Another sunny visit to San Diego

What better way to start summer vacation than with a trip to sunny CA???

As you may recall, Alli's BFF Ainsley moved to San Diego last summer. 
Fortunately, the distance has not hindered the friendship at all (with any of the Lynch fam!)
On Monday night, I boarded a plane with Alli and Luke ~
Eli had a mini vacation with Ducky Gramma and Papa so he was beside himself with excitement!
Our flight left at 8:45 pm so I figured the munchkins would snooze ~ such a silly Mommy :-) 
We were in first class and it was way too exciting to sleep. 
Thankfully, both were extremely well behaved! 
Alli did finally fall asleep for the last hour and
Luke took two short cat naps but really wanted to just flirt with the other passengers.

By the time we arrived in San Diego, it was after 11 pm and the kiddos were tired!

Luke fell asleep in the car and I left him in his carseat to sleep when we got to the house.

Little guy was zonked ~ didn't wake up until almost 6 a.m.

I was reminded once again why I do NOT share a bed with Alli . . . 

for such a little gal, she is a serious bed hog!!!  I took a couple kicks to my back and head!

The girls were all so excited to see one another Tuesday morning and the playtime began.

It is so amazing to see the friendship between the girls, I hope the distance never matters for them.

Given that it was FABULOUS weather, we went to their neighborhood splash park for the afternoon.

Have I mentioned that I am so ready to move to sunshine??? :-)

Seriously, how fun does this look????

Tuesday evening, Alli was so excited to have a sleepover in Ainsley's room.

This was her first ever sleepover with a friend and I think it went well.

Luke bunked in the same room as me in the pack-and-play and did a great job sleeping.

I think he loved all the attention!

Wednesday was just as much fun as the girls swam in a neighborhood pool.

We were the only ones there for most of the time and they all had fun swimming.

Even Luke put his little toes in the water :-)

Of course, plenty of time was spent playing at the Lynch house and there was even a little beauty salon time, where Alli was the hairdresser and Elleanor did nails!

On our final day, we went to a pottery painting studio and the girls had a blast making their creations.

Alli was so sweet, she chose an angel so she "won't be scared at night" because the angel "reminds her of Jesus" ~ doesn't get much sweeter than that!

Elleanor was working so hard on her butterfly that she chose to sit at a different table

but all had a great time, even Luke!

Aside from getting to play outside, I think Luke's favorite part of the trip was all the attention and getting held nonstop :-)  He LOVES to be in the Ergo with Mommy and spent loads of time there when we were out and about.  I just love his little expressions!

It was such a wonderful visit and we enjoyed sunshine, warm temps, swimming, and fun times with our fabulous friends in San Diego.  I loved chatting with Sarah and miss living close by one another but feel so blessed to have these friendships.  We miss you Lynch fam and are already looking forward to our next visit!  Thank you for your friendship and hospitality!!!

11 Years and going strong . . .

So much has changed since we said "I do" eleven years ago . . .

We moved to the East Coast, returned to the West Coast, completed grad school (both of us), started new careers, went from being a full time military family to a part-time (Reserve) military family, suffered through infertility and a miscarriage, had three kiddos, lost our cat, bought a house,

and so much more. 

Through it all, we've made an amazing team!

Love that Alli jumps in the anniversary picture every year ;-)

Lukers was down for the night and Eli was way too busy eating his pizza to jump in the photo! 

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Stanley and Seaforts!

Cannot wait to see what the future holds for us . . .



Last day of school {2011-2012}

Although I pride myself on being a "tough gal"

I teared up today as it was the last day of preschool.
Check out this for a reminder of the beginning of the school year ~ crazy how much they've grown!

Our baby girl is going to Kindergarten in the Fall and Eli finished his first year of preschool.

Both were very excited for school today though neither wanted it to be the end of the year.

We love how much both of them LOVE their school and teachers!

Chapel Hill is without a doubt the BEST preschool I have ever seen ~ love it!!!

Alli is less than excited at the idea of leaving Chapel Hill to go to Kindergarten

 but decided rather than moping today, she would put on her silly face :-) 

The kiddos were very excited to give their teachers their end of year gifts,

cups with the teacher's name, filled with M-n-Ms and a gift card.

Eli was most excited about the thank you card as it had pictures on it ~ he made sure all three of his teachers saw his pictures when he gave them their gifts ;-) 

I do not think Eli realized that today was his last day of school for the year,

but he was very excited to bring in cake pops to celebrate his summer birthday!

They were a hit!

Eli had lots of snuggles and loves for his teachers, Mrs. Benoit, Mrs. Littlefield & Mrs. Fouquette.

He loves each of them so much!  Thankfully, he will have Mrs. Benoit again next year :-)

Mrs. Littlefield (the Director of the preschool and one of his teachers) is retiring at the end of the summer and we are very bummed that we will not see her next year at school :*(

Hopefully, she will make some surprise appearances from time to time!

Eli's first year of preschool was a huge success and we cannot wait for next year . . .

Like Eli, Alli LOVED her year at Chapel Hill.

Her teachers, Mrs. Liberty and Mrs. Miller, were AWESOME and she does not want to leave them!

Alli did so well at school this year both academically and socially.

She made lots of friends and is sad to say goodbye.

I got to attend the Awards Ceremony in her class and Alli received the Fruit of Spirit Award for "Gentleness" ~ she said her favorite part of preschool was playing with Amelia ~ so sweet!

She and her classmates performed a couple songs and dances and the girl can move :-)

Such a fun experience!

Miss Alli had a fabulous year and it ended on such a great note . . . she made a couple new friends at recess today when the three little girls all realized they would be going to the same school next year and she and her buddy Alaina learned that they would be together again next year ~ YEAH!

Bring on Kindergarten!!!

Next stop, summer vacation . . .

Yummy!

Luke is a lot like Alli in that he is not too interested in eating solids.

He does, however, have lots of fun playing with solids and blowing it out of his mouth :-)

This oatmeal with applesauce provided loads of entertainment!