Three cheers for Lindsay! Not only does she have an amazing camera but she actually uses it regularly. If we didn't have to replace the dishwasher, I'd be researching my new camera right now!
Thanks Linds for sharing all your great Newport photos (thanks to Sam too for stepping in behind the camera from time to time).
We spent the last week in Newport Beach with my family and we truly were "Beach Bums." I wore shoes twice that week...Monday night for Sam's birthday dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and Wednesday at Disneyland. Other than that, my feet were free from everything but the sand all week. It was blissful. I've loaded some photos but am terrible at taking them so you'll have to wait for me to get my disc from our family photographer, Lindsay, before I can post the rest. I think if I get the camera I want I'll be better at taking photos (or that is what I keep telling myself...and Tripp too!)
Grandma & Grandpa Marz rented a beach house for us all. We stayed in it four or five years ago and it was once again, great. We walked out the back door right onto the beach. It was fabulous for the kids. Abbie and Nate especially loved the beach and the water. Kyle had a pretty great time too. Daisy was still too little for it all but was her usual Daisy self and just went with the flow. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for renting such a wonderful place for us all to be. I am lucky to have two fab sisters and a great brother-in-law and we all loved spending a week with just us. I take that back, Sam's roomy, Cassie, came down for a few days and we were happy to see her. She is always a welcome addition to the party.
Please note, the photos below are in no particular order. The captions for each will be below the photo:
Nate loved the water...he is JUST like his mommy.
Abbie had so much fun playing in the sand. Here she is with Taylor, her new friend.
Lindsay will kill me for including this but it has to be one of my favorite photos of all time...Abbie and her Aunty Lindsay going to the water.
Abbie loved filling the buckets with ocean water but struggled to carry them around the beach.
This is Abbie at 11:30 p.m. at Disneyland. She went strong from 8 a.m. when the park opened to 11:30 p.m. just before the part closed...no rest, no nap. She is definitely a Marz girl.
Abbie giving the friends at Pooh Corner love. She really enjoyed Disneyland and kept saying, "More rides...more rides". She also loved meeting Pooh, Eeyore, Goofy and Pluto. Kyle is a trooper at Disneyland and ate every treat in site and rode rides like a madman.
Abbie running around the beach....
Then pooping out while watching Alice in Wonderland (her new favorite).
Learning to love the waves (by the end of the week so would jump right in them "By myself" she kept saying).
Kyle loves the ocean and was trying to talk Abbie into riding the boogie board with him.
At Fashion Island on Sam's Birthday
Nate at Sam's birthday dinner...
Daisy at Sam's birthday dinner...
Another favorite thing about the beach...riding bikes
Grandma & Grandpa bringing the little ones up from the water...
We are in Newport Beach but wanted to wish Aunt Ham a very happy 25th birthday! We celebrated her special day yesterday with beach time, California Pizza Kitchen, presents, leftover ice cream and the movie "Enchanted".
Summer break has officially reached the Thompson house. Both Kyle and Abbie got out of school last week. Kyle was home through the weekend but left Sunday night to spend a week visiting his mom. We took the photo featured above before church Sunday. We know a family that takes one every Sunday before church...great tradition but we were lucky to get these done and don't plan to go through that every week.
Abbie, Daisy and I have been busy this week. We planted a small garden on Tuesday. You can see our basil and hearts & flower plants. The one on the end has pumpkin seeds in it. My friend Nikki swears I can garden so we'll see if she is right. Wish our plants (especially the pumpkin) luck. The photos below are of my little gardening helper.
We also went to the library first thing Monday. Unfortunately, the summer reading program starts while we are out of town but it didn't stop Abbie from checking out a ton of books. She loves the library. Her favorite books right now are One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Halloweener.
We've been doing a lot of swimming. We visited G&G Marz's pool Saturday then again tonight. Abbie loves to swim and started her summer lessons this week. Below are photos of Abbie with Ms. Kelsey, her super cute swim teacher.
It seems as if our entire summer is already spoken for. We have something going on almost every week until school starts again (Ugh). Here are just a few of the activities the Thompson family has on the books:Daisy is 6 months old today. She is still a tiny little peanut but added organic brown rice cereal and organic peas to her repertoire this month so maybe she will start filling out a little. She has the greatest smile we've ever seen. She uses her entire face and her chubby little cheeks just light up. She definitely sends warm and fuzzies with each and every grin.
She is officially done with the swing but is enjoying her toy saucer (what Lindsay refers to as the "Ring of Joy"). She is starting to enjoy bath time a little more (she's stopped screaming at the top of her lungs each and every time she gets in the tub) and puts everything she can in her mouth.
We all love the little caboose in our family. She is a ray of sunshine in a family with a stinker older brother and a fiesty/sassy older sister.
Below are a series of photos I took today trying to get the 6 month shot.
Living in Vegas heat means a lot of swimming in the summertime. When Tripp and I bought our house we made plans to put in a pool for the kids. We've spent the last couple of summers at either Grandma or Grandpa Marz's pool or the community center pool. We finally broke down this year and decided it was time for our own pool. Abbie invited her BFF Ruby over for the "Grand Opening" if you will.
Okay, so maybe it's not quite what we had in mind when we bought the house but with my freaking out about the Colorado River and Lake Mead, I think this is the only pool we may ever have. I just can't build something in my backyard that uses up so much of such a valuable resourse (well more than one if you include the energy for the heater) when G&G Marz and the Rec Center have such fabulous pools we can visit anytime we want. Once the water is dirty, I can use it to water my plants than fill it again.
Our friend Brooke used to leave her heater off the hot tub in the summer and get in, calling it her "Poor Man's Pool". I would say we've now got the ultimate in poor man's pools. However, Abbie and Ruby had a ball this morning and I think it is just the right size for Daisy as well. I hope the kids can forgive their mom someday because at the Thompson house, this is as good as it gets.
