Mia's play date with the Triplets!

On Monday, Mia and I had my dear friend Sally and her three beautiful triplets (Hunter, Cooper and Olivia) over for a play date. Mia had such a blast with all the babies and was trying to get them out of their car seats the second Sally unloaded them on our front porch. It was so funny! In order to get a picture of all four kids looking at the camera we had to put the triplets in their car seats and Mia behind them ...

The above picture is of the four babies who were checking out Tucker who was sitting outside begging to come in. Although Mia is eight months older than the triplets, she is not much bigger than them! My poor little peanut!

We loved seeing Sally and the babies and can't wait to do it again very soon!

Friday!!

So today my wonderful husband leaves for a two-night bachelor party adventure in Tahoe which means Mia and I are on our own for the weekend! Well, not really because our schedule is jam-packed this weekend! Tonight, Mia is being baby-sat by Ya-Ya and Bubba (Daniel's parents) while Mama, Nina and Kristin go out to dinner for a little girls night out! Yay! I am really looking forward to that as it has been a while since I have been out to dinner without a baby to chase back and forth in the restaurant! Saturday we have made plans to hang out with my dad all day and then we have been invited to a family friends house for dinner. Sunday, if we get it together in time we plan on going to church followed by lunch on the deck at Sam's for my cousin Chris' birthday! Yum! I love their Crab Omlette!

Below, I am posting a couple of pictures I took of Mia this morning ... the first is of Mia giving her baby doll a big smooch - think she is ready to be a big sister?! The second, is of Mia eating a lollipop - yes, I know! But, does it make it any better that they are organic? And, I can't really say no to her when I am sitting here sucking on a "Preggy Pop" which are the "all-natural" way to cure morning sickness. I have to say, they do sometimes work! Enjoy the pictures and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

It's been too long!

Well, its been quite some time since I last updated my blog so I am taking this opportunity, while Miss Mia naps to update the blog! Finally! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind - Daniel has decided to go back to school to pursue his EMT degree so that he can eventually become a fireman so we have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get all of his paperwork, immunization records, TB Tests, etc. together so that he could start school this week. So far, everything is going well and he seems to be enjoying the course material, just not the going to school part. Regardless, I am very proud of him for making the decision to do this, because I know how much he hates going to school. Plus, I think he would make a pretty darn cute fireman :-)!

Other news in the Elkington Household (and quite exciting news to boot) is that Miss Mia is going to be a big sister come next March! Thats right folks - Daniel and I are expecting our second child - EDD (Estimated Date of Delivery for those of you who are out of the pregnancy terms loop) is March 31st, 2010. That means that we will have two March birthdays! How fun (and expensive!). We hope to find out the sex of the baby in October because those of you who know me know that I am not patient enough to wait to find out! Plus, I figure there are enough surprises during labor and delivery!

We have had some beautiful days here in the past couple weeks ... that meant lots of beach and pool days. So, I am posting some pictures of Mia at the beach with one of her best buddies Charlie (aka "Carlie") ... they are pretty darn cute together and their new thing is holding each others hands while they do everything - walk, go down the slide, run, etc. So precious! "Young Love"
Cutie Pie Carlie
"I don't really have to wear my hat mom, "Carlie" isn't either!"

"Mom - I am in the water! Isn't this cool!"
Just trying to take a quick snapshot ... hold on here ...

Pictoral Update

Hi Guys - just a brief pictoral update today. Wanted to post some more pictures from the remainder of our trip to Europe - below are some more from our hikes in Berchtesgaden. Enjoy!

My Mom

Its been a while, and most of you know why. We returned from our European Vacation on July 8th at around 7:30 in the evening and got home and were in bed by about 10:00 PM. At 3:50 AM I got a phone call from my father that he had taken my mother to the Emergency Room because she could not stop coughing and that the doctors in the ER had told him he should probably contact the family as she was very sick and they did not think she would make it another couple days. I was in complete shock - there are no words to describe this feeling. I left for Europe a month prior, the day after my mom's 62nd Birthday Celebration where she was feeling fairly good and returned to the news that my mom probably was not going to make it more than a day. We were all devestated and even my dad who was with her every day prior never dreamed that would be the news they would get when they got to the hospital. My mother did pass away that day, July 9th at about 5:30 PM surrounded by her family and close friends - I feel like she was hanging on to see me and my family again. I am still in shock and feel as if this is all a bad dream and that maybe my mom is just on a vacation and will be coming home soon. And, I could kick myself for not being here with her during her last month - if only I would have known. She did not tell me anything that was going on because she did not want to ruin our vacation - even on the days she felt the worst she was selfless and worrying about others. My mom was an incredible mother, and I only hope that I can be as good a mother to my children as she was to me and my brother. I miss her every day but know that she is looking out for us from above and I see her spirit and spunk in my little Mia every day. I am so grateful that she was able to meet and spend so much time with Mia - they had such a special relationship and Mia sees the pictures I have of my mom throughout the house and always points to them and says "Moma" (which is what she calls my mom) so I know she will always have fond memories of her as well. Mama, you will be missed terribly by all, espcially your family and close friends. We love you so much, and will never forget you! May you sleep in peace in a better place - no more pain, sorrow, worries or fight.

Do not stand by my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush.

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there, I did not die.

Beautiful Berchtesgaden! (Part One)

This place is beautiful - spectacular - awe-inspiring - majestic ... and as Daniel would say "this is god's country"! Truley, the most beautiful landscape I have seen and can probably say the same for the rest of my family as Daniel has not been able to stop talking about it and I pretty much know what Mia has seen in her almost 16 months on this earth! For those of you who like hiking - this would be your paradise. I can't even count the number of trails this place has. Amazing! Our first full day here the three of us (and "Hosey") packed up our gear and headed to the Almbachklamm which is an amazing hike through a gorge, along crystal-clear streams and waterfalls. At the top of the gorge the hiking trail turns pretty narrow and leads you through some woods before you end up walking out into a huge green fields filled with wildflowers. It was absolutely spectacular. The entire hike was only about 6 km but it was very much up-hill so we were pretty tired by the end. After the hike we headed home for a nap (all three of us!) and then headed out to dinner at a restaurant on the Konigsee called "Echo Stuberl" which is a restaurant known for their local fish dishes. I had smoked local rainbow trout and Daniel had another local fish (can't remember the name). Even little Mae made the time to eat some fishsticks inbetween feeding the ducks, searching out slugs and watching the horses in the field next to us. Boy is she a busy bee!! I am going to post some pictures of our day because what I write will in no way touch how beautiful it was (in fact, neither can the pictures but they will do a far superior job in conveying the message than I can!) Enjoy and stay tuned for part two!

Eppan, South Tyrol Part Two

After our long castle hike on our first full day in Eppan, we decided to take it a little slower and settled for a shorter, easier hike around the Montiggler See which was about a 15 minute drive from our place. We did not really know what to expect when we got there but were pleasantly surprised to find (somewhat by accident) the "Kleiner Montiggler See" which proved to be the much better route to go. It was not nearly as crowded, had a huge grass lawn to layout on and the water was much warmer than the bigger lake which made swimming a lot more fun! We brought a delicious picnic lunch to the lake with us and after hanging out for a while and finishing our lunch, we decided to finish our walk around the lake and head back home ... because it was Dane's last night in Eppan with us, we had planned on trying a new restaurant for a "good-bye" dinner of sorts and decided to walk there from our place only to find they were closed for two weeks while they were on vacation! Luckily it was only a 1 km walk from our house so we returned in direction home and went to our favorite little pizzeria for another yummy meal. The following morning Dane left and headed back towards Frankfurt while Daniel, Mia and I got ready for another big hike. This time we left from the Montiggler See and walked a VERY long walk through vineyards and forest to a lake called the Kalterer See. It was SOOOO hot that day and once we got to the Kalterer See there was not even a public beach. You basically had to be staying in one of the hotels around the lake in order to use it - so lame! I was so tired, hot and hungry by the time we got there which made the fact that we could not swim in it even more frustrating! We ended up heading back to our favorite little spot at the Kleiner Montigleer See and after about 4 hours of hiking in the heat we were so ready for it! That night Daniel, Mia and I headed to the town of St. Michael's for dinner at yet another pizzeria ... Mia met two little Italian girls at dinner named Ava Maria (3) and Francesca (2) ... the girls had a great time running around and wreaking havoc at this place but it was fun to watch! After dinner we headed home, put Mia to bed and read and relaxed on the porch of our place. It was heavan!

The following morning we got up early and headed to Merano which was about 30 km from our place. Its a beautiful little town though we did not get to see all that much of it as Miss Mae decided to have a bit of a meltdown! Daniel and I are both beginning to wonder if she may be entering her terrible twos early?! WOW! She sure knows how to throw a tantrum and I am pretty sure she learned it while she was here?! I don't remember her doing this in California. Anyhow, we left Merano and Mia napped in the car on the way back (thank goodness!). After her nap we headed to St. Pauls where we began a hike through the vineyards that led to an "Ice Hole" ... after trekking through the heat we began a gradual descent into this ravine which was like walking into a freezer (literally!). We went from dry, arid terrain (the only green being the wine grapes) to a lush, cold forest with patches of ice everywhere. Pretty amazing. That night (our last night in Eppan) we decided to have a mellow dinner at home - we bought a bunch of different cold cuts, cheeses and bread and sat on our balcony once Mia was in bed and had a meal we could actually sit through and finish without having to get up and chase a 16 month old around! Excellent! The next morning we got up early and headed north to Berchtesgaden, Germany which is where we still are now. Stay tuned for posts from this part of our vacation - as my brother Alex would say "Its been EPIC".