Summer Vacation!!

We recently rented a home in Oceanside, California, for a week with the Pagano family.  Cousin Nick also joined us, and was a huge help with the kids, not to mention how much Mia loves hanging with him!  We hung out on our beach for a week of long, lazy days.  The kids had a blast playing in the surf, building sand castles and making smores at the nightly camp fires.  While it was certainly a tremendous amount of hard work, it was so enjoyable to see their constant smiles and listen to the laughter and screaming!  We learned that Brandon & Aubrey like to eat sand, and that children can get sand in bodily crevices that you didn't even know existed...  It was an amazing week of quality family time!

Chaos!

No doubt a beach vacation with the kids was just what we needed during a hot Arizona summer!  However, keeping track of all the kids so close to the ocean was definitely a constant challenge..  It sounded something like this, "Where is Brandon? I've got him. Who's got Aubrey? I do. Wait, where is Mia?"  Fun...

Playtime!

The twins were overjoyed to have a private beach in their back yard!  They spent the better part of each day digging in the sand, hosing each other down, and fighting over toys.  Aubrey would skip naps so as not to miss any beach time, and then try to sleep face down in the sand!  Priceless...

Legoland!

During our Cali trip we spent a day at Legoland!  As always, the kids freaked out on rides, face painting, junk food & excitement overload.  This was our first amusement park experience where the twins were old enough to partake, and didn't simply sit in their stroller...  Let's just say it was an exhausting day for Mommy & Daddy, but absolutely worth the effort.  The joy & smiles were awesome!

Cuddles!

Before we spent a week at the beach, Momma & the kids spent a week visiting Aunt Caren & Uncle Pat, and all of their cousins.  They had a blast playing and swimming all week, and were thoroughly exhausted by bed time...  Here are Mia & Aubrey cuddling at bedtime!  It's so sweet to see the bonds forming so that it isn't always just fighting & chaos between the siblings.