Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade...the tradition continues.

Well my mom is a sucker for tradition and insists on taking the kids to the Huntington Beach parade each year. This year was a bit different since one of her best friends just built a home a block down from Main St. It definitely made the trek a lot easier. The kids enjoyed breakfast, suckers, poppers, face painting and waving to and shaking hands with everyone they could! Happy 4th of July everyone!

Food and Decorations...hurray for the 4th of July!

Well, my obsession continues with party decorations. I had so much fun making all of the decorations and food for our 4th of July party this year. The food was super yummy and the decorations turned out great, although I forgot to get pics of the outside. Enjoy!

Long Beach Aquarium and Harbor Cruise

Since Patrick has been able to spend a few days with us we decided to take a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium. The kids absolutely love it and it is just the right size for them. This time we decided to purchase the annual family pass so we can enjoy the aquarium all summer and on our frequent visits throughout the year. Of course their very favorite part is touching the sharks and rays. All three just could not get enough. You will notice by Ry's shirt that he would have been in swimming with the sharks had we let him. He got soaked! When we finished with the aquarium we decided to take the Harbor cruise...the boys don't get on boats much so they were very excited! It was a great family day with lot's of fun memories made.

Swim Lessons

So even though the boys are great little swimmers, I wanted them to take swimming lessons this year just to ensure they are getting pool safe. Since we are enjoying the month in Orange County with my mom and dad I decided to sign them up for lessons at the same pool I took lessons in over thirty years ago. I remember the pools being huge...olympic sized for sure : )! When we arrived boy was I in for a surprise. I couldn't get over how tiny the pools looked and I have to admit I was a bit sad they took out the diving boards, especially the high dive. I was shocked when Evan refused to get in the pool and Ry was a nervous wreck and just stood there on the verge of tears. Come to find out Ry just thought it was a baby class and actually wanted to be out there swimming, not playing ring around the rosie! Blake on the other hand did great although he was the youngest and smallest kiddo in his class as you can see from the pictures. He learned how to breath correctly while doing the free style and can now do the back stroke, dolphin kicking and more. He never ceases to amaze us.