San Clemente Mini-Vay

Over the weekend of Grace's birthday, we camped at San Clemente with Grama and Papa! The kids had a blast. We went Thursday so we had time to relax and have some fun before Grace's mini party on Saturday. The weather was perfect - not too chilly and not too hot, just right.

 Tortilla soup was our dinner for the first night.

 Gracie thoroughly enjoyed opening up some of her birthday presents, since it was her real birthday.

 Maggie pretty much got into trouble the whole time we were there. The first night, we were in the camp site for a while and then decided to go for a walk. We were gone a while and then I decided to put her down to walk. She opened her mouth and drooled out a rock. God only knows how long it had been in her mouth. It's seriously amazing that she survived this weekend.

 She's not a huge fan of the beach yet. She still sleeps a lot down there, I guess the sounds of the waves are too relaxing.

 Jack and Grace, however, never want to leave.

 Grama made her a special cake for her birthday night.

 And of course they had hot cocoa in the morning.

Gracie really wanted to have soda on her birthday. So Daddy let her choose the kind that she wanted - she chose grape (gross). So the second night, Grace and Grama each had grape juice.:) Cheers!

 Friday night, Uncle Craig and Auntie Carla came to have dinner. Grace got even more presents and we went on a little walk. Sometimes Jack reminds me so much of my brother.

 Jack rode his bike exploring the whole trip. It's so fun to know that I used to do the same thing when I was a kid.

 We hiked in the same places too.

 Jack told Gracie scarey stories the whole time and really really made her worry...

Saturday was the big party day, Reese and Tatum played with us during the day.

And then the party began...

What a fun trip!

Gracie is Four

Oh my Gracie Girl... I'm not sure where to begin. You are so fun, full of life and full of attitude. You're my bff, a fashion diva, a little chef and a cuddle bug.

 

You are an amazing little sister, idolizing and adoring Jack and often bugging him to no end as well. This year has been rough for you, he wants to play alone more and more and you just want to be close to him. But you are endlessly girly, constantly changing your mind and this drives him crazy. I guess, in a way, he'd better get used to it, he's surrounded. 

You're an amazing big sister too. I definitely don't mean that you're a great big sister because you help me with the baby. Rather, you're a great big sister because you are already friends with Maggie. You can just look at each other and start giggling. You already have tea parties and incite trouble. You are so proud of everything she does and I hope that I get to listen to the two of you giggling forever.

 Now Gracie, you've got to stop worrying. If Jack lags behind a bit, he'll catch up, if Maggie has a "choking hazard" just take it away or tell me. Don't run around screaming like a chicken with its head cut off - it's just not necessary; you're way too young for so much worry. If fact, these last few weeks have increased your worry, Jack's learned how to manipulate that and he tells you ghost stories to really work you up into a tizzy. Don't let him get your goat, or he'll just keep doing that for the rest of your life.

Oh how you love your daddy. You run to him when he gets home, you cuddle with him and most of all, you know how to get whatever your little heart desires out of him. You're his little princess and he loves you more than you will ever know. You should always expect men to treat you the way that daddy does, I am so happy that he shows you what love looks like every day.

Um, Gracie, it's no surprise that you like to be in charge. This quality lay dormant for a while since you are not the oldest. But, when it's just us girls and when you're with your friends, your bossiness explodes. I'm sorry that we've passed down that gene, you come from a long line of bossy women. 

 Speaking of being a princess, this is your current career aspiration. I try to explain how that's really not likely, without totally crushing your dreams, but it never really works out. So, I guess you can hold onto that dream a while longer. We'll try to develop so other loves and dreams in the mean time.

For your birthday this year, we went camping at San Clemente. I think you had a blast. All of your aunties and uncles came to celebrate with you and you had all the dessert you could handle. I know you'll enjoy being four, I just hope you only turn five next year and not sixteen.

Happy fourth birthday!