The beach we went to had a ton of driftwood. Conor and Holly put one big piece in the ground and the first thing that popped into my mind was a mayflower pole, but I didn't have any ribbon. Somehow we brainstormed a lean-to and got building. I absolutely love that we all worked together on it and that my quilt was put to some serious use. This is the kind of wholesome recreational activity that makes me feel on top of the world as a Momma. Our family was perfectly happy. It was good! The girls loved playing in the little lean-to. The cutest was when they had a little sister bonding time with kisses and hugs. 

Holly worked really hard gathering up a ton of wood, and then she got to work on this great fence. Conor helped her finish it up and it was totally their style. I loved it!

Every time we discuss where we'll end up, we always conclude that it has to be near the ocean. We've taught Holly to refer to the ocean as hers and ours. Because it is ours. It's complete magic to live by the ocean. We've created so many amazing family memories on the beach. And the way the ocean soothes my soul is a miracle. I dunno what it is about the big blue, but us Muirheads are head over heals. 

Yesterday was one of those days where I feel like my life is unreal, and I have to pinch myself because I can't believe that I get to live in California with my wonderful husband and beautiful daughters and that I get to go on day trips to the ocean. Saturday was the perfect day, the only hiccup being the traffic on the way out. We wanted to try out a new beach so we went to Salinas River, just south of Watsonville. 

The beach happened to be the spot for equestrians, so right off the bat, we were able to pet the most friendly horses ever. The girls were in love! I was amazed that I actually convinced Greta to touch one of the horses. She's gaga for animals, but can rarely bring herself to actually touch them. While we played at the beach, we watched lots of horseback riding groups traverse the sand. Greta was ticked off that she didn't get to ride a horse. Let's just say I've added "horsebacking riding on the beach" to Holly and Greta's bucket list. 

The weather was just right. It has been as hot as hell where we live and I was so happy to have weather that was cooler. 

I tried to build sand castles, but they were immediately stomped on by Greta. It was a glorious game that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll happily build sand castles and let her destroy them because she is so gleeful doing so. Greta was wild for me burying her legs and then building a castle on top of that. The simple joys are so sweet.

We wrote our names in the sand from drift wood. That was a huge hit! Our kids continue to be obsessed with their letters. 

And we built the most amazing driftwood fort. Seriously. It was amazing. Next blog post...

The other night, Conor put Holly's hair in a side ponytail. And she was in heaven. She slept with it in and I was not allowed to touch it the next day. One the second day, I insisted that we brush out her hair and redo it. However, I was not allowed to touch it again. It was all about Papa! Conor brushed out her hair and with a little coaching from me, redid the side ponytail. Holly has us cracking up over her new hairstyle. It feels good to have something silly and simple to laugh about these days. So I took some photos and I'm sharing them here. 

My baby sister, Alanna, graduated high school. She's worked hard and I really wanted to do something to congratulate her. Alanna loves cats, so I thought this quilt pattern would be ideal. Alanna doesn't care for girly things so I chose a neutral color palette of white, gray and black and then I backed the quilt in a plain true purple. It's not very big, just lap-sized or a throw. I really enjoyed making this for Alanna. I've now made a quilt for all my McNeill family members, so long as I count the one quilt I made for John and Allison valid. 

I'm not sure what my next quilting projects will be. I love to quilt and I wish I could make one every month. Hopefully I'll be able to make matching ones for Holly and Greta when we move them to twin-sized beds. And maybe I'll make one or two as Christmas gifts? Any excuse to buy beautiful fabric and quilt!

Our family was due for some serious family time! Life has been insane and I hope that we're on the downhill nowadays, because I am exhausted! We took advantage of having no obligations this past weekend and we filled Saturday up with a couple fun activities. In the morning, we went to Vasona park. It's a great, big park with multiple playgrounds, a creek, a train and a carousel. Every Christmas season, they set up a fun light display for people to drive through and enjoy. We've been the last two years. Saturday's weather was perfect! We saw ducklings and goslings swimming in the creek - very exciting! We rode the train and carousel. We walked around and played. Mostly we enjoyed ourselves and let some of the stress of the past month melt away. My face hurt from smiling so much (and probably from my insane adult acne as well). It was a very satisifying morning. After naps, we took the girls to Great America (we have seasons passes). That was really fun, but also really crowded and unfortunately Greta had a big melt down. But c'est la vie, it all turned out just fine. Overall a great day! I was so grateful to just spend a day with Conor finally!