San Diego, Day Two

Our second day at the beach was a lot more fun for everyone!  The girls new what to expect, and we were more prepared.  Apparantly, the beaches in La Jolla (where we were staying) are rougher than elsewhere so the girls had some major waves to contend with.  They turned it into a game of who could outrun the waves fastest and had a blast.  More than once, one of them got knocked off their feet. Shelby nearly caused me to have a heart attack several times when she ran way to far out just before a huge wave came crashing in.  She would throw herself at me and I would hang onto her with one hand and try to keep us balanced with the other.  I'm sure we were a great source of entertainment for the people around us!  Macey got so brave, she swam out past the waves with her daddy and came in on a boogie board.  She was so proud of herself!  Abby even warmed up to the water and had a great time.  At the very end, Bret decided to swim out a little ways with each girl. Abby went last, and of course that would be when the biggest wave we had seen all day showed up!  It knocked Bret off his feet so he just held onto her and tried to stay on his knees.  My poor baby was scared to death and looked half drowned when Bret carried her back to shore.  She was SO mad that it was almost funny.  Now she is happy that she can say she "swam" in the ocean and got clobbered by a huge wave.

Here is Macey going out for the first time.  I have to admit, I was nervous!

Yes, my baby was inside this wave!  You can just make out the color of her swimsuit.

See how she has her lips pinched closed?  It's because she has salt water in her mouth.  When she and Bret got back to shore, he told her to spit it out and she refused (because it's not ladylike). Finally, she realized that there was nothing else to do but spit it out or swallow it so she got down on her hands and knees, dug a hole, spit in the hole, and covered it back up!  I laughed so hard, and Bret just shook his head.  That's my little lady!

This is how you make sand castles when you don't want to get sand on your bottom. 

Shelby was so excited about finally getting to swim out in the water.

Macey loving the water and being held by her daddy.

Abby didn't really want to go out, but she didn't want to be left out either.  She finally agreed after both Bret and I assured her it would be fun.

You can just see that the wave is getting higher and higher.  It was huge!!! I can't even imagine what was going through Abby's head.  I didn't get a picture of them getting hit by the water because Shelby was in the middle of  one of her "let me see how far out I can run before mama starts screaming."  Even she turned around and realized just how big this wave was going to be. I was running towards her and she threw herself at me just as the wave hit them.  My focus was on keeping my camera from falling in the water and getting a good hold on Shelby before the wave tried to pull her away.

She was not a happy girl!

All cleaned up and out to dinner to end the day.

San Diego, Day One

The week we spent in San Diego was wonderful!  I think all of us would love to go back sometime soon.  Here are a few pics from the first day of  our trip.   We spent our first day in California at the beach.  This was the first time the girls had ever played in the ocean.  They were so excited as you can tell from the picture of them sprinting down the sidewalk.  Macey and Shelby loved the water, but it wasn't until the second day at the beach that Abby warmed up (which is why there aren't as many pics of her!).

Kindergarten!

It's hard to believe that my little tiny baby is big enough for kindergarten!  I felt the same way when Abby and Macey started too, but it's harder with Shelby, probably because I know she is my last one.  Once we got to school that morning, and I saw how happy she was, I wasn't teary eyed anymore.  It's much easier leaving her when she is having so much fun and is so well cared for.  For those of you who don't know, we decided to leave Shelby at her preschool for kinder rather than move her to A and M's school.  Shelby was not ready for an all day, academic program, and the class at her preschool is half day. She loves this, and I love having more time with her.  I am more than happy to give her the time she needs to grow and mature.  If I have learned anything with my three girls, it's that they all get it, but it has to be in their own time.  I am anxious to see where this year takes Shelby and how much she learns. 

Taking life one day at a time

The week before school started, we took a MUCH needed family vacation to San Diego.  We rented a two bedroom house a block from the beach in La Jolla, and spent a week just being together with no distractions (at least not as many as at home).  The beach house didn't even have a tv!  This trip was decided on and planned in four days!  Yes, that's right, my husband called me on a Wednesday to say he wanted to take us all to San Diego the next week.  We left on Sunday.  The girls even missed the first day of school.  I must admit, that part of me had a bad attitude about planning everything so last minute.  Several times, I considered telling Bret that I was just too exhausted to get everything ready for the trip and back to school that fast.  It didn't help that I could feel myself catching some sort of bug.  In the end, I decided to appreciate the fact that I have a husband that is excited about spending an entire week with me and our children.  That's the kind of man I am so incredibly grateful to be married to.  It wasn't until we got there and got away from all the resposibilities and obligations in our life that I realized how much all five of us needed the break!  Our days were spent doing whatever we felt like.  There was lots of time to snuggle with my man, and watch our girls giggle and play (and occasionally fight).  One morning, as I sat there with the cool ocean breeze blowing, watching the girls play tea party with the beach toys, I felt God refresh and renew my spirit in a way I really needed.  I realized in that time away that many of my exhausting days were a result of my own actions.  Instead of trusting God to take care of the next day, week, and year, I was choosing to worry about them.  I am guilty of wanting things (such as a nice house) and then complaining about the extra responsibility those things bring once I get them.  Bret and I both talked about how nice and simple things were in that TINY two bedroom house.  We were all happy.  The girls slept great, and best of all, we spent a lot more quality time together!  My goal for this fall is to appreciate each day as it comes, focus on my blessings instead of my wants, and simplify my life so that I don't get bogged down. 

Pictures from the trip coming soon...

Abby's first phone call

Abby got her first "real" phone call last night.  While this isn't news worthy to most, it is something this momma wants to remember.  It isn't the first time Abby has talked on the phone, but it is the first time a friend called her, she didn't need my help holding the phone to her ear, and she didn't sit there is complete silence because she was too shy to speak.  I know most kids have been talking on the phone for a while by the time they are 8, but my Abby hasn't.  For one, anything involving coodination (yes, holding the phone to your ear requires coordination) doesn't come easily to her...poor kid, she gets that from me!  Two, our girls are very sheltered, and Bret and I like it that way.  They don't watch tv freely, talk on the phone, or even listen to music we haven't pre-approved.  So when her friend Cross called last night, and she took the phone from me like she had been doing it all her life, I was shocked!  They had a cute little converstation about homework and the first day of school.  Abby smiled and giggled a lot.  The best part was instead of running into her room with the phone, she snuggled up on the couch with me while she talked.  I will admit that I almost cried.  She was my very first baby, and Oh how I love that girl!  Watching her grow up is wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

First Day of School

Today was Abby and Macey's first day of school.  Every summer, I dread this day.  For one, I hate it when the girls are not with me.  No matter how exhausting a day is or how much the girls fight, I always have more peace when we are together!  Another reason I hate the beginning of school is how early our day has to start.  I am not a morning person so getting up at 5:45 everyday is not good for me.  :)  Each year I struggle, worry and obsess over what we should do with the girls...homeschool, private school, public school.  I pray that the Lord will show me where He wants us, and I believe that he always does. Although, sometimes I am so busy worrying that I don't "hear" the answer as soon as I should.  This year, the decision was to send them back to Jesus Chapel.  Macey's teacher, the most wonderful teacher I have ever known, decided to move up to second grade with her class for one last year of teaching before retirement.  Once I found that out, how could I not let Macey have the benefit of another year under such a phenominal teacher?  So my two big girls are back at their old school, and they both seem thrilled to see their friends.  Shelby is starting kindergarten in two weeks (sob sob), and I don't know what I am going to do without my baby at home with me!  As for today, she is absolutely lost without her sisters!

My big second and third grader!  When did I get old enough to have kids this age???

Macey loves school!

Abby's teacher believes in starting the day off with prayer.  I'm liking her already!

This is my sad little baby after both her sisters went into their classrooms! 

Feeling a little better after I told her we could get a bean taco from Taco Cabana and watch Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom (two of her favorite things).

Just a funny story...

Just a funny story that I want to remember about my Abby.  Yesterday, my mom kept Abby and Shelby for me while I went and registered them for school.  The school registration process can take hours so it is easier to leave them with someone. Macey chose to come with me because she wanted to see her BFF Kadin.  Anyway, my mom was going to take Abby and Shelby to lunch, and Abby decided that she needed to wear lipstick and a pair of my mom's dress shoes.  My mom being the fun grandmother she is let her of course!  I bet you can guess what happened next.  Shelby decided that she also needed lipstick.  At this point, Abby lectured my mom and Shelby on how inappropriate it was for a child Shelby's age to be wearing lipstick.  (You know, Abby is three years older!)   Both girls went to lunch very excited, in my mom's lipstick and shoes.  Abby (who worries about everything) went from excitment to worry once they got to the restuarant.  Her exact words and my favorite part of the story were, "Nani, I don't know if this was such a good idea.  What if they won't let me order off the children's menu?"  She must have felt pretty grown up in those shoes!  :)