LA Trip Part II: A Morning of Amusement at Pacific Park & Santa Monica Pier

View of the beach and Santa Monica Pier / Boardwalk

Riding the Pacific Wheel at Santa Monica Pier; great views!

Our birds eye view of Pacific Park & Santa Monica Beach

Santa Monica pier souvenirs

Fun on the rides, Elise wasn't too sure about the roller coaster

Beautiful flowers on the pier

Pacific Park amusement fun

Our next stop during our LA trip was beautiful Santa Monica Pier & Beach. Pacific Amusement Park had just the right amount of rides to entertain the kids for a couple of hours then we had the rest of the morning to relax. We all loved riding the Pacific Wheel as the views of the sprawling Santa Monica coastline were stunning. They really enjoyed the other rides too, however Elise was NOT happy with Daddy for convincing her that the roller coaster would be fun haha. Although we visited on a Sunday morning, we arrived early enough to beat the crowds so there were little to no wait times on any of the rides, which made for a productive day. 

We had lunch on the pier and then headed to the beach for some relaxation time. The beach was very windy on this April day, so Mom stayed warm by wrapping herself up like a burrito in beach towels while Dad and the girls braved the cold ocean water. They had fun building sand castles and dad helped to build a giant sand pit to shield the girls from the wind! They also enjoyed feeding the hungry seagulls who were skilled enough to catch the food midair. Santa Monica was a great place to spend the morning, and I'm glad we finally got a chance to visit during this trip. We definitely plan to visit again someday.

Cute smiles and laughter all morning long

Voldemort & Barbie are neighbors here in Santa Monica

Lovely Santa Monica Beach

Daddy helped the girls build this awesome sand pit

Sandy toes and beach play fun

Feeding the seagulls; they caught the food in the air!

End of Route 66 in Santa Monica & the end of a fun 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

Happy Easter 2015!

Easter egg hunt fun 2015

Pretty painted Easter eggs

The girls enjoyed their fried egg bunny rabbits

The look of egg discovery

The hunt kept them very entertained

The girls were very excited about their Easter egg hunt this year. The morning began with fried egg bunny rabbits, and a special note from the Easter Bunny telling them that the egg hunt was a team effort this year, so basically two eggs in each hiding spot. Even Mr. Bunny is aware that sisters can always improve upon their sharing skills - Hah! While the girls found PLENTY of eggs and goodies, I think their favorite part was the cute fluffy toy chicks they got. The Easter sugar goodness should last them well until the next big holiday. Happy Easter 2015!

The BIG Easter baskets goods

In sync with their Easter finds

The bunny left plenty of treats along with fuzzy chicks

Look who found the Easter Bunny's special basket

Enjoying the bounty of Easter goodies

Early Easter Fun

Cute cousins with the Easter Bunny 2015

These five are the sweetest little pals. The girls love spending time with their cousins and enjoyed getting to meet the Easter Bunny and hunt for eggs together. It's been a joy watching them grow and develop sweet little friendships over the years. When these five are together the laughter and smiles seem endless!

Little pals after their Easter egg hunt

Alina's First Dance Class

Alina loves her Saturday ballet and tap class

Adorable little dancer, Alina

Sweet little Alina started her first preschool dance class this month, and just look at her huge smile! She loves to dance and especially enjoys her new class as it is taught by the dance teacher that works at her preschool. She loves getting to dance at preschool and is very happy to be going to dance class on weekends now too. She makes the cutest little bun-haired ballerina and is so eager and excited to learn all the new dance steps and moves. We sure love our tiny dancer in the making!

All smiles while practicing her dance moves

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2015

Mischievous little Irish gal, Alina!

Well, I must admit that I feel so behind on holidays and blogging these days. We are in the thick of  full-time work plus raising kids and, like most parents know, it's a 24/7 job and most weekends and weeknights leave little time for much else. The birthday parties, school and extracurricular activities, plus just trying to find time to see old friends and family is certainly a juggling act. I had all these fantastic ideas and activities for St. Patrick's Day, but being a busy work weekday most didn't quite pan out and that sneaky leprechaun just barely made it on St. Patty's evening to hide some of his gold for the girls to find. They enjoyed the hunt, and mom forgot her camera...go figure. Alina happily donned some cute shamrock antennas and posed for a couple photos. Afterwards, it was the quick routine of bath and bedtime for the girls. 

Although, I will say that I did make Elise's day at school by packing her a festive green avocado egg salad sandwich, she loved showing off her green meal to her classmates. Elise was also on cloud nine this past week because she was selected as Super Kid of the week at school. She got to bring in a special poster to share with her class and wore a superhero cape all week! This is the equivalent of the Superbowl of the school year for kids. They are so excited to be Super Kid, it's preferable to finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow really.

Proud Elise posing with her Kindergarten Super Kid poster

Alina's First Horseback Ride

Alina was very excited to ride her very first horse

Happy little Alina on horseback

The girls enjoyed grooming then painting the horse!!

Elise was hesitant to ride at first, but went for it in the end

She was so happy afterwards that she gave the horse a hug!

Elise's 2014 Preschool Class Reunion

Elise's Montessori preschool classmates reunion

These little friends had the best time playing together again

The smiles and laughter lasted all afternoon long

They all played together like no time had passed
...some were camera shy (hah!)

Happy kiddos - looking forward to their next little reunion

Kindergarten Basketball Fun

Elise's basketball team practice and game

Elise expressed some interest in playing basketball, back when she was in preschool, so naturally we were excited to get her on a team with some of her other Kindergarten schoolmates. Of course, the first practice and game was a battle of parental self-control as we watched her energy level go from quick running at the start to a gradual skip down the court follow by playing with her braid and nervously chewing her hand for the last half. Thankfully, she did develop enthusiasm and put forth more effort into future games although the second she was thrown the ball she made sure to quickly pass it to another teammate like a hot potato. There were some very talented little players on her team and I'm pretty sure The Bears went undefeated the entire season, yay. Ultimately, it was a wonderful experience in getting her familiarized with an athletic team environment. I think Elise is more in her element with dance and gymnastics, as it just doesn't come natural for her to be aggressive or physical with other kids, but we still definitely plan to sign her up for next season. She had fun and loved her fantastic teammates and coaches!