Sunday, June 24, 2007

Returning to the Land of His Birth.....


The motherland is calling their little bambino home...
Shawn has been accepted and is starting school at Universidad Autonoma de Guardalajara...the medical school my dad graduated from and the city where he was born. He begins in August! We are excited for him and hopes he finds his own little Mexican hotty to show this boy how to be a man!!! Congratulations, Shawn.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

WOW! We are such great bloggers!!

Hmmm- yeah, well I thought it was time for my once-every-six-month entry! So I'll do my best and try to update the blog....

Phillip survived another tax season, and I actually somewhat enjoyed the lack of husband for three months (do I dare admit....we all know where I'm coming from). He was "there" but very preoccupied. He would often work till 2 am... I would put the kids to sleep and then it would be Amy time!! I got to rent all the stupid cheesy movies that Phillip usually isn't too keen on watching and have a session with my friends Ben and Jerry while they sang Brownie Batter songs in my ear...or mouth, as it were. I learned to enjoy the time instead of being frustrated that I was spending a lot of time alone. Phillip was also happy that his nagging wife wasn't calling him asking when he was going to be home....he already had enough on his plate. Tax season over, he is looking ahead at the future and planning on taking the US Tax Court test, which basically means that he could represent clients in Tax Court. It's one hairy test...it's administered every two years with a 5-10% pass rate!! But if anyone can do it, Phillip can (Mr. First-Time-Passed-EA Exam!......his boss took it three times) OK, enough bragging about him. OK....well maybe not....he's such a great dad and husband. I'm so blessed.

We celebrated our six year anniversary on June 1. This year I decided that we should get decent pictures of ourselves while we are young and somewhat skinny. Our biggest regret with our wedding was our photography!! So for those that are interested, here's the session.

I'm looking forward to a photographers conference in Atlantic City. The big names in the wedding biz are going to be there and I'm hoping that I'll learn a ton and get motivated. It's a three day affair, I can't believe I'm going and spending that much time away from my family. My mom is coming with me to make sure that I wear clean underwear and stay away from strangers!!! It was about time we had a girls vacation.

We just returned from Disneyland yesterday!! Yes! We survived and we had a total blast. We were hesitant about how everything was going to work, but my parents shelled out the big bucks and got everyone rooms at the Grand Californian Hotel. It was the best....we could walk right into the middle of California Adventure and were only a short waking distance to Disneyland. Everyone was there (Erik, Bryan, Shawn, Alex....and family). The girls got to meet Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle. Audrey loves Cinderella....she was so cute!! We did a ton and the mom's and dad's got to do their share of rides. Tower of Terror was pretty cool...my mom even went on that one...she's still recovering. The last night we were there we enjoyed a great fireworks show from the balcony of our hotel room. Thanks Mom and Dad for a GREAT vacation and even better memories. Love you guys!

Brianna is getting big SO fast...too fast. I freaking broke down at Build-a-Bear at Disneyland... yeah that's right, I cried....she'll only be this age once. Innocent, trusting, wide-eyed, loving....stay this way forever!! She had fun with her first "year" of preschool. She seriously learned a ton. We are so proud of her. She is going to summer school now and getting swimming lessons from a neighbor. She is also learning to play with her sister better. She loves Primary and is such a great daughter. She still says things that make me and Phil crack up. She'll be celebrating her 4 year birthday on July 9.

Audrey turned two in January and shortly after that was potty trained. She's smart and full of energy. She's talking a ton and loves to play with Brianna. She loves her uncle Shawn and her Grandpa. We are often telling her to "cool it" or so and so consequence will happen and she quickly replies "I cool it, I cool it" Phil and I have to hide our faces cause we are often laughing. She's the little comedian and is always trying to get everyone to laugh. While waiting for the electric parade to start at Disneyland all the cousins got out into the parade route and were dancing. Well, Audrey decided it was time for a REAL show....she promptly pulled her pants down (underwear and all). Everyone started laughing...only encouraging her more. Nice....we couldn't have been more proud. That's our Audrey!

Quinn turned one in April. He's such a laid back, loving kid!! He's always smiling and is content with life. He's been my easiest so far!! His favorite toy is a baby doll (much to Phillips dismay). At his last well check the doctor was concerned about his motor skill development (as were we). He gave us a referral for The Learning Center. They came and assessed him and said that he was cognitively right on track but that he had the motor skills of a six month old. So we are working with physical therapist and occupational therapist trying to get his muscle tone improved.

ok- well that's it for now. Till next time---hopefully within the year ;)