A Wonderful Wife

Aloha.

So Becky surprised me. Again. I was clueless. Again. (I hope this isn't a pattern of her "lying" and me not knowing!) We went on a whirlwind weekend trip to Chicago for my 30th. Dinner and lunch out, a train ride, the Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier... It was very cool. Ava had a great time, and I'm here to tell you she's the best-behaved 2 year old I've ever known. From the 2 hour train ride to the restaurants, to staying in a medium sized hotel room (suite), she was terrific. We had so much fun just the three of us. I can't wait till we get 2 whole weeks in Carlsbad later this year!

So, Ava is doing well. We get lots of time together now that I'm a college graduate. So far this spring we've planted a garden and taken quite a few bicycle rides. Being outside this spring has been picture perfect. And now the farmer's market is open... Very exciting. So, here are a few pictures over the last month or so.

Cheers.

Look at that kid reading away. Wait...Look closer...What is that they're reading??


My kid's so smart, regular books with pictures bore her. She's moved on to beefing up her resume to work for the Bush Administration. "I'll show you phone tapping, old school."


Shopping for a new Ava.


For her 2nd birthday, Papa took Ava to the dark side. "You won't regret it."


Ava playing with her Great-Grandpa. And static electricity. We call him Grandpa Science.


Here we are with Ava's hippie cake. Peanut butter bar with a natural cream cheese based filling. These are awesome. We may market them. And take over the world. Watch out granola heads, here we come!


GG and Poppy made it back from Florida just in time!


Cuddling with Gamma.


Giving kisses to the "Greats."


Uncle Douger found time to stop by.


Sitting with Mama at Zazio's.


Winkin' with Daddy. *cluck*


The nice host was gracious enough to take a picture of the crazy family.


Next time: the day after. I'll show you what really made Ava's birthday top ten gift list! Here's a hint: nope, just kidding. Cheers.

She's 2!

Aloha :)

Can you believe it?! On April 6th Ava turned 2. We had a little gathering at our house for her, and took her to our favorite place. It's her favorite word to say. Zazio's. Then on Saturday we went for her official 2 year old pictures. We've used JC Penney for all her photos. They've nearly all turned out fantastic. The hippie outfit she's in is from Uncle Doug and Aunt Crystal from last year. It fits! And the tea set is from Becky's Nana and Grandpa. So enjoy the thumbnails.

Here are a few of the highlights over the last year, since I got away from blogging. Ava now sings. It's so cute. Her favorites are "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep." She's good, too. She knows most of the words. And she counts. I think she gets to 10 most days, even 11. Obviously she talks. The other day she picked up her toy phone. Here's about what she said. "Hello. Hi, it's me. I'm at home. Yep. Nana not here yet. Coming over soon." It was too cute. And she said the other day "I don't know about that." I forget what it referenced, but it was pretty funny.

So, enjoy the weekend everyone. Hope it's sunny and pleasant. And keep the comments coming. Seriously.

Cheers.

First, the family photos.








Daddy's girl.


My girls. Having a spot of tea.






Without the tea.


Time for Ava's solo career!








You can really see the flowers and designs here.










It's been since before we were married since Becky and I had photos.








Oh yeah, I'm old now. Cheers.

Whew!

Aloha.

Well that's it. Or, as Ava says it "Dat's it!" I've graduated. I wanted to post a quick entry, and I'll start doing regular postings on what's going on and what has been happening over the last year or so. It's an amazing life, and I just hafta share it! My graduation weekend was simply amazing. Having Becky and Ava at the ceremony, after all the love and support and extra work, and no time wirth me that they went through, it choked me up to know how proud they are of me. \m/

Plus, she planned a surprise party for my graduation/30th. Pretty amazing woman.

So, on with the photos.

Fashion Queen


Chillin' with Dada


We went to the Nature Center's Maple Sugar Fest. It was sunny. And sweet.


There's an old colonial home there.


Listening. Intently.


Hopefully you all enjoyed the photos. I will try to update often now, maybe once a week. (?) Let me know how I'm doing, I love all the comments. Cheers.