Me and My Girls

I wanted a cute picture of me with both girls in matching dresses and this is what I got...

 First try:  me and Miss Double-chin.

 Second try:  One child screaming while being pushed by her narcaleptic sister...

And the best of the bunch was this one.  Well, at least you can tell they match! ;)

Pajama Fun

There's just something fun about being in our PJs!

 The tall and the small. 

The girls love when they get to spend time in Mommy and Daddy's bed on lazy weekend mornings.

 The pre-pajama pic.  What a cute little nakey body!

 Libby loves to dance around in her PJs in the morning and run back and forth from our room to hers.  Here she is mid-craziness!

 Another favorite is, of course, jumping on the bed!  I LOVE this smile of hers!  If only she'd do it on command!

Lexi takes a much more mellow approach to the whole pajama experience.  What a cute little bumblebee!

Another Trip to Sea World

Libby has been begging to go to Sea World again, so we waited for a Friday so my mom could join us and headed down for another great day.

 The diva and Grammy enjoying the walrus.  He swam right up next to our window on his laps, but we couldn't quite get the timing down.  Oh, well!

 The girls in their matching shirts all the way from Germany!  They both liked the sea turtles

 Someday we'll get a cute picture of both of them.... just not today!

 Grammy was a great help and Libby was so glad she was there!  They had a blast with the starfish.

 I think this one is hilarious!  Lexi had had it, Libby's thought was "why smile when I can swing?!", and I'm there just trying to hold it all together.  Ah, the fun of it all! :)

We finished off the night on the rides again and didn't get home till about 10:30pm!  What a fun day!

Thanks, Mom, for making it possible - I couldn't have done it without you!

Smile Shots

Lexi is a full-blown smiler now!  Of course smiling is one thing, and smiling for the camera is another matter entirely!  So, here are a few weak ones we've managed to capture.  You really just have to see it in person to know how cute those smiles really are!

 There's nothing better than getting all PJed up and ready for bed.

 Ok, if I didn't know this was a picture of Lexi, I would never have guessed it!  This looks nothing like her, but the smile is pretty cute.  She does indeed have a neck, and her cheeks aren't quite THAT huge, I swear!

 This little quirky sideways smile seems to be her favorite.

And I know this one is really similar to the previous one, but I just couldn't resist that double chin shot!

Hooray for smiling, happy babies! ;)

A Fun Visitor

Last Sunday our good friend Brigitte from Heidelberg, Germany came to visit.  She was the German leader that came with the Exchange Students I taught back in 2009 and was here doing the program again in Upland.  She drove down for the day to spend some time with us and we were so glad she did!  It's always fun to see her and we had a great time catching up.  We took her for a walk around the Montage and then had a nice BBQ that my parents and Britt and Mike joined us for. 

 Brigitte and the girls - unfortunately, not a good picture of any of them.  What can you do?!?

The girls were still dressed up in their church dresses, but Brad and I had changed already.  They looked darling together, even if the picture doesn't show it!

4th of July

We had a fun but low-key 4th this year.  We started out the morning at our ward's annual Pancake Breakfast at the park and had a nice time chatting with all of our friends.  Then, the girls both crashed and slept for a VERY long time, so we did too! ;)  Then, it was time for a late start on our bike ride to the beach with my parents.

Libby got a new bike seat and Lexi took over the trailer (Libby let us know it was hers but that she was letting Lexi use it!).  Both seemed to love the set-up and we had a nice ride from our usual spot.

 We ended up at Doheny and it was packed.  And COLD!  No sun all day on the 4th of July - how crazy is that?!?  But Libby still had fun playing in the sand, as always.

(I don't know what this crazy jut-out-the-bottom-jaw smile is all about lately, but she sure loves doing it!)

 Lexi enjoyed the beach from outside of her carseat for once!  There are a few perks to a cloudy day at the beach, I guess.

 LIBBY!

 I loved her cute little "My first 4th of July" outfit my friends at work got for her.  She was a crowd-stopper all day long! 

 That night we watched fireworks with our friends at Mission Viejo Lake.  What a fun night!

Here's the gang - the Changs, the Crocketts, and us.  Adults - 6, kids - 5 1/2.  Only a couple weeks till the kids tie up the score, then who knows what'll happen?!?

Weekend in Big Bear

One of my mom's good friends has a timeshare in Big Bear and wasn't able to use it, so at the last minute we got invited to join my parents for a relaxing weekend of fun.  Believe it or not, this was my first time every going to Big Bear and we all loved it.

 Here are the four of us in the condo.  It was right on the lake and had amazing views!  We loved spending time on the patio.

 We took a really nice boat trip around the lake and had a great guide that told us lots of fun facts about the lake and its famous guests!

 The girls are all suited up and ready for a great time!

 Libby and I enjoyed the ride together - she was a little wild, so I probably didn't get as much info out of the guide as the rest of the group, but quality time with my girl is totally worth it! 

 At one point, Libby even got to drive the boat!  Watch out, world!

 Brad treated us to ice cream that night after walking around the cute little village area for awhile.  Libby was in heaven, of course!

 My dad and his #9 and #10 grandkids - how cute!

 The next day we hiked up to Castle Rock, the best view of the whole lake.  Brad sure got his workout with Libby!

 The guide books all said it was a "moderate to difficult" hike which had us a little worried with two kids, but we made it!  (Only Brad went to the tippy top of the rock, but we all made it to the top of the hike.)  It was gorgeous and we were so glad we did it!

 My parents were total troopers - way to go, Mom and Dad!

 This was mostly how the hike went:  Lexi asleep in the Baby Bjorn (thankfully!) and Libby running wild with her dad - from being in his arms to on his shoulders to holding his hand and getting swung up the rocks.  Like I said, Brad REALLY got a good workout out of it!

 Later that day we walked along the boardwalk bridge over the lake.

 And, if there's a swimming pool and hot tub involved, it's a MUST for Libby.  She sure is her Daddy's girl - hot tub or bust!

And even Lexi got to swim for the first time.  She loved the water and stayed in for a pretty long time.  More pool fun to come, I'm sure! 

What a great last minute get away!