Audrey's Birthday Party

Here are some pictures from Audrey's birthday party and a few of her reopening her presents the next day. It was a 4th of July BBQ style party with 25 or so family and friends. Audrey enjoyed her new "Sand and Water" table and eating her first cupcake (I think she would have downed a few more if we let her.)

Happy Birthday Audrey!

Today was Audrey's first Birthday; it is hard to believe that it has been a year already. Here is a slide show of our year with our little girl...

Audrey's acting debut

A few weeks ago, the leadership of our church put on a volunteer ministry appreciation dinner (this post is old hat for you Revolution readers.) They did a great job entertaining us with a murder mystery dinner...we guessed wrong, Darrenn did it. Anyway, one of the main pieces of the evening was a silent film. They were filming at the farm and needed an actor so we volunteered Audrey. For those of you who weren't at the dinner, here is the video. Keep in mind those are real tears people. She's good!

Summer TV

It used to be that the end of school also signified the end of good TV for the summer. I am pleased to say that this is no longer a reality. In addition to one of my favorite shows So You Think You Can Dance (I know, how gay do I sound right now), I have discovered a new pearl of summer television, Wipeout. As I write this, I am sitting in my living room, alone at 11:00pm laughing out loud as I watch normal people like you and me get the crap kicked out of them by an inflatable obstacle course. It helps that the show is narrated by John Anderson of Sportscenter and John Henson the former host of Talk Soup. I can't promise you will like it, my taste is often suspect, but I am thoroughly enjoying watching people get pounded.

NO!

So, I don't really know how early to start teaching your kids what "no" means. In our ignorance, we've figured the earlier the better. Our house is pretty baby-proof so we don't have too many instances where we have to say no to Audrey. The only thing we really don't want her to do is take trash out of the trashcan. What does she want to do every time she get into the kitchen? You guessed it. Here are a few pictures of "the mischievous one" at work. What you can't see is her looking at you, nodding her head from side to side, and then proceeding to open the trashcan lid. So what do you think readers, is it too early at 11.5 months to begin to teach her "no?"

June 21st is...

...one of my favorite days of the year- aside from being Summer Solstice (the day which has the longest day light of the year), it is our anniversary, and my best friend, Lidia's birthday. What a great day! In addition to being my best friend, Lidia was my maid of honor. We appreciated her willingness to share her special day with us. To show our appreciation, we had a birthday cake for my dear friend at the reception.

Here are a few pictures from our special day for those of you who were not there.This year Eric and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary. It is hard to believe it has already been five years. We missed our annual trip last year because I was too pregnant to travel far and especially to places with high elevation. To celebrate this year, we headed to Julian, California, a quaint mountain town east of San Diego. We stayed at a highly recommended bed and breakfast, Orchard Hill. Friday evening, we enjoyed complementary wine and hors d'oeuvres, walked around Julian and enjoyed an elegant dinner. Then we took a short hike to a mine, lounged in a hammock, read, and played cribbage. Saturday morning we set our alarm clock so as not to miss the breakfast part of the bed and breakfast (we usually have a crying alarm). We read all morning, walked around town, ate lunch and headed home. It may sound like a short trip, but it was so relaxing that we were satisfied. It was our first night away from Audrey (and long over-due). My mom was gracious enough to keep her. It seemed that my mom had just as much fun as Audrey and it was a little humbling to come home and discover we were not missed. Here are a few pictures of the B&B and town.

Saturday evening, we went to Lidia's birthday party. Thanks again for sharing your day with us!

Family Reunion '08

Last week we headed to Angels Camp, California to stay at a timeshare. (generously provided by Eric's Mom and Step-Dad.) Yes, this year’s “family camping” turned into “family resorting.” After two babies joined the family, we thought it would be best. We had a lot of fun.
During the drive Audrey entertained herself by stealing her “Dollie's” pacifier, then got disappointed after discovering that it did not satisfy.
We borrowed my mom’s mini van and left Friday with a full van of stuff. We stopped at the Modesto Costco and brought two of the heaviest carts I ever pushed full of food. We bought so much food I even got nauseated and could not eat dinner. We used three coolers and filled up an already very full van to the brim.
Audrey was barely hanging on after the long drive and 2 hour Costco visit. Thanks to her new farm animal book (which is almost as big as she is), “Noisy Farm”, we were able to drive another hour on Highway 4 to Angel’s Camp.
After checking into two, two bedroom suits, we went to the local grocery store to buy another cart full of food. We spent a few hours putting the food away in two refrigerators and raided one suite of it’s table, chairs, dishes and pots and pans to accommodate five couples and two babies in the main suite.

After the hard work, we got to relax and spend a week with the family. The family consisted of Eric’s: Mom (Cedulie), Step-dad (Luis), Dad (John), Step-mom (Mary Ann), sister (Stefanie), brother-in-law (George), niece (Sophia), Step-sister (Susan), Susan’s boyfriend (Tom), and the the three of us Lapointes. In addition, my Mom (Suzie), sister (Rahime), and brother-in-law (‘Chung) came for a couple of days. Amongst other things, we played phase 10, Skip-Bo, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit (from 1981), Croquet, Bocce Ball, Extreme Bocce, Volleyball, Golf, and Domino's. Needless to say, there was an abundance of fun, games, and food. We also got a chance to visit an 1800's gold mining tent town re-enactment, seeing as Angel's Camp is gold country.
The highlight was getting to spend time with our beautiful niece, Sofia.
We confirmed that Audrey and her cousin are the exact opposite. Sofia is an introvert and is very chill. Audrey loves people and is always on the go.
While we were up there, both babies experienced their first time in a pool. It took Audrey a few times to get used to the pool but Sofia loved it from the get go. She even already knows how to kick. In helping her get used to the water, I think Eric taught Audrey that she has to constantly make a motor sound to “swim”.
All in all, the week was an A+. It was really great to spend an uninterrupted week with family. We really appreciate that family are the people who love you, not always the people related to you. We look forward to next year's Family Reunion.