That's my girl...

I've noticed lately that I haven't been getting any decent pictures of Samantha. So I've been on a mission to get a few good shots of her. What I ended up with were a few amazing shots and some that make me crack up because they are so "her"! Take a look...

Samantha's 3rd Birthday...

July 28, 2006
My little baby girl is turning three, I can't believe it. We celebrated by spending the day at Six Flags Marine World, with Grandma G., Uncle Nick (who had flown in from Las Vegas), and Grandpa H. along for the ride! The weather was perfect, I was worried with the heat wave we've been having that it would be miserably hot. We started with the dolphin show, something that both girls really enjoy. Then we decided to do a couple of "firsts" - feeding the giraffes and riding the elephants, both of which we knew Samantha would flip over!! The Birthday Girl was grinning from ear to ear pretty much the entire day!

(please do not feed the girls...I mean the animals!)
(Samantha feeding a baby giraffe)
(Madison feeding a giraffe)
(riding an elephant, Madison is there you just can't see her sitting behind me!)

The next day, Saturday, we had her birthday party...ten kids and their respective adults for a total of thirty-ish people! From the get-go Samantha had decided that she wanted a Disney Princess party, something that did not surprise me in the least. We ordered pizza keeping it simple and easy and I'd made cupcakes instead of a cake this year, even finding Princess cupcake papers! In addition to the normal decorations we got a pinata as well, and I was excited to find one that not only was Princess themed but had strings to pull to break it open instead of swinging a bat...which worked out perfect since most of the kids were small! I decided not to do any organized games, instead opting for sidewalk chalk as an activity. The kids had an absolute ball giving our patio a makeover! Samantha had such a good time, which really is the most important thing :)

Little People mania...

July 16, 2006

Our house has been taken over by Little People!! Between the girls' birthdays and Christmas our collection has become immense. Samantha and Madison go in spurts with them...they get played with for awhile and then set aside, a few weeks later they'll get pulled back out again. On this particular day Samantha got all the People out and lined them up, moved them around, lined them up again...well, you get the picture! I couldn't resist snapping a few shots off while she played.

Pt. Reyes National Seashore...

July 8, 2006

Headed out for another weekend of camping, this time going with my parents! We took a day trip to Pt. Reyes National Seashore, the first trip to the ocean for the girls. They had a blast! It was windy and cold, but we found a spot where a cliff shielded us so we were able to hang out and enjoy the afternoon. Probably the neatest part of the excursion (besides the girls' delight!) was spotting half a dozen seals playing in the water just off the beach!! There were also these huge pelicans and seagulls galore...so I bet there were fish in that area that they were all snacking on. I, of course, took pictures but really wish I'd had my zoom lens with me...darn! Here are a few shots I took of the day, the man in the second one is my Dad ;)