Summer haircuts

It's been about 15 months since the girls have had a haircut (with the exception of getting their bangs trimmed by their talented mum) so it was really time to get their hair trimmed. While I would have loved to see them in cute little bob cuts they were adamant that they wanted to keep their hair longer as they had been working so hard on growing it out. So, we compromised with a below the shoulder cut with some layers around their face. 

Usually I take the girls to a kids salon where they get to sit in little car or airplane chairs versus the usual salon chair. But considering they are both "big girls" now we decided to just go to an adult hairstylist. I didn't want to go the Super Cuts route yet I didn't want to spend $50 on a haircut for the kids so we ended up at Floyd's barbershop which is a retro hair salon filled with very interesting stylists and people. I thought the kids would enjoy the atmosphere.

They both did well. I was proud of them as they didn't wiggle or fuss. Actually Reese kept it extremely serious the whole time which was unusual for her, but I'll take it! :)

Cutting in progress

Reese being serious

Dani getting styled 

Finished and looking beauuuutiful

Looking lovely

The girls were happy that even though this was not a kids salon, they still had lollipops on hand :)

Splash park, ducks, and turtles

So it's been pretty hot here the last few days (low 100's) so what better a time to find a splash park for the kids to play at. There's not much around our neighborhood so we ventured out to Oak Park which is right by Thousand Oaks. Two of our summer bucket list items are go to a splash park and feed ducks. Luckily the park which had the splash park inside also has a duck pond so it was a win/win for us.

Here are some picks of the splash park...

The girls stopped for a snack. While we were there some kids set up a lemonade stand and bake sale so the kids chose a cupcake and pink lemonade.

Reese goofing off as usual while eating her cupcake. She looks like some kind of zombie vampire... Or someone that was a bit too liberal with the toothpaste.

After the splash park we drove down to the pond. When we arrived we realized we had forgotten to bring bread for the ducks so the girls saved the raisins out of their trail mix for the ducks. It was either that or nuts or M&M's which would either choke or kill the ducks so we went with raisins.

There were some ducks in the waterfall.

After a few minutes of feeding the ducks we noticed there were also turtles... A lot of them! They were being a little more shy than the ducks but I was able to catch a picture of one.

And that's it! I think we will return to this park another day with friends. It was a lot of fun.

Library trip

So as I was looking on the Internet today for something cheap and interesting to do with the kids I found out that one of the local libraries was doing a "read to a dog" afternoon today. The girls thought that sounded just brilliant so we went.

The event was at the Chatsworth branch of the L.A. Library and as soon as we arrived we noticed the dog visiting area was a little busy so we went straight to the craft table. The girls were taught how to fold a piece of paper into the shape if a dogs face then they were able to decorate them once done.

Reese hard at work

Danika gluing the googly eyes on

Danis craft

Reese's craft

After crafts we were able to go visit the dogs. They had three dogs visiting from a group called "BARK". Bark is an all volunteer program that encourages children to work on their reading skills by reading out loud to therapy dogs. The girls got a chance to read to Jesse James and Sydney. Danika read very well and even helped Reese read to the dogs. 

The girls petting Jesse James 

Reese was in heaven

Danika reading to Jesse 

Danika reading to Sydney.

I thought this was a really good idea and the kids just loved it. Best of all it kept them occupied and out if the heat for 2 hours, and it was free!! It's amazing how as mothers we work so hard at finding fun and exciting things to do for our kids. Sometimes these fun and exciting things end up costing a fortune. It was so  refreshing to see my girls embrace this "no frills" activity. Can't wait to do it again.

Hiking

Craig came up with a great idea to go hiking this Sunday. I had seen on Facebook many of our friends taking hikes so it looked like it would be fun. We have some trails just down the street from us so it was a quick and easy trip there. 

Craig is also interested in geocaching. The jist of geocaching is finding hidden treasures other people have left and once you find it you then leave a treasure for the next person. You can find maps and locations on the Internet and there just happened to be a few at Caballero Canyon where we would be hiking. This of course made the hike much more exciting for the girls. 

The hills started getting pretty steep but the girls happily kept up.

There's LA off in the distance.

Here is the geocache we found. Inside were coins and little prizes the girls could keep. Below the girls left their own gift for the next person.

We all had a good time and are planning on making this a weekend tradition.

Good Bye San Diego.....for the next few weeks at least!

Our first trip to San Diego for the summer came to an end on Saturday. But not without one last visit to see my dear friend Diane and her daughter Ashley. We spent our last few hours drinking mimosas and chatting while the girls swam in the pool. Not only did we get to hang with our friends but we got to meet the cutest cat ever, Bristol. Here are some pics...

Reese, Ashley, and Dani

Bristol

I'm going to steal this cat next time we visit :)

Our drive back to LA was long and "trafficky" but we made it back. It's so nice to be back with Craig and at home again. We really missed him. See you again soon SD!

Beach babes and s'mores

Today the girls finished off their last swim lesson and I am super proud of how far they have come in the last five days. While they are not professionals yet, I can safely say that if they fell in a pool they could easily make their way out, and that's what matters most to me.

After swim lessons were over we met Aunt Stephanie and the cousins at the beach in Oceanside for an afternoon of sun and wave riding. The girls played in the water, dug in the sand, and poor Shelby somehow got stung by a surfing bee, but we had a really fun time.

Dani and Shelby- cousins and lifelong friends

The girls riding waves 

Reese collecting water for her "bug trap" ?!?!

After the beach and a rest the cousins, Aunty Steph, and Uncle Brett came back to Nana and Pops for a movie, dinner and s'mores. Our friends Graham and Susan joined us too.

The kids enjoying their dinner.

S'mores on the fire pit 

The girls even ended the night with an impromptu dance session with Nana and Susan. 

Here's to checking a few more items off the bucket list xoxo

The Del Mar Fair

Today Mum, Dani, Reese and I braved the crowds and headed to the Del Mar Fair. My girls have never been before so naturally this was a must do on our trip to San Diego. I have very fond memories from my teenage years going to the fair. It's a little different with kids, a lot more tiring, but I am so glad we did it. Here are some photo highlights....

The pig races! OMG this was the cutest and funniest thing I have seen in a long time. Young and old pigs raced four at a time and they had the funniest names like  Lindsay Lo"ham" and Justin Be"boar". The girls even got to hold a 6 week old pig called Honey Boo Boo.

Reese asked for Cotton Candy probably 30 times within a five minute timespan. Here she is practically shoving the whole bag in her face. 

Rides!!!

More rides!!

Maybe the most once in a life time part of the day was when the girls got to ride an elephant!! This was so cool to watch I almost regret not hopping on there with them. This is Rosie the elephant...

Of course you can't go to the fair without sampling some fried, heart attack inducing delicacies. Mum and I enjoyed some fried pickles and chocolate covered bacon. Mum even tried a deep fried hamburger but wasn't a fan. The girls are now in bed as I write this, cuddling the three toys each I won them at the fair and I am thoroughly exhausted but we had a blast. The only thing I would change next year if we go would be that I would make sure Craig was there. We missed him today and I am sad he missed out on seeing the girls enjoy their day. Love you babe xo