Off to Vegas

I'm on my way to Vegas and anticipating a hot trip (it's blazing hot here).  Of course then I was requested "can I put on a dress and look pretty like you mom", and thus we found ourselves all in dresses.  I decided to attempt to take a photo of the three of us to use for a profile picture.  Alas, that didn't work!  It's very hard to get a pose that is favorable for three girls, let me tell you!

Dad and the girls are flying solo for the next three days.  Now that Bob is "Mr. Mom" he has mastered all the finer points of holding down the fort with the kids.  Last night they met me at the movies (to see Kung Fu Panda) and even remembered jackets for both girls.  Talk about a pro!

Adding to the fun I'm now without a working cellphone.  Or to be more accurate it only works when plugged into the wall for some reason.   So I imagine it will be interesting going, hopefully I can tag along with someone who has a phone so I don't get lost.  I'm still holding out for my birthday 3g iPhone.  

Have to run to catch a flight now.  More on the flip side... I'm planning to do a post about all the cute photos that I get sent at work of Bob and the Girls on their adventures together.  Looks like everyone is having a great time and it always brings a smile to my day.  I'm sure when I get an iPhone there were be more of those photo messages for all concerned.

Father's day 2008

We have the technology. Now that Ashton is too big for her bike seat we have been struggling to figure out a family bike ride.


 Enter the "tag-a-long" father's day gift (in hot pink of course!).  Ashton is a natural on this bike and the gloves for both her and her sister were a big hit as well.

A trip to the park was, now required.  

Also a stop to Broadway Grill where we had to be bailed out by Jani due to insufficient funds/planning (I considered a dine-and-dash but figured the girls would be too slow getting on the bikes).

Grandma Visits

Grandma came to visit for a couple days.  Great help for Bob who was adjusting to his new "nanny" role.  The girls were very happy for some Grandma time and promptly put her to work reading books and playing games.

You can see Ashton has commandeered her sister's Fisher Price "ipod". She can be heard singing Hakuna Matata [loudly] on a regular basis now.



Both girls eating dinner after a long day of playing hard and a quick bath from mom.    Jacqueline didn't make it much after this photo, falling asleep on the chair before Grandma, Bob and I were able to finish dinner.

The weekend before Auntie Suzie had come to visit for the day.  Before she left, she got help from the girls wetting down some clippings to plant in her garden.  Turns out a water table is just the thing for such a job.

Graduation Day

So today was the big graduation ceremony from Pre School.  Above is a lovely photo of all the graduates and Jacqueline (the honorary graduate "mom can I graduate too?").  You will notice that Ashton is wearing the lovely dress that she wore on her 4th birthday and for several occasions since (talk about a great value) and Jacqueline is wearing the beautiful dress Ashton only got a chance to wear once that she got for her 3rd birthday from Jani.  Yes, I was very happy to see how nicely they matched.
Not only did Judy make gorgeous cakes for all of the graduates she also included a cool set of cakes for the siblings as well (one boy in a sea of girls).  Everyone was raving about the cakes the rest of the afternoon but we had to give cupcakes for the event itself to avoid a crisis with the rest of the kids.
Daffy Dave came to play at the graduation and all of the kids LOVED it.  Even Jacqueline managed to follow along with the songs and games.
The ceremony had the kids reciting poems and singing songs and then getting a diploma from Teacher Nancy one at a time.  It was really cute.  There were also hats but they couldn't be worn due to pretty intense winds at the time.  On net it was a great time for everyone.   Grandpa Bob was also there which was a big hit for the girls as we went to lunch afterwards.

Ode to our deck

 
I had intended to give an update on the deck we built in our yard but never did.  Decided that it is time for that update.  Those of you who read this have probably already seen/enjoyed the deck but just in case, it still seemed appropriate to give a formal shout out to Bob for having the idea to scope creep our outdoor furniture plans into a deck and to Dad for making those plans a reality.

Now we spend the majority of our weekends on this deck enjoying either the warmth of the sun or the cool of the evening (as in the case of our recent heatwave!).  When you live in NorCal you pay a premium for good weather, so having an outdoor room is a great way to maximize your limited space.  

Prior to having a deck we had sloped, cracked concrete so this deck is a huge upgrade.
Today Bob and Jacqueline used the deck area for a new activity -- napping.  We've become complete nap failures since Jaq's operation.  She seems to revive herself at the smallest event and on the weekends having us all home there is always something going on she doesn't want to miss.  

This afternoon, Ashton and I decided it was time to use my mother's day gift certificate and get pedicures.  Bob and Jacqueline dropped us off and walked home.  Turns out that the walk home was sufficiently boring to put her to sleep.  

Bob wisely grabbed the sunday paper and enjoyed some quiet time on the deck with Jacqueline getting a nap.  What can we say, the deck rocks!

Thanks again Dad.  We love it.

Jacqueline's first Swim lesson

Today was the first day back to swim lessons.  While Ashton was also attending lessons (and did an amazing job!) this was the first "real" lesson for Jacqueline.  Needless to say we were not sure how it was going to work out since there were 4 kids in the class with only one teacher.  

As you can see Jacqueline did great job!  She listened and followed directions really well and for the most part waited her turn without jumping into the water as was my initial concern.

As you can see of the four kids, Jacqueline was one of the two who managed to follow the instructions to kick from the stairs.

And here are both girls with their swimsuits ready to go.  Ashton's class was an hour after Jacqueline and we were all very impressed with how well she is doing.  There were 2 other girls in her class who seemed very well matched in age and ability.  

Anyway, now the only downside is the need to be to the lessons by 9:30am on a Saturday.   What a relief that Jacqueline has been doing well and so far seems to not be suffering any additional ear infection risk as a result (fingers crossed here!).

Princess Tea

The Gym did a "Mother daughter princess tea".  The initial plan was for Ashton, Jacqueline and Mom to attend.  When the time came Jacqueline was sick again (stomach flu this time). So Mommy and Aston got some time to go together.
Here is princess Ashton ready to go.  Mom was especially pleased with her hair.
Ashton met up with her friends Madeline and Sophie for the event.  A princess came and entertained the girls with a very cute story.
Ashton, Madeline and Sophie decided to do some dancing on the stage before we left.
Ashton convinced me she is growing up when she decided that she didn't need to stand in the long line for the photo with the princess right away, but chose to come back later when the line was almost done.  Here she is getting the last photo with the princess before we went home.