Sidewalk Chalk...

Last week I got out the sidewalk chalk with Em

It was a lovely spring day (the next day it snowed...) and we stayed out for a while.

It was so nice to just soak up some sun and put smiles on my baby girl's face just by drawing a smiling sunshine!

If only the most difficult choice in our lives was pink or blue? 

Last week also saw the boys burning weeds (something Thomas asks for repeatedly once the snow melts)...

Sisters bouncing...

and the sweetest stray dog ever...

Before the snow it was such a beautiful week, wetting our appetites for summer!

What did you do last week?

Beach Scrap Pages...

So I'm comin' outta the closet! I'm putting my kids' names out there in these pages and I'm not gonna be anxious about it. I'm not gonna stop calling them by their nicknames though because I just like em'! Anyway, here's the rest of the beach pics...hope you enjoy them!

That's all folks!

Next....The American Girl Store.

The Ocean...

On our final full day in California we relaxed a little. The older two kids and The Hubster went swimming in the beautiful condo pools while The Pea and I stayed back and napped, then we all went to the beach afterwards. it was amazing! Living somewhere far from the ocean means we truly appreciate it's grandness when we see it. It also helped that we got there in the evening so we got to see the sunset too. I'm really excited about some of the pictures I got while we were there but I took A TON! So instead of putting them all in one really long post I figure I will do a couple posts about the beach.

This top picture was actually kind of an accident. I wasn't worrying about my exposure in that moment and just happened to expose for the sunlight and not The Pirate. I love that he turned out in shadow! I also love that he has his jacket on because it is so him. He ALWAYS has his hooded jackets on. Rain, snow or sun. All winter he wore two hooded fleece jackets instead of a coat. *sigh* My boy is getting big... 

This was also a fun picture for me because it captures The Princess in one of her most authentic moments. She is incredibly curious about all things "nature". She is constantly researching animals, bugs, rocks and shells. She checks out books at the library about nature, she watches the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet whenever she can. She regularly digs in our back yard hoping to find a new kind of rock or fossil and she would rather spend her money on polished rocks than toys. She is one curious, smart cookie!

To be continued...

Sea World...

Ok so it's about time right? I just know you are all eagerly awaiting this post so without further adieu....

Sea World!

(click on each page to make them bigger-and in case you're wondering why I am posting scrapbook pages instead of simple pictures I figured I might as well just complete my pages for my Shutterfly book that I plan on having printed and then post them here too-kill two birds with one stone and all!)

P.S. I know that these pages mention The Pea's nickname as well as The Hubster's but I was too

 lazy to blur them out!

Disneyland!

The second day we were in CA we went to Disneyland. We were actually supposed to meet my Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Scott and their family that day to play together (they live about 10 min. from the park). When I called to get details I found out they were REALLY sick! Sad!!! So we ended up going ourselves. My sweet Auntie gave me lots of info. though that really helped that day. We had so much fun. We got there around 10am and stayed until about 10pm! LONG DAY! The poor Pea had her entire schedule turned upside down that day (and every other day for the whole vacation) so it was interesting trying to work around her nap and meal times. Unfortunately this meant splitting up as a family a lot while The Hubster and the older two waited in lines and I found meals for the baby, warmed milk for sippy cups and quiet spots for her to nap. However between fast-passes and parent-swaps we all got to ride most of the rides. Our regrets after though were that we only had one day to do it all, we didn't make it to Toon Town before it closed (shoulda' gone there first...ahh hind-sight!), and we didn't get a family picture with Mickey (the ONE THING I wanted out of that day). Oh well, there's always next year right? I gotta say, my favorite is still good ole' Space Mountain. Something about a roller coaster completely in the dark just puts a smile on my face! My kids' faves were Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain...well, they pretty much loved anything fast! Buzz Lightyear was pretty darn fun too. I have to say though, my absolute favorite part of the day was the firework show. Ever since I was little I have seen the Disneyland and Disneyworld commercials where they show the fireworks over the castle and I have always wanted to see them in person. This year I finally did and it was magical! It was such a fun day and it was so great to just watch my kids experience the magic that is Disneyland!

**Disclaimer: The following pictures may not be the best quality due to a crappy point and shoot camera that we bought right before the trip. I didn't want to haul my SLR around Disneyland. I learned my lesson that day and took my 4th child (my SLR) everywhere else during our trip. The point and shoot couldn't focus worth anything! It has since been returned for a full refund and my SLR will be my one and only from here on out!**