by the sand & the sea ::part one::

the second that school let out for miss emma, we jumped in our car and began making our way to the beach...


we had the best chauffeur ever.


my gracious parents let us stop over at their house one night, so the next morning...we were beach bound :)  it was beautiful!


both emma and carson made themselves at home in some sort of freshwater creek.  i have no idea what was in that water, but it was fun for them nonetheless.  they caught tons of tadpoles and had a blast :)


being a mermaid was at the top of emma's list, so we went ahead and checked that one off...


rob took ocean duty...i'm still a little skiddish :)


one evening, we rode our bikes all the way to Seaside.  my little blonde baby deserves a round of applause...it was a LONG way, especially with his super tiny wheels :)




his ice cream was well deserved :)








we fell in love with Seaside...quaint, clean, and appropriate in every sense of the word.


one afternoon, we spent shopping in Seaside...


and we found a little lunch spot with killer fish tacos.


one evening, we made plans with our neighbors at the bay....


we all had dinner together and fed fish off the dock...


the sunset was beautiful...


and i still can't believe our trips overlapped, which was total coincidence :)


they played nighttime twister...


giggled...


and emma and her friend did some major jumping...


we ended the night with fireworks...


after our trip to disney, my kids both LOVE a fireworks show...


i think it's safe to say we wore them out...


it was sweet dreams for all of us :)

on her last and her first...

emma had an eventful last day of school.


there were obstacle courses...


giant slides...


bubbles...


face paint...


snow cones and a picnic lunch...


and tons of fun!


here she is on her very last day of kinder...


and here is her very first...


once again, last...


and first...


so sad, but i was really too busy to be sad...ha!  we were beach bound as soon as her last bell rang...


and we had the best driver in the whole world...woohoo!

a day to celebrate...

i sent memms off to school dressed for her big day...


soon after i dropped her off, carson and i headed to his very last swimming lesson.


he is such a good swimmer...


and can really swim now...


i think this is his favorite place to be.


he graduated from the course...


and was so proud, can you tell?


we ran home and got dressed for emma's kindergarten graduation...


daddy saved the day and brought flowers for our sweet girl...


we were all so excited to see their show.





their songs and chants were so cute...


we watched. bro ate "gummies."  probably about four packs.


and then, she graduated.  sniff. sniff.  both of her teachers were there...


her first teacher had a baby...


and then, ms. p took over.  i was so nervous about the transition, but it was flawless.


grand-dad came in for the big event...


we were so proud of our first little graduate.


love her to pieces...


i'm guessing the years will just keep on flying by...

::memorial day 2013::

our morning began with bike decorating...


this little dude was pumped up!


then, we made our way towards the start of the parade...


bro loved it for sure...he was laughing the whole way.


and everything's always better with friends in tow...


i must say that buying a red, white, and blue bike was not intentional, but sheer genius :)


emma enjoyed her ride too...


once we made it to the pool, we had grilled hotdogs and all sorts of sides.  swimming was next!

on his last and his first...

we can't believe this school year has come to a close.  it seems like yesterday we were moving in and trying to figure out how to start a school year with a house full of boxes and newness everywhere.  here's my little buddy on his last day...


and here he is on the first...

oh my goodness, i could eat him up...please stop growing carson...please :)