FIREWORKS

Days before the Fourth of July, I drove the kids twenty-five minutes north to a small firework stand where they got a glimpse at firework heaven.  They literally couldn't believe that you could legally buy fireworks!  Okay, it isn't legal in San Jose, but apparently it is legal just a few miles north!  This is the third year we have purchased fireworks and the kids just love it!

We left Healdsburg and arrived home around 7:00 p.m.  It was perfect.  Mark, Brennan, and Gabe ended up coming over which made my kids so incredibly happy!  Last year, the cousins joined us so my kids expectation was that they would be there again.  I swear, my kids couldn't have been happier.  Our neighbors Sam and Sheila also joined us which was so wonderful.

Before the sun goes completely down, we always light off the smoke balls.  These make the kids just laugh!  Having just read Harry Potter books, Michael and Claire kept yelling, Dementors, at the smoke.  I had no clue what that meant but it was cracking up Brennan and the little guys! 

Because the fireworks are 'technically' illegal in our county, we are constantly making sure we aren't getting caught.  The last few fireworks, which we deemed part of our finale, were bright and loud!  I happened to be videoing all of the kids from the back as they were watching the firework finale and it was just amazing.  They are all sitting there, taking it all in, when the firework starts popping SO LOUD!  They all start moving backward in a crab walk and start falling all over each other!  It was awesome! 

We finished the night off with smores and truly had a fantastic Fourth of July.  No one burned themselves (although we had several close calls with six kids all holding burning morning glories at the same time), we were surprised at how awesome our fireworks actually were, we helped our kids make memories that will last forever, and we got to stuff ourselves with patriotic doughnuts and smores.  Can't wait until next year!

4th of July!!!!

We were happy to wake up at E and Papa's on the Fourth of July!  I don't know why I love this holiday so much.  I love getting all of the kids dressed in patriotic colors, I love the excitement that builds throughout the day for fireworks, and I certainly love the food!  I had so much fun with my girls today!  I painted their fingers and toes red, white, and blue and they looked adorable!  I knew Claire would sit still throughout the whole process but I was shocked at how patient Emily was!

We got to celebrate Mark Sr.'s birthday today which was really fun!  Everyone helped out and came together to help prepare a proper firework feast!  In order to make the day as celebratory as possible for her husband, Marlene rented a cotton candy maker and a sno-cone maker which was so much fun for the kids!  Michael and Claire were really into making these sweet treats! 

While we cooked, the kids swam and had the time of their lives!  Seriously, everyone had a really nice, relaxed day.  We stayed just through dinner and cake and then headed back to San Jose to light off some fireworks and roast some smores.  What a great Fourth of July!!!

A Third of July Party

We headed to the Gullotta's house, commonly referred to as The Sky Palace, for some fun in the sun!  They always have a party near the 4th of July and my kids seriously look forward to it every year!  Because we were staying in Healdsburg, the drive was only one hour long.  Emily took a little snooze on the way which brought me great delight!  As we pulled up, all the kids cheered because they knew how much fun was ahead of them!

The pool is always really warm which makes the swimming really comfortable.  No cold kiddos, just smiles all around!  They all love to swim and go down the slide!  I was curious to see how Emily would handle the slide this year.  Would she go down?  It didn't take me long to figure that out as she went straight for it and asked Daddy to help her.  She whipped down so fast, went under the water, and came up laughing.  Seriously.  Matthew thought it was awesome and wasn't timid like last year.  Michael and Claire continually scared the heck out of me as they tried going down every way you could imagine.  I just had to stop watching them.  They were laughing and having the best time- even though I was nervous! 

When we weren't with the kids in the pool, we were up chatting with the adults and making/eating homemade pizza that the Gullottas cooked in their outdoor pizza oven.  It was so yummy!  This was the first year in a long time where I could actually relax.  Now that Emily is in a life jacket, life is safer and easier by the pool.  As usual when leaving, we had to drag our kids away from the party.  I am pretty sure two out of the four were crying because they just didn't want to leave.  I don't blame them.  Fun was had by all and we are already looking forward to next year!

Healdsburg Weekend

We are so excited to be spending the weekend in Healdsburg with Damien's family!  We plan on hanging out a lot at the house and splashing in E and Papa's pool, we want to take the kids down to the river for some more swim time, we look forward to lazy afternoons, many ping pong games, partying at the sky palace (Lani's in-laws house), celebrating Papa's birthday, and having lots of fun leading up the Fourth of July weekend!

Our weekend started just at the right pace.  No sooner did we pull up to Damien's parent's house did the kids get in their swimsuits and head to the pool.  Damien and I were thrilled to sit in a few lounge chairs and relax while watching our little ones swim.  It was perfect.  After swimming, we all spilled out to the driveway in the front of the house where the infamous ping pong table resides.

Ping pong is always a huge hit when we are up there.  The adults love to play and now Michael and Claire are honing their skills!  We were all playing ping pong when Marlene started a water fight.  She is not known for doing anything small.  Think water fight on a grand scale! 

It started with a little water and ended with Damien cornering his Mom ten feet deep in the hedges with hose water.  It was so ridiculously funny.  After she had gotten him drenched- she didn't think he would actually come after her.  She was wrong and everyone was laughing so hard watching this memorable moment!  The funniest part was that Damien and his Mom were laughing so hard- they could barely move!

Later in the day, we took the kids down to the Russian River for a swim.  Since I have known Damien, we have driven over this river what seems like a million times!  I have heard so many stories about how Marlene and Damien's grandmother, Hellie would take all of the kids to the river when they were young.  How was it that we had never taken our own kids?

My kids absolutely loved it!  Both Michael and Claire had to take a swim test in order to swim on the other side of the buoys and they both passed!  Of course Emily and Matthew were complaining about having to stay in the 'baby area' but safety first.  The kids had a blast.  The water was pretty murky but it was refreshing.  It was a great end to a day that was already jam packed with fun!   

Summer Swimming!

I can hardly wait for the heat of the summer.  I absolutely love the sunshine.  It brightens my mood and makes me feel so happy!  My kids love playing in the backyard, running through the sprinklers, and playing in the mini pool.  We have a plethora of popsicles on hand and try and have as many picnic lunches in the backyard as possible.  To me, summer = no structure.  I absolutely thrive in this environment and my kids enjoy just going with the flow and not having to adhere to a schedule. 

Because we still own our old townhouse- we have access to the pool there.  Our town home is a short three minutes from the house we live in now which makes the short trip more than worth it!  So far this summer, we have been here a handful of times.  We have come here with extended family, the kids have brought their friends, and we have just come over as a family for a quick dip.  No one is ever at the pool but us and it is nice to just let the kids go as they please and have a blast!

This the first year where we have some freedom at the pool.  Now that Emily is bigger and more independent- she wears a life jacket.  I let her swim around the pool with her siblings while always keeping an eye (or two) on her.  She is as happy as a clam.  She has figured out how to move pretty well through the water and really never chokes on the water.  She keeps her mouth closed while kicking as fast as she can and it is so funny to watch! 

Matthew is wearing a life jacket, too and he is really safe and comfortable in the water.  He loves to jump in and fool around with his older siblings.  I love that kid!  We have a bunch of goggles but he prefers to wear the scuba mask.  It really adds to the 'cool effect'. 

Michael and Claire are fishies.  They obviously do not wear a life jacket in the pool.  They love to have contests (i.e. holding breath, race to swim the length of the pool) and laugh all the time.  My sweet kids.  There is a hot tub at the pool and there always comes a point where the kids have to go in.  I can't blame them.  I loved hot tubs as a kid.  I especially love when my two year old looks at me and says, "I go hot tub?"  How teenager-ish of her.

While Damien and I are a bit more free this summer to not have to be in the pool the whole time, we still have to be careful and keep a close eye on all of them.  We were filming Matthew on the edge of the pool, right before he was going to jump in.  Suddenly- in the background, you see a flash of pink as my dare devil daughter Emily comes running in a full sprint and jumps in the pool.  Thank God for life jackets. 

I can't wait for more of these fun days where we lounge at the pool.  Watching my kids sing show tunes from Annie with their friends as they choreograph a swim/jump routines is awesome and incredibly funny!  Here is to summer and all the splashing and swimming we can squeeze in!

A Heavenly Shower

My beautiful sister-in-law Heavenly is expecting her first child in August!  We are all so happy for her and wanted to show her some love by throwing her a baby shower!  Heavenly is carrying a little baby girl who will become the 12th grandchild in Damien's family!  We are all looking forward to meeting her in August!

Heavenly just came back from London, England where she had been getting her Masters.  We are all so happy she is back and love seeing her and her ever growing belly! 

The theme we chose for her shower was An English Tea Party.  I actually have to give all the credit for the theme to Lani.  It was a good one!  The shower was going to be hosted at Marlene's house which has the perfect yard for an outdoor tea.  On the invitation it said hats encouraged so it was fun to shop for the girls and find them a cute hat and dress to wear! 

Heavenly looked beautiful.  Pregnancy certainly suits her well!  She was so gracious and you could tell she felt so blessed by the love that embraced her.  Between the sister-in-laws and Marlene, we split up the duties of the shower so no one had to do too much!  We had tea sandwiches, salad, pastries, lemonade, and hot tea.  It was such a nice shower. 

Everyone sat in the warm sunshine, shaded by their hats, and watched Heavenly as she opened gifts from everyone.  It was really wonderful!  My favorite part was her speech to all those in attendance.  She thanked everyone for their support and let us all know how much we mean to her.  We love you Heavenly!!!

Claire and Emily had such a wonderful time today.  Both Emily and Claire were a huge help with the set up.  They loved setting out the plates, saucers, cups, spoons, napkins and favors.  At the shower, Claire tried her darndest to win the game where you try to hear people say the word baby and then steal their little pin.  Although it was a valiant effort- she came in second. No bitterness there (please, sense my sarcasm).

We are so happy for Auntie Heavenly, or Henrietta, as Claire calls her.  We know what a wonderfully strong, beautiful, and amazing Mom she will be to her little girl.  August can't come soon enough!

Goodbye Kirkland

We had such a great time in Kirkland this week.  I am not too sad to leave because I know that we will be back in a month for a fantastic two week stay.  Some of the things I loved the most were:

Seeing my kids gardening with Nonna.  They really find it fascinating that she can find worms whenever she wants! 

Watching the kids play in the backyard all day long!  Between kickball, baseball, and basketball- they love it!

My parents house is rolie polie/potato bug heaven!  They are all over the backyard which was thrilling to the kids.  Emily found them all the time and would summon everyone over to show us her 'new friend' . . . that she would then step on 50% of the time.

Seeing Emily come out of Auntie Natalie's room at least once a day decked out in jewelry, hair bows, high heels, and occasionally wearing some rainbow colored nail polish!  Damien was so pleased with all of these choices.

While we were here- Michael, Claire, and Matthew made up words to the Harry Potter video game theme song.  It went, The Dursley's suck, the Dursley's suck, the Dursley's suck- they suck.  This could also be substituted with The Dursley's pee and The Dursley's poop.  Totally mature . . . and a little vulgar.  And is it sad that I don't even know who the Dursley's are?  Haven't read a Harry Potter book yet.  My older two have read six each.  Come to think of it- I better find out who they are singing about!

It was so wonderful to spend time with my nephew Kyle.  He is my godson and I just love him to pieces.  I love that he calls me Auntie Misa.  He loves my kids and he and Matthew are such great buddies.  He calls Emily his baby and always touches her face.  Kyle thinks she is the cutest thing in the world! 

On our last night, I took a picture with him on my parent's deck.  The sunset was beautiful.  I asked him to smile for the picture and he wouldn't.  I threatened him that if he didn't do it- I would kiss him.  Guess what happened??

I loved seeing both of my Grandmas.  I didn't get a picture with my Grandma but got to catch up with her at Emily's birthday.  I did get a picture with my Nana and absolutely love it.  I am a very lucky granddaughter.

We all had a wonderful visit.  I love my parents, sisters, and entire family and I cherish our long summer visits where we can all be together and make memories.  Goodbye Kirkland.  See you at the end of July!