Pool's Open for Summer! {So, here are a kazillion pool pictures.}

We've probably been swimming in our pool for the last week and a half or so and it still hasn't quite warmed up to where I like it.  This afternoon it got up to 84˚ and I still froze {and poor Sydney did too}.  We are about to hit triple digit weather {for the next five months} and so I'm sure it will get to the 90s by next week.

Today was the first time that David got in our pool {he's been taking Olivia to the heated pool at Nana and Poppy's for months} and so it was a little easier to get some more pictures of the girls.  Olivia blows my mind in the pool.  She is such a great swimmer and she absolutely loves it.  It's clear that Sydney is going to follow in her big sister's footsteps.  Sydney wants to be just like Olivia and she wants to do whatever Olivia is doing, so there is no keeping her in a float where she is just sitting down.  So after our first attempt in the pool {with just me and both girls}, I went out and got her a puddle jumper floatie to wear and it has worked out perfectly.  She loves to jump off the side of the pool and in one day she taught herself how to move forward by kicking her little feet.  We are in for a real treat with these two in the pool this summer.  They are having so much fun.  {And, I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore dressing them in matching swimsuits!}

{This lasted no more than 5 minutes.}

Olivia's neighbor friend gave her this dress and she has worn it just about every single day for the last week.  

My Aprilgrams

Here's my collage of my #michelsongirls Instagrams for April {30 days later...}.

That's Some Serious Slackin'

Thirty days in to May and I have only posted two blog posts....and one of them was about our April trip to Disneyland.  Oh man, it has been weighing heavily on me, but I've got some good excuses for not posting.  David and I took a weekend trip away just the two of us and then he went on a business trip to DC for a week {leaving me a single parent}.  I ended up sleeping with Olivia each night and pretty much just crashed in her bed after she fell asleep which is my usual time to blog.  And remember what I said about getting back on the blogging wagon...it's tough to get motivated when you know you have a ton of pictures to upload and post about.  But here goes....


➸➸➸  The whole family went to a Meet the Creature class and this is by far my favorite picture of all of the animals.  I want this bunny!

➸➸➸ I signed Olivia up for a Book Club at her school for two Friday mornings this month.  The class met from 9-1 and Olivia was to bring a lunch to eat there.  The first Friday she went was a milestone for us - we made it to our first 9am class on time AND I packed my first school lunch!  She loved the class and Sydney and I loved having a little Mommy & Me time.  We did a little shopping, got her hair cut and did a little more shopping.  Liv was treated to a cotton candy ice cream cone for doing such a great job at Book Club too!

➸➸➸  Our Nipomo neighbors were in Scottsdale for a few days so we headed up to our favorite railroad park to meet up with them.  It was soooo good to see them and catch up with them.  Oh how we have missed them!  

➸➸➸  Olivia's school class had a little Mother's Day party... Muffins with Moms ... and it was so sweet to see her sing songs for me.  I love that girl so much.  We also spent the evening at my mom and dad's and did our best to take some pictures.  It didn't work out so well...

➸➸➸  We celebrated David's birthday with a yummy egg breakfast {his favorite}, cupcakes and a trip to a kiddie play land with mini bowling, bumper cars and a giant jungle gym.

➸➸➸  David and I were able to get away for a weekend with no kids {thanks Nana and Poppy} and we had a blast in Humid Houston!  We met up with our friends Matt and Christi {and their handsome baby Niles} who we hadn't seen since I was pregnant with Olivia.  We had tickets to a Dave show, but also spent the majority of the weekend hanging out and eating yummy food {and trying to figure out how to combat all that moisture in the air}.

 Not my most favorite setlist of all time...

Bromance!

These boys basically got the biggest steaks possible {tomahawks} and I'm not even kidding when I say they both ate it all.  And got dessert to boot.  

➸➸➸ The girls were well taken care of by my parents.  I loved all of the pictures that they sent me and I was definitely ready to get back to them when our weekend was over.  Because David had a work trip in DC, he flew out from Houston a few hours before me.  I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the airport, snuggled up with a $16 blanket and reading the new Dan Brown book with absolutely no interruptions.  But, I was super excited to see my blonde babies when they picked me up from the airport.

Olivia went to two birthday parties while we were gone...this is sweet Caleb.

➸➸➸  And, one more.  While David was in DC, I took the girls, along with my friend Liz and her two kiddos to Disneyland.  That post is going to come in a few days, but let me just tell you, we had a blast!  And, it was easier going there than being home with both girls by myself.  David had a hard work week, but stayed an extra day so he could meet up with our friend {and matchmaker} Kelly.  We love this girl and can't wait to see her again!

Pheeewww, thanks for sticking with me through this one!  I hope to do better next month!

The Second Half of That Disneyland Birthday Trip

Oh, y'all, I took a nice little blogging break there.  Sometimes when I fall off of the blogging wagon, it's hard to get my butt back up on it...especially when I know that I have a huge trip to blog about.  That last post took me over 3 hours to do.  This one, well, this one probably won't.

So, if you need a refresher, here's where I left off with day one of Olivia's 4th birthday trip to Disneyland.

The day after Olivia's birthday, we tried our best to get there early, but it's us, so you know that didn't happen again.  We met up with Sarah & the girls and her sister & her triplets right at the entrance and headed over to meet the princesses again {because we love them so}.

And then we headed over to see Merida {because she's my favorite}.

And since we were right there, we did It's a Small World again {because we really, really love that ride}. And I really, really love these girls.  

After letting David take a trip or two around the Buzz Lightyear ride {and get his picture taken with a Storm Trooper}, we headed over to California Adventure to spend a few hours.  It's always fun passing through the Main Street area on our way out because we inevitably run into a few of the Disney characters along the way.

California Adventure really is a lot of fun, even if it doesn't hold as much of the magic for me as Disneyland.  Olivia LOVES the Ariel ride {we seriously ride it multiple times in a row each time because the ride can accommodate so many passengers that there is rarely a line} and we LOVE seeing her interact through the Disney Jr Live on Stage shows.  This year, the show had characters from Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins!  We even rode one of the CarsLand rides a couple of times.

We got a sweet treat and rode the Monster's Inc ride {and David had an almost encounter with Sully}, Donald Duck's crew sang Happy Birthday to Olivia and I found my new favorite California Adventure ride in the Toy Story Mania ride.  {If that line hadn't been so long,  I would have ridden it over and over again!}

And, of course, we had to recreate this picture from last year.

Sarah and the girls took off after the Pixar parade and it was so sad saying goodbye to them, but we know we are going to be seeing them again soon which made seeing them go a little easier.  We love those precious ladies so SO much and we are so very thankful for their friendship.  Olivia could not ask for a sweeter little girl than Kendall to be her very best friend forever.  

After the girls left, we strolled back over to Disneyland because Olivia wanted to see the parade there, but once we got in and secured a spot, she decided that she wanted to go ride Splash Mountain again.  So ride it we did....two more times!  And, since I had never ridden Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, we indulged in that as our last ride of the trip.

We had such a fantastic trip out.  I just love that even though we don't live in California anymore, we are still able to go to one of my favorite California locales on a pretty regular basis AND that we are able to meet up with some of our favorite California ladies in the process!

Can't wait for our next trip to Disneyland {which may be sooner than later?!}

Another Flashback

Olivia came out of the bath tonight wearing her little pink cover-up with her butterfly hood pulled over her head and I swear it was like looking at my little 13 month old again.

➹ Now ➹

➹ Almost exactly 3 years ago ➹

➹ And back to now... ➹

♥♥♥