Fishing with Molly & Kenny in NJ!

For Daddy's 40th Birthday, Momma planned a surprise Daddy & Mia trip to visit Molly & Kenny in NJ, and take in a few days of fishing!  Molly & Mia spent the first 7 months of their life together in the Jangxi Social Welfare Institute. They were born one day apart, and we make sure to get them together at least once every year.  Molly's Dad, Kenny, has become a very close friend.  Kenny has been a fishing captain for many years, and was a phenomenol guide.  The girls had a blast together and it was one heck of a way to spend a weekend, out on the ocean, relaxing & fishing!

Catch of the Day!

The highlight of the second day of fishing was pulling up a blue fish that fought like it was an 800 pound tuna!  We had to work this fish for probably 20 minutes to land it...  Mia was a fantastic helper and was proud to step up for the photo op!

Shark!!!

Mia was absolutely amazing at fishing!  I was a little unsure of how a 5 year old would do out on the open ocean with a fishing rod, but she was fantastic.  Once her line was baited, she was able to drop the line, work the reel and actually pulled a few fish up to the surface on her own... Not bad!  The best part was when she caught a shark!!! Actually, she caught two sharks and a sting ray, on top of several dozen black sea bass and fluke.  Molly is a seasoned fisherman, having spent many days on the water with her Dad.  For Mia, this was all new, and truly exciting!  What an amazing experience to see the unbridled joy and excitement as Mia squealed each time she got to touch a shark, hook a ray, or even cast her rod.  Priceless!

NJ Heat!!

It was gorgeous out on the water, but once we got onto dry land the heat & humidity was stifling...  So on our final day we all went to a local water park and the girls had a blast chasing each other around and splashing in the fountains!

Johnson / Hemauer Visit!

Kelly & Mary visited this past weekend with Kelly's beautiful little girls, Anna & Sarah.  Mia absolutely adores them, and they couldn't be sweeter to the kids...  After a long day of swimming & barbecuing, Mia announced she wanted to roast marshmallows.  As the girls roasted their marshmallows, Mia announced she doesn't like smores, and ran off with a Hershey bar!  That was a smart ploy for chocolate...  It was a great day!

Carlsbad Beach Trip!

For the long Memorial weekend we took the kids to Carlsbad to our usual beach hang out!  We had a wedding to attend for our friends Frank & Sandy, so thought we'd extend the stay and let the kids enjoy some beach time.  It was an absolute blast, and the weather was perfect.  Nice break from the 112 degree Arizona heat!

Surfer Girl!!

Wow, has this little girl grown up!  She was surfing the waves, flying kites and having a blast at the beach!  Mia has become such an amazing big sister and is still an absolute joy to be around...  No idea how we got so lucky!

Beach Babe!

Aurbrey was in heaven playing in the sand!  Every time we turned around she had sand all over her face...  She found a small hill leading down to the waves and slid down it over & over.  Having all three of the kids at an age where they could enjoy the beach was amazing.  No doubt it was still very challenging to keep our eyes on all of them constantly, but it was already significantly easier than last year!  We're headed back to the beach in July and the kids can hardly stop talking about how excited they are to get back...

Beach Boy!

Brandon absolutely loved the beach!  Obsessed might be a better word...  We'd get back to the room after a long day at the beach and he would immediately start whining to go back.  His favorite word is now 'beach'!  What a handsome young man...

Frank & Sandy's Wedding!

A big part of our weekend focused on various wedding festivities for our good friends Frank & Sandy!  This was Mia's first rehearsal dinner & wedding.  Thankfully Frank & Sandy have an older daughter who was hugely helpful in babysitting the twins during the various events, so we didn't need to bring the crazy monsters with us...  We love em, but at 2 years old they sure can be disruptive & destructive!!  The wedding was absolutely beautiful along the Carlsbad shoreline, and it was great to spend quality time with the fam.

Wedding Cake Server!

Mia found her favorite part of the wedding when she was able to help pass out the wedding cake!  She was so intent on making sure every guest was served...  Love the smile!

Fun with Aunt Cathy!

Mia's first wedding didn't seem to be too much fun until Aunt Cathy arrived!  Mia lit up when she saw her Aunt, and the two of them spent several hours playing and being silly...  It was so sweet to see her having so much fun & smiling ear to ear!