A Saturday at Lake Elsinore

A few weeks ago we took the boat out to Elsinore again.  This time we were joined by Devin and Matt and our friends the Oylers.  It was a blast and super fun for the kids to have buddies to play with.

 Libby and Crue, the fearless co-pilots.

 Devin showing off his mad skills.

 Lexi sporting her new life vest.

 Abe with Cohen (Holly wasn't able to join us this time so Abe was dad extraordinaire!)

 Libby and Crue lounging on the bow.

 Abe invented his own sport and just got dragged behind the boat for awhile (intentionally) and loved it.

 Lexi and Brad and enjoying our swimming time on the beach.

 What cuties!

 Lexi was the ultimate flag girl - until she passed out.  Good thing we have 2 flags! ;)

Brad getting some sweet air.  He got to wakeboard and wake-skate, I got to wakeboard and waterski, and the highlight of the day - Libby and Crue each got to wakeboard, too!  Brad is amazing and somehow managed to get up with one of them in his lap and have them stand between his legs while he rode - in and out of the wake and everything!  So, we've probably got the youngest wakeboarders around - 3 and 4 years old!  I was so sad that my camera battery died by then and I don't have any pictures to show for it.  They did awesome!  And Brad was completely beat afterwards, as you can imagine.  I seriously don't know how he did it!  What a fun day.

Bonfire at Three Arch

For Porter's senior trip, he and 8 of his friends came down to stay at my parents' house for a week and enjoy the So Cal sun.  We got to meet up with them a few times (and whenever we did, Libby was convinced she was the center of the party!) and the last one was a bonfire at Three Arch Bay.  What a perfect way to end a work day - wow!

 Our own piece of paradise - and we had it all to ourselves!

 Grammy and the girls exploring the arches.

 Arches, tide pools, fire pits - this beach has it all!

 Climbing through the smallest arch with Libby...

 and Lexi.

 Daddy caught a crab - yay!

 I love this little Libby-pose!

 The water girl.  This was moments before she decided to sit down in the puddle...niiiice!

 Libby enjoying the hotdogs - but not as much as Lexi did.  Lexi ate 3 of them and was ready for more if we'd have cooked them for her!

 Brad went Eagle Scout style and made his own roasting stick.

 The gang at smores time.

What a fun Tuesday night at the beach.  I can't wait for summer!!!

Thanks for letting us crash the party - it was a blast.

Los Angeles Temple

On Saturday, May 31st the Coopers were sealed in the LA temple.  It was an amazing experience to be a part of and we wouldn't have missed it for the world!  We are so happy for them!

 We don't often make it up to the LA temple, so it was a great reason to head to the beautiful temple grounds.

 The Christus in the Visitors' Center - brought back lots of great memories for me!

 The newest forever family - the Coopers

 We are so blessed to have our own forever family, too.

 What a cool temple, right in the heart of LA.  We're so used to Newport, I forgot just how big LA is!

 More picture opps

It's obviously too much to ask to get everyone smiling and looking at the camera, but you get the idea, right?!

Memorial Day Bike Ride

Lexi's one request for her birthday was that we go on a bike ride, so on Memorial Day we loaded up the bikes in Brad's new truck and headed to Huntington Beach.  It was the perfect day!

 We decided on Huntington so that Libby could ride her bike, too.  She was the star of the trail!

 Her little legs were just a-going, going, going the whole time.  We figured she'd get all tuckered out at some point and we'd park and lock her bike up, then put her in the trailer with Lexi or in the seat behind me.  But, much to our surprise, she rode the whole way to the pier - a good 3 miles or more, and BACK all by herself!  What a trooper!

 It was slow going at first, but after a bit, Libby decided racing Pops was a great game.  He's way up ahead at this point, so she better catch up quickly!

 Daddy and his cute girls!  As you might imagine, we got lots of comments from everyone (and it was packed) on how cute they were!

 We stopped for a nice lunch on Main St and Libby claimed that we should all start calling her "Libby, the most awesome bike rider in the world!"

Making glasses out of some fun wax-stix.  Then, it was back to pedaling.  We rode for awhile, stopped any played on the beach, then trekked back to the car.  Over 6 miles of riding (and a whole lot of playing), and this was one tired girl by the end of the day! 

What a great call, Lexi - thanks for the great idea for a much needed day off for all of us!

Lexi's 2nd Birthday

On Saturday, May 24th, Lexi turned 2!  We had a low key morning hanging out at the house enjoying all of Lexi's new collection of princess dresses from Grandma and Aunt Jayann (amazing!) and went to the park.  That afternoon, we had a little party with family and a few friends to celebrate.  Lexi seemed to think the whole thing was FANTASTIC!

She actually slept through the first half hour of her party till I decided a 3 hour nap was long enough and went to wake her up.  She was none to thrilled to be woken up, but when we made it down stairs, this was the face we got.  Looks like waking up to a house full of friends and balloons all in your honor isn't such a bad way to start the rest of your day!

 Add in some frosting and a crown and life is looking pretty good!

 Some of the cookie decorators (and devourers, too!).

 Yep, she's loving this whole birthday thing!

 What cute kids

 More cute cookie decorators.

 Brad got Lexi this Minnie Mouse balloon and it was definitely the hit of the party!

 Since everyone was already all hyped up on sugar, we decided to open presents before cupcakes and ice cream.  Lexi had fun digging into all those cute bags!

 My mom helped Syd with one of her 10 hour projects for YW to make Lexi an Ariel princess dress.  They got her this crown to go along with it and no matter how many times we tried to turn it around, this was how she wanted to wear it.  She kills me!

 The aftermath of present opening...all Lexi's friends had a great time shredding tissue paper and making a huge mess.

 But the best part of the whole experience was watching her face as we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  Honestly, it was priceless. She was sooooo elated and didn't want it to end!

 After several attempts, she did finally blow out the candle.

 Wow!  I love that girl!

 Brad ended up making a fire in the backyard and all the kids had a great time playing around out there.

Once  the party was over, it was time to relax and enjoy the spoils.  I absolutely love reading with my girls and they were so excited to new books to add to the collection.  (Notice Libby is sporting one of Lexi's new dresses from Grandma...we'll see if Lexi ever gets a turn.  Good thing there are 6 of them to go around!)

What a great 2nd birthday!  I sure do love that little munchkin!  Happy birthday, Lexi!