I have FINALLY blogged!!

I know, I know, it has been SO long! But as you can see, June has been one busy month! Enjoy looking at these cute girls and getting the update on our lives.

Erin Update

Well, the BIGGEST update is that on June 8, 2012, I got a car! After years of hoping and looking for a car, I found an amazing deal on Craigslist. It is a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe, and it only had 11,000 miles on it! Fantastic! We rushed on down to the bank, got us a loan, and got me a car. It has been so amazing having this freedom! If a friend texts me to come to Chick-Fil-A, you better believe I'm heading on down there! I love it!

In other news, while my mom was here she gave me just the kick in the pants I needed to finally revamp our hideous table. I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out, even after all of the sanding, stripping, staining, painting, distressing, it was all worth it!

Nate Update

I just want to quickly throw a shout out to my AWESOME husband! He has studied so hard these last few months to pass his CPA exams. I'm pleased to announce that in the last seven months, Nate has taken and passed all four sections of the CPA exam with limited amounts of studying. Add on top of that his first tax busy season, that is one freaking amazing accomplishment! Add on top of THAT that he was ranked #1 performer in his peer group at work, I'd say this man has found what he was meant to do! Love you and I'm so proud of you, Nate!!

Dance, Dance, Dance!

I'm planning on enrolling Rachael in a dance class next year, and the studio allowed her to try one class. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited she was for this. And I was for, that matter! I took so. many. pictures. and so. much. video. Ugh, she was SO adorable!

 She happened to think so too. With an entire wall of mirrors, what's an adorable girl to do? Of course, stare at herself!

 Stretching.

 Painting the sky.

 She couldn't quite grasp first position. We'll get there, haha.

 Rachael's first barre.

 Tap shoes!

Tumbling. We definitely need to work on our somersaults.

These pictures were taken behind a window into the studio, hence the poor quality of pictures. I am so excited for her to start dancing! I hope she enjoys it as much as I did.

End of School

I cannot even tell you how sad I was to see Rachael's first year of school end. Her teachers have been so fantastic! Those of you who knew Rachael this time last year would not even know it was the same kid, she's talking so much! Every day she gets better and better. My mom and I went to observe her class on the last day. We were there during circle time and got to see Rachael be a helper.

 Lining up to go play outside!

 We all went back later for a pizza party. I love Rachael's face in this picture.

 Miss Rosalie

 Miss Yuko

Miss Kristi

This school district, I truly believe, is one of the reasons we were lead to Irvine. Fan. Tas. Tic!

*Shout out to my mom. She made Rachael's SUPER cute maxi dress! Thanks, gramma!*

Sea World

Sorry, this is out of order chronologically. At the end of May, my friend's son's preschool could get us tickets to Sea World for $5.75. Considering the regular price is around $60, you better believe we jumped on that! My parents, sister, and nephew, Liam, came to join us. It was SO fun, minus Rachael was Grumpy McGrumperson.

 Right from the beginning, grump.

 Whit was good, she eventually fell asleep in the ergo and took about an hour nap right before the Shamu show.

 Always happy when Auntie ZeeZee is around!

 Maybe not. Rachael got SO mad and me and Nate because we wouldn't let her touch the orca whales. We're terrible parents. So we sent her on down to Lindsey, because I'm also an awesome sister. :)

 Whitters was happy after her nap.

 And then Shamu splashed us, and Rachael was so mad! "No, no, Shamu!"

 Don't let the happy smiles fool you, she was NOT happy to be waiting in this line.

 Good picture of us!

 I splurged and bought some gross fish to feed to the sea lions. Ew, but she enjoyed it.

Aww, cute cousins!

Whitterbug's 1st Birthday: The Party

 Whitterbug. Ladybug. Get it? I know, clever.
Since we were still in St. George (and it is freaking hot there!), we invited cousins to the nearby splash pad for some fun and some cupcakes and ice cream.

 Rachael and Liam, best buds.

 What a haul!

 And of course, the delicious cake demolition!

 Love her facial expressions!

Happy birthday, to my precious, sweet Whitterbug!

And Then There Were KIDS!

 The girls were so happy to see us! And then they got out of the car... No, the girls were fine, its just a lot of work camping with kids. It was Whitney's first time camping, but since she was (and is...) such a wobbly walker she had to be watched and held onto constantly.

 In order to keep Rachael entertained for a while, I made a treasure map. It kept her entertained for maybe five minutes. Maybe.

 Watercolors and a giant coloring book. The paints were later used for face paints, but I neglected to get any pictures...

 Whit was taking a nap in the trailer so my mom was nice enough to stay behind while we took Rachael on a little adventure.

 How sweet is this picture?!

 Loving the outdoors!

 Loving her some super stale powdered donut.

 On our last night there, Lindsey and my dad brought my nephews, Jace, Owen, and Liam, for a night of camping. Rachael sure loves her cousins!

After three nights of camping, they didn't even make it past the bathroom door before I stuck them in the tub. Aaah, it feels good to be clean!

I might be camped out for awhile... but it was a super fun trip!