Family Vacation: Day Three

On the third day of vacation my true love gave to me....a day at the beach! We had such a fantastic time visiting Newport Beach. The first thing the girls did was run into the ocean without their swimsuits, and we had to buy them all new clothes. I wasn't planning to play in the water until afternoon....with our suits, but they had other ideas. It was so fun to watch them. Olivia's shorts finally became so heavy they fell off. Some of my favorite pictures were taken during this time. I love all the pictures of Kirk playing with the girls.

We had planned to take a ferry to Balboa Island, but decided to take a harbor boat tour instead. It was fun to see all the houses on the water and the girls loved seeing all the Sea Lions. It was mating season so they were all very vocal. Kirk thought it was so funny every time we saw some Sea Lions on one of the very expensive boats. Our tour guide informed us that it's not uncommon for Sea Lions to have a party on a boat, and sink it! I couldn't believe how many Sea Lions had squished themselves on the buoy.

After the harbor tour, we went back to the beach with our suits. We had a blast! Olivia didn't even care when she was smacked in the face with a few waves...she would smile and say "again!" Izabella and I were knocked over by a couple of big waves. It was so fun and sunny...and we were all pooped! Another amazing day on vacation in California!

Family Vacation: Day Two

Day Two of our vacation started at California Adventure. Izabella loves the screamer. It's one of her favorite rides. Luckily, Grandma was with us, and Kirk and I were able to go on the Screamer with Izabella while Grandma and the little girls went on Monsters Inc., and saw the Muppets 3D show (which is great by the way!) Personally, the Screamer wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be, but still fun. We're always a little more tired on day two, but the kids did fantastic, and we had another exciting, fun-filled day. I LOVE DISNEYLAND!


"O" for Olivia


They are building a huge new attraction.
I think Izabella wants a job!


Giving her new princess bear a
shoulder ride.


Monique's favorite ride.
TWILIGHT ZONE
TOWER OF TERROR
If you look closely, you can see her little
face over in the left corner next to Kirk.


Ladybug, twisty, make me sick ride.
(but the kids love it!)


I sure hope Monique doesn't bring this guy home for dinner someday!


Taking a rest in the stroller.
(Those rental strollers at Disneyland must be pretty comfy.)

Family Vacation: Day One

Wow! It has been a very busy two and a half weeks! I don't even know where to begin, so I will begin at the best part....CALIFORNIA! Yup, we went on a week long family vacation and had a fantastic time. We packed so much in, I'm going to have to do a post for each day....so buckle up and please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and hold on tight!



You should always stop to smell the flowers on the way to
Disneyland or any time in life


Oh no! They caught me!


I'm not sure that "Small World" was exciting enough for Izabella,
but she was a good sport about going two times in a row.


Beautiful Princess


We've never met Jasmine and Aladdin before.
Olivia was so excited.


Olivia LOVED "Small World"
but it wasn't her favorite.


Her favorite was the "Choo Choo."
We rode the train around the park too many times to count.


Monique's favorite ride?
SPLASH MOUNTAIN!
Good thing it was warm.
(FYI....Izbella told Kirk to make a funny face...so he did!)


Getting messy and sticky while waiting for the parade.


The end of a fantastic
Day One in Disneyland!

Thanks Esther

CHERRY CREEK SOCK HOP!

Our Ward threw a Sock Hop for a Spring activity. It was so much fun. The Youth babysat all the children, and we all received some dance instruction and danced the night away. I never new what big nerds we could all be, but it was a fantastic date night. We found out how old we really are as we tried to dance every dance, but finally had to take a rest. Needless to say, I had very sore tootsies the next day!


Kirk ruined my cute picture by falling asleep!
(I didn't know he was THAT tired.)


We're concentrating very hard on the dance steps.
It's a lot of bouncing around.


Yup, we are big dorks, and Kirk has no rhythm!


Dancin' down the middle.


I wanted to do the "Footloose" dance, but Kirk wanted to spin.
I'm so nice, I gave him his way.


Whew! Glad the spinning is over.


How low can you go?


Not as low as me! Which really isn't very low.


At the very end all the kids came in,
and we had a great time dancing with all the kiddos.


Daddy/daughter slow dance.


Kirk received the "Biggest Spaz" award.
I received the "Most Radioactive" award.


Bella didn't want to dance with her nerdy parents.
She would rather spin with one of her friends


GOOFBALLS!

EASTER DRESSES

Just like at Christmas, I struggled a little with finding dresses to suit all the girls. Izabella doesn't want to be too girlie, Monique wants to be really girlie, and Olivia just wants to be included. Luckily, I was able to find these skirt sweater ensembles, and all the girls were pleased.



When Izabella put her outfit on, she said, "it's not blue enough." I assured her it was plenty blue and she looked great. Then she informed me that she wanted NOTHING in her hair. On the other hand, she was worried about which earrings would match the best. I can't figure this little girl out!



After Monique was all dressed, and her hair done she looked at me and said, "I'm so pretty Mommy!" I couldn't help but agree.



Olivia was very patient as I attempted to do something girlie with her hair. Finally, all I could do was wrap some ribbon around, tie a bow, and call it good. She was happy with it, and when she walked into nursery and her teacher told her how pretty she looked, she held up her skirt and did a little curtsie. She is soooooo Monique's little sister.



I love these beautiful girls!

Easter Morning

We had a wonderful, fun Easter morning. The girls loved the books they received from the Easter Bunny, and of course, started munching on candy right away.



The girls colored two dozen eggs this year, and found them all pretty quickly, but had a little trouble with the last egg. I thought this egg was pretty obvious, since it was on top of one of the pictures on the wall. I saw it as soon as we came down the stairs...a bright green orb hanging on the wall. Apparently, the girls are not as observant as their mother, because we had to give them hints for finding the last egg. All the girls received bubble necklaces in their buckets, but Izabella seemed to be the only one who could blow any. Although Olivia tried really hard, she pretty much just succeeded in spraying us all with spit.




As mentioned above, Olivia was quick to get some candy open. Monique wanted to eat her chocolate bunny, but I told her she had to wait until after breakfast. By the time breakfast was over, she had forgotten about it, but remembered again before dinner. At that point I told her she had to wait until dinner was over (I know I'm so mean) and she told me, "but you said I could have it after breakfast, and now you won't let me!" Luckily, she waited, and then managed to get a sick tummy.



Once all the festivities were over, Olivia and Monique went right to work coloring in their new books, and Izabella went right to work getting more sleep. It was a wonderful, relaxed morning.



HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!