Sneak Peek

I can't load all of the pictures I want from our trip so far but this seems to be a huge favorite. My cousin Gina had a baby right before I had Isabella and now here they are, Isabella and Sophia, cousins and best friends. We will be back Monday night, I will try to post more next week, until then, hello from Napa Valley, CA!!

20 Hours and Counting

Can I Lick the Spoon?

Most kids ask to lick the spoon when you are baking cookies and cakes, not my Giuliana. Everytime I make sauce she wants to lick the spoon. Also, because I value you my life too much the recipe for the sauce will not go on the Family Recipe blog.

Genuine Golden Girl Passes Away Today

Estelle Getty died today of advanced dementia, she was 84. Most of you know how much I love the Golden Girls and the reruns that Lifetime plays. I don't know why, they just made me laugh. Cute little "Sophia" will be missed!

Update: Lifetime is running a Golden Girls Marathon featuring episodes with Estelle Getty on Friday July 25th from 10am-3pm.

Strike A Pose

Giuliana's First Haircut

Giuliana finally had her first haircut today. I was not crazy about the lady who did it but it turned out nice anyway.

Jake the Snake....

....catcher. I'm sorry to say I did not react as well as I thought I would. Welcome to the sticks!

Here Kitty Kitty

Ally is officially free of all mats.

Some People Actually Like That "Wet Dog" Smell!

After a much needed bath Pongo did his best to relax and dry off but the girls would not leave him alone. I can't stand the smell and have about 10 candles burning right now but the cats seem to love it. Poor dog!

My Walking Buddy and Her Family

They just stopped by this morning to see the house. We got a pretty late start to the day today because of some late-night potty troubles so we weren't dressed when they got here but the kids had fun playing and I hope we can get together more. Maybe next time with the husbands!

Just Another High School Musical Fan

A Quote from An Email Signature

This quote really touched my heart.

"I get out of bed each morning so that I can do everything I did the day before. I wash the dishes so they can be dirtied again, I iron the clothes so they can be worn and wrinkled again, I wipe noses so they can run again, I pick up toys so they can be played with again, I mop the floor so mud can be tracked on it again, I cook meals so that I can go to the grocery store again, I make beds so they can be slept in again. Some days I wonder: if I do all I do, only to have it undone, am I really doing anything? I realize that all of the mundane, repetitive days were actually full of significant, enduring work. A home (is) being built. A family (is) being knit together. (Two) souls (are) being shaped for eternity." Carolyn Mahaney

Thanks Allison.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider....

.....um no.

Taco Night

Chicken tacos + cheese-stealing-kids + chair-stealing-Giuli + smiley-Bella = Tons of Fun!!!!

It's Barbie Time

Halloween in July for Giuliana's socks

The Pictures That Made Me Cry

Here We Go Again!

Isabella is going to be a flowergirl for my cousin on her birthday and she is very excited. This time Giuliana is going to join her....well I hope so!

I Have Been Tagged, "Me and My Hubby"

How long have you been together? Almost 8 Years

How long did you date? Feb 2001 to May 2003

How old is he? 31

Who eats more? He does

Who said "I love you" first? I did. Over the phone

Who is taller? He is, about 3 inches taller

Who is smarter? Jake is but we both know a lot about different things.

Who does the laundry? Me

Who does the dishes? Me

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at the bed, I do

Who pays the bills? We both do.

Who mows the lawn? Jake did and will again when the lawn is put in.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly Me. Jake will pick up something if he is working late.

Who is more stubborn? Me, I am always right.

Who kissed who first? I think it was awkwardly both of us (same here!)

Who asked who out? He asked me out to dinner and a movie. We didn't go to either. We ordered pizza and watched SNL.

Who proposed? He did, 4 days before Christmas.

Who is more sensitive? I am. No question.

Who has more siblings? Jake does. He has 3 brothers and I have 2 sisters.

What were you doing 10 years ago? Just got back from Disney World with my ex. Working at Office Max and Jake was working at Mountain States and looking forward to his 2nd Metallica concert.


Ok- I am going to tag everyone who reads this blog. Go nuts!

Yummy Chicken Nuggets

Tonight I made some great chicken nuggets from a recipe from the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfield. She has a ton of great ways to get your kids to eat veggies without even knowing that they are. Of course you still offer them the veggies on their plate but little do they know that you have coated that nugget in broccoli before you cooked it! Plus, everything is really tasty so far.

Swimming in the Shade

Getting Ready for Napa

This was us on our last trip to Napa. We leave 2 weeks from Saturday and we are super excited. I can't wait to see everyone and during this trip both of the girls are flower girls in my cousin's wedding. Hopefully I will find my camera by then, if not I hope Carolina lets me copy her pictures!

Go See This Movie!

The Girls on the 4th!

Amazing Skydivers

Ok this is really crappy video of an amazing jump. We thought there was just going to be one jumper, the plane took off and one guy lit up the sky. Then a few seconds later 2 more guys were also lit and it was awesome! The last guy to land had the American Flag and the crowd went wild. Sorry for the jumpy video, I had to reach down and grab Giuliana because everyone stood up to watch them land and she couldn't see anymore.

Happy 4th of July! Thornton 2008

Jake and I started a new family tradition last year with the 4th of July celebrations, every year we go to a new city in the metro area for their fireworks show. This year we went to Thornton for their celebration and it was fantastic. They started at 6pm with vendors selling (my favorite) fair food, along with glow in the dark jewelry. Around 7:30 they had an F-16 fly over which was amazing, Giuli kept yelling "again, again!" Right after that they had the Longmont Symphony playing American marches and Phantom of the Opera which was wonderful and the kids really got into it. When it got dark they had a patriotic parachute jump, which was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and I am going to load the video when I am done with this post, and they kicked off the fireworks. We had so many great invitations this year for parties but the truth is that Jake felt pretty horrible all day and barely felt up to the show. He sat in his fold up chair almost the whole time while the kids and I ventured out a bit. We still had a great time though and it's going to be hard not to go back next year.