For The Maxwells

This post is dedicated to the Maxwell family. (For those of you who don't know, Maxwell is my maiden name...hence, our son's awesome name). 

Fellow family members,

Have you been up to Nana and Papa's house lately and felt like something was...different? Like something, or rather, someone was missing? Let me enlighten you. If you've been around the family for any amount of time you'll know just who I'm talking about. (Unless it's just the cousins that remember her?)

She's clothed in red velvet. You can see your reflection in her patient leather shoes. Her eyes follow you from the garage door to Nana's chair...she sees EVERYTHING. Yep, I'm talking about the doll that looks real. Nana gave her to Ella on our last visit and now she lives in my house. Following my EVERY MOVE. Cue creepy laugh...Bahahaha.

At first Ella didn't think much of her, but now that she stripped off that formal attire and Ella carries the doll everywhere. Though, she does tell me, "She's very heavy Mama." She is different from Ella's fisher price dolls that don't weigh 15 pounds. Anyway, I thought you'd get a kick out of the latest addition to our family.

It's actually very special, because she's from Nana. I've asked Ella a few times what the baby's name is and every time she tells me, "She's the Nana baby," Which makes me smile to know that Ella knows her great Grandma, Nana.

 But make no mistake, I sleep with one eye open.

Clearly the baby is in good hands.

 

 

 

p.s. Aunt Sue, do you see the rocking chair in the background? That was mine, and I'm told that you painted it for me :)

Weekend

Our weekend in photos...

My lovely cousin Sandra and her husband Rusty were in California, so we met them at my parents house for lunch. Rusty is charming and smart and Sandra is as engaging as I remembered.  Love you cousin~

 

 

Sunday we spent the day on the lake. My mother in law, Grandma Judie, came with us and we all had a great time.

Something about twins: every time I think I have one of them figured out, they switch on me. Ella has been our 'water bug.' She's usually the one you have to drag out of the water. But they did a swap and now he's the fish. They both love swimming, but Maxwell is the first one in and the last one out. They tried tubing for the first time! Mind you, we were going 5 mph, but they each did it. Look at my brave girl, all on her own.

Judie took the wheel, proving once again that this woman can do anything. 

Boys behind the boat. 

We spent most of the day swimming in the lake. There were very few boats out and we found a couple coves to play in. The lake felt like a big swimming pool. 

 

Ella swam too, but she liked her 'step' the best.

Wearing Grandma's hat. 

Awkward family portrait. 

Me and my boy. And my new favorite hat. 

 

Windy, Cold, But Happy Beach Day

Every year I have the hardest time wrapping my head around the fact that our beach is just not that warm in the summertime. Today I left my house and it was 85 degrees. In the 25 minute drive from our doorstep to the sand, it dropped to 65. And it was windy.BURRR. But no matter what, I think the beach is good for the soul, so we played anyway. I put the camera down when they decided to shed their coverups and go all the way in. Which means, I went in too. Chilly but refreshing :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This And That

I haven't blogged lately. Because...I don't know. Maybe because I don't think anyone is reading. Or maybe because I haven't taken any fun pictures. Or I've been lazy...but tonight I'm blogging because the point of this is to record our memories. To share them with anyone who wants to follow along, but really, to write down and remember these short years for our little ones. If I'm the only one who's keeping track, that's OK, because it's really for Maxwell and Ella, some day.

 So...last week (or has it already been two weeks?)...Michael flew into LA for a short work/family/friend visit. We spontaneously booked a room in down south and spent Saturday and Sunday in West Hollywood, Yorba Linda, and Santa Barbara. We started Saturday day at the closing ceremonies for the Aids/LifeCycle Ride. Remember when we did this last year? This year was different, as Michael wasn't riding himself. His new job in New York is actually a ride recruiter from their ride, more on that later this week. The stories shared by the riders in the closing ceremonies were very moving messages of kindness, acceptance, and hope. All things I hope/expect my children will pass on in life.
 

After the ride we hung out with Michael and his friends in West Hollywood. It's funny how at home I would tell you there's no way we would take our kids to an adult restaurant past bedtime. But I followed Mike's lead and went with the flow. And you know what? They did just fine. We pulled out an I pad after they had eaten and sensed potential meltdowns...it's all about timing...thank you YouTube and Disney Channel.

 

We are in need a family picture with ALL FOUR of our kids. Missed you Maeg.

Hotels! I used to dread going out of town just because night time in a hotel room was so hard with infant twins. One person would wake everyone up. Someone would fall off the bed. Nursing in a strange chair was awkward and I just wanted to go home. But NOW... check them out! Little girl was so tired she literally fell asleep as her head hit the pillow. But Maxwell couldn't sleep right away, he and Buzz were giddy as I was.

The next day, full on a yummy hotel breakfast, we met my mother in law at a family reunion for some of her dearest friends. After that, on to Santa Barbara to see my grandparents, Nana and Papa. I left my camera in the bag for this part of our excursion : (

A couple days later we had a visit from cousins out of town. Which calls for special things...like ice cream.

Not pictured:

Father's Day- I LOVE YOU DAD, thank you for it all. And I love you Mike, you love your kids in an amazing way. It's special to hear the older ones articulate their love and appreciation for you, as I know ours will too. We spent Father's Day morning relaxing and the afternoon swimming with our friends, followed by a delicious dinner by my friend Claudette while watching golf...a Dad's day :)

Little Maeg's 21 Birthday (Today!)- Happy birthday sweet girl! Maeg went with some family and friends to Catalina to celebrate. We can't wait to show her a good time when she returns. Love you Maeg. 

And this week Mike is working out of town. So we do what we do, but it's always a little different. 

Yesterday I was washing my car and they kept plastering my clean side with dirty soap suds. After 15 minutes of feeling annoyed, I finally pulled out their cars to wash...duh. They were happy. I was happy.

 

That's it for now. Gabba's almost over, we've had no naps, so it's almost bedtime. Goodnight.

A Good Life

It was a great weekend. The kids make everything better. Instead of TV before bed, they've taken up 'night riding.' After bath and jammies they request a spin in the dark. Because everything is more fun at night.

 

 

Friday night was our first baseball game of the season.

Sisters.

 

Saturday we had a bunch of friends over to watch the Kings hockey game while Mike grilled fish tacos that he caught off of his kayak. No pictures but lots of fun.

Sunday was date night. Mike and I had calamari and chips at our favorite restaurant. Not a bad view, huh?

 

We came home to happy kids playing with Grandma. She made them the coolest fort! Not sure if I'll be able to replicate that one.

And a few pics of my silly girl. She just makes me laugh.