CARLSBAD

For those of you who don't know, we moved down to Carlsbad about 3 weeks ago.  We certainly miss San Clemente.....but it's only a 20 min. drive away!  We have felt very welcome here and are getting to know our way around.  My brother and his wife also moved to Carlsbad right around the same time we did.  We have had a blast hanging out with them- and having a cousin around for Jack to play with. 

Here's what we've been up to:

Taking the kids on rides down to the beach

*my two favorite boys!

We had Ty and Kathy and Lando over for dinner one night....and we got a little wild.  Kathy showed us all up in our little hula-hooping contest.

And then Jack is just a maniac these days....and we are loving it!  He gets into everything and stands up on everything.....we definitely have our hands full but he is so fun!

Jack was rocking out to Derek's Skull Candy (thanks Ty/Ben!) headphones.  We might have a little DJ on our hands....

We're Back!

As Derek would say....you can never start 'em too early!

After a long blogging vacation, we are back with lots of photos and updates.  Jack and I had a ton of fun visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Maryland while Derek was off on the other side of the world feeding lions, growing beards, and of course surfing.  Jack was loving the attention, the new toys, and the extra space to roam around in.  I got to visit some old friends and of course do all of my favorite things.  We are still working on getting Derek's Bali pics, so those will be coming up. 

Going to my favorite antique area.... Luckett's....some of the BEST finds around

Beautiful Great Falls....

We went to Annapolis for crabs: 

...and of course Jack wanted to dive right in with the crabs....

Good family bonding time....

Roaming the halls...

Hanging out in Old Town Alexandria:

Feeding Jack popsicles.....despite the sour face he just couldn't get enough!

Playing on the swing out back....

While there, Jack learned to sit up all by himself.  

...and it didn't take long for his army crawl to become a real crawl....and his crawling to turn into pulling himself up onto anything and everything.  Now he can turn all of his wiggly energy and do something with it!

Thanks Mom and Dad for having us.  We had so much fun together and can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!!!  ...Jack misses you already!

M.I.A.

Derek and I will be M.I.A. for almost 2 weeks.  

He will be going here:

doing this:

while I get to go home to here:

to see them:

and play all day long!

The Latest

We got to spend a few days with Jack's cousins on the Simmons side.  Paul, Derek's brother, brought his kids in town on their way to Mexico.  We had a blast hanging out, playing sports, shopping, and going to Jack's first Angel's game!

The boys playing basketball:

Jack's reaction to the dribbling ball:

Jack on the swingset for the first time:

The photofinish race:

Walk to San Clemente pier:

Hanging out on Del Mar Street:

Angel's Game!!!  ...and fun for me that they played the Orioles!  Jack was such a trooper-and of course he made friends with the people behind us.  He also dozed off for a little bit....I couldn't believe he could sleep with all that noise!

Jack is growing up so fast and is becoming quite the character!  He loves to be where the action is and show off when he can.  He has a face that is full of expression (which I love!) and can get us laughing all throughout the day. Here he is playing while I'm out washing the car: 

This is his latest "cheese" face/fake smile....it gets us rolling on the floor!  He knows the reaction it gets so he does it on command or just to appease us.  (It's even funnier in person!)

Summer Reading

If any of you have finished Breaking Dawn (I know everyone is reading it) and want a new summer read, I've got one for you.  Can You Keep A Secret is seriously one of the funnest books I've read yet.  It is one of those books that I hope turns into a movie! I also bought another book by the same author called Confessions of a Shopoholic.  I thought it was cute but expected it to be a bit funnier....especially after the first book I read.   I think I'll continue with the Shopoholic series and let you know how the rest of them are.  My next book is The Last Lecture....a break from the girly novel.  

7 months!

Jack is seven months and growing up so fast.  That kid has so much energy and is just the happiest little guy!  He has been rolling and scooting for a while now, but he is now getting up on all fours.  He crawls backwards way better than forwards...so baby proofing is well on its way. 

*check out his sweet farmers tan

*I love his face here!

Jack is also loving to make these spit noises....as well as 'other noises' by blowing on your arm/leg.  Best of all, he thinks he's being sooo funny.  I have a video clip of him, but it's not posting so I'll add it later. 

Last weekend we had our friends Trent and Brooke's wedding.  They both looked so happy, and it was fun meeting up with old friends.  ....Bart and Meriel....we miss you already!

I also threw one of my best friends, Erica, a baby shower!  She is due in October and is having a little girl.  She looks so great and it was certainly fun trying to buy a present for a girl.