Lanterns Yo!

Val and me going into the gardens.

The entire crew (minus Miguel the photographer) heading to the ticket lines.

Dragon in the entry fountain- beautiful!

Isa, me, and Ben Gerst (with Val on my back) looking at the fountain and dragon.

Isa by the lotus flowers.

And here we all are, from the left:  John, Alison, Ben, Miguel, Isa, Val, Me, Susan, and Dave.

Miguel caught this just as they turned the lights on.

This dragon also moved his head, breathed smoke, and was made out of dishes.

Isa by the dragons.

Garden display, those are dragons crawling all over that screen.

A close up of the dragon. 

Ben and Isa banging the drum in front of a display.

I think this is a beautiful pic of one of my favorite exhibits.  It's the story of a fishing trip (there's the fish at the top right).

Isa "riding" one of the sheep statues.

Another awesome walk through display as we were leaving.

Pandas!

The exit. 

Lots of Random Pics

And we've been traveling this summer. After Val got tubes in his ears in mid June we've been off and running. This first batch is from our 4th of July trip to Chicago to visit the Rousts. This is where Isa fell in love with the carnival as witnessed in the following pics.

FIREWORKS!

Playing in the Rousts' back yard.

Isa and Elle riding (and sweating) the rides at the carnival.

Itty Bitty Pal sweating in the stroller.

This second batch is the vacation we took without the kiddos with John and Alison to Destin. In the following pics you'll see us together on the beach, our little beach set up, and on the trip up north, we stopped at Graceland (LOVE!). Enjoy!

Hells yeah Graceland!

Boogie boarding (thanks for teaching me how to do this 5 years ago Mig, I finally have the hang of it now).

Our beach spot.  So super vacationy.

Beach bums yo!

Nothing like a walk on the beach at sunset. 

Some Posse Pics

Here is a compilation of pictures taken over the past month or so that sum up what we've been up to. It's been a long stretch of a lot going on so my apologies for not keeping up better. Enjoy fans!

Isa dancing around entertaining her little brother.

Sporting the Spider Man jammies.

Isa made a costume out of a paper bag and spent one evening working on being a robot.

The Itty Bitty Pal.

Swimming! Sorry about the randomness of all these pics. We've had a very busy summer!

A Little Pal and the Big Birthday

When the baby of the house has a birthday, attention MUST be paid...who am I kidding, we celebrate ALL things birthday around here! The first weekend in May was Val's party, this past weekend was Miguel's, a weekend off, then Ben's party. We're all about the birthday partying. To all who came, we enjoyed your company. Thank you all for making this special day for the Posse a priority to you. And now on with the show.

The 2 kiddos post party in the backyard.

Cake covered Baby. Uncle Terry and the Pal.

The day after the party was so hot outside, the perfect post party party? The kiddie pool in the backyard of course.

Both kiddos enjoying the party.

Val getting ready for the birthday party in front of his Animal Parade made by Daddy!

The dining room before the party, we had the pennant banners all over the house! Super festive!

Getting ready to sing to the birthday boy!

Making sure Grammy and Poppy get a good shot of the cake covered baby.

Easter Part 2 (and a little catching up)

Isa, Grammy, and Daddy waiting for her turn in the bouncy maze at St. John Easter Eggstravaganza.

Isa on the bouncy slide.

Isa and her new hula hoop from Grammy and Poppy.

Mommy and Val talking to a friend and watching Isa.

Us and Poppy before the festivities. The Senior Picos came over the evening before Easter and we went to our former church for their Easter blowout. This has become a tradition of Miguel and me being very tired and Isa running off all the energy she has in every single bouncy play-thing they’ve got to offer on the St. John campus. Needless to say, a good time was had by all (especially the Nugget- as shown.). So now here’s the latest. So it’s been busy lately. After a HORRIBLE winter with every sickness that can be dragged into this house we’ve finally all gotten the all clear. Then out of nowhere, Val springs 4 new teeth as of yesterday. That’s right, now my finally healthy baby is covered in teething drool and kind of miserable and sad looking. Let’s hope he is ready for his party next Saturday. You heard it here! Val’s first birthday bash will be next Saturday and we’re all super excited about it. We’re looking forward to catching up with friends and family and of course watching the Itty Bitty Pal plow his face into a giant cupcake.

Easter 2012

This is merely Easter Day. I'm still waiting on pictures from Isa's bouncy house adventures at the eggstravaganza at St. John. I'll post those soon. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.

The Easter baskets for the kidlings.

Celebrating Mom's birthday that day too.

Smile guys!

Isa examining the goods.

All the kids (minus the Itty Bitty Pal).

Joel and Val.

The Easter Bunny stopped by Mr. C's house and left chocolate bunnies for all the kids.