June

June! The start of Summer! We spent a lot of time in June at the pool for swim team. It's now over and I think we are all a little relieved! The girls did great and loved earning their ribbons and getting treats from the snack shack. They love to swim, just don't love how their coaches are "tough" sometimes and the practices are hard. We're proud of them for finishing out the season and they are eagerly awaiting their prized trophies!

Clara was my buddy on the grass while we waited for the big girls during swim team practice.

The last day of school! Gwen finished her preschool experience at Montessori Greenhouse. We loved her teachers Radhika and Bivian. We've spent 4 years at the school and they loved both Kate and Gwen and taught them so much. Gwen has made so much progress with her reading and is now reading short books independently. It's fun to hear her trying to sound out words on the cereal box and signs as we're driving. She is looking forward to Kindergarten!

Kate on the last day of school with her carpool buddy and neighbor, Miles. These kids have grown up so much in the past year. All the toddler/baby/little kid seems to be gone. A little bittersweet but it's exciting to see them change and grow.

After school on the last day we hosted a whip cream fight and pool party with friends. It was a fun day celebrating the last day of school and start of summer.

Gwen finished preschool a week before Kate finished and it was nice to spend some time with her. She was my roller blading buddy and followed along on her bike. She's doing her early morning pj stretches here to get ready for our workout.

My two helpers at the grocery store. Thankfully the carts didn't knock over any glass bottles. There were a few close calls.

My birthday was the end of June. We celebrated by spending a day at the beach. We went to table rock beach in Laguna. It was a gorgeous day. We snorkeled and swam and built sand castles.

It was Clara's first time at the beach as a crawling babe and she did so well! She ate the sand, but then got tired of it and just practiced her crab crawl. She took a nap in the ergo and was a happy baby.

That evening we moved beaches to Bolsa Chica for a bonfire with more friends. It was a great weekend!

Bass Lake & Yosemite

The day after school got out we took a road trip to Bass Lake and Yosemite. It was so beautiful! We weren't up for camping in Yosemite Valley with a crawling baby, so we stayed in a comfortable condo on Bass Lake. Our first day there we took a little hike down to the lake and went for a swim. This is Kate cheering for summer!

Our second day we drove an hour into Yosemite Valley. It was breathtaking. Huge trees everywhere, massive granite cliffs, waterfalls, beautiful meadows. It was everything we hoped it would be. Clara loved climbing on the rocks and the girls giggled that she was climbing "baby half dome". (Half dome is a difficult and popular day hike in Yosemite that we hope to do one day!)

We rented bikes and took a four mile loop through the valley. We had a teaching moment when at the bike rental place they said kids have to be 1 year old to ride in the trailer. Clara is 11 months and has been riding in our trailer at home just fine. I said "she's almost one" and the girls picked up on it right away. We had to be honest (to make a point!) and tell them she wasn't 1 yet. We kept her in the stroller and Paul and I traded off jogging along the bikes with her. We were blessed with extra strength to jog those miles keeping up with the bikes! And hopefully the girls learned a lesson about honesty!?  We loved the bike paths, though, and hope to go back and camp in the valley and bring our bikes with us to explore more of the trails.

 We stopped at a horse stable on our ride.


We had one of the most beautiful picnic spots ever!

Our hike to Yosemite falls.

Climbing through rivers and rocks. We spotted a bobcat sauntering down the trail!

Our second day in Yosemite we visited the grove of giant sequoias for more exploring.

Kate and Gwen in the Yosemite jail.

And our last full day we stayed close to bass lake and rented a boat. It was perfect for little Clara, with closed sides she could crawl all around. The girls and I tubed, fed the ducks and we grilled bbq chicken pizza on the boat for dinner. I have so many great memories of boating as a kid, and loving it. I had a strange moment looking at my three babies realizing that I am now the mom. When did this happen?! We had a great trip and saw only a small part of what Yosemite has to offer. We're excited to go back! 

May

Cute Clara faces. She entertains us daily.

Kate's school spring pics.

Blueberry pie from the Romney family cookbook. The best!

It's always nice to be spoiled on Mother's Day. I went to breakfast with Gwen at her school the week before. My mom had a pool party Saturday before Mother's Day and on Sunday I got to take a nap, spend some time in the kitchen baking french macaroons and Paul and the girls made me breakfast and dinner! It was a special day. I love my job.

We've spent some nice Spring evenings in the front yard making fairy and butterfly gardens.

Kate and Gwen are on swim team! Gwen doesn't love having her picture taken, and I'm not sure either of the girls love swim team. They do love the snack shack and I love that they are strong swimmers!

Memorial Day weekend we put Clara in the trailer for the first time and went for a bike ride at the beach. Kate and Gwen competed in their first triathlon! They were awesome!