Happy 4th of July

Thought I'd take advantage of Inara napping, so I can get caught up on the blog. I have to tell everyone about my great job last weekend. Shawn's birthday was Mon the 29th. About a month ago I was trying to come up with a great gift idea for him since he's so impossible to buy for any more. He really needs to find less expensive hobbies. I realized the best gift would be a visit from his good friend, Greg. I emailed Greg and threw out the idea. He said he and his wife were in need of a vacation, so he'd get back to me. I wanna say the very next day their tickets were booked and plans were in motion. I was excited to surprise Shawn with one of his BFFs coming to visit but also was super excited to finally get to meet Greg and Tracy's daughter Kate.

Last Friday, Kristi came over in the morning to install Inara's old car seat since I'd need an extra one for little 9 month old Kate. That afternoon I went to the airport to pick up the surprise guests. I had been coordinating with Thane for a few weeks too so he could make sure to get Shawn home after I got back with our guests. One thing my brother-in-law is great for: he's a perfect partner in crime. We pulled it off perfectly. We had been home about 10 min by the time Shawn and Thane got home from work. When Shawn entered, I yelled from the kitchen, "Honey, you better come here. We need to talk." He slowly came around the corner to see me feeding a baby in the high chair. I told him, "Honey, I found this baby at the park. I already called the cops. Don't worry." He paused for a brief moment and said, "That's Kate! Where's Greg?" Greg and Tracy came out from their hiding spot to greet a super excited Shawn. He was totally surprised and thrilled. That night Shawn told me I was "good." Usually he picks up on surprises, but I never lead on that something was brewing. He was so happy to have Greg and his family here to celebrate his birthday. Ahhh, it's the least I can do for a great hubby.

Greg was here a year ago before we bought the house, so it was great to show him and Tracy around HR. We took them to one of the rec centers and played in the pool. Both Kate and Inara love the water, so this was a perfect outing. We had a bbq Saturday night for Shawn's birthday and had some other friends over along with the Tomlinsons. Sunday Greg wanted to go see the REI flagship store, so we went to Denver, shopped, and walked around 16th Street mall for a bit. Of course, we had to introduce Greg and Tracy to Survive, our favorite board game. We now have another family hooked on the game. Hope we can find a few Survives for sale at garage sales soon. All in all, I've gotta say Shawn had a perfect birthday. All the stress I've been going through planning the surprise was well worth it.

Can't do a blog update without Inara news. Our biggest recent milestone is Inara finally says her name. A week ago she started saying Inara Grace. I think it's hilarious that she doesn't just say Inara but has to say her full name. I have always loved the flow of her name, so the fact that she says Inara Grace makes me so happy. I realize now that I more often call her by her full name than just her first name and frequently do it when I'm trying to reprimand her. Guess it stuck because she says Inara Grace all the time now.

I've been thinking alot about our trip out to CA lately. It's now less than 3 weeks away, and I'm so excited to be going. I know my parents and brother were just out here, but seriously, the girl has changed so much in just the past 2 months that I can't wait for them to see her. As for all the friends and family that I want to see, they are going to get a kick out of how fun Inara is now. She's got the best personality ever. She's so funny and full of life. She asks me at least once a day when we hear an airplane if NeeNee's on it. I've been telling her that Inara, Daddy and Mommy are going on an airplane to OC to see NeeNee, Pop, Spanky and Toby (because she's always referencing Michael's dog now). She always responds with her enthusiastic, Curious George-like "Ooooooooh!" Given the planner I am, I've already started looking into all the things I want to do while we're there. (Why do so many of them revolve around food though? There are a bunch of our favorite restaurants we're hoping we can get to while visiting. Mainly, we can't wait to get us some frozen yogurt!) Of course, we'll go to the beach one day. I definitely want to take her to the OC Fair. She will love going on the rides and seeing the farm animals. I'm debating whether to go to the Long Beach Aquarium or the Santa Ana Zoo. The aquarium is so expensive any more, but I think she'd love to see the fish and aquatic animals. But then again, the kid loves zoo animals, so that's always an option. We're heading up to Bakersfield Aug 1 and 2 to see Kim, Danny and Mady along with all our Bako friends too. I've also been thinking a lot about taking Inara to Disneyland. I used to always be so against taking kids to Dland until they are old enough to really get it, but I think Inara would really love going. She knows who Mickey and the gang are, plus she's a huge Pooh fan and knows other characters like Nemo, Boo and Sully from Monsters Inc, and of course, the Disney princesses. I recently told Sierra no matter how much you try to keep your daughter away from the princesses, she is going to learn who they are from friends and seeing them in the stores. Plus, Inara would absolutely love riding the train, the cars, and some of the kid rides. I'm hoping we can go even for just a half day. Shawn's definitely in too. Shocking since he generally hates going to Disneyland in the summer: too hot and too many darn people. Anything for his little sweetheart though. The one great thing about my parents living in CA (although I would kill to have them move to CO) is SoCal is a great place for vacationing. There are so many touristy things to do, even with a 22 month old. I will be sure to take TONS of pictures to share our trip out to CA with all 5 of my readers. Well maybe I have 7 or 8 readers now. Ha ha.

Hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July. We love you all!