Arrival....

6:28 a.m: Missed Phone call from my sister-in-law to my mother

6:29 a.m: Another missed phone call from my brother to my mother. 

7:15 a.m: My Adele ringtone, at the highest volume, jolts me out of bed.

7:15:20: I pick up the phone. 

7:15:45: My brother tells me that my sister-in-law is in labor. 

Isn't kind of sad that my brother has to resort to calling me because my parents leave their phones downstairs where they can't hear them? 

Hmmmm....I think there is a lesson somewhere in that statement.

Anyway, my parents got up and ran out the door to get the little cutie pies to take them to the hospital. 

And at 8:13 a.m, little Ashton was born.

Isn't he the cutest thing?

We are so glad to welcome him to our family. 

He will be loved. 

A little later, Anaya and me left to head to my house. We decided to watch The Little Mermaid and eat humongous strawberries. 

When the other cutie pies arrived, we went out to the sandbox. 

We shoveled, bulldozed, and make sandcastles. 

We played baseball and made brownies. 

We built lego semis and ate Jellybeans. 

And we made balloon animals. 

The kids were thrilled with this one. 

By the time all of the balloons were gone, Anaya was DECKED out with all sorts of goodies. 

She has a belt, a flower wand, a sword, a hat, and a dagger (not pictured). 

She almost looks like a musketeer....except her costume is much noisier.

Every move involves a *squish squish* here and a *squish squish* there. 

Hopefully she doesn't plan to sneak up on anybody.....

b.