Just Beachy

We spent the next day of our vacation at the beach. It was a beautiful day, one of my favorite beach days ever. The weather was great and the kids were well-behaved.

These two are such little buddies. It's so fun to watch them play together.

Sam helped the kids build a sand castle. It was pretty awesome.

I was glad Merrick grabbed the camera and took pictures of us playing. It's always nice to have some candid shots.

Grant wasn't so sure about the beach at first but he decided it was pretty fun.

We went for lunch at Bruxie. The serve sandwiches and burgers on waffles-really yummy! And the waffle fries are to die for. They had some delicious sounding desserts too but we were eating an early dinner and wanted to have room.

That night, we got a babysitter and went out for dinner at Sandy's for a Valentine's date . It was fun to get out without the kiddos. And, we were glad they kind of messed up Merrick's order and brought us free dessert.

Irvine Park

We spent President's Day weekend in Huntington Beach with Philip and Merrick. It was a wonderful weekend: equal amounts of fun, relaxing and delicious food. Now, if only our kids would learn the art of sleeping in on vacation... it would've been perfect. 

On Friday, we went to Irvine Park. It is a really awesome park with lots of fun things to do. 

While we were eating our lunch, some peacocks kept strutting by. Clara was obsessed and kept following them. We were worried she was going to get attacked because she wouldn't keep her distance.

Inside the park is a little zoo. It's only two dollars a person for admission and it's just the right size for little ones. There are lots of neat animals and you can see them all without getting worn out.

There was a hedgehog that the kids got to pet. It was pretty cool.

They also got to feed some goats. Abby was more brave than usual and would giggle whenever they ate out of her hand.

Grant was content to ride in his stroller and look at the animals. This picture makes him look like he has huge legs.

Clara had to stop and collect some leaves. Fall foliage comes a little late in the west.

We finished the afternoon with a train ride.

That night, we had a Valentine's Day family dinner, complete with floral crowns and boutonnieres and lots of candy. 

Gilbert Temple Open House

Sorry, it's been a bit of a ghost town here on the blog. This has been a weird month and I haven't felt like writing. It is partly because I am a little very overwhelmed with learning to use my new camera so I keep putting it off. Anyway...

Last night, we went to tour the new Gilbert temple. It was really an amazing experience to take my kids into the temple. They loved it and, despite being up past bedtime, were very well behaved. It is an amazingly beautiful temple, probably the most beautiful one I've had the privilege of entering.

I love the temple so much. And, I love that, because of the temple, I can be with my family forever.