here we are again

where: rocky point, mexico.

when: summer july 7-11, 2010.

what: kick'n back, crab fish'n, swim'n, eat'n, splash'n, hav'n a good ol' time in the sun. that's what.

we played all day, from sun up to sun down.

we would watch in amazement as the tide rolled in and then back out again.

on the last day, the water came all the way up to the steps of the cabin.

it was great.

talk about beach front property.

summer in mexico is where it's at.

(and where we're at.)

me, building sand tunnels for jack's cars. beacuse that's the kind of mom i am.

one bite for me. one bite for you.

eden sharing her rice krispie treat with here papa.

sandy beach:

where the waves are roar'n and the local venders are persistant.

no, for the billionth time, we don't want another bracelet or wooden bobblehead animal that my kid will break in 5 seconds.

mexico makes us smile.

fourth of july

the 4th of july.

before going to church pictures.

throwing pop rocks.

hours of fun or until you run out of pop rocks.

watching the firework show in mesa.

red faces and a swim meet

jack had has last official swim meet of the summer.

he was branded with a williams field barracuda tatoo.

he was very proud of it too.

it's a special one that doesn't come off in the water, so he says.

Q. what does a thursday evening swim meet in july and arizona have in common?

A. red faces.

it was a bazillion gazillion degrees.

poor eden was thankfully distracted with pringles and apricots.

either that or she was just having the life sucked out of her from all the heat.

nonetheless, jack rocked in the butterfly but took it easy in the freestyle.

ready.

set.

go.

lake powell trip

lake powell 2010

we made our way to one of our most favorite places this past week.

just past page, arizona, lies the most beatiful lake ever.

we have spent many summers here, both jason and I, making good memories.

now we are getting to make new memories with our kids.

-jack went cliff jumping, tried to water ski, tried to tandem wakeboard with his dad, rode the tube with the big kids, slept under the stars on the roof of the houseboat, played monoply with di anna (sort of), sea shell hunted, and roasted marshmallows with his papa.

-ava played in the water, made drip castles in the sand, had dance parties on the roof with aunt kayda, practiced doing hair on aunt dani, took naps with her nana, and enjoyed slow tube rides.

-eden loved riding on the boat and cheered everyone on as they skiid and stuff behind the boat, love throwing sand in the water, stuffed her face with m&ms whenever possible, loved opening and closing the door at the top of the houseboat, and loved all the attention she got from her aunts and her nana.

-jason and i did the usual. skiid, wakeboarded, cliff jumped, tubed until we were literally thrown off, watched late night movies, ate and ate, napped (jason only), and relaxed our butts off.

even at 29 i can still manage a back flip off a cliff.

my incredible father who still skiis like a pro at 63 years young.

dad you're a rockstar!

*some added highlights to this trip were watching the US in the world cup (even though they lost in extra time) and eating my dad's homemade chocolate ice cream. yum.

the end.

it's here....

toy story 3 has arrived.

we came.

we saw.

and we were more than entertained.

(and one of us may have even cried a little at the end.)

despite the look on jack and ava's faces, they were actually really excited.

seriously, this movie is soooo marvelous.

we can't wait to go see it again.

and again. and again. and again.

well, you get the point.

we love toy story.

a "short" story

it's just a typical thursday summer afternoon.

i mean typical in that jack and ava are practicing for the wwf.

this time their wrestling ring happens to my bed.

i can hear some giggling and talking back and forth from where i'm sitting.

then i hear ava yell out, "stop that you little midget!"

the rest of the converstaion played out a little something like this:

jack: (yelling) mom, what is a midget?

me: it's a short person.

jack: that does karate?

me: no, just a short person.

jack stopped wrestling for a second with a puzzled look on his face and then he was back to business.

the whole rest of the time they kept yelling out the word midget and then would laugh as if

it was the funniest thing they ever heard.

kids.

after the fight was over, ava announced that her tounge was hurting.

only it wasn't from all of the wrestling around.

i think it was from all the pineapple that she couldn't get enough of.

gotta love summer fruits.

swimmers take your marks...

...Beeeeep.

a familiar sound to me.

this brought me back to my summer days of swim team.

now, i am getting to cheer on my boy as he attempts his first 25 yard freestyle race.

things started out good.

goggles were on, ready stance on the block was good, dove when the buzzer beeped and then...

...he was completely thrown out of whack when his goggles popped off as he dove in.

its like he all of a sudden forgot how to swim.

i felt so bad for him as he struggled to recover from his little mishap.

he never did and came in last place.

but he was still a winner in my eyes.

i just kept yelling, "GO JACK"

i was able to give him a little pep talk on what to do next time if his goggles came off.

i think he will be ready.