California

During my 3 week blogging hiatus, I was in California (for reasons I'm not exactly ready to describe here - in caase you were wondering).

I went out solo for the first week the kiddos and super dad met me for the 2nd and it was just the girls and me for the third.  It was that 3rd week that we started to have some fun. (Even though we missed Super Dad while he was working - somewhere other than Minneapolis.)

One of our days took us to the beach in (or possibly just near) San Clemente. 

We helped out my Uncle K who needed a ride home after a small surgery and then once he was settled at home we were off to lunch and the beach.

He doesn't look too bad for a dude who just had surgery, does he?!

The girls loved the beach and I when I say loved, I mean they wanted to move to the beach right then and there and never ever step one foot back on Minnesota soil ever again.

I think K would have been thrilled  if this could be her actual bed.

I have some more pics from this beach trip hiding out somewhere.  Once I find them I'll be sure to share with you.

But don't let the lack of photographic evidence fool you, these girls are beach bums through and through

California Fun

The girls and I were lucky enough to spend almost a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  By the end of the week K was vowing to move to California as soon as she was a "real grown-up."

We had a great time seeing both family and old friends.  For some it had been far too long (13+ years!).

We got to go on a field trip with Grandma and her students to Oak Glen and we went gold mining.  Yeah, seriously,  Gold Mining.  I had too much fun to take pictures and I also feared ruining my camera with the dirt or water.

We leared about how early California settlers mined for gold, panned for gold, bought and sold goods and services.  We were all filthy from our nose to our toes!  As soon as we got back to the house, we headed straight to the showers.

The girls were excited to be roommates all week long.  More than once we found them sleeping and snuggling in bed together.

They both really enjoyed the chance to ditch their fall jackets and go back to shorts, flip flops, and even swim suits one afternoon when they got to play in the sprinklers!

I think they both realized that they should maximize their time outside because we'd be up to our ears in snow soon enough.

Here they are on the plane ride home.  Thanks T for the use of the DVD player, it was a real life saver!

Lego Land

After all of our fun at the beaches, we headed east to Grandma & Grandpa's house.  The first day of our visit was a trip to Lego Land.   You just wouldn't believe the things they made out of legos there!

The kids loved the legos and the rides.  They had so much fun!  The biggest hits were the 3 boat rides we went on.  One was on a track and we didn't steer, just watched the lego scenery, the 2nd, we actually got to drive the boats along a course ourselves...no track!  (Look out!) The 3rd was more like a tour boat and we just got a look at the legos again, no track this time but there was a lego land worker at the helm.

Here's Grandma and M as they navigate the course.

M Checking out the legos.  Yes, that is all made of legos (except for the trees).

The girls with "Princess Lilly."

In their castles & knights section of the park we met this random princess named Lilly.  They girls were with her no more than 45 seconds and yet M, still likes to be called Princess Lilly when she's playing dress up (unless she's Snow White, of course).

Annual Family Photos

While we were in California, we had our annual family photos taken in Laguna Beach.  I found a photographer on-line before we arrived and she was amazing!  The girls took to her right away and talked about her for days and days after.

She got so many great shots of our family and the girls.  It was so hard to choose just one to put on our Christmas cards this year.

Here's a couple of my faves:

I think this one sums up their relationship pretty well, K always on the go, M just trying to catch up.

Since we needed to meet the photographer, Amy, again to give her the final payment and get our CD of images from the beach we decided to have her take a few more pics of the kids at another location.  She took us to a park in Lake Forest, CA.  She wanted to try the location and get some experience there, so she asked if she could take photos of our girls.

If you know me at all, you know I love great photos.  I couldn't pass up the chance at getting MORE great shots of my girls.

If you are in so cal and looking for photos in the Orange County area, I highly reccomend Amy at http://babybluesphotography.blogspot.com/

She's A-MAY-ZING!  She's a mom and I knew that would mean she'd be great with kids.  Boy was I right!  Both girls told me that they loved  her and on our 2nd day of shooting they practically tackled her with a hug when they saw her.  She really knew how to get them to laugh and have fun, which translated into awesome photos of them with real smiles and real joy in their eyes.

Thanks Amy!  We love our photos and I hope that we can see you again for more!

The Aquariam of the Pacific

Friday Morning, we all took a family field trip to Long Beach for a visit to The Aquariam of the Pacific.

The girls loved seeing most of the fish, seals, sea lions, etc.  But they were not as thrilled with seeing sharks.

Kaylee wasn't willing to touch at the touch pools.

They both loved watching the divers in the large tanks.  They fed the fish broccoli.  I know. I couldn't believe it either.

After seeing the sealife we went to the aviary where there were lorakeets that we could feed.  Kaylee and I expereinced these same kinds of birds a few years ago at the San Diego wild animal park, but those birds were MUCH smaller than these.

This bird, Quincy, for a little too friendly.  He started out by pulling, then nibbling on my necklace, it wasn't long before he was biting and tugging on my earring.

It was a fun day! 

Up next, family photo shoot at Laguna Beach.

More California Dreaming....

Day 2 took us driving North up Pacific Coast Hwy to Hunnington Beach.

The girls and I had lunch at Ruby's on the pier and then we bought a small bucket of sand toys and headed for the beach.  They liked seeing all the surfers in the water.

After playing for a while, we went walking in search of seashells.

They both really enjoyed finding shells.  I was dissapointed that I didn't think of getting there super early so that we could find some good ones.

The both came away with quite a haul.  Unfortunately there were a couple of sea creatures that had to be sacraficed back at the hotel.  They managed to bring back a few shells that were still serving as a home.

Still more to come from our California trip...

The aquariam of the Pacific

Lego Land

Grandma and Grandpa's house

California Dreaming...

Early in November, Corey had client work in Newport beach.  The girls and I took advantage of this and went along for some fun in the sun before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

After breakfast and a trip to Target I decided to talk them for a quick stop to get their feet wet at Balboa Beach.  They loved playing in the sand and letting the waves lap at their feet.

We walked down the boardwalk and watched a few fishermen and even got to see a dolphin not far from the shore.

It wasn't really a warm morning for California standards, so most people were bundled up in their jackets and sweatshirts.  They looked at me like I was a bad mother for letting my kids wear shorts, shorts sleeves and get wet.  But it was a heatwave for us!

Kaylee can't stop dancing, even on the beach.

Maya was much more comfortable on the beach here than in Hawaii last December.

Clearly we got a little more than just our toes in the water.

We finished up our day with a nap and a great dinner with Uncle Keith.

More to come from Hunnington Beach, The aquariam of the Pacific, our family photo shoot in Laguna, Lego Land, and Grandma and Grandpa's house.