Family Pictures 2012

My mom talked to Mrs. * and everything was set to go. Two days before picture time, Mrs. * says she can't do it. We're going crazy...Katie lines up her friend M to do the job with her super nice camera. Thirty minutes before showtime, M texts Katie and says she's been called into work. We were all dressed (our traditional uniform of navy or white shirts with khaki shorts) and we were devastated. Never fear--our good friend Sarah Walsh, or SWalsh as Julia likes to say, stepped in to save the day. She took pictures on my camera, her phone, and Julia's phone. So we have a whole mix of poses. Here are some of the good ones. **Note: Two and three years of age: quite possibly the most difficult ages to photograph. My children would not look up, would not sit still, would not stand still, would not smile, etc. :D

Some of our favorite bloopers--

Thank you Sarah for helping us out with such short notice!

NJ August Vacay

I knew I wanted to spend my birthday weekend in North Wildwood and we planned on being there for about a week. But then Bill got a car, so he and Katie decided they would drive out to BYU on the 19th. So we HAD to stay to send them off to the West! We drove to NJ on Aug 7, and that same night North Wildwood was hosting their "National Night Out" on the 8th street field. The girls loved every minute of it! There was free food--hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, sodas, snow cones, etc. There were a ton of games to play and prizes to take home. And the night ended with watching The Lorax on a big screen on the field. Super fun!

I turned 25 on August 12. My parents threw a party for me, complete with BBQ and Springer's ice cream cake. It was a fabulous day! (I have no pictures of it...argh!) Our trip was filled with sun and water--in the form of the Atlantic Ocean or the Mali Kai pool.

You better believe we rode the tram car! ...multiple times :)

One morning I took Cate for a ride on the tram car because she had had enough of the beach that day--and she fell asleep!!!

I have no idea how you can fall asleep with the noisy boardwalk and the car bumping along every block, but Miss Cate did it! We walked the boardwalk and explored some stores. And the North Wildwood boat!

We FINALLY went to Lizzy's Ice Cream. This ice cream parlor is just around the corner from my parents' house and we're always saying we'll get to it. I'm very glad we did! And Lizzie was especially happy because she says, "It's named after ME!"

We visited Grammie Jett. The girls loved her teddy bear! She was very happy to us.

We were invited to our friend Olivia's 1st birthday party. When the Candell's host a party, it is sure to be an awesome time, and Olivia's party was no exception. I managed to get a picture of Jovanna and Cate sharing some chips--they both have red hair and blue eyes. They could be sisters!

Had to snap a picture of Uncle Bill hard at work...doesn't he look so enthusiastic? ;D

I took my sisters to Bandana's for our first Sister's dinner. MAN was it good! Bandana's never disappoints. And Sarah was our waitress which made the dinner even more awesome.

The zoo is always a highlight for Lizzie and Catie.

We even made it up to Pompeo's twice! (My old stomping grounds: I worked there for five summers during high school/college.) I love how I am trying to tell Lizzie to look at the camera and I end up not looking at the camera either haha!

The girls had some races with Pop-pop too!

And although I have no pictures of the occasion, I did meet Mr. Bentley Smith for the first time! (Alex and Bentley flew up from FL to surprise her dad for his birthday.) What an absolute sweetie he is, so happy and smiley :) And Alex and I took our kids to lunch at Duffer's with our friend Jess Corcoran. What a time! Duffer's is always a treat, especially with friends. Well there you have it. I think I covered most of our trip. I'll write a post about Katie leaving for BYU and a post about our family pictures. Then we will be all caught up! This is what we felt like when we arrived in MD:

IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME! !

Pool. Zoo. Boat. Shower. Peeps

Before we left for our two week stay in North Wildwood, here's what we did... The pool has been a big blessing this summer. I found that the best time to go is 10am, right when it opens. We have the place to ourselves for two to three hours.

Going to the pool is much easier this summer than it was last summer, mostly because both girls are so independent. In the water, Lizzie can get around with her arm floaties so I can hold Cate, even though she insists, "Mom...I do it... MYSELF!"

We bought a zoo pass this year and we are glad we did. We've been to the zoo more often than last year and the girls love it. Friends told us about this "Pizza Garden" play area so we checked it out. The girls would have been completely satisfied if we stayed at the pizza playground the entire time ;D

We did go to Amazonia (Chris's favorite exhibit) and used some microscopes to examine some pretty nasty-looking bugs.

Another fun thing we did was go on a boat on Seneca Lake, as part of the Park Pal nature class. All the kids had to wear life jackets, which all the kids accepted...except for a particular someone. Any guesses? ;) Cate screamed in agony for a solid 20 minutes after I put on her jacket. Thankfully she stopped crying and everyone enjoyed the rest of the ride!

I also went to a baby shower for my friend Alice, who is having a girl (any day now)! I just love the look of all things pink for baby showers--too cute. I wish I got better pictures of it... We also made a stop by the Peep Store later that weekend. It's not a true Killion outing if peeps aren't involved :)