Dream of California Vacation

Well, here is my excuse for not blogging, we had a crazy couple of weeks... and an AWESOME vacation in California! Sorry, this post is more of a photo album than a blog, but hey a picture says 1000 words, and we got some classic photos on our trip! Enjoy!
The family on the beach - we LOVE CA!

I love this picture of Kinley - thanks Amanda, I copied some of your pictures from Facebook :)

Who could resist that cute little sandy face? (again, thanks Amanda!)

Again with the shoe fetish... Mason looks a little guilty after we caught him stealing Aimee's flip-flops

The cousins - all in the hole Matt dug (this is a family tradition, Matt digs a giant hole for the kids - and his own satisfaction - every year!)

McKinley loved the ocean, she spend all day every day in the water and playing in the sand!

Ice Cream on Balboa, two toddlers couldn't be happier!

Cousins enjoying ice cream after a bike ride on Balboa

McKinley... need I say more? She couldn't have been happier!

Tyler chased Mason all over the beach, Mason loved EVERY minute of it!

The Kiddos getting some sun on the beach with aunt Amy

Andrew tossing Kinley in the air - she could barely get out the word 'again' between giggles!

The family - on the pier at Huntington after a yummy dinner at Duke's

The cousins pyramid (it's just not the same without Stephen and Jake! We missed them!)


Thanks for humoring the ridiculous amount of photos :) Trust me, I narrowed it down to my favorite few, we had a ton of fun picts! We had so much fun, but we are glad to be home again and ready to get back into our usual routine :)

A Place for Kids (young and old!)

We went the Children's Museum with Katie (thanks Katie :) and Janette and their kids a couple of weeks ago. My kids LOVE it there! There is so much to do, and so little time! I had a minute to snap a couple of photos.

Why is she not crying like mommy does when I fill up my car? (Which cost me $107.00 today! AHHHH!)

There is this really cool ball thing that sucks the balls up the tubes to the ceiling. My kids could seriously spend the entire day just playing with that!

...More ball playing... too much fun!

So, you see what I mean...

This is what I mean by wrestling WWF-style :) My kids LOVE to wrestle (even though McKinley is SUCH a girly-girl). They both love to tackle the dog (who weighs more than both of them put together!). Hope you enjoy the glimpse of daily life in our house :)

Sunglass Kids

I took the kids to the park for a picnic a couple of weeks ago, and of COURSE we had to make a big production of the sunscreen/hat/sunglasses thing. Sunscreen worked, sunglasses were a big hit, but the hats just were not going to stay on. At least I tried! :) McKinley insists that you have to pack your lunch in a basket to do a 'real' picnic at the park, so that is why she is carrying a grocery basket full of food :) She is so funny!

Kindred Spirits

Mason and McKinley are so funny! They really couldn't survive a day without each other. If one of them wakes up before the other, they try to get into each others' rooms, they can't stand waiting without each other. They don't always get along perfectly, but they just love to be with each other. Mason is talking a ton lately, but longer words are still hard for him. The one long word that he has down pat is 'Kinley'. I hear him running around all day calling to Kinley. It is really so cute. We kind of joke about their funny little relationship. Mason was kind of a surprise baby, we weren't exactly trying, but he came along nonetheless. We like to say that he was so mad at Kinley for leaving him by himself in heaven that he had to hurry down to be with her :) They are too funny, they wrestle all the time (seriously, WWF style rolling on the ground), play baseball and barbies, throw food at each other, and cuddle and read stories. McKinley has taken it upon herself to be Mason's second mommy from the day he was born. She worries when he cries, climbs into his bed to comfort him, gets his toys when he drops them, protects him from 'bullies,' and watches out for him when they play outside. They really are so sweet and love each other so much, it melts my heart (even when they tease each other and wrestle:) ). I love my little monkeys, they really are kindred spirits! (In the photos Mason did NOT want his picture taken, McKinley tried to lovingly hug him and convince him that he should smile, but it was NOT working. I snapped plenty of pictures anyway because I thought it was funny!)

In my Red High Heels

Okay, Matt would die if he knew I had posted this photo, but I think it's so funny! Mason is obsessed with shoes! Especially high heels :) I am amazed that he can actually walk pretty well in my 3-inch-high stilettos! This is not one of Matt's proudest moments as a father, but I still think it's funny!

My Dirty Not-So-Little 'Secret'...

This is me... Well, for those of you who know me, you know I have SERIOUS OCD issues. I love to organize and clean, I get rid of EVERYTHING that I haven't used recently :). My closet is organized by sleeve length, then color(I know, serious problems), every bin that I have is labeled, and I can't stand to clean up the playroom unless everything is going to be put back exactly where it is supposed to go (again, their designated places are labeled). That's only a snapshot of my obsession with organizing. However, I must have a split personality when it comes to dishes and laundry. I HATE doing them, and avoid them at all costs until they pile up so high that we just can't function around them anymore. The laundry is clean, but I just hate to fold it and put it away, so it sits in the clean pile at the foot of my bed for weeks! I didn't want my blog to be my 'brag-about-my-perfect-children-and-wonderful-life-boring-journal', I wanted it to be a place for you all to get to know the real me, and for me to be okay with the fact that I (like most people) can't do it all and I'm not perfect! So, a picture speaks 1000 words, see for yourself, this is me!

My little nut can't have nuts...

Mason is almost 2, and into EVERYTHING! We love him and call him our little 'nut' because he has the craziest personality. He is so sweet, but loves to tease (he especially enjoys teasing his sister, although he loves her so much he can't be awake a minute without her). He has started to talk a ton, but has three favorite words, "SELF" (which means I will do it MYSELF!), "Bike" (thanks to Daddy, he points out every bike he sees and tries to climb up on them, the kid is obsessed!), and "Baseball" (again, his Daddy is proud of that). He is a ball of fun! About a month ago we found out that Mason has life-threatening food allergies to almost all nuts (everything except almonds). We have to be very careful about what he eats (including what he finds on the ground and tries to eat) and carry the epi-pen everywhere with us (heaven help me if I ever have to use it, I HATE needles!). Needless to say, we will probably keep him away from baseball games for a little while, at least until he understands not to eat peanuts off of the ground! So, the irony is that our little 'nut' can't have nuts :)

The long and the short of it...

As some of you may know, McKinley decided to give herself a haircut while I was out of town (Daddy was tending :). She has the most gorgeous red hair with about every color blended in for awesome natural highlights. Well, she decided that her hair was in her face, so she gave it a good 'trim.' When I got home I about died! My hair stylist came over to my house to fix it, and did an AWESOME job! I loved her long beautiful hair, but her new little bob is darling! Thanks Alona! McKinley now fully understands that she cannot cut her own hair, only 'the lady' can. She told my friend Janette the other day that 'the lady' cut her hair. Then she said "Maybe someday I can be a lady, too" :) Hmmm...maybe someday.