Where do I begin?

My sister is making me look really bad. She has been blogging almost daily lately. Like I always wrote in my journals, I will try to do better.

It has been a great month. First of all, grandma and papa flew out for Erin's 10th birthday and for Eric's 12th birthday. In our church, turning 12 is a big deal. He was finally able to receive the Priesthood and start passing the sacrament. He has been asking for a suit for a long time and Mario and I finally decided to get him one in time to pass the sacrament for the first time. Seeing him in a suit makes me incredibly sad because it will only be 7 short years before he leaves for his mission. Time goes way too fast.

The kids almost always want Mario to make his special ice cream cake for their birthdays. The problem with ice cream cake is that you can't decorate it the same way as you decorate regular cakes. Erin really wanted an ice cream cake but she wanted it to have a horse on it. So Mario came up with this way to decorate her cake. She loved it.

My dad stayed a week and was able to help Eric build a new "trick" bike. Eric really enjoyed that time with Papa.

My mom stayed an extra week and watched the kids so Mario and I could go to San Diego for a few days. It was so nice to get away and have a little vacation. We were able to go to the San Diego Temple for the first time. It was such a beautiful temple. Of course I am still partial to Washington D.C., but San Diego was amazing. We had a great time walking the beach too. On the last day, Mario decided to go swimming in the 69 degree water. He loved it and has already planned our next trip with the kids there in September.

We owe my mom a lot of thanks. She is so good with the kids. Mario and I wouldn't feel comfortable going away is she weren't here to watch them. We know they are in good hands with grandma. She did lots of cooking and sewing with Erin, playing legos and games with the twins, and hanging out taking pictures of Eric doing karate, piano, and bike riding. We are so thankful that she was able to visit. We are grateful for the good influence the grandparents are on our children. We are also grateful for all the pictures she took while here. I feel like I don't need to take any pictures for a while. Thank you mom and dad for coming.