We recently returned from a great family vacation to California. We were there to attend the wedding of a dear, old friend. While there, we took Abby and Kayleigh to Sea World and Disneyland.

Over 1200 photos were taken and I managed to screen out most to come up with 200 to put into a photobook.

Here it is. Click on the picture below to see the book.

Wow, it feels like it's been a year since I last blogged.

It's actually only been about 3 weeks.

A lot has happened in 3 weeks, though, and this is what happens when I get overwhelmed with too much stuff I want to share......I end up sharing nothing.

So often I start composing emails, letters, or blog posts in my head. If I don't write things down, the content just builds and builds until I finally give up trying to organize it all into something comprehensible and consumable by another human being.

Maybe I can handle organizing what's been going on over the past 3 weeks though and then try to tackle them one by one while things are at somewhat of a lull. I won't create a post about everything listed here - just simply identifying its occurrence is enough information to capture in many cases.

So, let's see...what are the top 10?

1. Kayleigh started really walking - beyond just taking a handful of unassisted steps - 4 weeks ago and now walks about 95% of the time rather than crawling.

2. We are looking into selling/trading in our truck, Burt (yes, he has a name), and our car (ok, she has a name too and it's Mixie) to purchase a fuel efficient - probably hybrid - commuter vehicle for Paul. Top contender right now, the Lexus CT 200h with all the bells and whistles. We had barely made the decision to try and sell Burt when we found a buyer. He will be going to a friend this coming Sunday! For Mixie, we are probably going to just trade her in. With over 150,000 miles on her, despite her age (2004 model year) it'll be difficult to find a buyer.

3. Paul, Abby, Kayleigh, and I have just returned from a California vacation where we attended the wedding of good friends, Shawn and Lily, visited relatives in Valencia, visited Sea World San Diego, and introduced Abby and Kayleigh to the wonders and excitement of California Adventures and Disneyland! We had an amazing time and I must say that as much fun as I had visiting these places myself as a kid, it is a completely different and much more exciting, special, memorable time going with your own spouse and kids.

4. At the conclusion of the vacation, Kayleigh naturally weaned herself. I am no longer nursing her and this coincided with her ability to sleep through the night completely - from 8PM until 7AM. She still may cry out a couple of times a night, but they last about a minute and she puts herself right back to sleep. Yes! Yes! Yes! We thought this day would never come with this child.

5. We are contemplating what to do about the lawn in our backyard. The sod we laid last year is almost dead, primarily due to broken sprinkler lines (pesky rabbits!) we didn't discover in time. Perhaps artificial grass? There are some very realistic looking fake grass available. But don't kids deserve REAL grass in their backyard?

6. Linda and Vernon had their baby! We are planning to visit this weekend.

7. Sinus infections, double-ear infections, coughs, coughs, coughs. This - in no particular order - sums up the health status of Abby, Kayleigh, and me over the last couple of weeks. Bleh!

8. Went and saw Billy Elliot the Musical at the Denver Buell Theater with my brother, Allen. It was his birthday present. This was a great show and a wonderful adaptation of the film. I didn't think Paul would like it, but was surprised that he did!

9. Many flip-flop discussion on what to do about our careers and our lukewarm feelings towards this house. No conclusions on the career front, but I think we've both decided that we want to stay in this house and we're trying to figure out what changes are needed to improve our feelings towards the things we don't like about it.

10. Part of the problems we have with the house is related to the schools Abby and Kayleigh would attend given our location. We made sure we are in a great school district, but as Abby nears Kindergarten age, we're doing a lot more detailed research and realized we have a ton of options, but none that fit perfectly for our situation. So, wanting the best for our children, how do we weight all of our evaluation criteria to assess the options?

Hmm, that was a good exercise. Now, I just need to do that with the bajillion-item email I've been trying to compose to my neglected friend, Holly, since oh I don't know when!