New Hampshire and Maine

We spent 8 days in New England this month... I firmly believe all South Texans should spend a week up north around July or August. It was heaven, I tell you! Highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s, with 0 humidity!! Zero!!! My hair has never looked so good. My aunt has a house in a little ski/golf/lake community in New Hampshire and we had a mini family reunion. Mom, Dad, Matt, Elise, and I flew up from Texas. My cousin Bronson, his wife Ellie, and their children Nicholas and Julia (or Nick-Nick and Ulia as Elise calls them) drove in from Connecticut. My Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim drove up from Mass. and my 91 year old grandma flew in from Cleveland! It was such a fun week!!!

Elise was a total stud on the flights out. We opted out of buying her a seat, crossing our fingers there would be an empty seat for her. Yea right- when was the last time you flew on a place that wasn't oversold???? However, it didn't matter. On the first flight, the 3.5 hr flight to Baltimore, Elise was awesome. She sat at our feet and read her books. No lie. You wouldn't have even known she was there. Puppies make more noise than she did.

The second flight (just an hour and a half) she entertained Tompa (or was it the other way around?) Still as happy as can be.

Elise's first introduction to the beach!!! (Yea- so it was a beach on a lake... no matter... she loved it!)

Happy hour with Grandma. Grandma would give Elise her olive, just like Grandpa used to give me! Elise loved it and by the end of the week, Grandma was getting about 4 olives in her martini, just so Elise could have a few.

Elise's first golf cart ride. She was NOT a fan.

Kayaking on the lake!

Elise and her most favorite person, Tompa!

Elise and her Daddy.

Grandma, me, and Elise!

At the end of the week, we drove to Camden, Maine for my cousin's wedding on my dad's side of the family. It was such a coincidence that the 2 separate family gatherings were the same weekend in the same region!!! Camden is a stunning seaside town... I would love to spend a summer there.

GiGi and Elise looking at the boats before the rehearsal dinner.

My cousin Mark (the groom) plays in an awesome band and we got to listen to them after the rehearsal dinner. It was so fun!

Matt and me at the wedding.

In all, it was a wonderful, relaxing and refreshing week. I feel so blessed to have such a fun family (on all sides!) We truly love to be together and have so much fun. I only wish we didn't live so far away from one another. Until next time!

Still here!

Sorry for the lack of blog updates. Summer is speeding by for us!! We've been spending a lot of time at the pool and playing in our backyard.

Every Sunday we have our weekly family dinner at my parents' house. Tompa is easily one of Elise's favorite people and she always wants him to read her a book and let her take a bath in their sink outside.

Elise and Jaws both love to play in the sprinkler while Matt and I sit back and relax in the backyard. This summer, the weather has been awesome, not too hot at all. I've logged many hours on our patio, finally reading the Twilight Saga.

Happy Birthday America! Our neighborhood also had a fun parade... yet I didn't get a single picture :( Next year, I promise!!!

Elise showing off one of the many cute outfits her MiMi has made her.

Hope your summer has been equally fun!!

Fun with MiMi and Papa!

While Matt and I were in Ireland, MiMi and Papa kept not only Elise, but her cousin Brett! Brett is about 2 months older than Elise and they had so much fun together!

Papa took them both for walks in Granny's walker.

Riding a tricycle is serious business!

Water fun!

Every little girl needs a red bikini! :)

Ireland 2010

Earlier this month we flew Elise to Springfield and then Matt and I met my parents in Ireland for 10 days to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. We had a BLAST!! The men got to do a little golfing at some of Ireland's more famous courses, mom and I did a little shopping, and we all did some sightseeing, eating, and drinking :) It was such a fun trip. We flew into Shannon, rented a car and toured the west and southern coasts of Ireland. We flew home from Dublin.

Elise did great at her Mimi and Papa's and I'll be sure to get a few pics of the fun she had up on here.

Click here to see a few pictures of our Ireland trip.

And a few favs:

Cliffs Of Moher

Kilkenny

Slea Head Drive

Pub time!

Kinsale

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Matt! You are such am amazing husband to me and daddy to sweet Elise. We love you so very much!

The Greatest Dog

Everyone knows I believe Jaws is the greatest, most well behaved four legged furry beast out there. Am I biased? Yes... yes I am. But I did get a little photographic evidence to prove it. Elise spilled her snack cup all around Jaws. I happened to walk by the family room and saw him surrounded by goldfish. But he didn't eat a single one... he wouldn't dare without permission. What a good boy!

Elise giving Jaws some love. She loves loves loves her dog! However, "Jaws" is a word she will not say. She will "bark" like a dog and that's how she says Jaws. In fact, that's one of the first things she "says" every morning. She barks and points down the stairs until she sees her doggie... but will not/can not say "Jaws." Hmmmm.... not sure what to do with that. ;)

More love...

And more!

Just chillin'. Elise thinks Jaws makes a pretty good recliner.

She also thinks he makes a pretty good horse.

Note the hand in the mouth. She was smiling so nicely... I grabbed my camera, a devious look flashed in her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth. And stayed there until I put the camera down.

A visit from Jen, Joe, and Drew!!!

My cousin Jen, along with her husband and 13 month old son, Drew came to visit us from St. Louis this past weekend. We had such a great time!! Even though Drew is a good 6 months younger than Elise, he keeps up just fine. They had so much fun together; it was a wonderful visit!

Of course we had to visit the Alamo.

We took a nice stroll along the riverwalk before heading to Market Square for lunch at La Margarita.

Backyard fun.

Go figure. The scrub brush I used to clean the water table was a bigger hit than any toy!

Jen holding down the fort.

Looking intently at... something. Whatever is was, it even grabbed Jaws' attention!

Cutie-pie Drew putting his quesadilla on his head.

Hottie dads at Sea World. :)

At the first show. Elise wasn't too impressed. Maybe because she knew we were in the splash zone. Woops.

She liked Shamu!

Wasn't a fan of the dolphins.

It was a fun weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again soon!