Backyard BBQ...

On Saturday, June 28th, we went to my Aunt Steph's house for a family barbecue. My dad's side of the family (from Bakersfield and Apple Valley) was there,, which was nice because we don't get to see them very often, as well as my grandparents, and some of Rich's family. The weather was perfect for the event, and we had a great time chatting, watching the kids, and best of all eating! My favorite was the strawberry dessert Aunt Steph made.

The kids had an awesome time playing on the tree swing Rich installed, however Emma did manage to fall off, even under close supervision. Luckily it was over the grass, and she fell the best possible way. It just scared her. She got right back on a few minutes later, so no swing trauma, thank goodness. The kids also played with bubbles and ran themselves ragged in the water sprinkler that Rich put out for them. Emma could drive Nascar, as she is really good at going in circles to the left!

The only crummy thing that happened was that, upon departure, my Uncle Scott realized they had a flat tire. They had to drive all the way back to Apple Valley on the spare. By the time they realized the problem, all the tire centers were closed! Ugh!

Emma was asleep before we hit the freeway!

Thanks to my aunt and Rich for inviting us over and for the great time we had! It was fun!

Party animal...

On June 22, Emma and I went to Mason's second birthday party. Mason is the son of Shannon, whom I work with. We had an awesome time! Emma was able to go swimming, eat yummy chips, and hit a pinata for the first time. She had no fear running into the fray after the big kids knocked it open. She saw the candy and was off. She managed to get a sucker open on the way home. Thanks to Shannon and her family for a fun day!

In the grand scheme of things...

I decided to clean out Emma's bins of clothing that I have been accumulating since day one of her life. I did it very systematically and organized them by size and season. I then had the grand idea that I was going to sell them on EBay. I put up my first five lots last week, which closed on Friday. After EBay charges, Pay Pal charges, and shipping costs, I ended up making five dollars. Not entirely worth my time and effort, however. I have now decided to offer them up if anybody would like girl's hand-me-downs from three months to 24 months, I have plenty to offer. Let me know. My dreams of becoming rich on EBay are obviously not going to come true, so I would be happy to share Emma's clothes with others.

No small feat...

On Friday, May 30, we trekked down to the Aneheim Convention Center for the 2008 UOP graduation. We ended up parking in the Disneyland parking structure and taking the trams over to the crossing. This thoroughly confused Emma. She couldn't figure out why we didn't actually go to Disneyland. She is still questioning us, but she knows that Grandma graduated. Chris' mom received her teaching credential and master's degree. No small feat after two years of work, school, losing her husband, and then her father. We are very proud of her. She stuck with it and accomplished one of her life-long goals. After graduation, the group of 14 there to support her, headed over to Storyteller's Cafe in The Grand Californian Hotel. We had a great dinner! On our tram ride back to the parking structure, Emma came to the realization that Disneyland wasn't going to happen that night. She was out like a light as soon as the car started rolling. Congratulations Bev!