{A Royal Weekend}

This weekend Claire had her first encounter with not one, but two princesses! Thanks to the First Friday at the Fountains happening all summer long, she got to meet Cinderella and Ariel before even visiting Disneyland. It was such a fun family event and we're looking forward to it next month!

{Our little princess's first picture with Cinderella!}

{Claire & Ariel}

{Two silly peas in a pod waiting in line}

{Claire with Grandma & Grandpa}

{Claire & Aunt Judy}

And since my cousin and his fiance are in town, we drove to Lake Tahoe on Saturday for lunch and a hike at Emerald Bay.

{A beautiful afternoon at Sunnyside Resort}

{Our lunch view}

{Emerald Bay - Lake Tahoe}

{Fun reminder - this was Claire and me at Emerald Bay last year!}

{At the bottom of our hike. An overcast day made for a gorgeous skyline}

The makings of yet another fun weekend! Happy Monday!

{Camping Trip 2012}

Happy Friday! Surely I'm not alone in welcoming the weekend with open arms! This week was a tough one, getting use to my husband being at Raiders' training camp for a good part of the week. Phew, let's just say that I am not cut out to be a single parent! 

{But that said, I am beyond proud of him and incredibly grateful for his new job!}

 It might have been a bit easier had we not just come back from a weekend of camping! Though the exhaustion and extra laundry was well worth the precious time spent with my Dad, step-mom and sweet brothers and sisters!

We camped at a beautiful campsite in Sonoma Valley and took a drive to Bodega Bay on Sunday afternoon where the kids got to play at the beach. Great food, great company and lots of wine by the camp fire made for a lovely visit. Though, as always, I wish we had more time together. These trips just never seem to be long enough. But {sigh} we will take all we can get!

And as usual, here are some photos from the weekend

She's gonna love me for this one someday ;)

Silly girls, begging to sleep in our tent :)

Melt. My. Heart.

My favorite girls on the planet: my sisters and my daughter!

The spectacular view from our campsite!

Just chillin'

My sweethearts on the beach

Beach fun (even though the water was freezing!)

Taking in the lovely sights after lunch in Bodega Bay

The official picture of Claire with her Aunts & Uncles! I love this so much!

And a shot of the whole family. Not bad for attempting to get ten people to smile!

Weekends like these are definitely Summer at it's finest!

{Weekend Adventures}

I can always tell it's summer by the way we spend our weekends. It's my favorite season because there is so much going on and outdoor activities are wonderfully abundant!

Saturday we packed up a picnic lunch and did some wine tasting at a few of our favorite wineries. Sunshine and relaxation were just the ticket to celebrate four great years of marriage!

 

Sunday afternoon we took a family hike along a local trail and we've officially decided to make this a weekly family activity! So fun, rejuvenating and Claire had a ball packed on her daddy's back!

We introduced our big girl to yogurt for the first time this weekend and she is a BIG fan! They seriously don't come cuter that this girl!!

And finally, Claire decided it was time to ramp up her mobility and started backward crawling! The little cutie can now scoot herself halfway around the house, which means that we have some baby proofing to do!

How about you-do anything fun, exciting, outdoors? I hope your weekend was wonderful!

{Fathers Day} In An Instagram

In addition to celebrating my husband's first Father's Day, yesterday also marked 9 years together. So needless to say, I wanted to make it a special one! 

I started the day off with one of the best ways I know how to show my husband love - with a delicious meal! I whipped up one of his faves, blueberry pancakes {heavy on the blueberries}. A perfectly yummy way to start the day!

{And Claire even left a sweet surprise for her daddy-much like the one she got me for Mother's Day}

After our tummies were satisfied we took his present out for a spin! Claire and I got Chris a bike for Father's Day, though if you follow me on Instagram you know that he's been enjoying it as an early gift for the last two weeks since it was too good of a deal to pass up;) We've all been enjoying it to the fullest with frequent family bike rides.

{My happy loves getting loaded up for our morning ride}

Once we were good and sweaty, we spent a few hours enjoying the pool together!

{Our little beach babe feeding herself mangoes}

And since my hubby has recently become a purist and gone back to a good ole' charcoal grill, dinner with our family consisted of a tri-tip cook-off...all were De-lish!! The perfect way to wrap up a wonderful day!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -- Billy Graham

To my husband - From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being such a loving, nurturing, Christ-like example for our daughter! I couldn't have dreamed up a better man to father my children. Thank you for loving us so well! ~ Your girls

Girls Trip {Monterey}

Late last week my Aunt flew into town and the four of us (my aunt, my mom, Claire and I) had a little girls getaway to Monterey! My Aunt always wants to go to the beach when she visits, so it was a great excuse to make it a nice long weekend!

Upon arriving in Monterey we checked in to our hotel and took a walk to the water, where Claire got her first taste of the ocean! She seemed to love it, even the sand which I wasn't sure she would (a girl after my own heart!)! What a precious blessing to be able to experience such simple things for the first time with my daughter! Seeing the world through her innocent eyes is so amazing!

{Look how light her hair is getting!}

{Helping my girl get her first feel of the sand}

{Toes in the sand-nothing better!}

After getting a small taste of the sea we indulged in a lovely dinner; Lobster pasta for me, plus a stunning view of the water (and Claire decided to take her late nap and slept through the whole meal):

 {I love Monterey}

Later that evening Claire joined the girls for a dip in the hotel's heated pool. It didn't last long as the breeze outside made it a bit colder than any of us could handle, so we went back to our room, turned on the fireplace and Claire got a nice long bath inside. What a life this little girl leads!

{Silly girl has her swim diaper on her head}

Friday morning we drove to San Simeon for a tour of Hearst Castle, as my Aunt had never been. The drive alone is worth your time! Highway 1 is, without a doubt, one of the prettiest drives I've ever taken.

This was my third time touring Hearst Castle, but definitely my favorite so far! A large part of it is probably my new found appreciation for the magnificent gardens (something I could care less about when I was 7 and 13). After our tour of the grand rooms in the castle, they allow you to walk the gardens at your leisure. As we're in the midst of landscaping our house, I was really inspired at the beautiful oasis they have created! If you've never been, I would highly recommend the trip if you're ever nearby. It really is something special!

{Stopping to smell the roses}

{Sign me up for a pool party here!!}

{Just outside one of the guest houses with a magnificent view of the coast}

Driving back on Hwy 1 we stopped at a few lookouts to admire this incredible scenery:

Amazing, right?! 

 Our last stop for the evening was in Carmel, where we got a bite for dinner and took a walk along the beach.

{Hello, white sandy beaches}

{Claire and I left our name in Carmel}

What an incredible few days to bond with the girls!