New York times......

Hi everyone! We hope you had a happy July 4th and that you got to see wonderful fireworks! We spent the 1st week of July in NY. Danny was at Brenner Mountain camping with his friends, and the kids and I went to Addison to spend time with our Aunts, Uncles, & cousins on the Baker side! We all had a great time visiting friends and family, which included lots of play time, some time in a dump truck, a trip to a small amusement park, an evening at the campground, and a graduation party for one of our favorite cousins! It was a great way to relax and enjoy some time together.

Unfortunately, our vacation "high" ended very quickly when Danny was laid off from his job on Monday. Although it was not a great way to come back to reality, we are optomistic that something better will come along, and we are staying positive! It's all about perspective, and right now we may be unlucky in one area, but we are very very blessed in the rest of our lives.

So....onto something to make everyone smile! Here are some of the MANY pictures that were taken in Addison! We hope you enjoy them! Lots of love....

Sarah

Lil Miss Attitude

Jimmy Johnson's biggest fan

Every little boy's dream come true!

Wrestling over a ball.....

Logan loved the planes at Harris Hill....

and the "Nascar" ride (he named it that)

Lila also loved the planes....

And the ponies...

She did NOT, however, like it when they started the carousel without her

The both loved the ice cream!

Logan and cousin Doug building a fire at the campground

Lila didn't trust Logan's ability to make a fire, so she wore this.

Awwwwwwwwww

Awwwwwwww again

Happy 4th of July!!!

Logan loved the sparklers, "These are awesome!!"

Lila wasn't so sure.... but she came around!

Waiting for the fireworks in the tall grass

Yippee for fireworks!!

Thanks for a great time in NY, everyone!!!

Another update!!!

Hi all! We have been as busy as ever, but we're having a great time. We LOVED George and Jodi's wedding, and we've been enjoying all of the fun we've been having with our friends. Lots of BBQs, bubble blowing, slip-n-sliding, and even a little hiking! Danny has been working on his golf game, and I'm starting my first ever quilt. We're getting really excited for our trip to WNY in just 2 weeks!!! It's hard to believe June is already half over!

We hope you are all enjoying yourselves and the sunshine....and of course, our latest pictures. See you soon!

All decked out for George & Jodi's wedding

A Princess and her Prince

The flower girl (who essentially had to be dragged down the aisle by daddy)

Men at work

Two peas in a pod (minus all that leg/chest hair)

total poser...

Future Miss North Carolina? (I would NEVER let that happen, by the way)

A man and his fighter jet

So handsome

The first step of Lila's quilt....it took me forever to lay out the squares and make it look nice. Now I need to get the nerve to start sewing!

Birthdays, graduations, and tee ball....OH MY!

I know, I know.  It's been two MONTHS since I have updated this blog!  What can I say?  We've been very very busy!!  It's been an exciting two months.....Logan started tee-ball, then Logan had his birthday, then Lila had her birthday, then Logan graduated from preschool.........it's been TONS of fun!  

Because I have so many pictures to share, I won't write a long post this time around.  Just to cover the bases - Logan turned 5 in the end of April.  He had a Superman birthday party here at the house and he loved it!  He started tee ball in mid April and just finished up last week.  He really enjoyed that too, and he looked soooooo cute in his uniform!  And the biggest event....he graduated from Preschool last week!  It was a great little ceremony (and of course, I cried).  I am sad to see him leave Ramah, because I truly love it there.  He is feeling a bit intimidated by the thought of Kindergarten, but we know he will love it and do so well!  In the mean time, he will be spending 3 weeks this summer going to different camps in town and he is looking forward to that.

Lila turned 3 in the end of May and we had a fun barbecue with a mermaid theme for her.  She is really starting to turn a corner and act less like an irrational child and more like a civilized human being, so we are really excited about that!!  She has been LOVING having her big brother home all day now that school is out, and they spend their mornings playing school, house, and superheroes.  I love to watch them play together...they really love eachother and get along so well and there's not much more I could hope for!  She is looking forward to starting preschool at Ramah in the fall.  She tends to be a bit shy at first, but I know she will be fine once she settles in.  This weekend she is going to be the flower girl for some of our closest friends.  She has a beatiful "princess" dress and we have big plans to bribe her down the aisle with fruit snacks!! Hopefully it won't take me 2 months to post those pics!  

Okay, so on to the good stuff (LOTS of pics this time!)!  We hope you're doing well and enjoying summer!!  We miss you all and are looking forward to seeing a lot of you soon!!!!

By the way - you can click on the pictures to see them in a bigger size if you feel the need!  

How cute is he in his uniform????

They even have their names on the back!

He got the game ball one week!  He was so proud!

Ready for his Superman party!

His awesome Superman Cape Cake

With a few of his friends (and Lila looking on in awe at the big kids)

Grandma Barb

Defeating Mommy with his new Wolverine claw

The Graduate

Miss Sue's 2009 graduating class

The two cutest kids EVAH!

Cool chick!

In her Mermaid Birthday dress (and desperately in need of a hair cut!)

Her cake (which matches her dress - of course!)

Sporting a new haircut!

I'm 3 now!!

She got ahold of Logan's stamp......yeah.  It's been a week and she STILL has some faded spots.

The Bellinas go to the Circus!

Happy April, everyone!  We hope you are all enjoying some nice Spring weather!  We have been very busy lately, as we seem to be every Spring.  The theme of the past few weeks seems to be performing!!  

Earlier this month, Logan got to bring Danny to school with him for "Rocket Day."  We had set up a special day with the Preschool Director so that Danny could come and he and Logan could set off one of his rockets for the kids.  Logan was thrilled to be the star of the show with his daddy and rumor has it, all the kids LOVED it.  They're already talking about booking Danny for next year to do it again!  

This week, Lila and I got to go to the circus.  You may be asking yourself why Logan didn't get to come along.  Well, that's because he was IN the circus!!  His preschool put on their first ever circus performance on Monday.  Logan was one of the Strong Men (in fact, he was the strongest of the strong men - a very important detail as far as he is concerned)!  It was a wonderful show.  There were Lions, Elephants, Animal Trainers, Acrobats, Strong Men, and Clowns.  The kids did a fabulous job and most importantly, had a wonderful time!  Lila loved watching (and eating popcorn) and she kept telling Logan that her favorite part was seeing him with his big muscles.  

Speaking of The Diva, she has been spending a lot of time practicing her own performances lately.  Papa Sunny brought a fun microphone/guitar/speaker set up when he visited in February, and she has been singing to us in the microphone every day.  She loves to announce herself, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Lila is going to sing Twinkle Twinkle Wittle Staw."  She LOVES to sing and she loves to see other "singing girls."  I can't tell you how often we find ourselves watching the Celtic singers on PBS.  

She has also been very busy being my little clothing model lately.  I have been sewing up a storm, and I have started getting more and more orders for clothing.  I have ordered business cards, and even started building a website.  It's a little intimidating, but I am excited about it.  I will be sure to let everyone know when the website is officially up and running.  Until then, if you're looking for a cute little outfit for that special little one in your life, feel free to let me know!!  :-)

That's it from NC for now.  Next week we are headed to NYC to spend Passover with Grandma Francine, Papa Sunny, and Aunt Heather.  Then we head back to NC to see if the Easter Bunny has come (and thanks to Grandma Barb - she surely will).  We hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend, and I will be sure to post another update when we get back!

Lots of pictures this time around of the strong man, and the future supermodel.  Enjoy!

Love to you all!

Sarah, Danny, Logan, & Lila

Check out my muscles!!

A strong man and his kazoo

Can he do it???

Piece of cake!

Even 1000 lbs is nothing to him!

With his best buds, Tyler (the lion) and Luke (the elephant trainer)

Lila in all of her new creations (someday she may hate me for learning how to sew)