Happy Times...

Happy Mom and Dad!

Trying out the new merchandise... I have to admit, this carrier was a little confusing at first :0)





JJ with the stroller that is seriously the size of a compact car! It's a good thing that we have a mini van to put it in! (Don't make fun, all you mini van haters!)

Nursery fabric! My Auntie is going to make us baby quilts, and we are decorating the nursery around this colorful palette.

Preggers With Twins...

I have had many, many requests to post "belly pictures" and I honestly didn't realize that I would be rather shy about this! I have surprised myself with this sentiment. Nevertheless, I need to be better about keeping in touch, so here goes...

Tummy at just over 4 months

4 1/2 months; if you see a BIG difference, please remember that I have two urchins that I am toting around with me! LOL!

JJ's favorite...

My favorite...






This was taken just a couple of days ago. I am now just over 5 months, and REALLY showing! Not to mention, the camera angle is not terribly flattering!

Brock's Salt Lake City Visit...

I am a little more than behind on blogging; Brock's visit was two weekends ago, and I am just now getting to it. I apologize. We had so much fun, but we never have enough time - so we packed everything we could think of in four days. Lagoon (the amusement park in Salt Lake) was one of the highlights - all the other highlights will have to be stored in our memories as I didn't take any other pictures. Oh, such a bad sister!

I insisted that we play the "Horse Racing" game; Brock won.

And we got airbrushed tatoos. I acutally had one lady ask me if mine was real... she said that the purple color of the monkey was exactly what she had been looking for... ummm... OK?

JJ loves to play games, and more often than not, he wins! We give the prizes away to little kids - I love to see the look on their faces when they get a toy.

Brock's Visit... (cont.)

I wait and wait, and most often, not very patiently, for my brother to come down and cut my hair! Oh, the luxury!

Brock and I found a yummy looking pancake mix (and it truly was delicious), so we tried it out Saturday morning.

And being the wackos that we are, we had to arrange the ingredients with our new favorite pancake mix front and center so that we could get a good picture.

Lazy Lake Days...

JJ and I are so blessed because each year in July we get to take a long (and usually much needed) vacation in Washington for two weeks, just to relax and hang out with our families. Last year was the exception. JJ was not able to go because he was in Kyrgyzstan, so this year we lived it up. Although we spent most of our days on Loon Lake at my parents' home, we also were able to travel further north to Priest Lake for five days, to play with his family on an awsome island in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, we do not have one picture from Priest, as I forgot my camera :0( I hope these pictures make up for it - in true "Erin" fashion, I do not blog forever and then post one huge one... Here it is!

The puppies love the peddle boat and anything else lake-related!

Cousin Mac, me and Cousin Oliver in the hot tub goofing.

Cousins Mark, Oliver and Scott with good friend Andy (in the flourescent shorts) spent many an hour playing our "redneck" game called "Washers". I think we even kept the next door neighbors up late one night - my dad hooked up a flood light in the tree. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time...!

Our once yearly "floatilla"; what is that, you ask? Well, each person has a floatie of some sort, then we form a line, each person hanging on to the person in front of them and we paddle around the lake (really we just paddle in little circles) with one person leading.

And the person in charge??? Brock, our captain (also the one who had to pull everyone else since he drew the short straw for the lead position)! Check out those buns of steel holding that flag up! Needless to say, we did a lot of laughing and not much else during our annual floatilla.

Husband and wife, hanging out in the boat, having a great time!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

The puppies really can be sweet when they are getting along... ha, ha! They are truly the best of friends!

OK, I admit: we eat well at the lake. Cousin Oliver, Brock, Aunt Martha and JJ having a bite.

Grandpa Wendell and Dad were chatting on the deck.






Cousin Mac and Aunt Marty giving a private concert.








Naps are definitely in order at the lake.

I love this picture! Two sisters noodling about the lake.

And of course, my hubby. God love him - he is so silly!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

John and Sierra with a BIG catch!





JJ and Sierra flagging while Braden was being pulled behind the boat in a tube. Fun!

Sierra and Braden are ready to head out in "Grandpa Jerry's" boat.

The Christensen's cruisin' the lake in the peddle boat.

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

Brock and Aunt Martha relaxing on the deck.





Uncle Rick and my dad drinkin' beer. It really is funny for me to see my parents drink now - they never did when I was growing up. (Well, I should say that I never saw them drink :0)





Working on my tan.

These are my mom's new "lake birds", Alaska and Amber (coincidentally my dad's favorite beer - do I sense a theme to these lake days???)

Surprise, Dad!

My dad's 60th birthday was on April 18, a day which unfortunately fell right in the middle of our Albuquerque show. Although Mom and I tried to make his happy day special, in all honesty, we were working hard at selling jewlery, and did not have time for much else. Thankfully, we had another plan in mind. Brock and his roommates, Richard and Jay, graciously offered to host a surprise party for my dad on May 2. Because of the belated date and our excellent secret keeping (I personally nearly blew it on three different occasions), my dad was truly surprised, and the party was a huge success, not to mention, a ton of fun. The theme, as you will see below, was a Mexican Fiesta! Ole!

The birthday boy in one of his finer moments....

Molly and Maya arrive for the party in style.

Supposedly my dad is holding up two fingers for the "two amigos"... not sure where I fit in, but whatever! I am just a gringa...





Brock's happy gingerbread-man potholder helped us get all the yummy enchiladas to the table just in time for the hungry crowd to strike.

As you can see, that sombrero made its way around the party. Here Mark makes the perfect model.

Richard and his roomie Jay (not pictured - that is me), definitely did the lion's share of the work for this party. From cleaning their huge house, to running errands, we could not have pulled this off without them. You guys are great! Thank you so much!

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

The "birthday boy" with Uncle Bob and Mark.

Ty, Scott and Molly are engrossed in a heavy conversation - if I remember correctly, it had something to do with the Portland Trailblazers and their most talented players. I am sure, had JJ been there, he would have had something to say about that! Go Jazz!






Cousins Oliver and Blair striking a pose. Thanks for making the trip for dad's party, guys!

Good friends, Aaron and Bonnie Drake, with Brock.

Maya is quite serious even though Blair and Vince are enjoying every moment with her.

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

Uncle Rick and Aunt Marty share a moment, and a beverage, in the kitchen.

Dad is opening his presents amidst the family. Surprisingly, he was not embarrassed, and did not kick up a fuss at having to be the center of attention.

Brock and my Fairy God-Mother, Jenny Powell.

Grammy and Uncle Vince playing Patty Cake-Patty Cake with Miss Maya.

I just couldn't resist. Maya was having a little snack before the party, and I got down on the floor in front of her with my camera...