Carlsbad - Day 2

We decided today would be a great day to relax and take things as they come. No serious plans other than we'd go pick some strawberries and stop at the outlet mall. It was a lovely morning where we just laid around in our jammies, had breakfast, and then relaxed a little more.

Eventually, we did get around to getting dressed and going to the strawberry fields. We love this place. And even thought we always seem to get here at the end of the season, we never fail to get some seriously delicious berries!

After strawberry picking, we headed to Carlsbad Premium Outlets. As much as I love to shop here, it always reminds me how much Madelyn is growing. I can remember shopping at Baby Gap years ago and practically buying out the store! All those cute little sizes and little girls outfits. It's hard to believe I'm now shopping for size 7!

Madelyn had fun carrying around all her bags. And all the bags were literally hers, except the Crate and Barrel bag. Lucky duck. We have been working on not begging for everything she sees, so she asked if she could "compliment" the things she liked and then at the end of the shopping trip if she had been good, she could maybe pick one of them. That worked like a charm. And she decided on a little 4th of July doggie purse, which she named Firework.

After shopping, we came back to the house and picked right up where we left off with our relax at home day. It was glorious!

We took the opportunity to use the BBQ and enjoyed some hot dogs and steaks. The weather was gorgeous, so eating on the patio was perfect.

Then, it was back to the beach to watch the sunset. But first we had to stop at the tiger mural to do a new pose...

Madelyn took watching the sunset quite literally at first. Here she is watching the sun set.

Once she realized it was going to take a while to actually see the sun set, she decided some cartwheels were in order. 

And then dipped her toes in the water...

Thanks, Kristin, for taking our picture. 

I don't always remember to put myself on the other side of the lens.

We chose the perfect night to watch the sunset from the sand. It was so peaceful, and absolutely beautiful!

Our neighbor made us some beach brownies (well, we called them beach brownies because that's where we were going to eat them), so we enjoyed a treat on the beach and then broke out the sparklers!

A boy who was on the beach with his family came over to tell us a sparkler secret. He said we could put the lit sparkler in the sand and pull it back out and it would still be lit. And what do you know?! It worked!

By far, tonight's beach adventure was my favorite part of the trip so far. We certainly will have dreams of sea water and sand. And sparklers. And sunsets.

Carlsbad - Day 1

Today was our first designated 'beach day." We were ready to pack up some beach toys and balnkets and relax at the beach. We started our morning with another favorite restaurant, Senior Grubby's. 

 Then we made a quick stop back at the house, and then it was off to the beach!

Seriously.,, how cute is Ivy? She reminded me of a little nesting doll! :)

No beach vacation would be complete without yogurt!

Can 't wait for another fun day!

  

Carlsbad 2015 - We made it!

Madelyn and I were excited that our beach trip with the Miranda Family had finally arrived! We decided to head out to Carlsbad a day earlier than planned, and I couldn't have been happier. I was in need of some serious R&R.

After our 6-hour drive, we checked into our rental (right smack in the heart of the village!), unpacked, and then headed to our favorite pizza place, Pizza Port!

After dinner, we took a walk to the beach because there was no way we were keeping these kids away from the water for one more second!

We made it! YIPPEE!

There's nothing better than sand between your toes with a cold splash of ocean water! Pure Heaven!

The tide came up a little quicker than we expected, but that didn't bother the kids a bit! They LOVED getting wet!

Even though this was just a "half" day, it was a great start to what surely will be an amazing trip!

  

Madelyn Gets Her Wish

Madelyn has been asking to get her hair cut shorter for quite some time. Although I really didn't care, I encouraged her to wait until after her dance recital so we could do her hair however it needed to be done. She went along with that, but couldn't contain her excitement as the day drew nearer for her new look.

Tonight, our sweet friend, Julie, came over for the big makeover. ;)

There was a small part of me that was worried my little drama queen wouldn't like it and then there would be tears. So I talked with Madelyn before the cut to remind her that it was just hair and that whether she loves it or hates it, it is going to grow back. She pretty much brushed me off telling me she was ready to do it.

There was a point when she asked me how much hair was on the floor, and I quickly took a picture and showed her. Her eyeballs got a little wide, and I asked her if she was feeling nervous. She said, "A little." I thought to myself, "Oh dear, we're just getting started." But Julie and I kept encouraging her that it was already looking cute, and she perked right up.

Finally, Julie was finished, and Madelyn was ready for the big reveal!

She ran into my bathroom to take a look..... I walked in there to see what was going on ("Please don't be crying. Please don't be crying." I thought.) And as soon as I walked into the bathroom she let out a big scream! A scream of pure joy! She loved it! And so did I! 

Thanks, Julie!

We grabbed the round brush and the hair dryer and put Julie to work blowing it dry. 

I took a few cute pictures, and then it happened... Selfie Mania:

She made me hold the camera awhile she posed for most of them...

 I love this one!

This ended up being the final pile of hair:

One last picture before bed!