Oh What Did We Do In the Summer Time??

We had such a fun summer and since I really meant to start my blog months ago, I feel obligated to do a little summer recap. So here it goes...

June 2008
We started out the summer with a monumental trip to CA to meet up with all my brothers and their families for a Christensen Reunion. It was quite a group and a lot of chaos, but the cousins had such a blast playing with each other. There are 21 of us when we are all together (that includes 12 grandkids, thanks mostly to Brad and Melanie HA HA!). We stayed at the Newport Coast Villas, which was incredibly beautiful.
Fun in the Sun

We posed while playing at Laguna Beach for a girls photo!

Madison and Coleman spent all afternoon "chasing" the waves. They would try to out run the waves, belly laughing the whole time.

They are quite good little buddies and Madison always talks about what a little "jokester" Coleman is (he is Brad and Melanie's 3rd boy).

Maddie and her daddy
Mommy's girl- Cali was a little unsure about the sand...she didn't even dare to take off her cover-up!

My handsome brothers: Scott, Marc, and Brad...They still got it after all these years!!

My crazy brother Brad- He will do just about anything for a laugh!

Uncle TJ & Baby Rachel- This was the first time we got to meet Marc and Chrissy's little girl. She is a doll, of course!!

"Grandma-Grandma" and Madison- My girls always call her "Grandma-Grandma." We think it is just because she is such an exceptional one!!

TJ and Cali practicing her back floats. She is surprisingly buoyant!

We wore them out every night. There is nothing better than catching our sleeping beauties spooning together!

It was special to all be together on the 2 year anniversary of my dad's passing away and I am sure he was looking down and so pleased to see his family all together again. We need to make this a tradition! Love you all!

Here Comes the Bride

We ended our trip with a wedding! Most of you already know, but my mom got married to an old high school boyfriend, Deloy, whose wife had also passed away from cancer. The wedding was small and intimate with all of the grandkids running the show, but everything went beautiful. I never thought I would be the maid of honor for my mom...talk about role reversal!!

My girls

Katelyn, Cali, and Madison were such darling little flower girls. They did a great job, but they were so focused on walking in sync down the isle and smiling at the same time that they forgot to throw any rose petals! Once they got up to the front, they all realized it so they just dumped out their bags where they were standing. It was classic!

Here is Coleman giving the rest of the groomsmen a pep talk. I told you he was a jokester, just like his daddy!

The ceremony was performed around sunset and overlooking the ocean and a golf course. What could be better?

Katelyn being escorted by Tanner and Kyle. What handsome groomsmen!

Our little family

The Bride with her kids

The Whole Christensen-Paskett Group

Congrats!
Before we headed home, we spent a couple of days in Disneyland with TJ's parents, who were so supportive and met us in CA for the wedding. My girls truly believe it is the happiest place on earth and they couldn't get enough of Disney princesses, of course! Madison was finally tall enough to go on splash mountain. She was really brave but said one time was enough for her!

This was so hilarious. The girls were so excited every time they saw a princess so we waited in several lines just to get a chance to talk to them. All day Cali had been a little shy with them, but Belle really won her over. She ran up to her and just gave her the biggest hug and wouldn't let go. I'm not exaggerating when I say she hugged her for about 5 minutes. You can see in this next picture that she even got a little fresh with her (look at her right hand placement), but Belle was SO cute with her that she is now her favorite princess!

Once we finally tore Cali away, she immediately ran to the back of the line to wait to see her one more time. We were all laughing so hard that we just let her go, so here is her second intimate moment with Belle.

Daddy even enjoyed watching the princesses dance almost as much as the girls! You can tell he is the daddy to little girls, huh?

The Grand Finale

And they are out for the count!!

The next morning we left CA around 4:30 am to get back in time for Madison's big dance recital that she worked all year long for. She did great despite being tired and said she loved being up on the big stage. This is her with Ms. Carolyn, her dance teacher for her tap, ballet, and broadway kids class. We just love her!!