Memorial Day Trip 2015 - San Jose & Santa Cruz

Morning trip to Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz

Momma and the girls enjoying a relaxing beach day

Exploring a bit of Santa Cruz and climbing the whale

Checking out the view of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Visiting our cousins and littlest nephew in Campbell, CA

Alina loved cuddling Baby Gabe

Adorable Baby Gabriel snuggled up and asleep

Alina did not let him out of her sight all day

LA Trip Part I: Fun in the Sun, Water, and Sand at Redondo Beach, CA

Watching sailboats at Redondo Beach

Our little beach lover, Alina

Redondo Beach Landing & Pier

They loved dipping their feet in the waves

Little beach bums

Two very happy girls having fun in the sun, water and sand

Redondo Beach Pier - My grandparents took me here years ago

Last weekend we took our third family trip to Los Angeles, except that this time there was no Disneyland fun/madness; we went to visit my Aunt, Uncle and little cousins in Torrance and got in plenty of relaxing beach time too. It was so nice to have a more laid back family trip where we weren't on-the-go from sun up to sun down. It was also wonderful to see the little cousins spend time together as they are all close in ages and shared so much laughter in the time they spent playing.

We also had the chance to take the girls to nearby Redondo Beach & Pier, which was a great experience for all of us. When momma was little, I used to visit here with my grandparents and had so much fun! It brought back lots of great memories from my childhood, even though the pier has changed so much from what I remember back in my youth. The girls loved exploring the fun little shops on the pier and we even enjoyed seal watching right out our table window at breakfast, which was a great treat for the girls. Their favorite part of all was the beach! They loved running through the sand and waiting for the waves to crash and drench their little toes. Alina was so brave around the water this time. She last experienced the ocean waves in Maui, and was very cautious back then. This time around she waded out even further and didn't have a care when one larger wave soaked her waist level. The smiles and laughter that they shared on the beach that day is unforgettable.

Windy day fun on the pier

Exploring Redondo Beach pier

Bright future indeed!

Walking the pier and seafood spotting

Pink & white shrimp

Seal watching at breakfast, the girls loved it!

Elise spotted this stoic Black Crown Night Heron watching us

Sweet little cousin play time

Global Winter Wonderland Part II - Sacramento, CA 2014

Cute little cousins posing by the Sydney Opera House

The vibrant peacock display at Winter Wonderland

Great Wall of China light display

Light displays transformed into stunning landmarks

Colorful Winter Wonderland views

Traversing the Dutch tulip fields

King Tut at Winter Wonderland

More snow fun

The kids loved the dinosaur light displays

Walking through the Tyrannosaurus jaws

Little cousins sharing an evening of fun

Enjoying the carousel and rides

Goodbye Winter Wonderland 2014

Global Winter Wonderland Part I - Sacramento, CA 2014

Enjoying Winter Wonderland Sacramento 2014

The four of us ready for a night of lights

Winter fairy and Golden Gate Bridge lights 

Chinese dragons at Winter Wonderland Sacramento

Gorgeous Winter Wonderland lights

The girls loved playing in the "snow"

Beautiful flowers and a shimmering White House display

We enjoyed spotting all the global landmarks

Alina loved the tall and vibrant flowers

Little cuties exploring Winter Wonderland

Nothing comes between Alina and her Papa

Merry Christmas 2014!

Two very excited little girls on Christmas morning 2014

Presents and big smiles

These cuties just squeaked by onto Santa's nice list...whew

Sweet sisters in their pretty Christmas dresses

Miss Alina trying to guess what's inside

Gift opening galore

Christmas morning 2014 finally arrived! The girls not so patiently counted down until the big day and were thrilled to find that mom, dad, the grandparents, aunts & uncles AND Santa came through in the best way possible to bring all the gifts that their little hearts desired. They were all smiles throughout the morning and discovered that Santa is really hip to the Frozen craze. It's not like he has much choice, and he's smart enough to know that millions of little girls can't be wrong! He brought the girls the sparkling princesses that they had been longing for and of course some other fun surprises.

The girls loved opening all their gifts and then getting to go to the grandparents houses and open even more. The question now is, what do we do with all this stuff!?! Toy boxes are filling up, closets overflowing, books shelves packed to the brim. Even after donating old toys and relocating others to the grandparents we are still maxed out. It's amazing just how much our house has transformed in the thirteen years we've lived here. There have been so many great memories and this Christmas is yet another to add to that ever growing list. I always say how much I want to move, but I know when that day comes it will be bittersweet and we will miss what we had here, what we created, and where we were that one Christmas back in 2014.

Alina had the happiest smile all morning; Santa delivered!

Mommy with the two sweetest gifts of all

Daddy's girls

Christmas at Nana & Papa's and fun with the cousins

Little snake charmers

Christmas 2014 at Grandma & Grandpa's