More Baylor friends, yay!

Last Friday night, our good friends Kelly and Kyle went to a concert on their anniversary so we got to play with Eileen all night. Drew has been so excited for more new friends to come to her house. She loved being a big sister.

The girls shared a hot dog at Fatburger and then ran crazy with Baby Lauren at Grand Park in Aliso Viejo.

Then they got really silly in the bath.

Saturday morning we went to Baby Beach in Dana Point (along with every other family in Orange County it seems). It was quite cloudy at first and then broke to a nice, sunny day.

Kelly and Eileen.

Drew told me she wants to paddleboard and ride a boat.

Unfortunately this may be the best Barsch Family photo at the beach. Drew was splashing Eileen, a wave had just soaked Kelly and Eileen, and the Barschs camera was drying off on the towel after being accidentally dropped in the water.

We came back to the house to do some more swimming in the warm pool water. The girls had a blast before we all got dressed and went to the Angels game.

Drew loved playing with Kelly. As long as I've known her Kelly has been a magnet for young children (which makes sense since she is a teacher and assistant principal), and they just adore her. Drew was no different.

Eileen got lots of practice swimming and really enjoyed going under water and jumping off the side of the pool.

Hurriedly we all got showered and dressed for the Angels game. Against their better judgement, Kyle and Kelly let Eileen wear Drew's old Angels jersey to support the home team.

Eileen did not like being an Angels fan! She's loyal to the National League only!

Kelly and I have several pictures with a similar background so it was really special for us both to have our girls. 

Averaging about 1 good family photo every 3 months!

4th of July

Finally! July has been a great month for swimming!

Lauren and Drew showing off their USA spirit.

2 peas in a pod.

Our friend, Sam, from Australia having a jump.

One of my best friends from Baylor, Mark, and his 2 beautiful girls Sam and Steph. It was so great to finally meet the girls (and see Mark and Heidi again) after watching them grow on their blog.

 

Fireworks from the front yard. Unfortunately we did hear fire trucks for the rest of the evening. A wild fire caught on Kite Hill facing the Regional Park. Luckily no one was hurt and no one's property was damaged.

Zoomars with the Murdents

A few weeks ago, we took a little trip to Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano with the Murdents. As always, the girls were excited to see each other.

 We could've stayed at the guinea pig / bunny petting zoo pen the entire day and the girls would've been happy. Drew kept telling us she heard them say "take me home with you."

 Lauren really wanted to feed them carrots, but they just weren't hungry. Could it be the 50 other kids force feeding them carrots and lettuce? Perhaps.

 Drew felt right at home with this goat, he bore a strong resemblance to how Nikki looks when she gets pet.

 She wasn't scared at all. But a goat is a goat and they have teeth, we don't want her learning the hard way.

 Thanks for smiling Lauren and Lewie! Thanks for nothin' Drew!

Maui

After a 5:30am wakeup call and a quick ride to the airport, we had 3 flights to catch: OC to San Fran, San Fran to Honolulu and Honolulu to Kapalua, Maui. This is leg #2, we're all fully into our digital entertainment at this point.

 Same Woody, slightly bigger girl.

Yes, we're checking emails and watching iPods in Hawaii. To be fair, we waited about 4 days before doing it. And it's 8am and we've been up for 2 hours already.

 Hammerhead!

Drew and her friend Bella, this year.

Drew and Bella in 2010.

"I want to live in Hawaii forever!" 

Treehugger 2011

Treehugger 2010

 Getting a little cranky waiting for dinner, and also amping it up for the camera.

 My favorite picture of the trip

 Learning the hula with all the other single wahine (and some boys too).

Drew quotes: the Maui version

Jeremy, Drew and I got to Maui a couple days before my parents' timeshare officially started so we stayed in a more modest hotel for a few days.
Drew: When are we going to the other Hawaii?


me: Drew, do you see Daddy and Boppa out in the ocean? They are boogie boarding
Drew: I see Black Hair and No Hair.

Drew is eating a granola bar for breakfast while I am teaching her how to play Go Fish when her granola bar breaks in half and falls to the floor.
Drew: Blasted granola bar!

As she was giving kisses last night, my mom was last to receive hers:
Drew: And now, a kiss for the person who buyed me my Subbies' River Rascal, my new book and my card game. My Grammy.


To the woman working in the jewelry store when she asked how Drew was doing:
Drew: Do you know what I got for Christmas? A kitchen with food in the refrigelator.

Open House and art work

Here is a little piece of art Drew made earlier this month, titled "Me in Hawaii." She has already surpassed Jeremy and my drawing skills.

 Last Thursday was our first Open House and MLS really knows how to put on a show. There were pictures and artwork everywhere. The 2 pictures here are of Drew holding a shark's jaw and a snake...she is much braver than her mom.

 Of course it's total chaos with all the kids on the playground at the same time. Since school began, Drew has become an expert on the monkey bars, totally unbeknownst to us.

 Here is Drew's jellyfish she made during ocean animals month.

 Drew and Miss Ursi, her very first teacher. Drew has already told me she does not want to leave the purple room next year or Miss Ursi. We are very thankful to have Miss Ursi as her teacher since she doesn't seem to mind Drew's regular announcements during class. Usually they occur during Circle Time and pertain to her birthday party - which she has told everyone they are invited, that we are going to Disneyland and that everyone should get her a present, specifically a bike, a car and a spaceship.

this morning's conversation

Drew (looking at a picture of Christina Aguilera): She's on The Voice.
me: What's her name?
Drew: Christine Perra.
me: Close, it's Christina Aguilera.
Drew: I don't like that name.
me: You can just call her Christina.
Drew: I think I will just call her Christine Perra.
me: OK

Let the sunshine in.

The first weekend in June brought sun (finally), strep throat for me (awesome), and Just Dance for Drew (seen on Facebook).

Spring pictures

I totally forgot I had taken these photos in April.

Lately she has only wanted to wear dresses. I even bought a couple of "play dresses" on clearance so she would stop pulling down the nice ones to play in. Today she told us we were her agents and she was going to tell us what to do. She enjoys making up words and repeating those she doesn't understand. Drawing is a new favorite hobby, we'll have to post her work soon. We do still enjoy watching TV, but more and more we are playing outside as it stays light later and watching movies as a family. Our most recent was Kung Fu Panda 2, which was awesome.