Jodi's Shower

Today was my friend Jodi's bridal shower. Our friend Danielle organized and hosted the shower. We had a great time celebrating Jodi and showering her with gifts and advice, plus had a time of prayer as she anticipates her wedding day and marriage to Manolo. About 15 ladies came and we played games - one seeing how much Jodi knew Manolo (she answered 16 out of 22 right! pretty good!) and then another seeing how much we knew Jodi (I won that one! But I still only knew 12 of 21!). Fun times! Jodi was honored and blessed so the shower was a success! Here are a few pictures.




Here's me, Jodi, and Danielle. Danielle and I will both be standing up with Jodi in her wedding and both our husbands will be standing up with Manolo! It'll be a fun day come August 8! Looking forward to it but probably not as much as Jodi and Manolo are! :)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

We took the drive out to my parent's house a little later than expected because we had a little mishap with our van...the battery was completely dead. I tried to jump it, but nothing happened, not even the dome light would turn on. So, we took our Camry instead. Thank goodness for a second car!

After lunch, we opened birthday presents, but first we gave my dad his late Father's Day present -- the movie, "Chicken Run." Then it was my mom's turn. Elijah (as always) had to help :)










The afternoon was spent playing inside (it was 110 degrees outside) with toys, games, and cartoons.










For dinner, we had birthday pizza from Papa Johns, Grandpa Sam came over to visit, we sang "Happy Birthday," and then we had Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake that Laura made for desert. It was super yummy! Natalie couldn't wait to try her hand at getting some of that chocolate :)











After dinner, we had to leave so I could make it to AutoZone in time to buy a new battery for our van. The kids fell asleep minutes after we left. They were exhausted :)

Griffith, Wedding and more

We just wanted to share some photos with you, showing what we've been doing these last couple weeks. We've been a bit busy (or maybe lazy, too) and haven't blogged about these events but still wanted to share a few highlights. (This is for you, Tina!!!)

Griffith Observatory -
At the end of May, we went with our family (small) group to the observatory. It was our first time being there and we loved it. On a Thursday night, it was not busy at all! We loved the sights from the top of the hill - what a great, clear evening!!! We then went again a week later with Tricia and Rob when they visited. Quite different on a Saturday night!!! Busy, busy, busy! That night there was more of a marine layer (or maybe it was just smog, I don't remember). Not as great for pictures but still fun to see everything from up there. We have yet to look in the big telescope though. Maybe next time...













Cousin Tim's Wedding -
On June 8, Dave's cousin Tim was married and we were both able to go, leaving the kids at home with some friends. We had a great time with Dave's parents and extended family and enjoyed the wedding, which was on a ship. The ship cruised around the Newport Beach harbor throughout the wedding and reception (meal and dance).













Now here are just some recent random pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day...and we had a lot of fun.

This morning, Laura made us some breakfast rolls and I had two presents waiting for me at the table. One was a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and the other was an drawing from Elijah of him, Natalie, and me.














After Natalie's morning nap, we headed over to Pasadena for the 16th annual Chalk Festival. It was amazing to see all the artwork - there were so many great artists.










The Police Dept. hosted a car show, but had a helicopter there on display that kids could sit in. Elijah thought that was the coolest thing ever. The only thing that probably could have been cooler would be to sit in a Fire Engine :)










For lunch, Laura and the kids took me out to Gus's BBQ in South Pasadena. I had read an article about this place in the paper a while back and it sounded really good, so we thought we'd check it out. I had Memphis Style Baby Back Ribs and Laura had a Pulled Pork Sandwhich. It was super awesome!









Later in the day, Natalie decided to give me her own Father's Day "present." I went to get her from her nap and when I walked in the room, I almost passed out from the smell of poop. There was Natalie in her bed, standing up next to the railing - poop smeared all over the crib, crib rails, her clothes, her face, arms, legs, blankets, stuffed animals...it was gross! I had Laura give her a bath while I got the pleasant job of cleaning her crib up. Thanks Natalie...Happy Father's Day!






For Dinner, we went over to Michelle's house to eat some pizza with friends and watch the Laker's hopefully keep the series going. I'm not sure what the score is as I'm writing this?

Happy Father's Day!