otis on the quad. These girls love their dogs.

Jen taking Eli and Azdin for a ride

We went with our good friends the McCollams camping on Pat's uncle's land. It was so beautiful and we had a great time. We all took rides on the four-wheelers, hit golf balls off a cliff into the canyon, made smores, went swimming, played soccer and baseball and enjoyed the gorgeous view overlooking the canyon. Jen's mom made great food and everyone relaxed in the sun. Tess got a little cranky with no nap so we packed up after dinner on day 2 and headed home. It was a fun trip and this last pic is great because Brandon got a good shove on Pat and got him in the pool! We love you guys, thanks for the great time! Awesome memories!

Fireworks

We went to the park to watch the Rocklin Jubilee fireworks and here's a pic of the kids under the blanket. Callie and I decided this one really shows how much Eli looks like Brando.
Afterwards the kids did some sparklers outside with Dad, Just practicing for the fourth!