Summertime fun on HOT HOT HOT days

The temps have been well into the 100's this week here...so Catie, Meigan and Norah have been having some fun in our pool....

Sunday July 6th...Catie's BIG 8th Birthday

As is tradition in our home...on a person's birthday they get the Special Plate and whatever they want for breakfast....and Catie chose mint chocolate chip ice cream for her breakfast....she devoured that plate in record time....yes, that's right a plateful of icecream...

Here is Catie opening a special gift from Nana. It is a beautiful handpainted sarong from a woman my Mom knows in Aruba..she painted a dolphin on this special for Catie.

ahhh...paydirt! Harry Potter 7!! Catie is currently obsessed with the Harry Potter series. She's blown through books 1-3, and is 1/2 way through book 4. Nana and Grampa came through with books 5, 6 & 7 for birthday gifts... they also came through with a load of clothes and some $$ for Catie to spend at Target...

reading one of her birthday cards...

We went to Finnegan's for dinner...and the girls and I got a picture together...I'm always taking the pictures and there are hardly any of me and the girls (but I don't like to have my picture taken anways)... not sure what's up with Meigan's hair-do though...she's really into putting a lot of "things" in her hair these days...and this night was no exception...2 headbands, a ponytail holder and 2 barretts.....

not sure who the evil person was that put a cosmo infront of me though...naughty... :)

and here is the birthday girl enjoying an icecream with a candle...

Catie hasn't had her party yet...most of her friends were away over the 4th of July weekend...so we'll have her party in the next few weeks.

Saturday July 5th - Catie's last day of being 7

Catie wanted to get her ears pierced for her birthday this year...so on Saturday we went to have them done. She was really excited to do it, and once we walked into the place, she got a bit nervous. Then she saw these other girls older than her having their ears pierced and that helped...


here she is having the first ear done.......

the second ear being done...and on this one she was squeezing my hand SO hard.....

and here she is...all done...a big girl for sure now....and looking a bit in shock I think...

they hurt for a bit...but not a tear from her....what a trooper!

4th of July

The 4th of July was pretty low key for us....it was hot so we stayed swam in the pool and barbecued with some friends....

Here are Catie and Meig trying out the new fun float I got for 4th of July...we didn't go to the local fair or see fireworks...the kids stayed in the pool and the grownups were too lazy to get dressed and motivated to fight the crowds...so we watched them on TV...lame, I know... but we did go the next night to see the fireworks...

June 26th...7yrs. Anniversary of Catie's referral.....

Our first picture of Catie....June 26th 2001...

It's hard to believe that 7yrs. ago today, while we were living in Singapore at 7:30am Singapore time we saw this face come up on a computer screen....our girl...our girl....I was on the phone with our adoption agency in the USA and Brian was on the computer seeing her picture first...I heard him cry and say..."she's so beautiful" with a quivering voice...I tear up as I write that, remembering it vividly......it's really hard to believe that 7yrs. have gone by....that she'll be 8 on July 6th...start the 3rd grade in August.....she's a swimteam star, bookworm (blowing through Harry Potter #4 at present time) and is the most amazing, sensitive, sweet, stubborn, lovable girl on the planet.. WE love you Catie girl!

JUNE 21ST..A BIG Day for our family...

Saturday marked the BIG 5 for Meigan...5yrs. old!!! how did she get there SO FAST??????

She had her pony at Morning Star Farm for a 2hrs. pony party...1hrs. of riding ponies, use of the petting zoo, play on the playstructure, squirt bottle play, pinata and cupcakes....she LOVED it! Catie had her 6yrs. birthday there and Meigan wanted nothing but this..so lucky for us it was available on her birthday for a fun 5yr. old party!

Now, you'd all think that we'd have some pics of Meigan riding the ponies....but nooooooooooooooooo.....in the hustle and bustle of kids arriving, etc. Meig got her ride herself...geesh...we're so bad...

Meig is being sung to and is ready to dig into her cupcake...she wanted cupcakes and nothing else...and what did she eat?? ONLY THE FROSTING ON TOP!!!! geesh...next year I'm just going to give her a bowl of frosting and a big ole' spoon!

not sure of that goat in the petting zoo...

of course the party didn't end after the pony party was over...the party continued at our house with a bbq and swimming.....and here is dare devil Meigan about to launch herself off of "Uncle Ronnie" shoulders in our pool......the party continued well into the night time...

until poor tired Meig couldn't party anymore.......she conked out on the tv room floor...

June 21st 2008 also marked the 4th anniversary of Meigan's referral...the day we found out who she was, where she was and saw a picture of her little face....Catie and I waited anxiously for the phone to ring...we knew the call was coming...we knew that our group had referrals from Maoming, which is were Catie was from..and as our agency worked through the families, it was finally our turn...."you have a baby girl from Maoming" said Tracy from our agency..."it's her 1st birthday today" she said...."isn't that great?" I was already speechless, crying and so happy...Catie was just 4yrs. old and couldn't understand why I was crying....and Brian was on a business trip...so much has changed in the past 4yrs....she's grown into such a girl.....she is a dare devil, strong willed, senstive, naughty, full of life, amazing kid!...We love you so much our Meig..can't imagine life without you!!!!

These are the very first pictures we saw of Meigan.....hard to imagine her then...and to see her now...look at that sweet face!

ALMOST 5 AND OFF THE HIGH DIVE...

Friday the 20th was Meigan's last day of being 4.....she decided to end her era of 4yrs. old with not 1, but 2 jumps off the VERY high diving board at the college pool where Catie does swim team practice.....GO MEIG was the cheer of Catie's swim team members as she made her leaps off.... crazy girl....

RED SOX BABY

Well, the time finally came for the girls to see their heros live.....the SOX were in town over Memorial Day Weekend and we got tix. It was FUN!!!! The girls loved it, and had a blast tailgating...Meig was dancing in the parking lot to the music being played by our tailgaiting neighbors...pretty funny stuff it was...Catie just sat, watched her little sister and laughed hysterically...as did Brian and I... We had lunch in the parking lot with our chairs and goodies...a good time...our seats were amazing (and were I a smart person,) I'd have taken pics from our seats, which were not far above the 3rd base line with a most fabulous view of Meigan's most favorite Sox player...Manny...we could see him well in left field... Catie, however didn't get to see her favorite player, Jonathan Papelbon..since he saves the games when the SOX are winning, they didn't need his services this past weekend...since they lost every single game.....



the SOX STUNK UP the East Bay that weekend getting swept by the A's 3 straight games and dropping from 1st place in the American League...however, we got to see Big Papi hit a home run...and that was fantastic!

The girls made a sign and were hoping like crazy to get on the TV cameras so my parents could see them in NH....pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me...



Brian and the girls having their tailgate lunch!

A Banner Day for Catie

Last week, Catie earned her Eagle Card Banner for earning 10 Eagle Cards this year at school. Eagle Cards are given to the kids to reward those who go the extra mile, whether it's for behavior, schoolwork, or being nice to others...Meigan and I were on hand to see the award given to Catie and others at her school.

Fun in Monterey

some fun in the hotel pool......

A chilly day at the Aquarium

a relaxed Daddy on the beach....

some beach fun!

Prelude to the Torch Relay

Monday we were on our way to Monterey, and we got stuck in the traffic jam on the Golden Gate Bridge when 3 guys climbed the cables just before the South Tower.....it was quite impressive to drive right under/by these 3 guys suspended over 500ft. up the cables....i have to say I got some pretty great shots of these guys before they hung their banner in support of Tibet...I took them through the windshield of the car as Brian was driving.....the girls weren't sure what to think.....so that prompted a discussion to take up a good part of the 2hrs. drive to Monterey. I was going to take them into the city to see the Olympic Torch Run...what a once in a lifetime chance...but decided Tuesday night to stay home for safety reasons....

A Trip to Wine Country

On the 30th, we ventured north to our favorite wine region, the Russian River...after our beloved Pinot Noir that the region is famous for.....We took our neighbors Rose & Don with us...we all had a great time! This photo was taken at Armida Winery...the deck behind the girls is the best in the area for picnics and views over the Russian River Valley...we enjoyed a great lunch on this deck, visited favorite wineries and found 2 new ones!

Easter Dresses

Easter came..and went...with plenty of chocolate eggs hidden by The Bunny.....
we had our neighbors Rose & Don for dinner and our neighbor Kitty...it was a really nice day!

Early Summer??? naaahhh...just a teaser

a few weeks ago, we had some really nice weather....and it was enough for the girls to try out the pool for the 1st time this year....it was FREEZING...but did they care? nope..not at all.....crazy kids.....

Who Says Cats Can't Jump Rope...

Sunday, the girls were outside jumping rope.....and I heard them howling laughing and yelling "no Oreo"...well, our little pussy cat was chasing their jumpropes....so the girls decided to see if Oreo would actually jump rope.......

and as you can see....YES SHE CAN!! our little kitty got some serious air on this attempt at jumprope!!! Oreo is the supercat! I have to say, that this picture had all of us busting a gut laughing...we couldn't stop......I can't believe I actually got the cat mid-air......I think this photo could win us some $$$ in some goofy photo contest......

A Winters Day at the Beach...

Last weekend we took advantage of the amazing "winter" weather and headed out to Tomales Bay State Park to Hearts Desire Beach....we LOVE this beach...Brian and I have bee going here since I moved here in 1992....it's on the calm bay, no fog and it's the perfect place for kids to play...no big waves to wipe them out like on the Pacific... I didn't bring bathing suits, as it was only barely 70 degrees, but as you can see, it didn't stop my 2 from going in the water...after an hour, they were FREEZING...and happy...and Brian and I sat on the beach, watched the girls and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine......a perfect day for the Van Weeles...

February 08.....New Hampshire

The girls and I spent the week of February vacation in New Hampshire.....now, why did we leave the 70 degree weather of Marin County, CA for the FRIGID temps of New Hampshire??? well.....family of course.......however, it never got above 25 degrees for 10 days straight...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....we had a snowstorm while there, went bowling, the girls played in the snow and went sliding every single day, we ate lobsters, fried clams and LOTS of Dunkin' Donuts...and those of you from New England know..there is NOTHING like a Dunkin' Donut!!!!! I got to see lots of my friends, got to relax and sleep in....hmmm, flying 3000 miles just for that??

Most important was spending time with my brother Kevin and his family...here we are with Kevin and James who just turned 2...and boy, James is a whirlwind!! he loved being around the girls...and they thought he was just too cute!!! sadly when we took this picture, James' big brother Dylan wasn't with us.....and I'm such a bad Aunt, I never took another picture...

Catie & James having a very cute moment together.....

Catie & Meigan spent one night in a snowstorm shoveling the deck over and over and over....

Meigan and Nana shoveling together...

can't have a snowstorm without making snow angels...

wipeouts while sliding.....