ready...set...go

tomorrow is a special day for barth and i.
it's our 8th anniversary. i can hardly believe it.
being the busy doctor he is, a night on the town to celebrate was not in the books.
however, there was a lucky turn of events today....
a couple cases cancelled, an early finish to his operative day, and a free babysitter {will explain that one}
meant the perfect set-up for a spur of the moment date.
if you know me i am not one to ever leave the girls with a sitter. grandma and aunties yes, but sitters, no.
that's just me.
however, barth's fellow surgeon happened to be available {aka uncle alex} whom the girls adore.
it was totally meant to be. i would be crazy to pass this one up.

we created the best possible scenario for our sitter...or at least tried.
the girls were down for the count with naps, all three might i add. totally meant to be right?
uncle alex just needed to hold the fort down. how hard could that be. and we were off.
guess who decided to not nap? of all the days....miss ella & chloe.
thank goodness for dvd's and tangled...a near disaster averted.
but there's more. guess who woke up early. that's right, miss riley.
needless to say, it was a "ready...set...go" kind of date. completely, one hundred percent enjoyed.
we were greeted by three girls. all with big smiles on their faces.
uncle alex, we are so incredibly grateful.
considering babysitting is not your typical pastime, especially for three kiddos 5 and under, all who which decided to be awake for you {that can be stressful even for the seasoned mommy}, u were awesome.

ps..my new lens arrived today! captured a few pictures from our date. i am in love with this lens♥

{a blt for me...the best ever}

{an open-faced salmon lox for b}

{i ♥ u}

uncle alex and the girls.....

sights of SD

lots of cuteness in san diego this weekend....

the BIG 3-0

i have officially joined the 30 and over club. makes me feel old. it is just a number though, right?
the past 30 years have been filled with an abundance of blessings. i am so incredibly grateful for that.
i still find it hard to believe some days that i am coming up on eight, yes eight years of marriage {to an
amazing guy, may i add} and three little princess' to call my own. wow. my prayer for the next 30 years is that God will continue to use me for the plans he has for my life. i want to grow deeper in my faith, fall even more in love {if that's possible} with my husband, and enjoy every single ounce of happiness my girls bring me, plus more.

i was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday twice this year. once with barth and the girls and than again in
san diego with my entire family. everyone went above and beyond for me. two things that deserve a little shout out...my cakes. strange to mention the food, but here is why. my inability to consume miniscule amounts of dairy or soy {due to riley's allergies} make planning for a birthday cake rather challenging, but leave it to barth and my mom to think outside of the box. cake number one was a rice krispy treat creation that made me think my husband definitely could have a future in something other than medicine. it was delicious. cake number two was a dairy free, soy free little piece of chocolate heaven. it was no easy task as i am sure my mother could tell you, but she did it just for me and for that i am incredibly grateful.

thank you to every single person who made me feel so special on my birthday. i love you all so much♥

now for the pictures......

barth was sure to let everyone, including the city of arcadia, know i was 30....

the accessories i was required to adorn...

{riley wasn't too sure about all these accessories}

she warmed up to them in san diego...

school is out!

ella had her last day of preschool. i am still in denial about the whole kindergarten thing...
to celebrate, the preschool hosted a field day for all the kiddos and their families.
the day was filled with face painting, games, a bouncy house, mcdonald's happy meals,
and tons of play time. such a fun day.
there was lots of good bye's. it was a little bittersweet. ella has made a ton of friends
and now we will be moving to a new town, a new school for a second time. we are all looking
forward to settling down a bit. thankfully ella has not seemed to phased by the upcoming change.

i am proud to report that ella received all a's! she has learned so much this year and has grown so much.
ella bella, we love you so much and are so very proud of you. please don't grow up too much♥

{ella & isabella}

good bye preschool!!

piggies

i ♥ this girl...and her two piggies

a {happy} friday

so happy my ladies are feeling better today...

{completely edible}

off to enjoy my last weekend as a 20 something year old....

under the weather {times 3}

times 5 actually....
mommies are not allowed to be sick though, right?
and apparently doctors are not either. we found that one out during residency.
we made it through "cold & flu season" with just a few sniffles. amazingly.
just as we were saying good bye to winter and welcoming summer with open arms, we got hit.
being the germaphobe that i am, i made every attempt to keep this bug under control....
...my efforts did not pay off, oh well what can you do?
the last two weeks have been filled with restless nights, tons of kleenex, hand sanitizer, missed school...swimming....ballet, extra naps, humidifiers, meds, saline drops, extra cuddles, and one tired mama.

i think we may be on the mend though, and i am so grateful for that. i am even more grateful that God uses these times to make me even more aware of the blessings that are so abundant in my life....

an incredible husband who knows just what to say/do at the end of a long day
three amazing girls who bring so much joy to my life
a place to come home to every day
a healthy family
my sisters
the support and love of our parents
friends who are there for me through thick and thin
an awesome church
...times up, riley needs to eat. i think i could fill up a book with the blessings in my life...thank you God♥