Crystal Cove

So, on Thursday Emily and I went out to Crystal Cove to meet up with the cousins. We got to the sand after they had so we just walked our way down to them. See them down there?

Nope? Yeah, we didn't see them either - lots of parking options means people can be SPREAD out! Luckily we did meet up with them after a while and ended up turning around to walk back in the direction of our car. Emily was really happy to see her "friends" and loved walking along with Cole.
As soon as we got settled though, Emily was thrilled that Lauren wanted to splash around in the water too!

Why they wanted to be in the water... who knows?! It was pretty cold!

After a while everyone got involved in sand castle building.

Okay, not so much for Emily.
Instead, she ran around...
and waited for someone to be ready to go in the water again.

Eventually there were three in the water...

but when the sand castle needed some more work, Emily asked if we could go to the tide pools and see the animals.

We had to look around for a couple minutes...

before we found some sea life.
Like these Anthopleura - intertidal sea anemones. Watch. First, it is open...
and after a soft brush with a stick, closed.
While I thought the anemone's were cool, Emily's favorite were the crabs!!

We watched them for a while...
but when the view from where I sat started looking like this...

we left the tide pools, went back to our family, and packed up. A chilly but really fun day at the beach!

Beach time: 4+ hours (through nap time) Sleep that night for Emily: 11 hours.

Swim Time

Yesterday afternoon/evening Emily went over for some swim time with her cousins. Luckily, Daddy was able to go as well! Everyone had a great time playing around...

and just hanging out.
Emily couldn't quite raise herself out of the water as well as the bigger kids. It was either not at all...
or almost all out.
But, that was nothing... she had a total blast!

The only problem we had was getting her out and warm. This week isn't the warmest on record and if you know California, you know that it gets cool in the evenings anyway.

Emily wasn't the most comfortable she has ever been, but we tried.

After a while, and some time spent under the heaters for the kids' dinners, we went back to their condo and Emily played Go Fish for the first time with Aunt Sarah.


She also spent some time checking on the cousins and talking to Cooper.
She was really wondering why the big kids were passed out on the couch and the "little ones" were still awake. (Answer: their family had spent the whole day at the beach and Cooper got a decent nap while Lauren and Cole were swimming with Emily)

To finish out the night, Emily played a little Go Fish with Cooper.
We stayed kinda late but had lots of fun!!

Next up, a beach day!

Not In Kansas Anymore

It's Spring Break time in Kansas! This means that Uncle Reagan, Aunt Sarah, Lauren, Cole, and Cooper are finally in California for the week! Before they arrived on Saturday evening, Emily went over to their hotel to drop off some goodies. She also took the time to enjoy the beautiful view,

test out many of the lobby chairs,
and play around the multiple fountains.

Of course, she had to take a moment to giggle about this being a "fanny fountain"...
similar to our favorite one at Trinity. (April 2009)
Truth be told, she didn't care much about the fannies... she cared about the koi fish!
But, she had no interest in letting them nibble on her fingers...
instead, she offered up Daddy's!!

The Kansas crew wasn't set to arrive for a couple hours so we headed out...

(No pun intended, I blame my bloodline.)

and had them over for dinner last night!! Emily was in HEAVEN playing with her cousins and wouldn't let the boys out of her sight!

And before they were able to leave, we made sure to celebrate the cousins' 2011 birthdays. As you know, Emily loves to find reasons for mama to bake chocolate cake and these three kiddos' birthdays were NO exception! First up, Cole - Jan. 19th
Second, Cooper - March 3rd
Third, Lauren - May 2nd
Happy Birthdays!!!

We look forward to spending some more time with them this week and we hope that the California weather cooperates. Who wants a rainy Spring Break?!