haylee's new word

Haylee seriously cracks us up with her vocabulary. She is quite advanced in her speech and it's so dang cute!

Her new word is: "shaget" = jacket.

It's hilarious to hear her yell, "Mommy!! I need my shaget! I too cold!!!!!!"

a very happy birthday

I had a fantastic 30th birthday! (I still can't believe I'm 30...) I woke up to my sweet baby Ava just cooing and giggling in her crib - which is the best sound ever. Then I came into the family room and opened my birthday presents.....well, Grace & Haylee opened my birthday presents :) We then ate McDonald's for breakfast, Bruce took the girls to the park for the morning, and when they got back, I went out shopping all by myself! It was perfect!

We had cheese, strawberries & crackers for our lunch and then my yummy cookie cake!

Bruce got our regular babysitter, Michelle, to watch the girls while he took me out for dinner at this beautiful place right on the ocean at sunset....little did I know.....

.....he had planned a surprise party for me!!!!!!!!!!!! How great is he??!?!?! We had such a great night and I was VERY surprised. Bruce is so wonderful!!!!!!

I was so glad our new - and great - friends, Jim and Kristen, came. They recently moved here from Tasmania and go to church with us. Their little baby, Levi, is going to marry Ava we've decided :) They also have a little girl who is Haylee's age and the two of them adore each other. We love them!

little sickie

Miss Ava has been our little sickie this past week. She had bronchitis which turned into a systemic bacterial infection. Bruce and I felt just terrible for her. It's such an awful feeling to see your baby so sick!

Anyhow, she is much better now and I'm so grateful for good hospitals and doctors and modern medicine.

I just had to post these pics because like my sister-in-law, Angie, said, "Ava looks pathetically cute!"

The doctor had to give her a "boxing glove" on her other hand because she kept trying to take out her IV. Poor baby!

Mama Mia!

For an early birthday present, Bruce surprised me with tickets to Mama Mia! How great is he?! We went last night and it was fantastic. We both loved it! The costumes and the music were amazing.

I had never been to a Broadway production, so it was super exciting for me.

Whaaaa!!!!

I'm turning 30 in ten days. I might as well go book myself a room at the aged care facility....

Good-bye 20's....it's been good knowing you. *pout*

We LOVE Fiji

We're back! We're sun-kissed, golden brown and feeling like our trip to Fiji was more like a dream than real life! It was, to say the least, the perfect first family vacation. We were so glad Bruce's mom was able to come with us. She was great company and fantastic help....and she made it possible for Bruce & I to sneak off by ourselves!

We stayed on Yunaca Island at the Shangri La Resort and it was amazing. Our rooms were literally steps from the ocean. The food was absolutely fantastic and the Fijians were so friendly there. They loved our little fair skin, blonde girls and were always kissing on them. In fact, one time a Fijian woman came over to Ava, took her out of the stroller and kissed all over her!

Fiji was the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I couldn't begin to take in all of the beauty - and neither could photos, but here's a small preview.....enjoy!

The view we enjoyed every morning while we ate breakfast

Grace straightening Haylee's necklace before the luau began

Ava dreamt about Fiji most of the week

The water was incredible!

Playing on the beach during an afternoon rain

Oh, Grace and Haylee were in love with the "hula dancing girls" - as they called them :)

The firedancing was insane. We loved it! Grace & Haylee kept saying "too hot, too hot!"

Hula girl Gracie

We were surprized at how large the Fijians were...like tree trunks! They were very tall and quite built. The kindest and most genuine people I've ever met - and they loved, loved our little girls!

Our room was just to the left...we strolled down to this beach every morning in our pj's....it was maybe 20 feet from our door to the sand.

The breakfast entertainment. So much fun!

Much more to come.....