Marina Beach

Everybody knows that I love a good beach. I can't believe how close we live to tons of beaches! We decided to explore the Marina beach first since it was closest to us. We timed it & it was almost exactly 5 minutes from our driveway to the parking area of the beach. The beaches here are cold (between 55-65 degrees), but it's still a beach & it's beautiful.

Bladen didn't know how to react to all the sand. That was a new sensation for him. We were laughing hysterically at him trying to move around in it.

The cold air didn't stop the girls at all. They had their swimsuits on (with jackets of course) & they were right out there as the tide came in. It was freezing & they ran from it most of the time, but it was SO refreshing to just let the waves roll over your feet.

Taya & Bladen didn't like the water one bit, so I hung out with them & buried things in the sand. Taya was SO creeped out by all the seaweed. She would walk around & say "Ew! Icky! Gross!" It was hilarious!

Bladen vs. The Stroller

Lorien Potter Kindergartener

Not only is Cadence in 2nd grade, but my little baby Lorien is in Kindergarten this year. It makes me want to cry! I can't believe how fast they grow up. Lorien has been DYING to go to school since Cadence started two years ago & in Germany she went to the German Kindergarten, but it was only for a couple of hours each day. She was SO excited to learn that Kindergarten here in Monterey was all day long!

She worked all summer long & saved up her allowance because she wanted to buy the biggest, best, Princess & the Frog backpack for her Kindergarten year. I told her I'd buy her a backpack, but she wanted THIS particular one & it was a little expensive. But she did it all by herself & payed for it. It means SO much to her now. She is such a hard worker!

Lorien's Kindergarten class is actually located about a block & a half away from the main elementary school campus that Cadence goes to. All the kindergarten kids go to the Marshall West campus which makes it a little more special for them. Lorien feels like she has her own special school that is "different" than her big sister's. What makes it even more special is that we drop her off at Cadence's school in the morning & she gets to ride a bus to her school. Then after school, she hops on the same bus & meets me at Cadence's school when I pick them up. She LOVES the bus!

Lorien got a really nice teacher named Ms. Fairman. She seems really patient with the kids & has a really fun personality. Lorien comes home every day showing me what she learned. I'm super excited because I've been asked to teach music for the Kindergarten. I'll be teaching a 45 minute class two times a month all around music! How exciting is that? Lorien can't wait to have me as a teacher!

I'm so proud of you sweetheart! Don't grow up too fast on me! Love you!

Cadence Potter 2nd Grader

I still can't believe my baby is in 2nd grade. Where does the time go? I remember hating it when grown ups told me "You're getting so big so fast!" Life seemed to take forever as a kid, but as a mommy it passes way too quickly!

Cadence got a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Davis. She is a lot like Cadence's 1st grade teacher in Germany. We like her a lot.

Cadence still loves school & looks forward to going every day which makes me SO happy. She has 2 church friends in her class too which is really great. We are so happy she's having a wonderful 2nd grade year!

Swinging at the park by our house

We live in a base housing area full of parks & places to walk & play. When Opa was in town we showed him the small park just 2 houses down, the big red park up the street, & the playground at Lorien & Cadence's new school just behind our housing area. The kids LOVE playing at the different playgrounds. As we take walks around the neighborhood, we keep finding new places to play. We love it here!

Chuck E Cheese

On Monday night for FHE, Opa & Oma took all of us out to Chuck E Cheese for dinner & fun. We all got a trip to the salad bar & a huge pizza! Then we got lots & lots of tokens to ride rides & play games with the kids. They loved every second of it!

Bladen was hilarious. He didn't quite know what to think of Chuck E Cheese. He just kept staring at the big mouse as it talked to him. We were all laughing.

Sunday with Opa

Sunday, Opa flew in for some work business. It was wonderful having him here with everyone else. Tylee & Pierre picked him up while Oma & our family went to church at our new ward for the first time. The kids were SO excited to see Opa!

For dinner we went back over to our friend's house. It was fun to introduce them to our family. All the kids loved hanging around Opa. . . even our friend's boys. He was a total kid magnet the entire time we were there.

Then, sadly Tylee & Pierre had to head back to San Francisco. But it was WONDERFUL having them over.

Dennis the Menace Park

We took everybody to this really fun park called the Dennis the Menace Park here in Monterey. This park was SO MUCH FUN for both kids & adults.

There was a fun maze that we all got lost in (not really, but it was fun).

There were teeter totters, a pirate ship, sand galore, bridges, swings, slides. . . you name it & this place had it. It was pretty cool. The girls were super excited about the "roll" slide just like the one at Happyland in Germany. The whole thing is made of little rollers that go around & around that makes you glide down. They all loved that.

Taya was hilarious to watch because she goes down slides like she's riding a luge. She lies down & just speeds down them. It's so funny to watch.

Tylee took Bladen down all the slides. I think she had more fun than all the kids combined. It's so fun to act like a kid again!

But the best slides were these crooked things near the front of the park. Nobody dared go on them at first because kids were getting "beat up" going down them. But we eventually got everyone to go down. Cadence & Lorien both complained that it hurt, but Taya did her little luge thing & flew down them. Tylee tried going down with Bladen & banged his head up a little bit, but it was funny to watch! We had a blast.

Dancin' in the Street

After lunch, we started to head back to our cars when we found a little courtyard with a live band playing some old classic rock. The second my girls hear music, they start dancing. They just can't help themselves. Trek & I were laughing SO hard at them. They grabbed ANYONE who would dance with them & they were "getting down!" These are my favorite moments in life. . . the moments that just happen spontaneously that bring you so much joy & laughter. I will never forget my little kiddos "dancin' in the street!"

California Pizza Kitchen

So after shopping a little bit, we all headed over to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. I think Trek & I are the only people on earth who have never eaten there. It was fun to eat there for the first time. Trek & I shared the classic BBQ Chicken Pizza (with Bacon) & it was to die for!!

Fountain Fun

After our McDonald's Breakfast, Auntie Marc decided to come & join in on the fun from Santa Cruz. I didn't realize how close we live to her. It's SO exciting being this close to family again. So, once we were all together, we decided to take the kiddos to see a movie. The only movie theater that we knew about was at the Del Monte Shopping Center just about 15 minutes from our house. It was PERFECT. It's just like an outdoor mall (but kind of fancy). Trek & I had several things we needed to look at & buy for the house (like air mattresses), so we let them all take the kids to the movie while we went shopping. They all went to see Despicable Me. The kids loved it! We all met up again after the movie & decided to find some lunch. Along the way we found a fun little fountain. We hung out there for a while & had a blast while the kids threw coins in & made wishes. I love places like this! I'm so happy we're so close to fun things.

Oma was being a pickle & wouldn't let me take her picture. This was the best one I could get. Silly OMA!

I love my sweetheart!

Cadence just adores Pierre.