Eleanor’s First Sled Ride and Igloo Building in Utah

March 2, 2019 by

Utah trip continued…
The snowfall was the most they’ve had in March in a long time, so we totally lucked out while we were there!
We bundled Eleanor up in her baby bunting suit and took her on her first sled ride!
She was mesmerized by the snow and giggled the entire ride.
Meredith loved pretending to be a reindeer pulling her sister in the sleigh.
WHAT IS THIS WHITE STUFF EVERYWHERE?
She wasn’t crawling very well yet, so it was easy to park her in the snow!
UM… IS SOMEONE GOING TO COME GET ME?
All right, I’m cool chilling.
Swing ride in the snow.
After Eleanor went  inside to warm up, the other girls stayed out with Jake and Uncle Mike for hours building an EPIC igloo.
They spent a lot of time getting the foundation right!
Snug in their very professional looking igloo.
Voila!
Pretty impressive!
All bundled up and very hot! It took forever to squeeze her out of this thing.
Other indoor fun… playing the piano with Grandpa.
Our family friend, Susan, brought over a birthday cake for the twins and we did an early birthday celebration! Red velvet cake was exactly what they had wanted and they were so excited to have cake then AND on their real birthday.
Happy early 6th birthday!
Making pancakes with Grammy in the morning.
 
Eleanor chowed down every meal, as usual.
Swinging on a non-snowy day.
Nothing beats hot chocolate after hours of playing in the snow.
Grammy and Jake also took the girls out to the Natural History museum in Salt Lake while they were there and the girls had a blast.
 
The girls are on a quest to color at every single place they visit.
Watch out for those velociraptors… and I don’t mean the dead ones.
Lots of love,
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Crystal Cove and Orange Groves

December 30, 2018 by

Christmas break was extra exciting for the girls since Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike flew from Portland and Uncle Mike and Ali drove from Wyoming to play! The girls were so excited to hang out at Crystal Cove Beach with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Mike and Grammy. From hiking down the cliffs  and hunting for sea creatures in the tidepools to enjoying sandwiches and views at the Shake Shack, the girls loved playing tour guide. Photos by Aunt Sarah!

A little chilly for boardshorts, but that didn’t stop Meredith from splashing in the ocean with her pants.

Amelia the sandy.

Samantha contemplates the meaning of life.

 

Amelia feasts on seaweed (the Costco kind, not the fresh kind!)

Making a new friend.

Showing off a good find.

Finding crabs.

 

The girls also wanted to show Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike our local orange groves. They biked to the park first for a quick detour.

 

Meredith quickly got to work filling up her basket with oranges.

Amelia with her pickings.

Samantha’s harvest.

The girls biked the rest of the way to the exploration park playground and then it was a minor crisis getting everyone home since they were so exhausted! I think we ended up with me pushing Meredith in the stroller and carrying her bike, Uncle Mike carrying a bike and trading off twins on his shoulders, while Aunt Sarah gave moral support to the whichever twin was taking a turn riding her bike! The way back is all uphill and a few miles… but we did it. In the mean time, Grammy had taken Eleanor for a stroller ride to meet us at the park, but arrived right after we left. We almost dispatched a car to go find her and pick it up, but she and Eleanor made it home eventually!

Lots of love,

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Grandpa’s 89th Birthday and Post-Christmas Fun

December 29, 2018 by

After Christmas, Auntie Lynn threw Great Grandpa a party to celebrate his 89th birthday (90th year!).  Mike and Ali came from Wyoming, Sarah and Mike from Portland, cousins from LA, and the rest of us local family and friends celebrated at Wood Ranch in the Irvine Spectrum for Great Grandpa’s big day.

Family photos by Aunt Sarah!

All the grandkids and great grand kids.

The girls were excited to have extra family around to carry them.

Uncle Mike and Meredith.

 

Cousin Ben thought carrying around Eleanor would be a good bicep workout. He was right.

Ali and the chunk-a-monk.

Eleanor was excited to sit with Grammy at dinner.

The kids table was a little crazy.

Cousins doing what cousins do.

 

Must…touch…sparklies.

Happy birthday, Great Grandpa!

While most of the grown-ups chatted at the restaurant after dinner, the rest of us high-tailed it out of there for a walk around the Spectrum before the kids trashed the place.

Good thing Ali, Mike, Sarah and Mike were there to help carrying screaming/tired girls!

Meredith and Hailey were so cute! Two-year-old Hailey borrowed 6-month-old Eleanor’s coat for the evening and it actually fit!

A trip to the Spectrum would not be complete without a ride on the ferris wheel.

Ferris wheel photos by Aunt Sarah. 

 

While we had aunts and uncles in town, the girls took them rock climbing at Sender City. This time, Meredith joined in for the first time and was pretty fearless.

 

 

We attempted lots of board games while we had family in town, even though they nearly always ended in tears. Samantha and Amelia are not the best gracious winners or losers, despite our best efforts.

Roasting s’mores with the fun aunts and uncles.

With all the extra hands, I got a lot of projects done while Grammy and Grandpa took on outings to the park.

Too much fun with their new chalk markers.

During the break, we also had a Secret Santa gift exchange with the Nguyens and the Erpeldings, which was supposed to be before Christmas, but we ended up having to reschedule. Since all the kids are in different schools, it’s been a long time since everyone has been able to play at the same time! Sheela had the kids draw names at the beginning of the month and wrote up cute letters for everyone, giving a few gift ideas for each kid received. The girls were so excited to see their friends open their gifts and announce that they were the Secret Santas. They also loved all the bonus gifts they got!

Practicing the art of balancing on the slack line with the neighborhood kids.

Practicing our tennis swings.

 

Amelia’s swing is getting pretty good!

Grammy watched Eleanor at home while I took the girls to the zoo. It felt like a lot less work just having three for a change.

We saw our friend, Brian, who works at the entrance!

All aboard the ferris wheel.

Jake and I celebrated our anniversary by staying at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport while Grammy and Grandpa watched the kids. Beautiful views and sunsets!

  

Lots of love,

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Easter 2018

April 1, 2018 by

Easter happened to fall during the twins’ Spring Break this year, so we took a road trip to Utah, leaving at 3 a.m. on Saturday and arriving a record 8.5 hours later. I was dreading the driving, especially being uncomfortably pregnant, but it was actually our best road trip ever! Meredith had intermittent bouts of screaming to get out of her car seat, as expected, but for the most part, the girls were great and we only stopped three times for gas and bathroom breaks, making the journey seem short from what we are used to. We may finally be turning a corner on road trips!

Easter was easy for me this year since my mom had bought everything for their baskets and Uncle Mike and Ali put them together for me. They also filled the eggs with candy, a few with dollars and hid them around the backyard. I did absolutely nothing but relax, so it felt like the Easter Bunny really did come this year!

Sunday morning the girls awoke to their Easter baskets and a giant Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Along with bubbles, stuffed animals and a few other crafts and toys, they loved the peanut butter caramel chocolate eggs inscribed with their names– thanks, Grammy! I didn’t have to put in any effort at all!

Meredith, what is this pout face about??!

Meredith wanted to enjoy her chocolate after finding each egg instead of waiting until the end.

Amelia was excited about actually having to hunt for eggs this year, since we have a much smaller backyard!

Samantha shows off her basket.

Ali helps out Meredith with retrieving an egg.

 

 

 

   

Distracted by the bunny.

    

Showing off their spoils.

Nom nom.

I brought some silly string and the girls had their first silly string fight in the backyard!

They mostly just stood straight across from each other and sprayed, instead of running around.

Meredith was not a fan of the silly string!

Help me, Uncle Mike!

Take cover!

It was a gorgeous spring day and the girls played outside after all the Easter morning excitement.

Story time.

Grandpa had made a delicious seder meal the night before and Sunday we all enjoyed Grammy’s Easter feast.

Devouring matzoh kugel and fruit kugel the night before Easter for Grandpa’s seder dinner:

Grammy’s yummy Easter dinner.

Yum!

We were so glad Uncle Mike and Ali came down from Wyoming to spend Easter and that we could make it to Utah this year! The girls had their best Easter ever!

Lots of love,

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