Beach Get-Away

It's funny, as I'm writing this, we're having unseasonably cold weather, and we're all freezing, so it's wonderful to remember a day, not so long ago, where it was unusually warm, we had a day off from school so we hit up the beach.  We took a bit of a road trip with our cousins.....picture a pretty packed car with Elizabeth driving because I can't stand the windy roads heading to the beach, Patrick and Catherine chit-chatting non-stop with Peter sulking next to them because he's not sitting where he wants, and Lizzy and Caroline in the way back grinning and smiling because they're sitting together.  We found our perfect hidden beach spot near Muir woods, hiked all the way to the beach carrying tons of bags full of god-only-knows what, and then suddenly we emerged onto the most lovely, picturesque quiet private beach, just for us.  We had so much fun.  We picnicked, we beach combed, we splashed in the water.  Lizzy, and Peter, and Caroline found a huge rock they imagined was a pirate ship, and they played for hours on their "ship," dodging the waves and working away.  Catherine had so much fun making her hands "dirty in the sand, and then washing them off in the water.  Patrick snuck in a cat nap.  What a gorgeous day, and so much fun!  Don't waste those beautiful days people.  Get out there and do something.  It's always worth it!

Disney Surprise

We had been wanting to take another trip to Disneyland since we had such a blast the first time we went.  Since Peter loves Cars so much, we wanted to be able to visit the new Carsland while he was still interested.  On a Sunday morning, we sprang it on the kids:  "Guess what we're going to do this week?  Go to Disneyland!"  They were so surprised and excited.  Pat went to work and we set about packing and getting ready.  When Pat got home, we decided to be even more crazy and took off at 8:00 at night.  It was so exciting and fun:)  It was dark, the kids weren't quite sure what to think, and we made it all the way down to Bakersfield!  Catherine said, "Disneyland?" and she started dancing!  I told her we were almost there.  The next day we visited UCLA and had lunch and walked around the beautiful campus.  We got to Disneyland in the afternoon and loved playing in the pool.  For the next three days we had the best time!  We loved all the rides, but Carsland was amazing and the Lightning McQueen ride was awesome!  We loved exploring Pirate Island, and the parade, and just being together.  The kids were so great, and just had the best time.  Catherine has a new found love for anything princess, and I can't wait to take another trip with these cuties!

An Early Explorer

Guess who also started school?  Yes, Catherine, and yes, we can't believe she's such a big girl!  Catherine is going to a little preschool class once a week with Mommy.  She loves it!  She was so excited to get to be the "big girl" going to her own school.  She loves her backpack, playing with all the toys during free time, circle time, and her favorite is having "pops" at the end of the day while Teacher Brenda reads a story.  I love getting to spend some special time with Catherine and watching her learn and explore.  What fun!

Purple Panda

Lizzy's a great soccer player, and it's always really fun to watch her play.  She hustles, and attacks the ball, and is a fierce player.  Lizzy was excited for her first soccer game.  Coincidentally, and we didn't find this out until we showed up, Lizzy was playing Caroline's team!  It was a brutally hot day, and those girls were red-faced and sweating it out within minutes.  Both teams played very well, but much to Lizzy's delight, the Purple Panda's won.  When the game ended, Lizzy and Caroline walked over to one another, shook hands, and Lizzy said, "Good.  Now we can be friends again!"  Both those girls have a lot of heart, and are hard working soccer players for sure!

Soccer Boy!

Peter has been waiting and waiting for what seems like years to be on a soccer team.  He's watched Lizzy get to go to practice, wear awesome uniforms, play "real" games, and even win trophies.  He's been so patient......and now, finally, it's his turn.  Peter's an official soccer guy, and boy is it awesome.  Peter loved his uniform (UCLA colors- yay!), loved going to practice, and by the end of the season, had become a really great player.  Peter scored many goals, had assists and awesome defensive saves, but most importantly, thoroughly enjoyed himself and worked really, really hard.  Peter, you were so awesome out there, and we loved watching you so much!  I love your hustle and your big heart.  Way to go!

Bridging Over

Since we've moved to Davis, Lizzy has been so lucky to be a part of an awesome Daisy troop.  The leaders, Brian and Betsy, are amazing.  They are expert scouts, and work so hard to go above and beyond for the girls.  Recently, Lizzy's troop "bridged over" to Brownies.  Brian constructed a "monkey bridge" in his backyard, decorated it beautifully with flowers, and each girl got to cross the bridge and receive her new Brownie vest.  Lizzy was so excited.  We all enjoyed a picnic pot-luck, and watched all the girls.  Lizzy's excited to earn many new badges, and we know she'll have lots of fun with her troop.

Santa Cruz

Man, I'm so far behind here, it's crazy.  But I'm determined not to let this go, to catch up, and to continue to tell our story.  We have so many fun times, and there's so much to say, it can be overwhelming as the recorder, but I'll stick with it!  Well.......back to our story.  We went to Santa Cruz for our annual Labor Day trip.  Daddy couldn't join us this year because he had to work, and I worried how it would go with Catherine in the hotel trying to sleep and take her naps in an unusual place, and watching all three kids at the beach.  Well we pushed forward, packed up the car, and decided to give it a go.  No surprise here......it was awesome!  We had a wonderful time and it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend.  The kids loved the beach so much, and had so much fun body surfing and playing  in the sand.  Everyone, of course, loved the board walk, and they loved the rides and the merry-go-round and the arcade.  It's always just so fun to be together and I was reminded of a lesson I already learned: just go, no matter what, just go.  Even if it seems like there's too much to pack, or it'll be tricky to manage, or whatever, just always go.  It's worth it in the end, and it always turns out to be so much fun.  We were missing many of our favorite people this year, and Grandma was suffering terribly with shingles, but we still managed to have lots of fun and enjoy our time together.