Monday - Vacation

A view of the beach from the pool

The pool

Crescent Beach

Ethan & his fish friends

Goggle Boy

Mia not wanting to get in the pool

Discovering the sand isn't hot

Playing in the ocean

Future sand sculptor

Beach beauty

What to do next!

Look at this sand Mama

Daddy takes Ethan swimming in the ocean

This was a great surprise

Having a great time

Daddy & his girl

Looking on as Mia swims with Daddy

Mama playing in the sand with the kiddos

Our Condo was on the second floor

This is her Sassy look

Making sand snowballs

The beach as the sun sets

A beautiful sunset



On Monday we relaxed by the pool and played at the beach. Miss Mia had decided that she now didn't like the pool and just wanted to sit on the edge and barely get her toes wet. This is not like her. She normally LOVES to swim. She also had her hands in her mouth quite a but during the week. We think that her 2 year molars are on their way in so that may have had something to do with it. Who knows??!! She definitely had more sass than normal! The favorite activity of the day was when Ethan picked up sand and had "thunderstorms". It got Mia laughing and the two of them would run up and down the beach. The weather was great and the day finished off with our first sunset on the beach. We definitely found a piece of paradise!

First Day of Vacation

Swimming at the pool

The view from our balcony

Having a picnic

Hamming it up


The first day of vacation we hung around, relaxed & recovered from our travel adventure. We also had to go to Target (go figure). When we got off the plane we left Ethan's new Leapster on it. We called the airlines but nothing was turned in:( The kids LOVED the beach. The sand was so soft & white and NEVER gets hot because it is mainly quartz. Ethan & Mia loved eating lunch on the lanai. The view was beautiful and it was so nice because everything was screened in so you could leave all the doors open. It was a very relaxing day and a great way to start vacation.

Suprise Vacation

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
We had a vacation scheduled June 21 - 28. Our plans for this vacation changed MANY times. We finally decided we were going to head south and stay in Siesta Key, Florida. To add to the surprise of things, we decided not to tell Ethan that we were going on vacation. The week before we left we had to secretly get every thing ready. The kids went down for their naps Saturday afternoon, when they woke up we told them that we had a surprise for them. We told them that we had to drive in the car and the surprise would begin. Ethan was confused but excited. Once we got to the airport, he wanted to know exactly where we were going. The original plan was that we would tell him once we landed in Florida. But we had a 4 & 1/2 hour delay in leaving so once we got back on the plane we spilled the beans. At 1:15am we FINALLY arrived at the condo ready for vacation to begin. Not telling the kids definitely put a new twist on vacation!

More pictures & the rest of vacation to come:)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Ethan & Mia made a stepping stone for Steve .....with the help of Gramy & pa:)

Pa playing pirates with his buccaneers

Steve & his new tie

Pa sporting his tie

Two of the most wonderful Father's in the world!




We have been on the go for the last few weeks and had slacked on the blog. Sorry:( To start with we had a wonderful Father's Day. We went to Amy's Mom & Dad's house for a cookout. I got Steve an edger and the kids gave Steve a tie with a picture of them on it. Since he has to wear a tie everyday to work I think he will be getting a tie every year:) It was such a special day to celebrate the special fathers in our lives.



Over the next few days I hope to catch up here in blogland:)

One Year Ago....We Were On Our Way

We were Pink....our Embassy appointment was June 12, 2007

One year ago we were on our way. They time had finally come. We were on our way to Guatemala to bring home our daughter. A new chapter of our life as a family of four began.

It is hard to believe that a year ago we were boarding a plane on our way to bring home Mia. The past year has been filled with so much joy and happiness. We definitely had some moments wondering if we would survive. One year and a few more gray hairs later we are here as a family of four. Mia has settled into a routine and it seems like she has been with us much longer than a year. Ethan's nose is now back in alignment and he actually likes his little sister. He likes playing with her and teaching her about things. Mia has grown into a happy carefree little girl who adores Ethan and mimics EVERYTHING he does. (Including picking her nose:) She loves babies, Elmo, and coloring. But in a year we have noticed Miss Mia has a temper. Her mood can change on a dime and she has been know to spend some time in "timeout". Everyday gets better and better. We thank the Lord that he has led us to Ethan and Mia, I can't imagine our lives without them. We waited for almost one year to bring our little girl home and we continue to pray for our friends Lane & Karen and Bill & Arden. May the Lord bring their girls home soon so that they too can celebrate a year of being a forever family!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pirate Party

Pirate Sammy


The birthday boy

Jumping on the jumper



Boarding his pirate ship


On the lookout for the treasure


Mia & Lane bouncing

More fun on the jumper

The boys having fun


The party girl


Miss Mia wouldn't let me get her picture from the front


Look at my new ride Momma

Once Mia opened this baby....it was at her side

Walking her baby

Opening presents

Lauren making a fashion statement

Mia's cake

Ethan's cake

Happy bithday to you

Happy 4th birthday Ethan

Happy 2nd Birthday Mia


The pirate party was a BIG hit! The kids loved the bouncer (although it did get hot in the afternoon so they all had to put socks on). It was up at 11:00am and didn't get taken down until 8:45pm. (Definitely worth the money!) Because we combined both of their birthdays we thought that Ethan and Mia had to have their own cakes. Mia's cake had Elmo, Dorothy & Mr. Noodle on it and Ethan's was a pirate ship complete with the Veggie Tale's pirates who don't do anything. Instead of normal birthday hats, we found pirate masks. Both of the kids received many wonderful gifts. Mia's favorites were the baby dolls, especially the one Ethan got her. Ethan loved his bike, pirate ship & leapster.! With all of Ethan & Mia's new toys it is time to go through everything and reorganize, besides on Mia's birthday (June 25) it is half way to Christmas...only 6 months left:) (Don't laugh but I just bought a Christmas present this week)

Pink Pirates????

Look what we found just in time for our pirate party. We had such a good time today! Right now we are all exhausted. More pictures and fun to come:)