There's So Much to Celebrate!

So it's been way too long since I've posted, but it's like, a year's worth of events has happened in the last month and a bit, so now that I'm home and adjusting back, it's time to get goin' with this blog! I have 15 events (!) and a whole lot of pictures, so tuck in with a sandwich and a soda and we'll get going. I'll start with the oldest happenings and move to the present.

We moved into our home on Ocean!

Thanks to the guys that showed up to help us out, they were amazing and went way above and beyond the call of duty. Moving the piano was a beast.

The kids had a great time. Teensie was all over the boxes

And CJ was granted the highest honor; riding in the front seat of the moving van with Dad. He was so excited!

CJ and His Silly Pants

This kid is a real crack up. I asked him to get dressed for the day and this is how I find him. We were all laughing pretty hard.

Elizabeth Jane Turns One

The day after the move Lizzie turned one, May 30th 2010. The house was in chaos of course so there wasn't much fanfare, but the Bird family brought a fantastic dinner with cookies for desert so that became Janie's birthday treat. She loved it!

The Hunt Family Reunion

  

I love camping, epically when it doesn't feel like camping. We headed to AZ for the Hunt family Reunion and enjoyed the heat of the day and the beautiful outdoors. 

Our Ron Hunt family had the pleasure of neon green for our family t-shirt. Pretty blaring, but it made it easy to spot the kids! 

We came to the reunion with Jeremy's parents, Ron and Janet, and Brandolyn and her children. We hiked and did crafts and listened to stories, and ate some terrific food. It was great. Jeremy even did a little rock climbing.

One of the games was a "Redneck Pinata". Instead of wacking a character full of candy you dig through shavings for your treats. It was a big hit. Aunt Brandi really got into the fun and CJ loved it!

Naughty Kids at Target

 

Lets be very real here, CJ led the way for Abbi to climb into the ball cage. It was super cute, but super naughty! It was one of those moments where I am supposed to be the responsible adult and discourage such behavior, and I failed completely. Oh well ;) 

 The C and Triple J Mega Awesome Birthday!

Here we have Jordan holding Janie, Jackson, and Carter. It was a birthday celebration for the lucky four in all the Toy Story fanfare we could muster.

  

This was the super cool alien cake that took FOREVER to make

  

Here are all the Toy Story characters that came to the party

  

And all the fun that we had

  

And some of the cutest gifts I have ever seen!

 In Over Her Head

So . . . I put Jane to sleep in brother's night shirt and the next morning she wakes up squealing, and this is how I find her! She's always trying to take her tops off, it was too funny!

Working on the House

  

Now that we're back from vacation it's time to start on the house and Jeremy and CJ went at it full tilt. This is our front yard, we'll see what comes of it.

Good work guys!

Father's Day

Jeremy is such an amazing father, and his kids adore him. He's wearing the tie key chain that CJ made for him, and wore it the whole time at church.

Back to Sacramento 

 

Yes we are back! Back for more family and more laughs, and a bit of Twilight midnight madness. We stayed with Brandi's family for a good portion of the trip and the cousins played all day long. Here we have the triple Vader threat, so scary!

 

  

There were also trips to the park to feed ducks, the Jelly Belly factory tour, bowling, Toy Story 3, and so much more. 

Total Eclipse of the Heart!

And now for the main event . . . the Eclipse premiere party! Mom hosted us all at her home and went all out. You see the clock tower from Voltaire cleverly holds our appetizer fruit. 

We were each given a personalized dinner box

 

Each box held a delicious treat inside 

Every detail was attended to and we spent the evening playing trivia games and acting our favorite scenes from the past two movies.  

The Eclipse movie has been my favorite so far, but going at midnight turned into a real ordeal. Maybe we'll go for a next day show when Breaking Dawn comes out.

Fourth of July

 It was back to southern California for the long awaited birth of Alita baby number three. By Fouth of July the baby was two days past due so we celebrated the traditional way in hopes that we would have a Liberty Belle join us on the festival day.

 We were so lucky that Jeremy flew out to join us for the Fourth. We enjoyed the revelry as a family and with friends that we have missed dearly since moving.

Our fireworks collection was massive! We shot off at the Goodwin home with the families Alita, Adams, Schulze, Black, Wienstock, and Goodwin. There was fantastic food and so much firework fun!

 

Sweet Fun in the California Sun

Well, Liberty Belle did not come that night, or the next, or the next. Jeremy flew home and we stayed on. It was pretty cold the next few days, the sun didn't even come out till the afternoon, but when it did we sure made the most of it.

 

On the days that we drove to see the Alita's we were welcomed to a kiddie paradise.

Here we see the trampoline, pool, tent and garden. There was still a ton more grass to run on, toys to play on, chalk, and a sand center. Nana Nora entertained the children well while the rest of us waited for the baby to arrive.

Olivia Belle Alita

Finally, the long awaited sweetheart came! On Sunday, July 11, in the middle of the night it was time to go to the birthing center. I acted as the video/photographer and was blessed to witness an amazing birth. True to her birthday, this 7/11 baby came quickly and conveniently. We were home with family again by 6am.

Back Home Again

We came home exhausted and happy. It has taken a few weeks to recover from a month of trips, but it was all worth it.