Nail Polish...oh my!

I let the girls paint their own toes and fingernails for the first time today.  Oh boy was it fun!  They glopped on just about every color I have, and sat quietly doing it for about a half an hour (until I couldn't take it any more).  Seth really wanted me to paint his toes too, and, since daddy was in the shower and wasn't there to stop me, I did!  He chose blue, red, and white (how patriotic of him).  Then he kept lifting up one leg saying "look, mommy"!  Daddy wasn't so thrilled when he showed him ("look, daddy").  

Happy girls:)

"look at this finger, mom"!

Haley's finished toes!  

Abby's finished product!  

I know you can't really see the color, but it's on there!

Dance Recital

Last Saturday, Haley and Abby had their first dance recital. They have been taking dance class (two separate classes) since last fall, all leading up to the much anticipated recital:) Oh, I don't even have words to describe how wonderful it was. So many of our dear friends and family came to watch them, which was really special. They LOVED it, and we are so proud of them. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Dress rehearsals:



Getting ready (with Auntie Laura's help):


We fixed that, don't worry!




After the show:

Chores

In the mornings, the girls job is to unload the dishwasher. They take turns doing the top and bottom racks. Seth almost always helps Haley. It's so cute, so I took a little video.

Beach Fun!

Oh, we have been having SO much fun at the beach lately. For my birthday, my mother and father-in-law got me a California state park pass, which makes it super easy to park at lots of the nearby beaches (thank you Steve and Jackie). I'm pretty sure we've already made it worth it in just the last couple weeks. It sure is A LOT of work to get to the beach (all the sunscreening, snack packing, calming fights over who gets the heart swimsuit, making sure we have towels and sweatshirts, etc), not to mention carrying all the stuff from the parking lot to the edge of the water. I will assure you, though, that it is all worth it. All the kids are so happy at the beach. I am calmer at the beach (the sand and ocean are just so calming). The sound of any screaming just sort of dissipates into all the space. They can run, dig, jump, find treasures, fall, roll, chase birds, bury eachother, and best of all, get wet!

Seth seems to make it a goal to get as sandy as possible!

The girls love to "surf"!


Beach fun with daddy:)


Haley LOVES the warm sand.


Abby absolutely loves the ocean. She will sit and look at it like this, but most of all just LOVES to be in it.


Seth also loves the ocean, but has been knocked down quite a few times!


Uncle Nate really likes to show his nieces and nephew the tide pools. He's so good about checking the tide charts and letting us know when it's low tide.


Look at all those fun creatures!


Of course, snacks at the beach always taste the best!