Bearcat Kindergarten!!!

Yup...you read that right...

KINDERGARTEN!!!!

All summer Landry was super excited about kindergarten

and coming to Oraze with me...

and then he got to spend the week with his beloved Tammy...

and he decided that he no longer wanted to go to kindergarten.

Uggh.

Thankfully, after going by school on Friday,

stopping by his classroom, and his sweet teacher popping out to say, "hi,"

he was back to being excited about it...

so much so that he had to draw a picture...

(Mrs. McFarland and him)

and write a note to Mrs. McFarland to attach to his gift for her.

Last night of sleep before the big day!

Backpack all ready to go...

Funny side-story...

that I am sharing so I don't forget it down the road.

While we were at the grocery store I asked Landry is he

wanted some other lunch meat besides turkey.

He turned to me and said,

 "Salmon."

"I'd like salmon for my sandwiches."

What? Where does he get this stuff?

He woke up this morning...ready to go!

He was quite nervous before we left the house

and even asked me if I was scared.

I told him that yup, I was a little scared, but that was ok because

everyone is a little scared on the first day.

First time as a Bearcat!

Can you tell that we was getting tired of taking pictures?

He and Mrs. Erickson...

our wonderful principal!

Chad was able to escape work for a bit

to come walk Handsome to class with me!

My handsome little man...oh how I love him!

Landry and his sweet new friend, Hailey...

part of the Bearcat Kindergarten Posse. :)

Walking in to his classroom...

and saying, "Good-morning" to Mrs. McFarland.

She had their name tags on a chart and they needed to find their name

and then choose their very own desk!

Landry and another buddy from the Bearcat Kindergarten Posse, Asher.

After all of the talks, tears, his attempt to talk me out of

making him go to kindergarten...I was nervous about how drop-off

was going to go. He was a champ! He sat right down, got to coloring,

and I was left standing there not really knowing what to do with myself. :)

I got to see him a few times during the day and he only saw me once.

He was so super sweet and gave me a big smile, a sweet little wave, 

blew me a kiss and did our sign language, "I love you."

At the end of the day I COULD NOT wait to go get 

him from Campus Club and find out how his day went.

This picture says it all...

He was so excited to show me his packet...

which included this picture that he drew.

It is him in front of the school office.

So...we had to follow through on our previous

negotiation deal...

and McDonald's was dinner!!!

What gets better than a great first day, no tears...from Landry, 

and McDonald's for dinner?

Getting the SWEETEST voicemail from his teacher

telling us how he was such a good listener, followed directions,

participated in class, and was always doing what he was supposed to.

Seriously...so sweet...and his face lit up as he listened to it.

Needless to say...we are so SUPER proud of our

Landry-man!

Lexie Ann...5 months old

How can it be that Lexie is already 5 months old?

Ugghh.

This past month was filled with lots of fun in the sun.

The month started with 4th of July!

Lexie was more interested in her toes than she was the fireworks. :)

She went to the circus for the first time.

When she wasn't asleep...

She was intently watching the performances.

One of my favorite things about her is her big, BLUE eyes!

She gets them from her G.G. and I so hope they stay blue.

As you can see...she still loves her thumb.

Whether she is napping on Daddy,

enjoying a walk...

or just "cheesing" it up for the camera...

most of the time you will find her sucking on that thumb!

She will fight her naps like crazy.

I am told she gets that from me. ;)

But every once in awhile...

she loses the battle!

She also got to go on her first trip to the beach this month!

Can you say future heart breaker?

Good thing Daddy and Poppie have lots of guns for the future. ;)

She spent most of her time at the beach doing her favorites...

sucking on her thumb and sleeping!

One thing that definitely "livened" up our household this month

was Lexie...finding her voice I guess you could say.

The month started with her blowing sweet bubbles.

And by the end of the month...she had worked her way up to this...

I don't think I have to worry about any kind of speech delays with this sweet girl. She is always trying to tell us what she thinks.

Here come the obligatory LionBear pics. :)

At Lexie's check up this month...these were her stats...

weight: 13 pounds, 5 oz

height: 24 inches

She is just a little bit bigger than Landry was at this age.

Just for fun...here is Landry at 5 months:

How is it possible that this little peanut is starting kindergarten on Monday?

Of course...her biggest fan, bodyguard, paparazzi, and of course...

brother extraordinaire had to get in a picture with her!

Lexie Ann...you have certainly added a lot of spunk to our daily life.

You know what you want...

and you aren't afraid to let us know.

You love watching everything around you...

and often get upset if you think you are missing something.

You make us all smile and laugh with your

infectious smile, cheesy scrunched up face, and love for life.

We love you more than you could ever know!!!

Cayucos 2015

This past weekend we packed up the car, 

loaded up the kids,

 and headed to one of my FAVORITE places...

On the Beach Bed and Breakfast in Cayucos!

We have stayed here several times...

and every time I talk about how much I love it.

Really...I do!

I discovered this little gem through a 

Living Social or Groupon deal...

and ever since our first stay...I have been hooked!

Here is the room we have stayed in the last two years...

It is HUGE, has a beautiful bed,

spa bathtub, over-sized comfy chair, and best of all...

this is the view from the patio!

These two made themselves at home right away!

The lighting in the room, with the all white bedding,

made for this amazing picture of Lexie.

Friday afternoon we just lounged in the room,

enjoyed the fresh air, headed to Duckie's for dinner,

and then took a walk along the beach.

Did I mention that the weather was BEAUTIFUL?

Seriously. 

Each morning we woke up to clear, blue skies,

and a gentle breeze. It was so nice!

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early...

well...Landry, Lexie, and I woke up bright and early. ;)

I know I have shared about their incredible breakfasts...

and they didn't disappoint!

Saturday morning it was a fried egg sandwich with linguica

and baked oatmeal.

All of the times we have stayed here...we have NEVER

had the same breakfast twice...and they have all been delicious.

After our breakfast of champions...it was time to head to the beach!

Another bonus...the beach is right across the street...woohoo!!!

Landry and I had fun building a sand castle.

Here is a funny conversation we had that morning...

Landry: "Do we HAVE to go to the beach today?"

Me...rather confused: "You don't want to go to the beach? 

You don't want to build sandcastles?"

Landry: "YES...I want to build sandcastles."

Me: "Ok...that's what I thought."

Landry...very serious: "Well, you're not very good at building sandcastles.

Auntie KK is the one that is REALLY good at building sandcastles."

Yup...isn't he the sweetest? ;)

Here is our castle...and if I do say so myself...

the sub par castle builder that I am...

it turned out pretty good!

Lexie slept while...

Landry had fun playing in the sand,

and finding all kinds of "treasures," 

We relaxed, enjoyed the sun,

watched some kite surfers...

and this is the closest Landry would get to the water.

More on that later. :)

Lexie slept most of the time...or tried to find something to chew on.

For lunch we grabbed a variety of tacos from Ruddell's Smokehouse.

Another must if you are in Cayucos!

It is a tiny, little shack of a place...

but they make the best smoked fish tacos.

Here is the shrimp taco...

We also enjoyed the albacore, ahi, and salmon tacos.

DELICIOUS!

After a fun day at the beach we went back to the room

to clean up, rest a bit, enjoy the complimentary wine/beer and appetizers,

 and then grabbed dinner and dessert at the Sea Shanty.

Vacation is meant to throw normal rules out the window...right?

So...why not order dessert to-go...

and then eat it in bed!

Yup...the name was fitting..."The Kitchen Sink!"

Nothing like a to-go box FILLED with

ice cream, chocolate syrup, marshmallows,

Heath bar, caramel sauce, bananas, strawberries, 

and I don't even know what else.

Sunday morning I woke up and enjoyed some 

snuggles with this little girl.

For breakfast they served "Breakfast Bowls" that were made with 

a variety of ground sausages, cheeses, bacon, potatoes, rosemary,

and topped with a fried egg and parsley.

The other choice was a decadent french toast

with triple berry syrup!

After we sadly checked-out, it was time for one more 

quick trip to the beach.

I had forgotten to dip Lexie's toes in the water...

and you can't have your first trip to the beach

without getting your toes wet.

Landry protested the entire time!

He refuses to get anywhere even close to the wet sand...

much less in the water.

I was going for my "Mom of the Year" award 

and told him to suck it up and come with us.

As Chad and I were headed down to the water 

I realized Landry wasn't with us.

I turned around and saw this.

He was WAY back by the bathrooms...frozen.

So...as any good mom would...

I left him there and we continued on. :)

Cute little piggies in the water!

She made a little bit of a whimper when the cold water hit her feet...

but overall...didn't seem to phase her one bit!

Our attempt at a selfie...

just the three of us...

because...

yup...

that speck in the middle...

that would be Landry!

Sadly it was time to leave and say good-bye to

On the Beach Bed and Breakfast!

This next picture cracks me up!

While I was getting the picture of Lexie and Landry,

an elderly couple walked by and the lady said,

"You should get a picture of all four of you."

So, I kindly asked if she would mind taking the picture.

She immediately passed the buck to her husband. :)

Here was the shot he got...

Then he said, "Well...I'm not sure if you were ready for that one,

let me get one more."

Ha! 

Here is the second shot.

Before we left town I had to stop by the

Brown Butter Cookie Company...

another must in Cayucos...

and get some sea salt sugar cookies!

We jumped in the car and headed up to San Simeon

to see the elephant seals.

Believe it or not, there are two seals in the water...

clearly not the best picture. :/

But what about this one...

I mean...really?

He's pretty cute, too!

Before heading home we drove down to Morro Bay

and went to the creepy...a.k.a. Morro Bay Aquarium.

Nothing like getting to feed some sea lions...

for the whopping price of 50 cents!

Landry loved the octopus...

and sharks.

If you're at the creepy aquarium...you might as well

take a creepy looking selfie...right?

Lexie was pretty mesmerized as well.

After a yummy lunch on the water, it was time to load up and head home.

Kind of random...but I do have to brag about my AMAZING

packing skills.

Yup...you read that right...AMAZING!

I don't want to brag...but I am...about my ability

to fit a TON of stuff in the trunk of a Corolla.

Inside there is...

a pack-n-play

sleeping bag

pillow

two beach chairs

frog chair

sand buckets and shovels

beach tent

two suitcases

two duffle bags

baby carrier

diapers

and a stroller.

Who says you need a gas-guzzling SUV? :)

So, there you have it...another great weekend in Cayucos.

Hopefully we will get to sneak away again soon.