I managed to pull off a surprise 70th birthday party for my dad with the help of my hubby. It was a great night and I think he really enjoyed seeing everyone.
This is him walking in the door.
Dad giving a thank you speech.
My Sister & Drew
My brother & my new Niece Aubrey.
Me & my Godfather.

Drew's party went great with great weather. A little too hot even as Drew couldn't even wear his costume.Grandma's monster creation that started to melt a little.

We had 4 animals join us, a snake, toad, Guinea pig and owl.

My carmel Apple Owls didn't last too long. The carmel melted and all the eyes slid off. At least I got a picture while they still looked cute.

This is what Drew would have looked like in his costume.

Prayers, hugs and lots of support needed for my mom just diagnose with rectal cancer. We're waiting for an MRI to determine what's needed for treatment. I'll keep ya'll posted.

Aiden started his second year of preschool yesterday. He was happy to be back. Drew has to wait another year though he seems more than ready to go and is about a head taller than some of the kids already in the 3yr old class. Aiden was excited to see his old friends and meet some new ones. I think this will be a good year for him.

After driving home from Big Basin, we went straight to my parents house where they were hosting the Fabris/Mazzera family picnic. It was good to see everyone and we got to meet the newest (almost) member of the Fabris family. My brother and sister in law are fostering Aubrey and 3 month old precious little girl and if all goes well, she should be theirs we're hoping by the end of the year. It's been a rollercoaster ride for them, but things are looking good that they will keep her.

We Survived our first camping trip. We headed down to Big Basin this last weekend and had a blast with great food and great company. We're still trying to figure out the in's and out's of our new trailer, but it was still a great time. The raccoons got the best of us the first night and ate our lunch for the next day. The boys had a blast going on hikes and searching for banana slugs. We're already talking about our next trip.

The balcony is done! The railing is up and the boys can officially go out there and I don't have to worry about them…too much.
This is what the boys got for their bunks in the back of the trailer. They both like "Where the Wild Things Are," so I thought this would be cute. But now that I'm thinking this will be the last thing they see before going to sleep, I hope it doesn't give them nightmares!
Isn't this the cutest thing? The Eagle border that they had just wasn't cutting it for me. Is there some rule that EVERY trailer/motorhome has to have a wallpaper border. Maybe I should try my hand at "Travel Design." It couldn't get much worse.
This is the BEFORE shot with a diamond plated backsplash and a peek a boo UGLY border that had to go.
This is the AFTER shot. Today I spent the boys naptime scraping off wallpaper and putting up peel and stick murals that are very cute…and only $12…..Joe.

Progress on the Clubhouse!

The clubhouse just needs a few finishing touches, like the railing for the balcony, carpet and electrical and we're done. I hung the dinosaur mural yesterday and everything else will go in after the carpet. Drew already got the first clubhouse boo boo. Aiden opened the door into his eye and we narrowly missed a trip to the ER. On another note, we bought a little 19' travel trailer. It's a perfect size for us and we hope to be taking it all kinds of places and it's little enough to do spur of the moment trips. My dad is being very kind and storing it in his side yard for us. Though it's a 2004 and in great shape, Joe found dry rot in the floor and it looks like we'll have a little work on our hands. Good thing he's handy and I work at a flooring shop!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

I've been working on Drew's birthday invitation and playing around on photoshop. If I post this, I get $10 off my next shutterfly order so here you go!

We just returned from our week long trip down to Newport/Huntington beach for the fireman olympics. The boys didn't take home a medal this year for the first time in a long time but we had fun anyways. In addition to the softball games, the guys played over the line at the beach on Monday where our car broke down. $300 later we were up and running and off to the games. We stayed with Joe's brother's family half the time and at the Host hotel in Newport the other half. We roped Grandma & Grandpa into having the boys for the night so we had a small taste of what a vacation used to feel like. I got to have lunch with an old friend from high school and another friend came down to watch the olympics with us so we got to hang out with her too. The boys had a blast, especially Aiden & Peyton. Aiden didn't want to leave. Andrew had a minor case of the runs on more than one occasion during the week and found himself in Kami's Dora underpants one night. The trip was fun but I'm glad to be home.

The boys have been loving having Nana & Papa next door with a pool. Aiden is swimming entirely on his own and Drew is close behind. We're getting ready for our trip to Newport for the Fireman olympics. It's our only real vacation this year so we're very excited. I can't wait to post pics from our trip. Last week we took the boys to see Cars 2 and they loved it. It was not nearly as good as the first one but a big screen and a bag of popcorn is all they need for a good time. For the 4th, we hit the Redwood City Fire pancake breakfast, then the Redwood City Parade, then to Joe's Great Aunt & Uncle's for their annual block party. We filled up Nonni's blow up pool and they were content.

What's been happening...

Joe has been hard at work on his shed/playhouse for the boys. The shed is pretty much done and the clubhouse is framed. The boys are all excited about it.

Aiden has been very into writing and coloring lately and loves to write the alphabet out.

I got to play in my highschool alumni softball game and we actually came back and won.

2 weeks ago one of my birds of 13yrs passed away. That left my male bird very lonely so we made him an inside bird and the boys have been loving talking to him, scaring him and holding him. So far no one has been bit. =)