California Vacation Day 5

Saturday….our final real day of vacation.  We got up, had another yummy breakfast, the girls took baths, and we headed over the the Twins' house.  More play time for the girls, more Sabrina snuggles for me, and then we headed back to the park.  Auntie Kirsten and Sabrina stayed behind to get some much needed rest.  The girls just played, and played, and played, and then ate another picnic lunch, and then played some more.  After a few hours we headed back, but made a quick stop at a local gelato shop.

By the end of the evening we had four exhausted little blond girls and the evening ended with a Harper meltdown (that lasted for quite awhile) and a Shyla panic-attack (that we were able to control very quickly).  Regardless of the less-than-ideal ending, we have had a great trip and feel so lucky to have had all this time with the Twins, Baby Sabina and, of course, their parents too!

California Vacation Day 4

Vacation day Friday was equally fun-filled!  We drove down to Ventura and met the family at a park on the oceanfront.  This park was made to look like a pirate ship and there was a really cool zip-line!  We then found a super-cute old-fashioned ice cream parlor and spent the rest of the day at the twin's house for more playtime and bonding!

California Vacation Day 3

Thursday of vacation was a blast!  The twins had preschool for a few hours in the morning so the Forgacs 4 headed for Malibu!  We always try to incorporate some exercise even into vacations and we want the girls to really experience different things than they can in their own backyard.  Stevie found out about this hike called Escondido Falls.  It was 3.5 miles (and we only had to carry the girls for short distances) that started out in a hilly neighborhood of mansions.  I really wonder if any of those homes belong to celebrities.  Then the trail took us down into a green, vegetated canyon that resembled a jungle.  It was cool and shady and absolutely beautiful!

After the hike we picked up some picnic foods and met the rest of the family at a park near their school.  The girls played for hours, enjoyed a yummy picnic, then we spent the rest of the day at their house for even more playtime.

Needless to say, bedtime has been a breeze on this trip because the girls (and us) are exhausted - we all just crawl into bed and fall asleep!
 

California Vacation Day 2

Wednesday, our first official day of vacation sans conferences and driving, was spent at Auntie Kirstie's house with the twins and meeting Baby Sabrina for the first time!  The girls all played very nicely for a long time.  Lots of outside time, dress-up, and other random games.  It was really nice how great they played!  Baby Sabrina is doing great and is a very good baby!  She eats and sleeps well, and is already starting to laugh!  Welcome to the world, Baby Sabrina!

California Vacation Day 1

Wahoo!  Family vacation!
We left Monday night and arrived at the Ak Chin Casino near Phoenix at about 9pm.  I spent Tuesday at a Love & Logic Conference in Phoenix while Stevie got a lot of quality time with the girls.  There are no pictures to show of it but rumor has it they: ate breakfast at The Good Egg, played on a playground, ate Joe's Italian Ice, saw Big Hero 6, and went to the grocery store for a few necessities (okay, things I forgot to pack) before picking me up from my conference at 2:30pm.
From there we hit the road to California and {finally} arrived at our Moorpark hotel at about 10pm Tuesday. 
It was a whirlwind of a first day but so fun to just be together and rejuvenate!  More to come in the next few days!

Aunt Cicely is in Town!

I know I've mentioned countless number of times how blessed we are to have friends who are basically family.  As those friends and us have grown, many have married and had kids.  Watching and listening to our kids play nicely with our friends' kids is beautiful music to our ears!  They all have so much fun together and already treasure each other's friendship just as we do.

This past weekend Aunt Cicely and Baby Lela were visiting from the cold northeast.  We had a super busy weekend but made sure to carve out enough time for a fun dinner at the Eller's house (side note - they have a huge, kid-friendly backyard which makes it the perfect house for a get-together and makes me incredibly jealous!)

I just love this picture of the girls crowded around Aunt Cicely.  If pictures had audio all you would hear would be the giggles of little girls.  Amazing!

{You might be wondering where all the boys and dads are.  That was something we consistently wondered for most of the night!}

Wrinkles Belongs To...

When we were growing up, Chelsea and I both had Pound Puppies that Grandma Sonntag had given us.  Mine was named Peaches and, as legend has it, when I opened the package on Christmas morning I exclaimed, "Peaches and Cream!  Just what I always wanted!"  Peaches became part of my life and went everywhere and did everything with me, perhaps even to an uncomfortably too-old age.

Chelsea's was named Wrinkles and even wore a collar that said, "Wrinkles Belongs to Chelsea."  I had my concerns about Wrinkles from the start.  And, when I really felt that Wrinkles was not being taken care of well enough, I stepped in and took her away.  So, for many years Wrinkles actually Belonged to Kendra.

Well, enter Harper.  Harper is a snuggly baby and loves baby-dolls and stuffed animals.  A few nights ago she ended up with Wrinkles and has been snuggling with him ever since.  

So, now, Wrinkles Belongs to Harper.

Baseball Season!

Keep Calm It's Baseball Season!

I love baseball and just about everything about it.  I love the time at the stadium, the fresh air, and, most recently, the extra time with my dad and Uncle Pete.  This season they both purchased 4 season tickets (great seats) so we are hoping to make it to as many games as possible.

To make things even better for my first outing of the season, Zackary got to go to his first "big" game of his whole life!  We had a blast, even though I had to got to explain every-single-play.

Happy!

Once in a while I catch a moment in time that just makes my heart happy.  It is so difficult for me to explain with words, but this was one of those moments.  My two, amazing, beautiful, girls playing so nicely side-by-side.  I try so hard to always play "with" them but I was really sleepy exhausted and laid down on the couch.  I think being a non-participant in their game made me appreciate the view even more.

These Two...

These Two….

• Make me laugh
• Keep me on my toes
• Fill my heart with joy
• Make me worry
• Bring out my silly
• Complete me