My, Time Has Flown

I have to be honest with you-I have been putting off sending this update because I'm embarrassed at how long it's been since my last post! Yikes. With that said, you'll get two parts to this since there is so much to share. Part II will probably just be a slide show and will come later :)
Big events since January (other than flying home in May/June!):
* Chris presented at a research conference in Monterey. But the most exciting part was that we were able to leave the girls with some friends, take a nice drive together, and stay all weekend. Thank you LLU for paying for our mini vacation. ;)
* We had another mini vacation when we were able to drive to Palm Springs and visit Kim and Ric and the kids. Made me feel a little closer to home.
* Oh yes, and then our overnight trip to Vegas to see Ron and Tina. Chris and I were both first-timers and neither of us desire to return. Although, the Beatles Love show was amazing!

* Of course all of our birthdays are within five weeks, so we had all sorts of celebrating to do. I invited a bunch of people over for dinner and dessert for Chris' bash. Elena and Ava had quiet birthdays, and Chris surprised me by getting a few of my girlfriends to take me out for my 30th. Yes, I said 30! Aaaa. I'm still considered the 'baby' of my family though right?
* I feel relieved about the fact that Chris is in his 3rd year of med school-just feels good knowing that we're more than half way done with this phase!
* Ava started preschool about a month ago and is really enjoying it.
* Chris and I celebrated our 9th anniversary in September. We agreed to do nothing, so that is what we did!
* And in case you're wondering, Elena is only getting sweeter with time.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
We love you!