A day to celebrate

7.12.12 will forever be a celebrated day in the Blake household.  Addie prayed to receive Jesus in her heart while at Vacation Bible school.  Talk about tears flowing down!  We constantly had to explain to her that "mom and dad had happy tears" because she kept asking why we were crying so much.  We wanted to "kill the fattened calf and throw a party" for the little girl so we quickly decorated and all went out for milkshakes to celebrate.  We told her it was her Jesus Party and she loved it.  I hope we always throw a party on that day and continue to point her towards the Lord as she journeys towards Him.

 VBS had an end of the week carnival where Addie got to experience her first face painting art. :) ...a purple dolphin.

Forth of July

The Blakes dared the crazy crowds of Pismo for the 4th of July.  We were rather apprehensive about it all since it's known to be a tourist heaven but it was a perfect day!  The kids truly played in the sand for 8 hours only to stop for food.  We met up with the Cranks, Hamons and Spantons for the day.  Addie stayed until the fireworks then spent the night in the hotel with the Cranks.  Brody, Chris and I all headed home before the fireworks and had the easiest trip home since we avoided all traffic.  All in all, a perfect way to celebrate the country with friends.

Santa Barbara Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo is perfect.  It can all be seen in about 1.5-2 hours and it is BEAUTIFUL!  I am green with plant envy because everything is perfect.  The kids love it since we have been to Santa Barbara numerous times between car repairs and Brody's leg.  One of the highlights is the play area where they have a "grass" hill made for sliding on cardboard boxes.  

More Brody faces

Brody is a perfect combination of funny, silly as well as grumpy, moody.  When he is silly, he is sooo funny!...we won't talk about the grumpy side.  He has started saying "cheeesssee" when he sees the camera phone.

 HUGE cheeks!

 Monkey is still Brody's best friend.  I have such a sweet picture seared into my head of him toddling around with Monkey dragging on the floor.  It's kind of like Pig Pen on Charlie Brown.  Lately Monkey has "wanted" to go swimming and the the water slides.  Luckily we have 2 Monkeys to rotate in so one can attempt to be clean for about 30 minutes or until he drags it in food or dirt.  Here Monkey has been used for car trips when the sun is in Brody's eyes....Brody thinks it's hilarious...as do we.

 Mickeyyyyy!  Yep, he likes Mickey Mouse too.  Addie was out of town visiting the Modesto Family so we had BroBro for a few days.  It was fun rolling with only one child even though we were ready for Addie Girl to come home.  I had to do the weekly Target trip and decided it was time to finally BUY Brody a toy.  He chose a stuffed animal of Mickey Mouse.  Soooo, now we carry Monkey AND Mickey.  :)

 Water!  Our kids are water babies through and through.  While Addie was gone, Brody got to hang out with just Dad while I was at a wedding.  Naturally they did what any Father-Son team would: drank hose water, played in backyard and went to McDonalds for dinner.  Yes, McDonalds is often visited by Chris when he has the kids on the weekends.

Coloring

The other new favorite pastime for the kids (especially Addie) is coloring.  She will color throughout the day if you let her.  Brody loves it too but makes a huge mess in the process.  I have already cleaned off a few walls from his coloring.  Addie is becoming a rather good, meticulous colorer.  

Ice Cream

Who doesn't like ice cream on a hot day?  Addie and Brody as HUGE fans and will run to the car if we mention a "special treat."  Brody has my sweet tooth and will anything sweet or full of carbs.  

Duck pond

We love our neighborhood and surroundings.  Within a walk or bike ride, we can go feed Lucky the Horse, climb trees and fish at the Duck pond, shop at Lowes, eat at Subway or be with friends.  It's awesome.  The Jelso Boys were over for an afternoon and we all ventured down to the pond.  It was sweet watching the older kids "fish" around the pond and attempt to climb trees.  

A few pics to show Brody's personality

 Where is Brody?

 There he is!

 WE LOVE HARMONICAS!!!!!  This is our most popular toy to play with while in the car.  You can only image the "fun" we all have listening to Brody.  I think he played for almost an hour straight one time while Chris was driving up to the Santa Cruz area to visit family.  Awesome!

 Grumpy...yes, he is still grumpy at times.

 Silly...more peak-a-boo!

And just a funny pictures of Sister.

Tea parties

We get on kicks at our house and a few weeks ago it was tea parties.  Both Addie and Brody enjoyed it (Brody really like to take the stuff from Addie and play with the spoons).  Jack came over for a few hours and "Chef Mommy Pants" provided a delicious tea party for the kiddos.

Mother's Day 2012

We spent Mother's Day at the beach in Cayucos after church.  It was a PERFECT day and we couldn't have asked for me. This has to be one of Addie's favorite beaches since it is full of tiny rocks instead of gritty sand.  She will build and build and build.  Also, it has driftwood tents so naturally we have to place privates. :)  It was a good day with the family.