Fourth of July

We had an awesome 4th, from start to finish!

 All decked out in our red, white, and blue for our ward's Pancake breakfast.

 One of Lexi's friends, Abby had the same dress on so we had to get a picture.  I love their faces..."Mom, are you really making me do this?!"

 The best picture of Lexi all day!

 Grandpa helped her cruise the park on her scooter.

 Libby was part of a serious gang of biker-kids!

 Hilarious!  When we got home, I had left some watermelon rinds on the patio for Piggy to eat and while I was getting lunch ready for our bike ride, Lexi sat down and joined Piggy, dining on his already munched rinds.  How gross!  Once she started, though, I figured, eh, why not? and she continued there happily munching for quite some time.

 We rode our bikes down to Doheny (Libby almost made it the whole way!) and joined the masses for a great day at the beach.  Sandcastles...

 splashing in the water...

 playing in the sand...

 and more sandcastles!  Three generations of Macbeth masterminds were behind this one (and managed to keep Lexi at bay!).

 Then it was a BBQ at my parents' house and fireworks at the lake.  Lexi showing off some of her glow stick bracelets.

 Summer was the designated Lexi-chaser and she did GREAT!  Thanks, Sum. 

(The picture says it all for how attentive Lexi is to just about anything.)

 Brad and Libby joined the "big kids" on the slope.

 Laguna Niguel put on a pretty great show this year!

 Glow stick mustaches are cool!

Back to the house for dessert and not to bed till 11:00.  Wow, this is getting to be a trend...yikes!

Hooray for the greatest country on earth - I am so proud to be an American and love celebrating my country!

Angel Game

On Thursday we took the gang to the Angel game on the train.  As always, the BEST way to go!

 Lexi showing Grandma and Grandpa the ropes on the train.

 Both sets of grandparents at once - those are some lucky girls!

 Lexi had a blast playing with Pops on the way there.

 We've arrived!

 and Mickey Mouse did, too!

 Who knew her best buddy would be there, too?!

 We were even on time for the opening pitch - a rare feat for our gang.  (Yet another benefit of the train option.)

 The Macbeth side of the family sporting our new Angels caps that came with our tickets - awesome!

 Lexi loving her Grandma time.

 Cotton candy heaven!

 Lexi was not feeling so hot, so she spent much of the game like this.  But I didn't hear many complaints from those that got some seriously quality cuddle time in!

 Back on the train Lexi caught her second wind.  Sister loves!

Headed home after yet another great Angel victory.  So what if our kids didn't get to bed till midnight?!?  Life is good!  (Note that Lexi's "fishing pole" came with us everywhere we went.  Who knew an old shoelace could be so much fun?!  She's addicted to that thing!  I sure do love that crazy girl!)

Grandma & Grandpa are Here!

On Tuesday, Grandma and Grandpa arrived from WA and we are so excited to have them.  On their first full day we hit up the beach, and wouldn't you know it, it's been the only sun-never-breaks-through-the-marine-layer day.  Bummer!  But still such fun.

 Libby and Grandma managed to get some good sand castle building in before Lexi destroyed it.

 It must have been while she was hi-jacking Ty's water bottle and goobering it up really well so he wouldn't ever want it back. ;)

 Libby the mermaid

and Ty the bloated whale/shark looking thing.

New Addition to the Family

Well, it's official - our family has grown.  We are now the proud owners of a kitty.  His name is Sylvester but he goes by Sly or Rocky, depending on who is calling him. ;)

 The girls are beyond thrilled and we just hope that Sly survives their "love" and lives to adulthood. ;)

 A little blurry, but you get the idea - ADORABLE!

 Kisses from Lexi...

squeezes from Libby.

Like I said, we hope he survives.  One thing is for sure - he's getting lots of attention (wanted or not)!

SD Temple and Sea World

On Monday, the girls and I headed down to San Diego for the day to stop by the temple and then spend the day at one of their favorite places:  Sea World!

 Ahhh...where it all began.  How sweet!

 The temple was closed for the day, so we had the whole place to ourselves.  We sang "I Love to See the Temple" and enjoyed the grounds for a bit.

 It truly is our own special castle!  I love this place!

 And this place, too!  We love Shamu!

 He was having fun doing laps upside-down after the show and we were having fun watching.

 Play time!  The girls really got into the Bay-of-Play area this time.

 Tunnels, rope bridges and trampolines - they loved it all.

 They both climbed into this little cubby stocked with stuffed Shamus and had a hayday.

 Libby looking like pretty hot stuff on the SkyRide.

 Lexi and I enjoyed it, too.

 I thought this pose was just too funny to pass up! 

(There are dolphins behind her, but the pose is what's priceless!)

Back to the play area for more fun after dinner.

Sea turtles are always a favorite. 

Lexi has entered the phase of I-don't-smile-for-pictures-or-look-at-the-camera and its driving me crazy!  So, yeah, this is one of the best shots of her all day.  Sad, but true.  Despite her non-photogenic nature, we all had a grand old time and were pretty tuckered out when we left the park at 9:00pm that night!

World Cup

My first official day of summer was the USA-Germany game, so the girls and I suited up in our red, white, and blue and cheered them on (kinda).

We thought of Uncle Paul the whole time and the girls and I even worked on some mending while we watched.  Then we hit up the pool and had friends over for dinner that night.  Yep, I'd say summer is off to a great start!