California- Part 2

*the second day of our trip we decided that we needed a day of relaxation...and what better place than the beach?! We loaded up the car and began driving. We stopped at a Subway and brought yummy subs, chips & drinks and headed down to Huntington Beach. It was a beautiful midday full of sand, smiles, cold water, laughter, a watching my brown children run to their hearts content kind of day.
*after the beach, we went back to our hotel and rested a bit, and got ready. the original plan was to meander down to Santee Alley (sp?) before heading over to Curtis Morgan's house in Arcadia (one of Jesse's mission friends). The traffic once again was quite the shocker! It has been awhile since we have been to California and traffic is as awful as it used to be. We ended up bypassing the shopping and barely made it to the Morgan's house instead. It took us 2.5 to 3 hours to get there. Wow, I have never been happier not to live there. The crazy thing was on the way back it was only 30 minutes.
*we ended up staying an extra night and then headed out bright and early the next morning. Even though we had a blast, I have to admit that it is always heartwarming to pull into your own garage and know that you are HOME.

Eli was full of smiles...as long as he was on the blanket or in his car seat. The moment I set him down on the sand he threw a fit. Apparently he has not yet learned to appreciate sand; perhaps next time. Until then, I am perfectly content to let him stay clean and dry.

this picture of the waves makes me want to visit the beach again soon

Miss M buried in the sand

like I said...E was perfectly content chilling in the car seat; at least at this point. by the time we made it home from the trip not so much. for a few days after the vacation he would tear up at the first sight of his seat. not much fun to be stuck in a seat for pretty much 7 hours nonstop

it makes my heart happy to see my two "big" kids building a friendship with each other...it reminds me that there is life outside of constant fights

this is proof that I indeed made my appearance at the beach. sometimes it's so nice to be the camera-woman :) you avoid embarassing swimsuit pictures

*

on the way to the Morgan's home, Eli and Maddie totally crashed in the car. We were laughing so hard when we saw that Maddie had fallen asleep with a pushpop in her mouth and couldn't help snapping a picture of it.

yummy.

after my photo shoot of the other two, Robby insisted I take a picture of him. he grabbed the pushpop from Maddie's mouth and told me "take a pi-ture of me seeping mommy." Do you believe him?! He is rapidly turning into such a ham!

a random cactus that the kids excitedly told me had "mickey ears." Just a little obvious that we had returned from Disneyland

Until I post our trip....

here is some pictures of my kids ready for our "adventure" to California!
(you can cry with me as you note Miss M's super short locks; I just keep muttering to myself "it will grow, it will grow" again and again when I look at her and want to break down and cry)

Miss M's B-Day Princess Party

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the little "princesses" that came to Maddie's party. She loved having all of her friends there and reminds me every day how fun her party was.

First we started off taking pictures of all the princesses decked out in their gowns and Miss M gave each friend a wand and a [pretty] purple necklace. We let Maddie open up one present the morning of her party (even though her actual b-day is Sept 9th) and it was a Belle dress with pretty Belle shoes. She was ecstatic to put it mildly. She started screaming with excitement and kept saying "oh thank you, thank you." She had her new dress on within minutes and wore it the entire day. Thank you Disney, for making my four-year olds dream come true. :)McKinley & Maddie
Cassidy, Sara, & Maddie
Emma, Maddie, & Peyton

Delaney, Laney, & Maddie

Makenna & Maddie

After pictures and a few games of {Duck, Duck, Goose}, it was time to decorate tiara's and get their finger/toenails all painted. We split up the girls into two groups. I had LOTS of help at the party including: my mom,, mother-in-law, and three sister-in-laws: Jo, Esther & Abby that all joined in and helped with nail painting, crafting, baby watching {Eli}, toddler chasing {Robby} and general crowd control.

Maddie even snagged my lipstick and put in on herself and a few friends so they could all look "fancy" for the party.

My sister Lori insists that her daughter Kaylin doesn't like getting her nails painted...I beg to differ; she LOVED the way they looked and kept showing them off like a little rock-star!

This was my first attempt to make a giant cupcake cake and I have to say that it turned out rather well and the cake must have tasted good because it was completely gone before nightfall. I think next time I won't frost the lower half of the cake however

Four candles for my four year old girl

After tiara's were all complete, we HAD to take a picture of the finished product. I have to admit, these girls were pretty much the cutest things I had ever seen. They were made up of preschool friends, playgroup friends, and a cousin. Maddie sure loves having so many fun friends to play with in our neighborhood.

Top Row: Laney, Delaney, Makenna, Kailey, and Peyton

Bottom Row: Cassidy, Emma, McKinley, Ryan, Sara, & Maddie

(not pictured: Kaylin, little bro Robby, & Charity)

the girls showing off their freshly painted nails

After pictures we played a fun game of pin the tiara on the princess and everyone picked out a lollipop after their turn. This was followed by good old present time. Lastly we sang happy birthday to Miss M and handed out cake and ice cream to eat on the kitchen floor. The girls ran around afterwards until parents arrived to pick them up. Maddie loved helping me put together goody bags before the party and handed them out to each girl as they left.

What a fun busy day it was. I have to admit it was quite the relief once every child left and I could clean up the house. It is always fun to have a birthday party, but also nice to be able to check it off the to do list and move on with life! Now on to California, Disneyland, and the beach next week for her actual birthday!

Birthday Invite

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Her

Majesty, Princess Madison of the

house of Toronto requests your presence at

the celebration of the 4th year of her birth,

at our castle: xxxxx S. xxxth Dr;

September 5th, 10am-12pm, Wear

your favorite princess attire; RSVP

to her mother, Queen Tiffany, at

(xxx) xxx-xxxx; gowns, crowns

and castles too, nothing short of a royal

celebration will do!