Farewell to Friends

My dear friend, Sam, and her husband have left to for the Peace Corps -(You can read more about her and her husbands adventures here. ) They're going to Cambodia for 2 years. I believe Sam is teaching and Hal is doing clinical stuff. I could be wrong, so don't quote me on that. The kidlets and I went to her going away party last Wednesday. We had a blast. Chanel played with so many kids, called Sam's dad "Papa" the entire time. (and I think she asked him where Grandma was, too) It was pretty cute. I caught up with some old friends and ate DELICIOUS foods. Mmmmm.

Me, Meagan, Brittany and Sam

And of course, here is Trowa, because he is pretty much the cutest baby ever. (Chanel was running around too much so we didn't get any pictures)

Brittany and her baby Jayson, Sam and Meagan and Trowa.

We will miss Sam and Hal! Be sure to go over to their blog and read about this awesome experience!

Kinect

Rick bought me Kinect for my birthday. Let me tell you, it's AMAZING! I have been having so much fun playing dance central on it.

We threw together a last minute birthday party for me on Friday. I made salsa and this yummy salad and my dear friend Monica made me my delicious cupcakes and "number 7" cake. (I will post recipes later).

We played kinect all night and had dance battles. Nothing is better than seeing my brother and his wife make the freestyle dance dirty. Loved it. Here's some pictures.

Thank you guys for an amazing time!!!

What's new...

Life gets crazy sometimes:

Our A/C broke. It's being fixed as I type this. (it was a loooooong weekend.) and pretty sure they A/C guy keeps turning around to watch Sesame Street.

We had Chanel's birthday party with her little friend Skylynn.

Chanel

Skylynn

Which was crazy and stressful but lots of fun. :) Chanel made off like a bandit. She got a ton of new toys and bubbles.

And we got to see Ezra! It was so fun. He gets cuter everyday. He and Trowa look so much alike it is crazy! Plus, I got this adorable picture!

I am waiting for Christine to have her baby... I am dying to hold a newborn. (it goes back to the wanting another baby thing...)

Ummm...

My parent's are planning on coming back here for their home leave in September. I can't wait!

We went to lunch with Rick's dad. It was nice because Rick was able to catch up with his Dad. :) And Rick went to see his dad last Friday to help him run errands. I am so glad that he is able to have a relationship with his dad now.

I have an appointment Wednesday to find out whether I need to get braces put back on because my back teeth are screwing up the rest of my teeth. Really... awesome.

I think that pretty much sums up what we've been up to since my last post.

Happy Monday!

Pride!

These two are funny. We ended up moving Skylynn over to this stroller so they could entertain each other. They loved these flags and Chanel is still playing with hers! Since we moved Skylynn over to this big stroller we had to move Trowa over to Skylynn's stroller...

Which is pink and brown.

Hmm.....

Kind of funny.

Here we are. Mindy, Christine with her cute baby belly, and yours truly. (Christine and I have God stickers on our bellies.)
I absolutely LOVED this girls shirt! "Straight or Gay: I will love her either way." I think more parents need to be like this! Words cannot express how much I love her shirt.

And lastly, this dog was fantastic.

Friends!

Look how cute these two are-

They always fall asleep in the car!

Sky Walkers

Meet Skylynn. This is Chanel's best friend. She was diagnosed with autism about a year ago. Christine and I have been friends since Skylynn was a couple of months old. We've seen how it has affected their family and seen the ups and downs and everyday struggles of autism. So! In support of my friend and her beautiful daughter (and every other person/family who has been affected by this)- I am walking for autism.

Please visit the team page! And if you want to join us on October 8th sign up. If you can donate it is greatly appreciated!

Here is an excerpt from Christine's blog about Skylynn.

As you all know autism is something that has touched our family very personally and very deeply. Skylynn is the greatest blessing we have ever received. She is smart, beautiful, fun, creative, energetic, curious, and the center of our world. It breaks our heart daily to see her struggle against autism to communicate with us, deal with her world, and enjoy the simple everyday things of life. The struggle we watch her go through daily is why we are walking for autism.

Autism effects 1 in 110 children and Skylynn is just one of these. We are walking with Autism Speaks on October 8th to help raise money to research autism, and provide services to those who are affected with autism.