Part Bob Villa, part Martha Stewart, part Taxi Driver!

That's exactly how Eric and I are feeling these days. After an exhaustive process to make Taylor's room "her own" it's now finished! Eric hand-made the bookshelf hutch that's proudly sitting on her desk (the desk and walls and freshly painted too.) I made her duvet cover since we couldn't find anything that matched her decor choice of pink/brown that wasn't too "surfer", "little kid", or "old lady." The result... a pink and brown extravaganza that any tweenager would love. What's a tween? Any little lady who's too big to hang with her little sister's friends, and too young to hang out with parents and teenagers. Yes, we're officially in the land of limbo with Taylor. Some days we're cool parents, and other days we're the weirdest people in the world!

In addition to the redecorating this summer, the kids are enjoying camps... which means I'm driving all over the OC. But the smiles on their faces are very worth it. Sammie loved her camp last week which incorporated the "Magic Tree House" book series into a series of crafts and things that kids could cook themselves. She did this class with her friend Lucy and loved it! This week Taylor is taking a robotics class at the Discovery Science Center. (http://www.discoverycube.org/) You should know from the getgo that Taylor is a harsh critic of anything camplike... especially if it's educational too. AND... she's loving it! Each day she's talked for about 10 minutes straight about what they've done in class and what they're going to do the next day. So it looks like we've found the right kind of camp to interest Taylor and I'll be searching out more options like this next year.

Next week we'll be at our church every day for Vacation Bible School, and I'll be leading a Crew of 10 kids along with one student leader the whole week. My student leader is Elyssa, which is the middle daughter of the Lim family (we traveled to Africa with them this past April.) It's going to be great fun to share this experience with her as well.

So for now I'll get back to my reading (book 5 of the Harry Potter series) and relax in the midst of my Taxi driver summer. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for anything! However, it would only be better to share this week and next with Eric, but he's traveling for work (next week to Hawaii... bummer huh!)

July has arrived!

Yes, July is here and our summer is in full swing. Lot's of SO's (sleep overs), late nights where we just cannot stay on a schedule, and fun for everyone. July 4th was very eventful in that Taylor and Eric got up EARLY and went to do the YMCA "Run in the Park." It was the first 10K that Taylor had ever run and she did it in 1 hour & 23 min & 22 seconds - very impressive for a 10 year old! Later that weekend she was complaining that her legs hurt, and good Mom that I am... I said you're young - how could you possibly be sore? She said "Um, Mom... 10K? Remember?" Good Point T - good point!

We spent July 4th and 5th with friends in Simi Valley, lounging in the front yard, absorbing the misters that were very nicely setup for every ones enjoyment. Fireworks for the kids were viewed by climbing the rock across the street and looking out over the vast valley below. These are memories that just cannot be replaced (even if our children never remember living there).

This past Tuesday Eric and I celebrated our 13th Wedding Anniversary at a very exclusive club in Disneyland called "Club 33." I didn't realize what a treat this was until we arrived at Guest Services to find 2 free park hopper tix waiting for us and a dinner reservation as well! We rode everything that the girls would never want to ride in each park, including the roller coaster at California Adventure. Unfortunately though... my body thinks I'm getting older and immediately informed me to never do that again, too bad my head thinks I'm 18! After settling down on more comforting rides, we got ready for dinner (jeans and flip flops are not allowed) and made our way to the club. The only way to find it is by the "33" placard on the wall in New Orleans Square - with a private buzzer that questions you first before allowing you to enter. To make it short, it was an incredible meal, with a perfect view of "Fantasmic" and fireworks. I know why Disney fans are so enamored with this special place. We're so thankful that our friend Mike got us a reservation there!

Speaking of Mike, he and his wife (Kellyann) are bringing a new baby into the world today... Tristan Daniel. This little bundle of joy is scheduled to be delivered at Noon today, so the girls and I are off to meet this new little person right now.

Thanks for checking in on us Burton's! I hope to hear from you soon!