California Part 1

 I came back from our trip to California OVERLOADED with pictures so I have split the trip into several posts!!

 

We got up bright and early Thursday (the 23rd) and left the house by 6:30.  We make the 10 hour trek west to California and actually made really good time, despite traffic once we got within 30 miles of our hotel.  We relaxed for a bit and then headed up the Manhattan Beach to eat dinner and do a little shopping, sorry no pics.  Then we came back and swam in the hotel pool and spent some time in the hot tub.

 

Friday morning we got up and out of the hotel by 8:30 and headed north to Santa Monica Pier.  It was quite chilly and overcast but we put on our coats and made the best of it!  We rented bikes from a little shop on the pier and headed north up the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu.  We biked about 10 miles round trip and stopped on the way for a little picnic and to play in the sand!

 

 

On our bike ride back toward the pier the sun came through and it warmed right up!  We took our bikes back and headed up to the pier for some fun!  We had some burgers and fries, rode the little carousel, and then headed up the famous Santa Monica ferris wheel.  Hadley loved everything and she was so cute to watch!!

 

 What a view from the top!!

 

 

We went back the hotel for a short nap for everyone.  Then we drove to Redondo Beach (where most The O.C. was acutally filmed, which is I why I picked that beach) to play and swim at little.  Well, we didn't end up getting in the ocean because the clouds came back out and it cooled off alot!  But Hadley and Steve certainly enjoyed themselves in the sand!!

After playing we found a local restaurant with some amazing fish & chips and then walked along the beach and another small pier.  We ended the night back in the hotel hot tub and turned in kinda early for our next day in Huntington Beach!

Twinners!

 My little sister Hillary had her twins on Sunday morning!  Yes, my sister, who is five years younger than me has more kids than I do!

 

Knox Davis was born first and weighed 7 lb. 1 oz. and little sister Kate Susanne came shortly after weighing only 5 lb. 8 oz.

 

Kate is on the left, Knox on the right...

 

 Becca, Luke, and I drove up the Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon to visit.  They are adorable and I forgot how teeny tiny newborns are (especially since Hadley had 8 lb. 5 oz. at birth).

 



 What a cute family of four!!

Girl Time!

 Hadley and I had some super fun girl time this weekend!  Steve is in the process of finishing this killer class that has taken SO much time.  So last week we had a lot of time to ourselves.  Well, we always have alot of time just us but we tried to make it special and fun :)

On Friday we went to the library, the car wash and then to get shaved ice at our favorite place.  It was so fun to sit with Hadley for 30 minutes and listen to her talk about what was going on around her... I think she enjoyed herself...

On Saturday morning after Steve left for his review we headed up to BYU to feed the ducks and have a mini picnic!  Hadley could seriously stay here ALL day if I let her, but we could only stay for 2 hours (yea, we went through alot of bread!!).  We walked up to campus to go the bathroom and then wandered around up there for a bit.  It was definitely a fun mommy/daughter date!!

 And finally Hadley let me learn/practice how to do her hair with the flat iron.  Isn't she the cutest?!

I love every minute that I spend with this sweet girl!!

Little Friends

 Growing up I never had any cousins that I was really close with... I always thought it would be the best to have my kids be close with their cousins!  Well, my dream came true- these kiddos really are best friends!  Last week we took a break from the Utah hot summer and went to the nickelcade up in Orem.

We also have some pretty great friends that we aren't related to :)  Hadley is constantly asking to play with Decker (Dexter), Lizzie, and Daniel.  Last week we rode the bus up to BYU (Hadley has only been asking ALL summer to ride the bus up there) with them!  It was Dexter's first time on the bus and he loved it, all the kids did!!

After a yummy lunch at the Wilkinson Center we let the kids run around campus for while before getting back on the bus! 

 This week we had another playgroup at the park!  I don't know what it is about these kids and the park but everytime we go they seem to spend more time snacking than playing.  Although Hadley did enjoy the swing for like a good 45 (or so it seemed) minutes straight!!

 The drinking fountain and some sheep in a neighboring field caught their attention for awhile!

 We are lucky to have such fun friends (and cousins) who we love so much!!