Sneak Peek

Aunt Libby and David's wedding is only 10 days away.  Miss Riley may just be the cutest flower girl of all time! Check out her shoes...

She's a natural, don't you think??

Weekend Wedding

My cousin, Shane, and his fiancee were married last Saturday.  It was a 2pm wedding with the reception immediately following.  It was a beautiful wedding and Uncle Nick was an usher/groomsman.  Riley was not the best wedding guest, however.  Brett spent 50% of the ceremony out in the lobby with a moody toddler.  I guess that's what happens when you get woken up from your nap an hour early!  Here she is "pouting" after the wedding.  She's been doing this quite often now.  I guess I'll take a quiet, pouting toddler over a loud, screaming, crying toddler!  (Notice the pig tails)

The best part for Riley...dancing!  This girl loves to dance!  She mostly loved running around like a crazy kid, but it was fun to watch her "dance" with the other kids.

and by herself...

and with mommy...

and with Uncle Nick...

Here's the happy couple...Shane and Natalie...

Riley wouldn't eat but she sure was happy to drink some water!

It was a great day (even with some good luck showers) and we're happy for the newlyweds. I just wish I were in jamaica too!

Water Fun

Riley absolutely loves to play in the water.  Well, at least she says she does!  Over the weekend we had a chance to pull out her new water toy. 

  

We set it up and she stared at it for a good 5 minutes deciding if it looked too cold. 

She ran through it a couple times with her eyes closed and then ran about 10 yards away whining.  It was pretty funny. So we turned the water off and she began playing with her "wa wa" toy!

 In the end she did run through  under water spraying out of the hose!  Daddy was a little sneaking and sprayed her a couple times which didn't sit well!  I think she's more of a pool girl!

California!

We made it back from California Sunday night.  I have to say that this was one of my favorite vacations.  Maybe it's because I truly took advantage of every minute free of being a mommy!  It was relaxing, warm, sunny, and so much FUN!  California is a beautiful place and definitely a place that I hope to make it back to.  We spent our time in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach mostly.  Both were great.  Our days looked something like this: Wake up (whenever WE decided), shower (or not), go get a stress free breakfast at a cute diner, lay by the pool (and have a few cocktails), rest and showers, and then a night on the town.  It was great to see the Mercer's again.  We saw them last in DC when we both had our kiddos with us.  This time it was all about us.  We had fun chatting about our lives back home, reminiscing about old times, and discussing future plans and possible vacations.  And yes, there was a lot of talk about Riley and Maxx!  Overall, we all had a great time and were happy to get back to Miss Riley - who we hear was really good while we were gone.  I swear her hair grew an inch and she started talking in sentences while we were gone!  Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

The Happy Couples

The Happy Mamas!

Our sweet ride

The First Drink - not counting the two drinks on the airplane.

The Pool

The Beach

Out and About

We attempted to get a group shot, but somehow the person didn't take the picture. But as you can tell, we had a great time!

Bon Voyage!

I'm going to miss this little stinker!!!  With this look I think she might give the grandparents a run for their money!!

Thankfully, we're only gone for a couple days and we'll have the beach calling our names!

Finished Product

So the patio is (almost) finished.  Brett finished putting down the pavers and we have just a few things left to completely finish the project.  We still need to grow grass up to the edge of the patio and cut a few pavers for the row next to the deck.  But, we are very happy with what we have now!

Busy Bees

The past couple of weeks have been soooo busy at the Murphy house. 

Last Monday we helped Great Grandpa Melvin celebrate his 77th birthday.  We all had a great time together!

We put in our garden, which Riley loves to help with.  Most recently, she helped me pull weeds by pulling out our onion bulbs.  She was very proud!

In the past couple weeks we've had radishes come up as well as our greenbeans sprout.  This year we decided to purchase some of our vegetables from The Homestead - a local organization the supports people with Autism.  It also is the place that I worked for in college.  I was happy to be able to support an agency that is doing great things.  So far, all of our plants are doing great!

We also decided that we needed another DIY project on our plate.  We decided that we should install a simple patio off of our back deck.  It hasn't proven to be simple at all!  Especially with the hot and muggy weather we've had the past several days.  Here's what the project looked like as of Saturday night.

(Don't mind the terrible siding.  That's a project that we know we can't DIY.  Soon enough we'll have all new windows and siding at the Murphy house! I'm waiting patiently.)  Sunday, we poured all of the sand down and then Brett got started on laying the pavers.  Not an easy task.  Each paver weighed in at 40 pounds!  So, we still have several rows of pavers to lay.  We're hoping to get it finished tonight.  I'll be sure to post pictures of our finished project.

Riley has been up to her same old stuff.  She has loved being able to play outside!  She cries anytime someone is outside and she's stuck indoors.  She also picked up a bad habbit and I am to blame.  She now says "oh, shoot" all the time.  Usually she points to her skinned knee (or any owie) and says "oh, shoot" and "hurt."  She also heard me say "oh, shit" yesterday as I dropped something.  Immediately she said "oh, SHIP" and laughed.  I guess we've officially hit the "repeat" stage!  Here's a picture of the stinker with her knew favorite food!

 

Now, my mind is focused on this:

Brett and I leave for Newport Beach on Friday night.  We're so excited to have a little getaway!  And so excited to spend a few days with the Mercers!