Home Sweet Second Home

Ahhhh San Diego.

A place near and dear to my heart since I spent many of my own childhood years on these beaches... and then met and fell in love with my husband in San Diego many years later =) It's a little piece of my heart, and we escape to it as often as we can. This time, we stayed for a week- and it was seriously one of the best weeks' we've had in a long time. Sleeping in... morning walks on the beach to get breakfast and coffee, spending out afternoons at parks and beaches... totally perfect.

Ty's new favorite thing to do this trip was to use his shovel to collect sea shells.... which are obviously in plentiful supply in San Diego... and so I had about 5 pounds of sea shells by the end of the week. I just didn't have the heart to throw any back, each time he ran up to me eagerly with a new tiny shell =)

One night we took the kids to our favorite ice cream shop when we were in college. And I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach because I really overdid it with my portion! I don't have the metabolism of a 19 year old anymore! ;)

We played in the pool each day after wearing ourselves out at the beach, and the kids were more entertained by climbing and wrestling with dad, than anything else.

And one of my highlights of the trip was an afternoon spent at the La Jolla Cove, which has always been one of my favorite places ever. I remember going there as a little girls, and hunting in the caves with my bucket- searching for tiny sea crabs and cool things that were nestled in the tide pools. If you haven't ever been to the Cove before- you really need to go! It's a little gem of San Diego, and it made me so happy to see my kids enjoy it as much as I did when I was their age =)

We played mini golf, went to Belmont Park, and even went on a real pirate ship (more to come on that soon!)

And of course, we spent an afternoon at Disneyland =) I can't even count how many times we have been this year.. we are sure putting our passes to good use, that's for sure!!

And nothing says, "We had so much fun at Disneyland" like this picture:

More to come soon!....

My Little Sunshine

One of the most fun new things about Bella's school life this year is the "Little Eagles" cheer squad that she cheers on. It's for 1st and 2nd graders, and it is about the darn cutest thing I have ever seen. They practice once a week, and it's more about the friendship with her buddies on the team, and the fun of practicing- than it is about actual performances. But they do have a few performances through the year, as well as the ability to cheer at a few of the football and basket ball games. This particular night was her first time cheering and performing at the varsity football game, and we loved every minute of it!!

Here is my baby, practicing before leaving~

Each girl had an older varsity cheerleader who was her "coach". They stood by their coaches and followed along through each cheer with them. John and i were cracking up at how Bella would confuse which arm to raise when- but she had a huge grin on her face the whole time, which is all that matters!!

Ty preferred to sit in Arece's lap and eat a whole bag of popcorn :). Seriously though- he wouldn't even share it with me!

Then at halftime, they performed their dance routine which was sooooo awesome! The girls were actually much more polished and coordinated than we expected, and we were so proud of her little moves and the smile on her face. My particular favorite was when she threw her arms up with such exclamation as she was atop the pyramid ~ absolutely A-dorable!!

Bella is the tiny one in the middle front, right on the 30 yard line :)

I love you my sweet little sunshine! Daddy and I are proud of you, and the incredible girl that you are.