This beach is my favourite so far! It's everything I expect from a California Beach plus it's 16 miles south of Santa Cruz so it's quiet too. I'm tempted to stop trying out other state beaches - Sunset is that grogeous! But.... we're planning on visiting a different beach this afternoon.

Finally! Holly played with seashells. I've been dying for her to fall in love with them because I love them! She's still not captivated with them, but she's got time.

Holly was covered in sand. Her pockets were filled. She loves it.

I'm never leaving California.

Greta is a real roller. She can't sit up by herself, but baby, she can roll! She rolls all over the place and can get to pretty much anything! She loves this freedom. She rolls from the living room to the kitchen when I'm preparing supper (that's approx. 10 turns) and she rolls between toys. I sprinkle toys all over the place and she gets her exercise. Wait... our house is always like that.... sprinkled with toys. Anyways, it's pretty much the cutest. And I love it! Holly never fully utilized rolling so this is a whole new proud mama time for me!

Greta puts my abs to shame!

These days when I dress the girls, Holly says, "need picture" by the end of it. She's digging the mini photo shoots even if she doesn't sit still very well. Holly also takes many imaginary photos of us throughout the day. "Cheese Deda. Deda, DEDA!" she she progressively begins to yell as she tries to get the perfect shot of Greta. You know you take a lot of photos when....

These photos are from the first time Holly expressed her need for a picture.

The girls wore sweet dresses to church on Sunday. And big news, Greta wore shoes for the first time! Yes, the first time. Her feet are so ridiculously tiny and she is just only beginning to fit some 0-3 month shoes. Greta's feet are also very narrow, so some shoes won't ever fit right. The girls looked so sweet and semi-cooperated for photos.

Those shiny shoes were perfect for chewing!

The most recent beach we went to is the Natural Bridges State Beach. It was fun and relaxing. We packed a little dinner with lots of homemade goodness. Holly found a friend and although he wasn't quite as energetic and enthusiastic as she is, they still had fun. The beach was nice, the only downer was the seaweed which attracted bugs. The natural bridge was the real highlight. On it were tons of interesting sea creatures that I know nothing about but I intend to learn. Did you know monarch butterflies come in thousands to this area in October? And in the winter we can take a tour to see elephant seals. I'm really hoping that sometime we'll be able to see some dolphins and whales! Oh, and if my girls don't aspire to be marine biologists at some point in their lives, then I'll have failed them as a mother.

The little dag or red at the top center is a crab. Whatever these are they're beautiful. I got my best look when I was editing the photos as I didn't want to play chicken with my expensive camera and the waves.

Holly's friend. Aren't they cute?

Greta loved playing in the sand with her hands! She also loved watching the waves and the kids play.

But then she got tired and rubbed her eyes with her sandy hands. Silly, silly Greta.

The best part about building a sand castle is demolishing it!

Obviously, we've taken a lot of photos at the beach. But everytime I think about leaving my camera at home, I cringe, because the photos are just so beautiful!