SoCal Stay-cation!

 I'm trying to catch up on my blogs from the summer so I'm posting some pictures from our little "stay-cation" at the end of August.  I wanted to end the summer with a bang but since its so expensive and difficult to travel with three small children, we decided to take advantage of all the fun things we can do right in our own back yard.  I mean, people travel to Orange County to vacation.  We' re just lucky to live here within 20 minutes of the most popular attractions.  And the kids don't really know the difference from the beaches of Maui and Newport Beach.  So it was a no-brainer.

 

We had to start the week with a trip to our favorite place, Disneyland!  We decided to leave Dylan at home so I could focus on the boys.  They are at such great ages for Disney and without having to deal with a toddler the boys really had a blast. I can honestly say it was our best trip ever.  During that week we also enjoyed a classic beach bonfire in Corona del Mar, dragged daddy to an indoor trampoline park, swam a lot, stayed up late watching movies, ate tons of bad food and then capped off the week with cruise on a Duffy boat through Newport Harbor.  It was the best week with my kids and my family!  It makes me feel good knowing that Jack has such happy memories of his summer before kinder.  Here's a little snapshot of our week...

 

The Dumbo ride has been one of my favorites since I was a kid.  Now it's one of Jack's favorites and we always have to ride it together...

 

Mimi took Gavin...

We got front row seats for the parade...

 

 

Such anticipation waiting for the parade to begin...

 

A kiss from Elsa on the Frozen float caused this priceless reaction from Gavin!  Waiting an hour in the sun for the parade was all worth it just to see this face...

And then this face!  We stayed until the bitter end and waited for the fireworks at 9:30 pm.  My boys had never seen fireworks and they didn't disappoint.  Jack was so overwhelmed he could barely speak!  It was pure Disney magic...

Beach bonfire day with our cousins!  I love that my kids get to grow up near the coast.  It's just so peaceful and beautiful...

Heaven!

These two are as close as two cousins can be!  I hope that never changes...

Me and my girl...

 

 

Dylan loved watching the birds on the beach...

But she said "heck no" to the water....

Daddy didn't like it so much either...

But, of course, our little fish loved it...

 

 

Two peas in a pod...

I love this picture!  For once our little devil looks like an angel...

My boys, my loves!

Me and my precious Gav, Gav...

A rare selfie with my man...

Its bonfire time!  Here's the party crew ready to roast some marshmallows...

 

Dylan and her papa share a special bond...

LOVE!  I never take our amazing sunsets for granted...

I love my family...

 

 

Daddy is fun....until he gets too crazy and throw his back out jumping too hard at the trampoline park.  He's getting too old for this stuff...

 



I love this place!  My kids can literally bounce off the walls...

Posing in the foam pit.  Jack is always up for a good photo opp...

 



Cruising Newport Harbor in a motorized Duffy boat.  Papa took the first turn at the helm with his first mate Jack...

 

 

Snuggles with my matey...

Jack's turn...

Gavin adores his papa bear...

The little princess just had to have a turn...

 

 

And then Gavin took the wheel...

Dylan loves her Mimi...

Dylan loves anyone who will share their chocolate covered frozen banana...

 

 

My little Cali boys love the water...

This is what summer is all about...running, playing, laughing...

Dylan is applauding the great end to an amazing summer...

 



Totally Awesome Summer!

Hello friends!  Sorry for the unplanned hiatus.  We've just been busy having a fun summer and then getting the boys back to school was a hectic process.  But they've been back for a little over a week now and we've settled into a normal routine again...well, as normal as you can be with 3 kids!  So I figured it was time to get back to the blog.  We seriously had the most awesomest summer!  Besides the normal kids-are-out-of-school-and-driving-me-nuts moments, and there were plenty, I have to say it's been one of my favorite summers ever!  It could be because I wasn't pregnant or just had a baby, like I had been for the past 5 years.  But I think it's mainly because the kids are a little older and easier to manage.  And they are getting to the point where they really appreciate doing fun things and I know that Jack and Gavin will start remembering all of these good times.  I feel like I am experiencing childhood again through their eyes.

 

Since this was Jack's last summer before he started the long journey of grade school, I really wanted to make it special for him.  I just wanted him to be lazy, care free and have a blast.  So I tried to do something fun with the kiddos every day.  We really had a great time together.  And then the last week before school started we did a little staycation and enjoyed some of the great things that Orange County has to offer.  Those pictures are coming in the next blog.  I have taken a lot of great pictures over the last few months so it was tough to narrow them down.  But here's a snapshot of our totally awesome summer of 2014...

 

We spent most of our summer outside enjoying the California sunshine...

 

 

 

I taught the boys how to roll down grassy hills...

 

 

 

 

We went to our pool a LOT!  And these two little people finally started enjoying the water as much as their big bro...

 



 

 

 

 

We also found other ways to beat the heat...

 



 

 

There were the usual toddler shenanigans while big bro was off at summer camp at his new school...

 

 

 

 

 

And lots of saving the world one super hero at a time...

 

 

 

 

Someone became a little fashionista!  Her favorite thing to do is get dressed in a "pitty" dress and run into daddy's office to model it.  It's beyond precious....

 

 

We ate a pretty good amount of ice cream...

 



 

 

 

 

 

And had lots of play dates with friends...

 

 

 

 

 

And after all this fun, we slept...

 



 

 

 

The boys said goodbye to Tutor Time and some of their favorite teachers ever...

 



 

 

 

And then this happened....they grew up right before my eyes.  I am so blessed to be able to spend this precious time with these 3 sweet little faces.  They are my heart and soul and there is nobody else I would rather spend my summers with...