April 21st - May 3rd, 2014

My house is finally clean and my brain is finally clear and I have a second to blog a little blog from all the way back in April.  

Right after we got home from visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Utah, my parents came to town.  My dad had some business to do and my mom came to play.  I always love when I get to spend some time with my mom, it just doesn't happen often enough. Coincidentally my parents got into town on Mazie's actual birthday  (maybe it was kind of planned, not entirely coincidental), so obviously it was time to celebrate.  Cake, pool time, and a little present opening was a must. 

On the 22nd my mom (and Mazie, and Harper, and me too!) walked down to the elementary school to pick up Sawyer.  This was kind of a special treat for Soys since I typically just waited in my car for her in the pick-up line…but since Bryt's nanny was watching Decks, I thought we would surprise her.  Jen (the nanny) took the boys to Jumpin' Jammin and my mom and I took the girls out to lunch, for manicures, and to pick out fabric for a sewing project.  

Harper fell out of the chair while the girl was painting her nails…only Harps.

Right after I took this photo Sawyer accidentally stepped on my freshly pedicured toes and smudged them all up.  Luckily the people at the salon were nice enough to fix it back up for me.

On the 23rd Decker woke up with a strangely swollen eye.  We immediately suspected pink eye and called the doctor.  We were prescribed antibiotics and starting putting the drops in his eyes, but we later realized he just had a gnarly sinus infection and boogers were literally coming out of his eye.  I mean seriously, how gross is that?!  I would like to play Jumpin' Jammin' but since Sawyer had previously been sick, I am afraid it was just some yucky bug that was going around and he caught it from his big sis.

Even with a funny looking eye (it looked better in the afternoon than it did in the morning) he was still smiling.

My mom spent the afternoon sewing with the little girls.  Each girl got to make their own pillow; Sawyer and Mazie made heart shaped pillows and Harper went with a square shape.  I love that Harper is never afraid to do her own thing…I really like that about her.

While I was taking a picture of the girls, this little mister snuck out without shoes or a shirt on.

That evening my mom had dinner with my sister's family and my little crew headed for the beach.  We headed up to Crystal Cove and it was a glorious evening.

Decks was angry that we forgot to bring his hat with us so he modified by wearing his sister's girly hat.  Ha.  Not quite the same as a Quiksilver ball cap if you ask me...

On April 24th, Harper had a "teddy bear picnic" at school.  She brought her stuffed elephant with her and was oh so excited.  Decker was pretty crabby there for a few days (sick but not super sick…that is the worst when they border on feeling yucky but not yucky enough to just sleep) so I kept trying to cheer him up with Starbuck's cake pops.  

After school shenanigans...

When the weekend rolled around we decided it was time for Harper to learn how to ride a two-wheeler.  She was just about a month shy of turning 4 and she learned how to ride her bike almost instantly upon trying.  I would say our kids are total studs, but I think their dad's dedication to teaching them new things also plays a part.  A big part.

She was the cutest cheerleader for her little sister.

On Sunday we went and celebrated our friend Baby Kate turing 1 and the kids got to do another little Easter egg hunt as part of the celebration.  Decker caught on a little better this time and actually picked up an egg or two.

It is hard to have good sunny weather on the weekend and not hit the beach, so after the party we took our troop down to Thousand Steps for a little Vitamin D.  The fact that our girls can walk all the way up and down those stairs without complaining is so so great.

It is always hard to adjust to Mondays.  It is extra hard to adjust when you spend the morning in the doctor's office with a little sickie.  Luckily the kids have each other to play with when we are stuck at home.

The weather got hot and we all had colds - the only answer to a sore throat on a hot day is a smoothie.  And since we were trying to avoid spreading more germs, we stayed away from parks and places where the kids might be touching other kids, and took a drive through San Clemente.  I love where we live.

Not seeing friends can get a little boring, but luckily I have some cute kids to hang out with no matter what, so we went out to breakfast and had bagels together and played in the hose in the backyard.  Harper and Decker are super cute friends.  Sawyer is a cute buddy of theirs too.  And its good we have Marc to come home and entertained us as well…and to let Decker climb all over the hood of my car ;)  Decker also had a couple of rough hair days // Marc and I both documented it without knowing that the other one had.  We love his cotton ball fluff.

Sneaking some Nutella is always a good idea…

After school on Friday we headed to West Street beach in Laguna and we almost lost our poor Harper girl to a bad slip off of a big rock.  The girls climb up on these big rocks a lot, but this time Harper lost her footing and slipped off the left side of it…she is so lucky her dad was there to catch her.  Marc swears it wasn't that traumatic, but I about had a heart attack!

So happy to be leaving the beach with my kids all in one piece!

Weekends during the school year meant good naps for Decks (in his crib, in his cozies, my favorite kind of nap!) and playing outside and larding new tricks.  Both girls got the skateboarding thing figured out and have been getting better and better ever since.

We also spent a little time at Victoria Beach and ended the day with the sunset at T-Street.  Marc and I always wonder what we would do if we didn't live close to the water…we definitely appreciate having great beaches all around us!