Day 59 - Blue

Caroline shows off her blue tongue after eating a delicious starfish cookie with bright blue sugar on top! Thanks Auntie Martta!

Day 58 - Faces

The kids made a fort with the couch cushions, and they paused at the "door" just long enough for me to snap a few pics of their faces. Good thing we had some nice light coming through the back door!

Day 57 - Flashback

I've decided that if we have a day with no pictures on the camera, I will just make it a flashback instead of a FAIL. So this pic is exactly one year ago. It was a warm sunny day and the kids were having fun playing soccer! That tarp is covering our compost which has now become a nice bed for our plants!

Day 56 - Jungle gym?

Here's what happens when your 5 year old thinks the towel ring can hold his body weight. Even 2 drywall anchors can't hold 40 lbs of little boy.

Day 55 - Still fun

The first thing Jack did when he came home from school was go outside and play with the remaining snow. Poor snowman was being kicked, hit, and smashed, but Jack was beyond happy!

Day 54 - SNOW!

It snowed in Texas!! We had a fun snow day today. About 1.5 inches stuck to the ground, and the kids had so much fun playing. It was beautiful! Thankfully, I had just found the kids new coats on clearance at REI the day before! I think we took about 300 pictures, so I will just post one of my favorites.

Day 53 - Weed

This giant weed was on the side of our house... yikes! Ignore the mess surrounding it... leftover pavers from our patio project of 2008, old planters, and the hideous tarp which is supposed to be covering a compost pile in the back, but we haven't quite gotten to that... details.

Day 52 - Warm & Sunny!

Today was in the mid- 70's outside and we were excited! We walked to the park, and the kids got their bikes out when we got home. Jackson is still a little nervous about his bike, but he is gaining confidence slowly. The last picture is seriously scary, but I thought it was funny too... I feel like Lady Gaga! A friend of mine invited me to get my hair cut & colored at her house by a lady she's been getting her hair done by for a long time. (Did that even make sense?) It was fun! She does the cut, then the color, and then you go home and take the foils out yourself. Easy for her, and CHEAP for me. Perfect. Maybe I'll save enough money for Botox!

Day 51 - Fun Dip

The only picture taken today... Jackson was at the doctor last night with pink eye and a bad ear infection. So Saturday was a lazy day filled with bribes for eye drops every 3 hours. Here is his tongue after eating Fun Dip!

Day 50 - Crafty

So, in an attempt to get some decor in our home, I have been reading a few blogs on thrifting or re-making what you already have to fit into your current arrangement. I've had the fleur-de-lis for a while, but I got the mini dress form at Hobby Lobby for $1.60! I'll post pics of what I've done with them in a few days.

Day 49 - Vans

I love these shoes! I have always wanted to buy pink Vans for Caroline, and I had my chance at our local outlets a few months ago. They were too big, but now they are almost perfect. She calls them her "running shoes".

Day 48 - Outside

It was finally warm enough this afternoon to get outside! The first pic is just a rock and some weeds, but I thought it turned out kind of pretty. Anything fresh & green is good... have you seen the poor lawn... dormant and waiting for Spring. Jackson had fun hitting a few balls.

Day 47 - Baking

Caroline helped me bake these doughnut muffins today. They sound WAY better than they taste, so don't get too excited. Maybe because I didn't submerge them in butter like the recipe called for...

Day 46 - FAIL

I have no explanation. Apparently life got in the way, and I forgot to take a picture.

Day 45 - Valentine's Day

We had some very happy kids when they saw their pink breakfast this morning! Pink heart-shaped pancakes, pink strawberry milk, and pink plates & forks. Oh, and don't forget the sparkly sprinkles!

Day 44 - Splash

Fun pic of the water splash during bath time.

Day 43 - Toes

I convinced Caroline to let me paint her toenails. She chose 2 different pinks, and wanted me to follow suit. After taking pics, she immediately wanted it removed!

Day 42 - Scooter & treats

Here is the very girly way Miss C rides her scooter.... tip toes and all!

These are the Valentine treats I made for Jackson's teacher. I made a few for us too. Who doesn't like pretzels with chocolate? And the peanut M&M 's made it even better!

Day 41 - Wiggle it

This morning Caroline and I were dancing to some music... then she said, "Mommy! Wiggle your butt like this!"... and proceeded to jump on the couch and show me. hee hee.

Day 40 - Signs of Spring

Our crocus bulbs have been tricked into sprouting due to a freeze, then a week of 70 degree weather. We've had some pretty cold weather since then, so I hope they survive!

Here is our Bradford Pear starting to sprout in the front yard as well. I can't wait to see the beautiful white blossoms.

Day 39 - Random

The kids decided filling the 4 foot long tunnel with toys was a good idea. It took about 3 days to get them to sort it out and put it all away!

Here is Jackson's preferred way of "sitting" at the kitchen table.

The very fashionable Spring 2010 sunflower sandals! Such a bargain at the Dollar Tree. :)

Day 38 - Dress-Up

Caroline loves to dress up with accessories! Gotta love the paper tiara and the Dollar Store "bag". And of course the magic wand and silver bracelet cannot be left out!

Day 37 - Nutcracker

My Mom gave this nutcracker to Jackson while we were visiting a couple weeks ago. He has always loved the 6 foot tall nutcracker they bring out at Xmas, so this is a great reminder of Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Day 36 - Evening crafts

Jack decided he would draw some candy canes and cut them out for each of us. Not sure why he chose to draw candy canes at almost 7 PM, but they were happy & occupied! I can just see Caroline taking it all in, and planning to find those scissors later, for her own candy cane cutting project. :)

Day 35 - Playroom

Jim took this picture the day I was flying home with the kids. The lonely, quiet playroom would not have to wait much longer for 2 little kids to bring it to life again.

Day 34 - Spa

On our last full day in California, the kids desperately wanted to "swim". Neither of them know how to swim, but they wear floaties and jump across the benches in the spa. Caroline loves just floating in the middle and feeling weightless! Jack is still pretty fearful and sticks to the bench most of the time. I'm just happy to be sitting in a large body of warm water after a long day... my 6'1" body does not fit well in a bathtub! :)

Day 33 - In-N-Out

We had lunch at my favorite burger joint... In-N-Out Burger. It was also my first real job... yes, I ate countless burgers & fries for about 2 years, and no, I'm not tired of it. The kids loved the shakes, and didn't leave much room for their fries... good thing they ate some PB&J in the car. Caroline has this terrible inability to look at the camera & smile at the same time... good times :)

Day 32 - Build-A-Bear

We hit the mall with Grandma & Auntie Bridget today. After checking out the frogs in the Eco-Aquariums at Brookstone, we decided non-living pets would be a much wiser choice. Thanks Grandma! Here are the kids bathing their new dogs... Ginger & Princess are very well loved.

Day 31 - Family Reunion

My cousin Monica was also visiting California with her adorable baby boy, Matthew. It also happened to be my Grandma's birthday weekend, so we all got together for a wonderful lunch and reunion. L to R: Grandpa Gene, Bridget, Grandma Delores, Scott, me, Roxanne with Matthew, Vinny, Fully, and Monica. Monica's husband Tom was home working, just like mine!

Day 30 - Ventura Harbor

Today we had a great time walking around Ventura Harbor. It was relatively warm, and the sun was shining, so that was all I needed! I couldn't pick one photo, so I'm including several favorites. My Mom took most of these with her camera... I decided not to risk damaging our DSLR while traveling alone with my 2 small children!

Caroline loved the chocolate ice cream, and despite no appetite at lunch, she had no problem finishing this large serving! Priorities.

Beautiful sailboats all lined up!

The kids absolutely love the beach. It's one of their favorite things about visiting California. It doesn't matter how cold it is, they want to play in the sand!

My beautiful Mom... Love you! I took this one :)

My sister and I with our stretched out shadows... we're tall, but not THAT tall!

Dad & I as pirates... convincing? I didn't think so either.

Jack riding a dolphin underwater! That is some advanced swimming lessons!

L to R: Bridget, me, Caroline, Jackson, & Dad