Beach, Concert, Farm, Concert

Well, the whole point was to post more often, and I am, but it sure isn't everyday. We've had a crazy busy week doing all kinds of fun things. On Wednesday, we went to the beach. This our third trip so far this summer. Prior to this time she hasn't really been a big fan. She clings to me and does not like to be set down near the water. It was so nice. Usually, Maggie is a wanderer. She'll go anywhere if you set her down. The beach was the only place that she stayed put.

But now that's ruined too. She got over her fear this time and had no problem wandering up to the water, giggling at it and even running to and from the waves. She loved it.

At least it didn't stop her from taking a nice long nap on the beach.

 

And we got to see our super fun cousins again. 

 

It's so fun to see her finding enjoyment in things that she didn't like before and trying new things. But I sure could use a break. This girl is crazy. And she's one of "those" kids (the ones whose parents I used to judge)  - the kids that when you call them or come after them, they run - in the opposite direction. It's really inconvenient. 

After the beach that day, we met up with some of Jack's kindergarten friends for a concert and a movie in the park. It was really fun to see the kids and parents from schools and to give the kids time to play. 

Then Thursday, we checked out the animals at the Chino fairgrounds. The 4H kids had them on display and Jack and Grace really enjoyed seeing them (not smelling). It seems like such a fun program. All of the students were well spoken, friendly and kind. And they all seemed to really love their animals. But now, Jack is convinced that he wants a dog (the latest obsession) AND a cow. Hmmm... not sure about that one.

And we followed that up with another concert in the park with the Gonzales family. The kids had a blast, even with the random rain. 

Two late nights should equal an early one for us tonight! Maggie's already down and the big kids should go shortly. :) Good night all!

Future BFF's

We've had a few playdates with Lauren and the girls. It's so exciting to me to see them all playing together. Gracie actually likes to play with Reese and I don't think she has any clue that they're more than two years apart. Usually, she likes to play with older kids and does her best to avoid younger ones. But Reese is the exception. I can't wait until Tatum gets to join in!

St. Patrick's Day (catching up)

We all know I'm way behind, so let's begin catching up. Way back in March it was St. Patrick's day. The kids got totally into it. Early on in the month, Grace made a mask...

 The night before, we decided to build a trap for the leprochauns. Jack was very serious about it. 

 We put Grace's rainbow above to entice them even more. And we put baby powder everywhere so we would be able to see their foot print.

  We'll sure enough they tripped the trap, but we only caught a jacket. That silly leprachaun left foot prints and hand prints all over the table.

 And they must have escaped under the refrigerator.

 He spilled some coins and here's a close up of the jacket.

 But before they left, they played all kinds of crazy tricks. They messed up the pictures.

And took out all of the baskets and stacked them up.

Of course they turned the milk green and the toilet water (that's Jack's favorite part). St. Patrick's day was on a weekend this year. It was so much fun being tricky with Jeremey home, he really stepped up the game!

Father's Day

I don't know if it's this way for everyone, but I find mother's day and father's day to be kind of complicated. There are so many of each in our lives and they all deserve to be celebrated, but how do we have time to do it? Well, lucky for us, Kristi had a great idea this year. We all went to Irvine Park. Jeremey's parents, my parents, Kristi's parents and even Katie's. Everyone got time with their grand kids, yummy food and a good time. I think it worked out really well!

Here are some pictures from our day.
I cropped this out of one of the group shots. She was the only one smiling, but I hate to waste it. 
This was the best of the group shots, Grandpa is barely in it, but the kids are almost all looking.

 These are the only ones from before we went to the zoo. We hung out, and bbq'd and had a great time even though it was scorching hot. After a while we decided to hit the zoo.

 They have a cute little zoo in Irvine Park, the kids had a lot of fun feeding the goats.

 Jeremey and his brother Danny and Bryce and Maggie...

Maggie was dying to get down and pet the goats, but when we put her down, this is what she did. It was too funny, she does the same thing with dogs.

 Then once they were a little ways away, she'd be smiling again.

 Jeremey took the kids on a little bike ride back to our spot. Boy did they love that!

After the zoo we packed up, I don't think any of us could take much more of the heat. We dropped off my parents and decided to put our feet in the pool. Grace wanted to go swimming, so we let her go in her undies. She was so funny, yelling to Jack, "JAAACCK! We can swim in our undies!!! JAAAAKCCK! Come on! We can swim in our undies!!!" She thought it was the coolest thing and it was hilarious.

But any way, happy Father's day to three of the best dads in the world!

Almost missed today

Well, it's 10 o'clock and I almost forgot to post today. I thought about giving up and then I saw this...

Yep, the book is really in her mouth. Crazy kid is exhausted from a long and fun week!

Sweet dreams!

The Real 4th

Yesterday, the real 4th of July, we had a wonderful lazy day with both of our grandparents. The kids went swimming, played caroms and hung out.

 Maggie had her first taste of steak and chewed on a bone.

 And she dove into the corn.

 Then it was time for some sparklers. Grace said that they weren't "real" fireworks, but it didn't stop her from having fun.

 Jack reminded us of why they're illegal in most cities. Crazy. Wild. Boys.

 And Maggie love it.

 Again, crazy. wild. boys.

Maggie tried to touch them...

 And made this face! She was so excited!

 Happy 4th! And God bless America. :)