Dad and Otter Pops make everything better

The other Saturday was one of those chore kind of days. It was dad-less, hot, and we didn't get out of the house much. Casey helped a friend move in the morning, then he headed to the library to finish up a work project (he rarely works on weekends so I can't complain), and then we babysat our friends Owen and Paige for the evening. Let's just say we were ready to have our Dad home.

While he worked, the kids had fun playing with their friends. It took me a while to catch on here but big Owen and Lucy were running through the house yelling, "the monster's coming!" And that poor little monster being.....sweet Paigey. Here they are trying to hide from her by the back door. If you look close you can see Lucy in the corner there, behind Owen:
Could that sweet face be any sort of monster to you?? Thankfully she thought it was all fun and continued to run after them:
Though the kids had fun inside, when Casey got home at 6:30 the real party began. We ditched the hot apartment and played in the water outside (I wasn't brave enough to wrangle everyone on my own....we have no fence on the yard). We went WT style and everyone ran around in undies while Casey sprayed the hose:
Gotta love a good sagging diaper:
and when water time was done.....Otter Pops! Casey knows just how to brighten our day.
These faces were just asking for a photo op. Paige has beautiful eyes:
and a spunky personality:
Lucy is always delicate when she eats (almost) anything. She's usually pretty clean coming out of it:
So it was especially fun watching Owen go to town on his green Otter Pop:
Good thing they all took a bath afterward!

Little Owen tagged along the whole night, watching and following what the big kids were doing. And sportin a nice scrape on his nose:
All cleaned up, watching a show, and ready for bed. Four little monkeys. Being a mom is challenging but there's nothing sweeter than looking at this at the end of the day:

made for me

M&Ms has experimented with strange flavors in the past. But coconut??? I'm really not one to buy candy at the grocery store checkout. But this one I could not resist. Anything coconut prefers to go in my mouth (or on my skin). Let's hope the limited edition flavor is here to stay!...because, it is yummmmmy.

brought to you by, Lucy

I think every mom has the blog post where her child discovered the camera for the first time and went around the house taking all sorts of random shots. Yep, that's what this is. I'm sure we find our own children's "artwork" more endearing than others would. But Casey and I were pretty impressed with a few of Lucy's shots (the best of about 80 shots I deleted). Most of the photos here are untouched. On a few of them, I lightened the exposure and sharpened the focus. But I left the composition and angles alone. So cool to see the world from her perspective.

Brought to you by our little budding photographer....

front room:

important:

shadow snapping:
mom and owen:

our car:

the neighbor's car:

POV: mom's backside (lovely)that skinny keyboard:

foot on chalk:

and....self portrait
(the photographer was worn out from a long photo sesh):

is it weird to be excited about....

panties?
I guess not. But maybe it's weird to blog about them? Oh well. Doing it. We went to H&M today and they had the cutest set of girl undies.
7 days, 7 little expression, and 7 pairs that actually fit Lucy! We're dumping the old Disney princess pairs and sticking with these (though she might wonder what happened to them.) But seriously why do they have to make Disney princess stuff so ornate and dripping with swirls and goo? I hate when she's wearing a cute outfit and I get a glimpse of some ugly purple and yellow Belle panties. This is more our flavor. I love H&M!
I had to give these pairs a whirl too. Little boxer/hot pants. Perfect under a skirt! They're a tad big on her, so maybe she'll wear them as pajama bottoms. Or maybe I'll use them as a pattern to make more!
Okay. Underwear blog post. Done.

the perfect beach

With lots of family in town, the kids and I stayed at my Mom's house for a few days to play with everyone. Lucy always loves Meredith. When we get to Gram's house she often asks, "where's Mere Pere?"
Nice bump on Owen's head from falling at Eaton Canyon:
Diggedy Dane is such a character. He can entertain himself for hours. And spends most of the day wearing various costumes:
We also got to play with our cousins from next door. Oh, little Lilah, could you be any cuter?? Darling face:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
With summer temps here, the beach was calling our name. And Monday morning, Camille took us to her favorite (and perfect) spot in Laguna Beach.
Welcome to Crescent Bay:
A hidden gem. I'm not even sure I could find it again on my own.
The beach is small, the water is absolutely gorgeous, the bathrooms are close-by and really nice, and we scored the BEST parking spot right near the top of the trail. 11am is the perfect time to go. And everyone seemed happy 98 percent of the time. Hooray!
Camille and Rachael:
Me and Owen:
Lucy brought a Little Mermaid toy which she repeatedly squished in the sand and then dunked in the waves. A good 1/2 hour of fun:
Dane getting sandy:
Brinton and Liesl. LOVE the look on her face:

Carter:
Jeremy:

Savanna:

Lauren:

Mere:

and Owen:

The older kids had fun swimming out in the water:
until Mere and Brinton saw a small baby shark. Then they were on a mission to catch it in a sand bucket.
Mere looks like the perfect life guard in this shot; while everyone listens intently:
.....and Dane plays in the sand.
Funny when kids get a wedgie:
And funnier watching them pick it out.
We saw dolphins off in the distance:
And some paddlers on their surfboards. Looks like a great workout:
Lucy totally "got" the beach this time.
She had so much fun jumping, dancing, and running in the waves (all on her own):
It was exciting to watch her really experience the waves for the first time.

While Meredith, Liesl, and Brinton wandered to the Tidepools nearby...
...the rest of us hung out near the beach umbrella. Savanna and Owen were cute buddies:
The boys were good helpers getting water...
.....so that Lucy could wash her hands. She's definitely my daughter. Can't relax till the sand is off.
The saltwater does beautiful things to hair. Rachael and I were admiring Savanna's whimsical curls:
-------------------------------------------------------------
After the beach, we relaxed at Gram's house where the kids got to feed Chip, their tortoise:
And we chilled in the garage watching movies.
What a perfect beach day. Thanks Camille for the fabulous find!