Cake Month

Our family's celebration month is October. We literally eat cake all month for the many celebrations that occur during it

Celebrating our 5 year anniversary with a weekend in Annapolis. It was neat to come back to where it all started. I still love my Midshipman.  A big thank you for GiGi watching the girls for us, Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Dan for the football tickets, and for Nanny and PopPops for treating us to our favorite steak restaurant in the United States

Mids marching on

Valdez Men showing Navy Pride

The steak was bigger than his head! yum yum yum 

Making easy mac (they were so excited to make their own dinner and then making Daddy's cake

Decorating Daddy's Cake

One of my all time favorite pictures of Mini

Happy Birthday Daddy!

 

Happy Birthday Mini

Opening presents with Sissy

A hide out Tent

So excited for her baby stroller

Daddy gets into the fun

Cake! Mini's favorite part of her birthday are the cake and balloons. The presents are a nice detail but she isn't that into them yet

Worn out from partying at school

Ava was so excited to wear her fairy costume for her Halloween Parade at preschool. As you can see she is not nearly as shy when she is wearing fancy clothes

the 4 year old classes. Miss Ava front and center. They sang Halloween songs for us

Love our Fairy! Coming soon to the blog....Ava's birthday, Halloween, and celebrating both girls birthdays at Great Wolf Lodge. Stay tuned!

While we were gone....

          The other half of the Valdez gang had a great week in Virginia while Ellie and I were in California. It was a full house of rotating guests between Eric, Nanny, and PopPops. We were able to go on the trip because Nanny was so sweet to rearrange her schedule to come and stay with Ava during the week. They had an action packed week full of bike rides, the pumpkin patch, the zoo, the movie theatre, and garden projects. Ava is still talking about how much fun they had. Thank you again for Nanny and PopPops coming to help do projects around our house and taking care of Ava. We are so blessed to have them live so close and be so flexible. 

                Greg was very busy with the change of command events with the squadron. He was selected this summer as "JOPA" which is the leader of the Junior Officer Protection Agency (Basically he is in charge of instigating fun and shenanigans for all the Lieutenants and below at squadron events). As part of his reign as JOPA he has started having a tradition of the JOPA dressing up for different events. You may recall from past blog posts where the guys dressed up as super heros after CONA ball and when they dressed like the Beastie Boys for Strike fighter golf. This time around for the change of command dinner the JO's all wore dinner jackets over their button down shirts. After the cocktail hour before sitting down for dinner, the guys did a big "reveal" by taking off their jackets and showing their "cut off" dress shirts. This was at an upscale restaurant so the other dinners definitely gawked and whispered. They all had a great time. 

I love summer whites! Greg is in the second row at the end on the right. This was at the change of command ceremony.

At a patching for new JOs to the squadron

Redneck JOs!

Oh yes he did

Always classy

Biking around VA Beach with Nanny 

Nanny with endless energy!

Zoo trip

Garden project

The pumpkin Ava painted

Magical Monterey

For Jen's 30th birthday we surprised her by half of the Valdez Clan coming to visit her

Meeting Ainsley for the first time!

Ellie was in love. This was HER baby.

Aunt Jen warming Ellie up for holding the real baby

Ainsley loves being cuddled so Ellie and I were in heaven!

This is Jen's front window to her house. This is FOR REAL her view. It is spectacular. This was Ellie's favorite spot all week as the "look out"

Ellie held Ainsley's hand during all car trips

Ellie came in to say Good Morning to the baby as soon as she woke up

Matt, his Dad, and his Grandfather all HAND MADE this boat bassinet. Ellie and were both in awe of the carpentry and the baby inside it. 

Graduated to feeding the REAL baby!

Monterey Aquarium is by far the best aquarium I have ever visited. Ellie had a great time running around yelling, "MOMMY LOOK!"

Ellie showing us where to go next

Ellie thought this room was neat and called it the  "Fish School" because I told her it was a school of fish.

The most majestic part of the aquarium is the giant jelly fish

What a pearl!

We love the aquarium!

Ainsley was awake for most of the action

Chef Mini making "Punk" pie with Aunt Jen and Ainsley. 

Ainsley still trying to figure me out

Ellie passing out sitting up after running around the aquarium all afternoon

Happy Baby

Shopping part of Monterey

Ellie was ready to rock and roll every morning with Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt

hiding from Calvert

Double fisting Pumpkins

Apple picking with her own personal ladder, Uncle Matt

I am convinced Ellie would love manual labor at this age. She was running around the orchard and wanted to pick every apple she saw.

The gang- Missed you Greg and Ava! 

Ellie loved posing with Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt but was a squirmy wormy with me

She collect a whole bucket of apples

Current favorite family picture of the Browns. They all always accidentally match as well :)

Ellie calls all pumpkins "Punks". She was the cutest "punk" in the patch though

My babes!

This is the trail in front of Jen's house. Seriously, you can see her house in the background

The beauty never ceased to awe us

Aunt Jen and Ellie baked us some type of goody each day. It was fantastic

The cutest Newborn "Punk"!

Ellie's first experience at In-N-Out burger. Nom Nom Nom

We were so excited to visit when Ainsley was smiling constantly

We took the famous "17 Mile drive" and stopped by Pebble Beach Golf Course. A round here is $500 and the views make you understand why they are ALWAYS booked. 

Ellie was in a Grump a Dump mood so Aunt Jen twirled the grumpiness out of her

time to race!

Ainsley peeking out from the Moby wrap on our hike at Point Lomos State Park

Hiking with Uncle Matt

What a good sport he is!

Grump a Dump

Matt always jokes that he gets freaked out that Jen and I dress so similarly. He has been known to make one of us change before we go out in public with him too. We never plan it but it just works out that way. This was one of the nights when we were making homemade apple pie and he walked into the kitchen and said, "Really guys!? REALLY you have to dress EXACTLY the same!?" I swear it was a total coincidence!

The pie was a bust

worn out

Ellie loves her Aunt and Uncle!

"SOS!"

Ainsley: "Mom have you run a background check on this person!?"

My favorite part of the trip was seeing Harbor Seals in Jen's front yard everyday. I love how deliciously obese they are, how they flop themselves onto rocks, and how they bark at each other

This is seal beach and all those little grey and black objects are seals!

trip to the park to run the 2 year old crazy out

Swing time!

Painting her punk with Aunt Jen

Ellie making herself right at home, even making her own recliner.

Ellie wants to be a Mommy just like Aunt Jen. This includes feeding and burping her baby whenever Aunt Jen is taking care of hers.

Ohhh the Joy of riding an airplane with an almost 2 year old

She did sleep a tad on the plane

So excited to get a window seat

Grump

She started to SING at the top of her lungs to all the passengers on the plane.  I'm so thankful for kind patient strangers.

Reading to her baby

See you guys!

Thank you to the Browns for a fabulous week. We are really looking forward to being in driving distance to them again in a few short months.