Monterey Part II!

After a fun morning at the aquarium, we spent the later part of our day in Monterey at the beach! It was GORGEOUS!!! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day in the middle of winter at the beach!

Ryan and Austin ready to play!

Justin and I enjoyed watching the boys play and visiting with friends as we relaxed in the sun!
All of the kids played so well together! Including Lo! Haha! Building sandcastles! Ryan designated himself to be the water fetcher! He's not afraid to get wet! After a while, Mo and Austin took off running down the beach. They got pretty far before the turned around and headed back!
Little stinker!
Aside from our house being broken into while we were gone, we had a great time!!! Love sunny days and can't wait for more to spend with friends and family!!!

Monterey!!!

The weekend of Austin's birthday we went with some friends of ours to Monterey! We all have kids with birthdays the same week, and decided that rather than doing a party, we would go do something fun! Some of our other friends weren't able to come, and we were bummed about that, but we still had a lot of fun!

On Friday we made the trip down and stayed at the Holiday Inn! Even though it wasn't incredibly warm, we headed out to the pool anyways! Ryan was in heaven, as usual when it comes to water!!!Everyone else was content in the hot tub! Austin didn't want to leave Daddy's lap! The gang minus Josh and myself! Ryan finally convinced Daddy and Austin to join him in the pool... ...and they had a great time! The following morning we loaded up...

...walked down...

...Cannery Row where we enjoyed some of the shops... ...and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium!!!We were all so excited! The boys with the scuba diver! "What do you see Austin?" "Little, teeny, tiny fishies!!!" This tank had some sharks in it! Ryan in particular loved all of the hands on things! Austin enjoyed watching him do them!

The boys refused to touch the Bat Ray, but Justin and I go in and touched the slimy creature!

Ryan looks like he's about to be eaten by the killer whale!

They loved the Jelly Fish! We had an amazing time at the aquarium and can't wait to go back again!!!

Austin turned 3!!!

Last Sunday, March 6th, we celebrated Austin's 3rd Birthday!!! I still am amazed at how fast time flies! I can't believe it's been three years since our sweet, little Austin was born!

The Birthday Boy ready to party!!!

We started out the day with his favorite breakfast... WAFFLES!!!
With a Sunday birthday you get to celebrate at church! Wahooo!!! Luckily we had some family come for the day to celebrate with us!
Auntie Megan and Uncle Al!

Nana and Tyler! Uncle Steve, Uncle Allen, Ryan, Daddy, Papa and Auntie Ashley! Ryan was excited for everyone to be there... ...and Uncle Steve thought it was his birthday too! HAHA!!! Austin loved being the center of attention and having everyone over to celebrate and eat dinner with us on his big day! So excited and ready to open the presents! As he opened each gift he would say, "I hope it's some Star Wars toys!" And Ryan would be sitting next to him predicting each one! YAY!!! Star Wars Toys!!! He was so excited to see Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker having a dual on his Birthday Cake! Make a wish!!! The lady by us at Wal Mart enjoyed our conversation as we picked out the type of cake Austin wanted!

Austin: "I want a Star Wars cake."

Mommy: "Okay, what flavor of cake do you want?"

Austin: "Star Wars!"

Mommy: "Star Wars isn't a flavor. Do you want chocolate, vanilla, yellow...?"

Austin: "STAR WARS!!! With Star Wars sprinkles!"

Well, this is what he got, and he was certainly happy with it in the end! We had such a fun day celebrating Austin! He has brought a lot of smiles, fun, and Star Wars into our family! We love you so much Austin and are so grateful for your sweet spirit in our home! Happy Birthday Big Boy!!!

Day at the park...

This week hasn't been the greatest, but the last few weeks have been BEAUTIFUL out! Spring like weather in later January and early February?! It has been awesome! Needless to say, we've taken several trips to the park to enjoy the nice weather. Last week we went as a family and had a great time!

The boys love their time on the swing!

Austin typically spends his entire time at the park on the swing, which means I spend all of my time behind him pushing away!
Ryan likes the swing as well! Unless there are some other kids running around, then he'll join in their fun instead. We decided to take the soccer ball and goal and start playing since Ryan's going to be on a team pretty soon. They had a lot of fun! Austin even gave it a shot! Ryan learning how to step next to the ball with your off foot... ...and give it a kick!!! He was so funny! Last summer I played soccer a few times with some friends and he apparently was watching. He kept kicking his leg so high in the air that he would lose his balance and fall over. It was cracking me up! I asked him why he was doing that, and he told me he was trying to get the ball to fly in the air like when I would kick it in soccer. So funny! I had to explain to him that once he gets the technique of kicking the ball in the first place, then we could later teach him how to kick it high into the air!
Just chillin'!Just being Austin! Little goofball!!!

We can't wait for more beautiful days to spend outside!!! Keep 'em comin'!!!