4th of July and Mom's B-day

My family came up for the 4th of July and my Mom's 60th Birthday, which was on the 5th. We had a super fun time. On the 4th, we went up to the city and went to Pier 39...

When we yelled "Pose!", this is what they all did--really don't think Kayla knows what the word "pose" means...
We also went to the aquarium at the pier, which has these sweet fiberglass tunnels--take a look!

And we pet sting rays...
And we went on the Double-Decker Tour Bus!

And swimming at Grandma's Hotel of course!


It was so fun having them all up here, can't wait to do it again!

Habits

Every time we leave the house my kids feel the need to bring something along with them. This has proven to be really kind of bothersome, as it usually takes them several moments to decide what to bring and so makes us late, and in addition, we accumulate quite a collection of "things" in the backseat of the car.

The other day, Benson chose his (Kayla's) Cowgirl hat and lowrider matchbox car. And Kayla, after much deliberation (as is always the case) chose her Nemo. All items ended up left in the abyss of the backseat, but it was worth it to watch Benson cruising through
Costco in his cowgirl hat;)

If you haven't seen this yet...

...push play, you won't regret it.

Character

Let me preface this post with how much I love Kayla--in my opinion, she is the most interesting, clever and funny person I know...for a 5 year old.
So sometimes after we put the kids to bed, Kayla likes to sneak into her closet and exchange her pajamas for a princess dress (she has about 15 of them). Sleeping princess, get it? So anyways, recently she got a miniature Ariel outfit for her new Tropical Hello Kitty from the build a bear workshop, complete with equally as miniature red wig. Well, this is what I found the other night just hours after bedtime...

Also as of late...my Mom bought her this vintage monkey stuffed animal about 2 weeks ago and ever since it has been her best friend-"Tippy" is his name. Well, I keep finding Tippy all around the house left in lifelike poses such as this one:

It's starting to freak me out--as if Tippy might come to life one night and create all sorts of havoc.

Facelift

So anyone who visits my blog has probably realized that I've been tinkering with my layout quite extensively lately! I'm trying to find something that you and I will actually want to look at... Visit my friend Josie's blog and you'll see what I mean--I LOVE going to her blog, because it is so clean and comfortable, really--a lot like her!:)
I've fallen back on my old standby--Hokusai, whose artwork I heart. But am not satisfied that this is IT for me...keep checkin it out, it'll probably be different the next time you see it...and the next time...and the next time...until I find my blog nirvana.
So, any tips on how to do it better?

10 months of training...

We did it! 26.2 miles!
Favorite shirt quotes:
"This was my sister's idea" printed on the back of 2 girls that were twins.
And "Sisters on the Run".
Any ideas for something clever for next year?
Favorite Cheer Squad:
Husbands dressed in drag as large boobed cheerleaders--made me laugh both times along the race course!

I would have included photos of me actually running the race, but race day photos aren't posted yet--you're missing out, as I'm sure I look stunning all sweaty and serious.
Here are the only pictures I got of the whole weekend--pre-race photos
taken at about 4:45 AM:

So tired...

...and Jenny running late as usual!