Beach Days

Ah, beach days...this is the life!



Levi started really walking this week (he was taking little practice steps before, but this week was the shift from primarily crawling everywhere to primarily walking everywhere). He crawled to the water and then just stood up and started going. The waves were calling him. I can already hear him begging me to go on the surf trip with Uncle Brian! Caught a few steps on camera:



This kid sure isn't afraid of the water. He doesn't mind the cold either. In fact, he actively tries to dunk his head under and he comes up laughing when I let him! He is just like a happy dog at the beach!



Lucy learned to Boogie Board and Body Surf all by herself this summer. What an amazing swimmer! Nothing makes me happier than watching my little mermaid dash happily through the waves.We have gone to the beach a lot this summer because everyone is happy there. Both kids forget the need to sleep or eat and just have total and complete fun the entire time. It is such a great break for a couple hours...until we get in the car and everyone realizes they are dying of starvation and are too tired to even eat! I try to feed them snacks while we are there, but I can only get a bite or two in. I love it, love it, love it, even despite the tired ride home. I wish summer would never end! I took some pictures and videos on Thursday because I realized I hadn't snapped any all summer. We have just been having too much fun to go get the camera out!

Easter and Pictures

I finally found some patience for a picture upload, so here is some Lucy and Levi Love after the drought!

Easter after church at my parents house.


Oh Wow, my kids are so adorable...



And they love each other sooooo much... (I didn't even tell Lucy to do that! She is so sweet and love her brother so much!)


And... oh wait...how did this picture get uploaded!!!! You guys come on we are pretending to be perfect! Lucy let Levi out of the headlock and please don't bite him or else you will get a time out! (We have had a little more sibling rivalry going on at home now that Levi can crawl to Lucy's toys and steal them. I never knew a 7 month old baby could bug his older sister quite so much and he thinks it is funny already!)

Easter Egg Hunt!!!
We won Best Egg Overall at the Church Activity Easter Egg Decorating Contest due to me and Lucy's Rapunzel obsession!


It was a great Easter to say the least!!! No really it was. We had such a fun time. We ate foods Jesus would eat all week, and had lessons about his life and read scriptures by candlelight. I loved it!

Here are some more random pictures of our life recently:

Levi's first official beach trip. "Official" meaning he went in the water and not just his toes. It was April 16 2011 and he loved it. I dunked him to his neck to wash the sand off and he didn't even cry. He was in heaven although the picture would suggest otherwise.


Last Thursday we went to the beach. Dave and I played some volleyball while Lucy entertained Levi. She did a pretty good job because he was laughing hard and I have never seen so much sand on a baby's face before. Surprisingly he didn't even cry when I drenched him in the freezing showers.

Lucy came out with Levi's pants on the other day and said "Mom, I have never worn these pants before!" I was surprised they fit her so well!
Went to Legoland on Monday. It was hot so even Levi got to go on the splashpad. He was a hit just splashing and laughing. A stranger even asked me if they could take his picture. Later I saw some people in a line and they said, "Oh you are the one with the baby who loves the water. He was so funny."



Here is Lucy pushing Levi in the swing!


Our little heat spell has made me so excited! This is going to be a fun summer!


Quick little update:

Levi is a fast army crawler these days. He has even pulled up on the furniture a bit. He surprises me everyday. He laughs a lot and has a wonderful sense of humor. He loves to eat! He chows everything and tries to swallow the spoon. It is a huge difference from Lucy. Levi doesn't even care if he nurses, I insist that he nurses a few times a day. Lucy would have perished if she had to rely on solids. She gaged on everything until at least 9 months. Levi loves music. He shakes his head and bounces to the beat. I dunked Levi under the water at the pool on Tuesday and he loved it! He was 20 lbs at his 6 month check up and I am sure he is more now! Big Kid!

Lucy loves her gymnastics class. I thought it would be an outlet for her daring spirit, but I think it is encouraging jumping off of furniture and hanging upside down on anything she can grab. She can sound out lots of words, although she hasn't learned all the hard weird letter like x and z. She loves to swim and can take a few breaths now without my help. She sleep walks and talks which is hilarious. I should try to catch it on video. She is so fun and imaginative. She names everything really unique names and you can ask her the Spanish word for anything and she will make something up and tell you. She wants to know "Why?" about everything. She is an absolute joy!

What fun ages and stages right now. We just can't get enough of them!

Hawaii

Since it's been a few months I think I will finally put up some pictures from our Hawaii Trip.

For Christmas my parents took our whole family there. Needless to say, it was awesome!




Some quick highlights of the trip:

Lucy slept the whole way there on the airplane. That was cool!

Staying across the street from the beach in Waikiki

Going to the Pipeline Masters Surf Contest

Lucy got stung by a jellyfish the first day out on the beach, after only a few minutes in the water

Snorkeling Hanauma Bay. Dave and I saw an eel. I wanted to get a closer look. Dave thought I was crazy and wouldn't let me.

Seeing my cousin Channy and her husband Sean.

Getting awesome deals at the swap meet. (I still haven't given Lisa her cool Christmas present!)

Visiting Pearl Harbor

Racing across a little bay in Waikiki

Swimming to Chinaman's Hat. It was Lucy's first real Kayaking adventure. I know we have put her in the shallow water before, but I don't think we ever actually kayaked with her.

Surfing lots and lots. It was Dave's first time getting up and Lucy's first time surfing (of course, she didn't stand up).

Watching Brian surf the big waves!

Swimming with turtles.

Visiting the Polynesian Culture Center.

Eating really good pineapple

Christmas Caroling in Foodland (local grocery store) on Christmas Eve

Lucy got pink flip flops from Santa for Christmas that she still loves and talks about. She had wanted flip flops for a very long time.

Christmas Day we went to watch huge waves at Waimea Bay (They were about 40 feet I think). We watched about 30 guys get thrashed by a huge set. Boards were washing up, broken in two. All the guys came in except 5 crazy ones. Lucy caught a ladybug while we were watching.

Dave and I hiked Laie Falls. I love hiking in Hawaii!

My favorite was swimming without getting cold!

Thank You so much for the best Christmas Present ever Mom and Dad!

Weird Story

Wanna hear a weird story?

If you will remember back to my Halloween Post, I mentioned going to the beach and getting stung in the foot, after stepping on a bee. That was a little strange. I had never seen bees at the beach before. I Certainly had never been stung at the beach before. I can't even remember the last time I was stung by a bee. Oh well, it happens right?

The story gets weird when I stepped on a bee at the beach AGAIN on Tuesday! It felt like Deja Vu, except it actually happened!!!!! It wouldn't even be that weird if I got stung again, but it was on the same foot, exact same spot, in the exact same way at the exact same beach. It was about a 1/4 mile down the beach from the last time, but still!

Why are bees attracted to my right foot? How annoying, but really not the worst thing that could happen to you. In fact, this time it hurt less than last time. It didn't swell up at all, and has only been a little itchy. You can see a small red mark where the stinger was. I wonder if the first sting worked like a vaccine and now I am not as sensitive to bee venom in that part of my foot. STRANGE! Now, I feel like writing a creepy honey bee x-files episode or something!

Any ideas why such a strange thing happened to me and should I be worried about this happening again, or just forget about it? I really don't want to start wearing shoes to the beach. That would be ridiculous, in fact that would probably be considered a crime in my family.

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Dolphins

Wow...that's really all I can say!

Yesterday we had a really close encounter with 3 Dolphins, closer than I can ever remember in all my days at the beach. All three of them leapt out of the water at one point (wish I could have caught that on camera). What a majestic experience. I included the next picture, just to give you some perspective of how close they actually were to the beach. You can see the fin right there in the breaking water.

After the dolphins swam by, I got in an artsy mood and shot these pics of Lucy's footprints. Looking back at them, I was actually kind of impressed, although you can't tell how cute and little they are. What do you think? I have always (okay, only for a few years now) wanted to be a photographer. Do you think I would have a shot (get it, shot?,lol, okay I'll stop being lame now, you can stop reading and give them a quick look)?

Beach Babe

Lucy has turned into quite the Beach Babe lately. I'm really happy to have a little buddy who is always ready to go with me! It doesn't matter if the water is cold, and her teeth are chattering, there is no getting this gal out of the water.

Heidi is cool... and Lucy wants to be just like her when she grows up

A little sunbathing...

Lucy and Grandma...2 very hot chicks!

Lucy can never resist being chased

We took Lucy in the Kayak for the first time the other day. She loved it...sadly I didn't bring my camera with me that day, but we will get some shots of the sheer joy later.

Lucy's beach code:

If Lucy says "suit" that means "I want to go to the beach, so please put my suit on me"

If Lucy says "shhhhh, two..." that means "I want to chase the birds"

If Lucy says "waw waw" that means "I want to go in the water"

If Lucy says "up" that means "you better get up and come with me" ... you can tell who is in charge at our house!

Mine Mine Mine

(The title is an allusion to "Little Nemo" see if you can figure it out!)

We took Lani on a double date before she headed off on her London Study abroad (talk about jeoulous older sister, okay I won't talk about it!) Lucy was her date. We did the ultimate Southern California date...In n' Out drive thru, then picnic on the beach! Sound to good to be true in January? Anything is possible, however there was one small drawback that we overlooked in our plans...Seagulls !!!! They really wanted our lunch and since Lucy was trying to feed them hers, they were getting way too close. An especially nasty one wrapped up in some kind of string was getting way to close for comfort.

When we were done with our lunch and finally ready to actually feed them, I got the camera out, ready to catch some really cute moments of Dave and Lucy feeding the birds, but all I got was this...

Dave turned on me and threw all the food at me, so I aimed and took a shot while on the run! I thought that was funny and had no problem taking the joke, even though I did run for my life! This picture is just so you get an idea how close and vicious they were. Tell me that is not a little bit scary?
Even Dave is afraid as you can see... (Yes this post is going somewhere, I just gotta build it up!)



And so I decided to get all artistic and lay down so I could just get Dave and Lucy, the sky and the birds flying overhead. Dave really should have realized that he had already had enough fun teasing me, but he still suffers from years of not growing up with a girl to tease and I fear he will never get it out of his system. While I was on my back, under a bunch of nasty ravenous birds all screaming "Mine Mine Mine" Dave once again through all the crumbs on top of me. The earlier episode I could take in stride, I had my feet under me and I could run, and the food really only got within a few feet from me, but this, this!!!!! I was on my back in the sand, for crying out loud! That is more like cruel and unusual punishment than a funny joke. I ran to the car in tears and cooled off for a minute and then after Dave kept pleading for me to come back, I rejoined him with probably my most vicious display of affection I have shown throughout our entire marriage (Dave and I really aren't yellers in any way, so this yelling vicious session only consisted of me pretty much just saying "You are such a Jerk! Why did you do that to me?" in a loud enough voice that people within a 20 ft. radius could hear me.) The funny thing is he didn't even know what I was talking about. He seriously had know idea why I had gotten mad. Well, of course I forgave him after about 1 minute, because Dave is seriously the most loveable guy on the planet! I mean that with my entire heart and soul, even though at times he would throw his wife to the seagulls, he really is the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. He is defintely a blessing that was bestowed to me based on things that I didn't do in this life! The moral of the story I guess is that sometimes husbands can be really imature, but they are totally worth it!

And the day wasn't a tragedy after all! We all made up and came away with this little beauty! Thanks for taking the family pics Lani! I love it! I feel like it is truly symbolic of our Southern California Winter! Ah yeah! You really can't stay mad too long when the sun is shining and you're at the beach!

Oh how I hate the cold...

...which reminds me why I always wanted to return to the home of my youth. Nothing like perfect weather in November! Only in San Diego, where even your wildest dreams come true! (I told Dave just about a week before all our hospital calamities that I had made a goal to enjoy winter this year. We both laughed at the idea and wondered how that would ever be possible. Then I promised, I really would find a way. Moving home wasn't what I had in mind at the time, but I certainly found a way to enjoy it now didn't I?) Really, living here in the gently perfect Fall sun after being away almost 7 years is like a dream come true, minus one big factor (Dave, of course! I couldn't miss him more. Our previous time apart record was 12 days, which we set in June...we are now going on about 18 days I think, with no end in sight for that matter. I always used to say we would never make any decision that caused us to be apart longer than 2 weeks, but I guess you should just never say never!). It's all so bitter sweet... like finally making it to paradise (or the Celestial Kingdom if you will), without your favorite and most wonderful e.c. (eternal companion, duh). On the one hand, it's better than you could ever dream of, on the other hand, why have everything you ever dreamed of without your favorite person to share it all with? Oh well, there is no use just droning on about it, so I am trying to enjoy what I can (besides that is what Dave would want me to do anyway) and Saturday at the beach was nothing less than enjoyable!

I will start with a little narrated Film strip, starring Lucy, of course:

First, examine the territory and pick the most deluctable plot of sand.


Second, disect the sand to find the juiciest bite possible.



Third, take the tiniest taste possible, as always with new foods.



Fourth, cram as much in as you can before Mom ruins the fun. (Where is her Mother, anyway?)



Fifth, sit back and just dwell on the magnificent, lingering flavor. (If you look really hard you can see that her tongue is on the tip of her lips)



Last, ask Mom in sweetest voice possible "Can I do it again, Mom. Please..."

We thought this trip to the beach was just going to be a quick walk in the sand, so I didn't bring Lucy's much needed swim suit. She was soaked and cold by the end of this trip because I just had to let her play in the water to her heart's content. You may be wondering why I let my child eat so much sand. Well, I had this brilliant logic that if I let her try it she would realize it was gross and not do it again, but apparently she likes that gritty feeling and salty taste, so now I guess I only played part in forming a new Lucy addicition. Honestly, I just don't know what to do with this little sweetie. She won't drink apple juice or eat anything yummy and sweet, but give her a plate of sand and she'll go to town. I'm curious to watch her tastebuds as they continue to develop!


But watching Lucy eat sand at the Beach isn't all we did. After my littlest sister, Heidi, went swiming, we decided with her long semi-wet hair and the aqua blue towel she was cuddled in (not to mention, the sunset glow) that she couldn't look more like a mermaid. Of course, in my family, such a realization called for a photoshoot, so here is our mermaid:

She is so beautiful! Sorry boys, she's only 14 so just back off already!

Chillin' in the glow of the sunset

Experimenting with the flash and the sunset behind us. A little dark, but cute.

If you get up closer it works!

A perfect sunset to end the perfect day! Of course the day was really no where close to being over, what with it being opening night for the big show, "Beauty and the Beast" that my father and sister, Sierra, star in as Maurice and Belle, but that is another story for another post!

Sweet Photo Shoot

I was just mentioning how I was a photoholic in the last post and well there is really nothing else to be said about this photo shoot. My sister had these sunglasses that were too small for her and once I tried them on Lucy, it was all over. I knew there would be another photo shoot soon! So Monday we went down to the beach again, this time prepared with props. I think taking pictures of Lucy is my new hobby. I am so ridiculous, but of course, I had to share them!And you think you are cool...

What a little poser! We have got a little disco fever going on!
What's the rush...

How's my suntan mom?

Don't look at me like you think I'm cute.
Life just couldn't get any better...
I'm just tickled pink.
Peekaboo! Here I am!
Sun...Sand....you gotta love it!
Come on in the water is fine.I really can't think of any more cute sayings... so here is the rest of the shoot just playing down at the water.
Thank you for indulging me!

Keep smiling!

Love,

Me and Lucy