The Beach

We got packed up and headed out to Cedar Lake Beach yesterday...only to get RAINED or "monsooned" OUT! Ella was devastated.  We were in the water for about 2 minutes when the lifeguard blew her whistle to get everyone out.  We waited for a few minutes, but the skies soon became black and we raced home!!!

But, I did snap a few pics of our time there.
Ella cheesin all dressed and ready...

Our friends, Michelle and Allison took Ella (in their car) and this was all their idea.  I wasn't planning on going, but since I was bored I packed Tyler up and decided to join them last minute!! It was totally during his nap time, so I was sure to bring my own car in case it was a disaster!!!

Michelle and Allison getting Ella all ready to dig in the sand!

Of course Ariel had to go with us!!

Ariel is a GREAT swimmer too :)

Tyler all smiles hanging out in the stroller for a snack!

Ella had so much fun with Allison and Michelle.

She was so confused AND devastated when they made us get out of the water!!! But, we have the best friends in the world because they took her back today to try again!! No rain in the forecast...Thank goodness!!!!
I have a feeling this was just the FIRST trip to the beach for Ella this summer.  We have a sandbox...and a pool at our house...but that is NOTHING compared to a real beach to a 3 year old! I love it!!!

SUMMER DAYS...

Summer...oh how I love you. I love all the freedom our days have. We can go WHEREVER we want WHENEVER we want and I LOVE it!!!!
The past few days have been heavenly.  Since the party planning is OVER it is now time to relax and start enjoying the Summer Days.

Here we are enjoying some of our new birthday toys.  Ella and Tyler were playing Supermarket with the new cash register.  Ella was scanning everything in the house and Tyler was along for the ride. I love when these two play together...ADORABLE.

Then we had a fun afternoon at the park.  I figured I could get a little exercise in and some fun in for the kiddos.  I ran to the park, and let them play...

Tyler was all smiles trying to creep up the blue slide

Ella loved the slides too...

Then we ACCIDENTALLY snuck across the street to get a SNO CONE from the awesome "Tropical Sno" that is so perfectly near the park. Ella and Tyler cooled off in the stroller while we waited...

Ella going to work on her strawberry sno cone!

Our next adventure for our Summer kick off was cooking our own pizza.  Ella got to make her own pizza and she was so excited!

Here she was smiling next to her pizza crust (Please ignore my dishes in the background) ha ha

Smearing the sauce and adding some serious cheese...

MORE cheese...

Time for the pepperoni...

So proud of her pizza...

Did I mention MORE cheese...

And the finished product...

The kick off to an exciting summer is ON!! I even started with a bang...I sprained the HECK out of my ankle working softball camp this morning!! W O W. Pain in the butt. I was smart and kept ice on it RIGHT away so I am hoping it will be better in a few days! I guess I will have to WALK my miles instead of run them for the next few days.

HAPPY
    SUMMER
         TO
            ALL!!!

THE PARTY!!!!

Well...we can FINALLY relax because the Party is over. My sister in law said to me the other day, "Isn't nice having this party at the beginning of the Summer because then your yard and everything is ready for the rest of the year." I guess I never really looked at it like that, but she is totally right. We now have the landscaping done...all the party supplies you could ever need. And basically, a little peace of mind!! YAY. 

The party was a huge hit. It was a tough time of day (for Ella) having the party start at 1pm.  Her nap time is usually around 2ish...sometimes closer to 2 and sometimes closer to 3pm, depending on the day. But, she pushed through the day with NO nap...and only a few minor whining episodes.  Overall, I was QUITE impressed that we made it that far!!

So here are some AWESOME pics of our incredibly fun day. 

 

Here is Aunt Maggie testing out a sno cone.  We rented a sno cone machine for the day which was a HUGE hit!!!

Here is little Meade and Gracie testing one out as well...

We had some games! We did a treasure hunt where the kids dug in the sandbox for goodies. I got this idea from Erin, however they did a "dinosaur dig" but same concept :)

Sophie sporting her new glasses she found in the sand...Oh and the BOUNCE HOUSE in the background :)

I found this awesome photo prop at Oriental Trading Company and my AWESOME father in law built a frame out of plywood and a step in the back so the kids could reach to put their heads in! He ROCKS!!

Here is a picture of the parade car that my bro in law fixed up JUST in time to give rides at the party.  This is Marta taking my sis, Adie, and hubby's friend Danny around for a ride...

Tyler roaming the yard. The birthday boy was ALL smiles ALL day :)

My best friends in the WhOLE world...my sisters (Marta, Adie, myself and Maggie)

Anyone with children MUST invest in one of these swimvest that my sister got baby Meade. It really is the BEST swimming aide ever. I think she said she got it at Walmart!!! Heavenly!!!!!

PRESENT time...Two kids...LOTS of presents. We may have to add on to our house for room for all the AWESOME toys the kids got!!

Tyler's Cake (We used the image from Dimpleprints to go with our theme)

Ella's cake...

Singing to the kids and blowing out the candles :) Got a little teary eyed...not gonna lie!

THIS is how we eat cake in our family...

Little Meade taking a big boy bite of a snack. Was stalking his pirate swimming attire...visor, swimshirt and trunks...DYING at the cuteness...

The girls hanging out on the bounce house :)

Ella rocking her cape that Aunt Marta made so she can REALLY climb the ladder fast :)

Mia putting the playset to the test!!

Sophie's turn on the slide!

One of my favorite pictures of the night...Ella and Daddy with their fresh cotton candy.

Nothing like a night cap of cotton candy before bed time :) ha ha ha! And please note the STELLAR towel behind the girls...it says "Ella and Tyler's Birthday Celebration 2010. Those are the favors we gave our guests!!! SO MUCH FUN

I can not thank everyone enough that made the trip and that helped make the party possible at all. It was truly a day I know I'll never forget. Can't believe Tyler will be one in ONE WEEK!!!! Happy Sunday to all!

BIRTHDAY SNEAK PEAK...

We are so excited for the kiddos' birthday bash that will be taking place tomorrow!!!! I wanted to invite you to a sneak peak to their party.

It is CIRCUS themed and I got all the decorations from an AWESOME website called DimplePrints!  The wonderful person running it has everything made custom for your child (names and pictures) and all you do is print them off on your home computer.  Don't get me wrong, there was some hole punching and stringing to go along...but worth every bit of my time.  Everything looks great and we aren't even DONE yet!!

Here are some decorations set up throughout the house...

Cute Happy Birthday banners...

Some decor in the dining room (Definitely not complete until the cake and goodies are on the table tomorrow...

Easy printable party hats...

And we definitely had to SNAZZ up the "man cave" so we added some hanging pom poms and some hanging pictures/welcome signs to the rafters....LOVE!!!!

A few random signs around the house...

Like I said, this is most definitely JUST a preview. There is SO much more to come!!!! Thanks again to Dimpleprints for making this birthday party so much fun to decorate for!!!

Be looking for an afterparty Blog soon!!!