Why on Earth do I live in Richfield, UT when I could be living some place with a beach? I simply don't know the answer to that question, but it's a darn shame. The Beach / Ocean is a little slice of Heaven on Earth for me and unfortunately I only make it there like once every 4 years. I'm not going to lie, that kind of makes me want to cry right now. I love everything about it, the sand, the sound of the waves, palm trees, the beauty of it all, and most especially I love boogie boarding. It might sound lame, but I simply can't get enough.
Every weekend, when the girls climb into bed with us on Saturday morning before breakfast, Travis asks the girls what they dreamt about the night before, and their response (to him) is always, "Hunting elk with Dad". He's trained them well. Little did he know that every other day I would ask them the same question, and their response to me is always, "Building sand castles on the beach with Mom". I'm pretty sure that now that this dream has been realized for them, I will get the same answer every day for the rest of their lives without any prodding from me. They loved it!
Coronado Beach:
I was as happy as I could be on Coronado Beach. Every Navy Seal book I've ever read, (and that's been a lot) mentions Coronado because of the training base there. So I've always wanted to go. While I may have been slightly disappointed that I didn't actually get to see a bunch of hot navy seals training on the beach (just kidding (sort of) so don't freak out), I did get to see my hot husband playing with my girls AND I got to hear the HUGE military planes flying regularly right over my head. It was nothing short of amazing. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love my family, the beach, and planes (esp military planes) more than most other things. So to have all of that right there was a highlight for sure! (Although I definitely missed my baby.)
I was kind of glad I had my girls there just to have the excuse to cover my legs in the mud. It feels amazing:)
And yes, we built all sorts of "sand castles" on the beach. It was better than their "dreams", I'm just sure of it!
Check out that little mermaid on the right:
LEGOLAND!!
Of course, the girls got a cold on the first day, but that didn't stop the adventures. First stop: LEGOLAND!
That's all the pictures we got, but for good reason as we were busy running from ride to ride. Good times. However, the girls just kept asking to go to the beach. YES!
Mission Beach:
And, to make things even better, we rented a boogie board:)
The girls really wanted to pet the "ducks" as they called them, so naturally we told them to go catch one. They took off running every time.
Sand beard. Why not?
Isn't that just beautiful?
Beach Bum.....Literally:
Check out those waves (that's Trav riding the middle one in). It's killing me that I'm not there right now:
That would be yours truly:
Yes the water was freezing in October, especially when the sun went down. So worth it though. Even though at that point I was literally the only one that could be seen in the water, at all. I'm sure I looked totally stupid out there freezing my fanny off while everyone was standing on the beach in hoodies and jeans.
Look at those cute little girls. Oh wait, who could that be boogie boarding in to shore right behind them in a gorgeous sunset picture? Hmm!
The lone soldier (even Trav had called it quits by then, maybe I am crazy):
Sea World!!!
This just keeps getting better doesn't it. Cuz guess what? Travis and I LOVE Sea World! Shocked? Didn't think so. Although Tay wasn't too sure about that chipmunk thing or whatever it was, we all had a great day.
I love Taylee's face. It was only our second picture of the day and she was sick of us:
(Notice I'm the only one riding the rides with the girls cuz the hubs, aka sickie, can't hack spinning too much. He missed out, except for the fact that I was dizzy for the next 3 days after this trip!)
One of the fabulous Sea World shows. We loved every one of them!
After Sea World, guess what the girls begged to do? Yep, they're just like their mama! Travis was nothing short of amazing this day. He played with the girls on the beach for nearly two straight hours, even when it got chilly, so that I could selfishly take off and boogie board to my heart's content. He declined every offer of mine to trade places, simply because he knew how happy I was. What a guy. They came up with some fun things though, so I was impressed!
Surprise! Guess Who Showed Up?
Out of pure coincidence, Randy and Jordan were in Cali for a baby blessing, so they were able to join us for our last day of the beach. It was so much fun!
Siblings:
Let the competitions begin!
Who won that one Bren?!
The girls were SO happy to play in the sand with Aunt Jordy:)
The funniest part is that Jordan and I both happened to be wearing the same swimming suit. Out of the thousands of people on the beach, we were the only twinners! Great minds Jordy.
Brielle's first lesson in boogie boarding:
Success!
Randy & Travis:
Unfortunately, it had to end. However, it was such a fantastic trip. I'm feeling really lucky I got to have a vacation at all. Thank you SO much to my mom and dad for taking such great care of Kya Bear, you guys are awesome!
Speaking of Kya, my sweet baby turned one yesterday!!! Man that year went by quickly. Kya is perfect. There are no words to adequately express how much I love this happy baby of mine. Travis is in Ohio on a hunting trip (naturally), so he missed out on the festivities (I realize Kya probably didn't care, but I'm sure I'll still remind Travis for years to come that he missed this special occasion. That's what we girls are supposed to do, right?!) so we just did a little pizza party with Grandma and Grandpa Kyhl and Grandpa Jack. I think Kya enjoyed our simple night:
Except for when Grandma and Grandpa tried to get her to walk. That girl has a stubborn streak in her she gets from her Daddy. Honestly, I think she's just lazy. Any time we try to walk with her, she just lifts her legs or sits right down. It's so funny!
She did, however, love the cake:
And these 2 were just as animated as ever:
Kya is happy and patient (unless she's made visual contact with her bottle but not yet received it). She has to be with 2 older sisters who lug her around everywhere. She's a great eater, and uses sign language to let me know when she wants more, which is often! She also signs milk, all done, and eat. She books it to the door in her cute little crawl every time the door opens or the doorbell rings. She loves to be outside. She sings every time music is on, and then claps at the end. She also claps at church after every talk and musical number. She's slept through the night since she was 10 weeks old, and still takes 2 naps during the day. She's totally fine being left alone in nursery, and she LOVES bath time.
Every time we sang "Happy Birthday" to Kya, which was a ton because the girls thought that was the best thing ever, Kya would shake her cute little booty.
I feel so blessed with the family that I have. Happy Birthday Kya, I will love you forever!
