pier into my eyes!

It was a nice treat to wake up to the sounds of Presley and Madison. They're always in the greatest moods in the morning, so I try to get out and play with them as soon as my body wakes. We shared a breakfast of pop tarts and Crispix, a crowd favorite. I bought 10 boxes of cereal (there was a deal at the store), so our goal for the week is to eat them up! I'll let you know how that turns out!

Both girls have changed a great deal since Christmas. Madison is walking even more now, waving bye-bye, saying mama and dada, she loves babies, climbing, and has the most unique little laugh. Presley has learned a lot this year at preschool. She knows left from right, can write her full name, and others if you spell them to her, gives strong and hard hugs, and still loves her pink "blankety." I don't like the long separation between visits, but it's fun to see how much growing they do in just a few months.

The first full day in California was great great great! Bob is being kind enough to let us borrow his van this week, and Kelly is loaning us a few car seats, so we were set! We all loaded up the van and headed up Pacific Coast Highway. A quick lunch at Chipotle, and a stop at Venice Beach. Saturday's at Venice Beach are nothing short of crazy. People were everywhere. Some in strange costumes, some with very little clothes on, some holding snakes, some wearing tights and wigs. Within 10 minutes I could tell they had had enough. So we made our way to a playground on the beach and played there for a while. It's much more high stress keeping an eye on kids at a busy place, so I followed Presley around like a stalker most of the time. Madison joined in on the fun and filled her baby crocs full of sand. Swings, sand, and silliness! Great fun!

A few more miles up the coast landed us on the Santa Monica Pier. The whole family enjoyed riding the ferris wheel, riding rides, and trying on silly hats and sunglasses. I don't think they were prepared for the night time chill we get around here. I should've reminded them to bring mittens too. We watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and headed for the car. Unfortunately, a few hundred other people had the same idea. It took us 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot! We were all starving at this point, so back to Torrance for their first dose of Rascals! With preaching tomorrow, today was a great way to take an official Sabbath this week. Visitors force me to take a break from work and enjoy living in California! Boy am I glad they're here!