Summertime...

Swinging

Eating Sweets

Building Sandcastles

Playing at the Beach

More Cruising in San Diego

While Jennie and Mike were in town visiting we went on a dinner cruise on the San Diego Bay. It was a yummy dinner complete with dancing and a fireworks show. It was a fun way to celebrate Mike and Jennie's 10-year anniversary. Wow!

Lego Tribute

We took this picture at Legoland in front of a Volvo XC90 made from 201,076 Lego bricks. The Lego Volvo is hollow and weighs 2,930 pounds. It took 3 Lego designers 2 1/2 months to make it. We took this picture for you mom.

Cousins in a Line

Hey cousins- does this picture remind you of the good ol' days and our cousins pictures? We are trying to keep the "cousins in a line" picture tradition going. From left to right: Nathan, Danny, Maddy, Ryan, Mitch, Lydia, and Wes. The much needed helpers are me, Mike and Natalie.

Independence Day

Here are a few quick snapshots from our Fourth of July extravaganza. We watched the fireworks from Mt. Soledad where you can see all of San Diego in 360 degrees. It was perfect for the kids because they didn't have hear the loud booming sounds but could still see some fancy fireworks. Madison even said, "I didn't even know that there were fireworks like these ones--these aren't scary fireworks." Needless to say, a good time was had by all and we were fortunate enough to have the Dildine family celebrating with us! Old Glory
Mommy and Mitch
Ryan and Maddy
Mike, Eliot, and little Liddy

"Hallowed be the day, forever bright its memory in the heart of the Nation. Sing to it, poets; shout to it, freemen; celebrate it with bonfires, parades, and triumphant assemblies"
(Daily Alta California, 4 July 1855).

Bodies the Exhibition

For our date night on Friday, Eliot and I went to view Bodies the Exhibition.

It was a great exhibit! I was a bit nervous going into it because I didn't know quite what to expect. There was no need to be nervous and I wasn't grossed out at all. Except for the the skin part, that was kind of creepy. It was fascinating to see all of the systems of our body and how amazing and complex they are. I would highly recommend the exhibit if you have the opportunity. It was super informative and left me feeling so blessed for our bodies, our greatest asset! PS- I got to touch and hold a real brain. It sounds wierd but it was actually very interesting.

Some Fun Body Facts:

-Most of the dust in our homes comes from dead skin cells. (Okay, that is not so fun.)

-Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.

-Every square inch of the human body has an average of 32 million bacteria on it. (I could have done without that info!)

-Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

-Every drop of blood in your body travels through your heart at least once per minute.

-The heart circulates the body's blood supply about 1,000 times each day.

-The lungs are the only organ in the body that can float on water.

-It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. (Save energy, Smile more!)

-Every person has a unique tongue print.

-Only 1 in every 8 bodies donated to science is female.

We had kind of a marathon date yesterday and after the Bodies Exhibit we shopped at Nordstrom. (Eliot got some cool new duds that he looks super fly in.) We had discussed sushi for dinner, but Eliot had lost his appetite for comsuming fleshy things so we opted for Greek. We then saw Transformers the movie, which was interesting to contrast with Bodies. I mean, the Transformers ARE "more than meets the eye" AND I will admit the special effects in the movie were pretty amazing. But can the Transformers compare to our bodies? Of course not, no comparison. Not to mention, Transformers don't really exist. Kind of an odd comparison, but I couldn't help but think about our amazing bodies as I watched the Transformer film. I don't as a policy recommend movies, but I will say that I was pleasantly suprised by Transformers.

Happy Children

Everytime my mom's birthday came around, or mother's day, or any special occasion that warranted a gift I would always ask my mom what she wanted. She would always reply "happy children." I would usually walk away disappointed because that was not something that could be easily gift wrapped. Now that I am a mom I realize that that is often my greatest wish too. I am certainly the happiest, most content, and at peace with the world when I see that my children are happy. That is why I like these carefree pictures of Madison. Plus, she's got some awesome moves!

Madison had gone to the Botanical Gardens that day with her best friend Sydney. They potted plants and tie-dyed napkins for an art project. That is the colorful thing she is holding in the picture. When I was younger, much younger, my best friend, Jessica Smith, and I tie-dyed napkins and tried to sell them door to door in our neighborhood. I had to chuckle about that memory. Eliot was so proud to hear that I was such a bold salesperson at such a young age. I don't think we sold many napkins, if any at all. (I do think one person bought a napkin just because they felt sorry for us.). And they were only a quarter a piece- go figure!