Kicking Off the Birthday Week

We kicked off Luke's week of birthday celebrations this evening by allowing him to open some gifts from our immediate family before the onslaught at his party tomorrow.

A pitching machine from Grandma and Grandpa...

...and a bean bag chair (cover to come)!

Some fun space themed decor for Luke's room from Great Grammy and Papa

 And a ping pong table from Day and Paw (Luke's request when asked what by Day what he would most like)

So many thoughtful gifts already ... such a lucky boy!

East Coast Trip: Fishing on Grandpa's Boat

The kids were so excited to be able to go out on the boat and fish with Grandpa.  Mia even caught her first fish!!

East Coast Trip: 4th of July

We spent 4th of July back in New Jersey, celebrating with food, fireworks, and some pre-birthday fun for Stephanie and Luke.

First up:  one of Mommy's annoying photo shoots:

Next, a few photos with sweet Lily and Ruby (Luke's request - he really wanted a photo with these girls):

A few cute ones with Grandma and Grandpa:

A celebration for the July birthdays:

And finally, some fireworks (the highlight of the night for the kids, especially for Luke):

A Big Girl Bike

Mia was treated to a belated birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa today.  Since Mia's birthday falls just after Christmas, and we are usually on present overload by then, Grandma and Grandpa have adopted the practice of presenting Mia with a special birthday present at a time later in the year when there aren't quite so many new toys around.

So, today, Mia got a new Strawberry Shortcake bike, complete with bell, basket, and training wheels.  She is so very thrilled!

A Beach Day

Grandma and Grandpa are here visiting from New Jersey this week.  It is Grandma's Spring Break from school, but we had ours a few weeks back, so we have all of our regular activities.  We've had fun showing them what a week in the lives of Luke and Mia look like.

Today we decided to take them to another one of our favorite places:  the beach at Capitola.

It was a gorgeous day - we dug in the sand, flew kites, and ate ice cream!

Cabo 2012: The Beach

We spent quite a bit of time on the beach just in front of the resort this year.  The staff there was so accommodating and even brought down tons of sand toys for the kids and drinks for the adults.  THe passion that Luke has for the pool, Mia has for the beach.  She absolutely loves it; the sand, the water, the whales (amazing - see pictures below!), all of it.  Here are a few of my favorites from our days spent down on the beautiful beach.