Bailey's

We went over to the Bailey's house for dinner one night to meet their foreign exchange students from China.  Michelle and Meghan were busy putting potstickers together when we got there and Dru helped finish those up.  They were delicious and I'm glad I got the recipe.  It was fun listening to Dru speak Chinese with the students.  I'm always amazed out how well he does with languages.  He definitely has a gift.

Sam is an amazing photographer and he always takes such cute and candid pictures of the girls.  They were outside blowing bubbles and were having such a great time.  They were so dirty, but that's how you can tell when a kid is truly having a good time.

Sol's Visit

Dru had a friend from his mission come to the United States for a couple of months to visit with her sister who had a baby.  He has kept in touch with some of the members of this family and she asked to come see California.  She came to stay for a few days and we showed her a little bit of where we lived.  Dru had work during the day so I was left to entertain her.  It was a little difficult because I don't speak any Spanish and she doesn't speak much English.  But she was super nice and we were able to do some fun things.  I took her to the dune we like to climb and went to the top to enjoy the view.  I didn't think I would be able to make it to the top because Dalia always asked to be carried.  I told Dalia that if she asked to be carried then we would go back to the car and wait for Sol and Mina to come back.  She climbed all the way up by herself.  It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to enjoy a little time with my girls while Sol ventured around taking pictures.

We also took her to the aquarium one day after Dru got off work.  The girls had fun, as usual, and Sol enjoyed it as well.

Sol said that the one thing she absolutely had to see while in California was the Golden Gate Bridge.  We waited for Dru so he could drive us all up there.  It's a 2 hour drive.  It was a nice, clear day, but it was so windy.  It was also very crowded and there weren't many parking spaces so Dru drove around with the girls while I got out with Sol to take pictures of her in front of the bridge.  I'm glad we could help make one of her dreams come true.  One the way home from San Francisco, we stopped at the Mystery Spot.  We thought we'd make a little more of the 5 hour drive than just seeing a bridge.  It's always fun going there and getting silly pictures.  And we were actually able to get a decent picture of the family all together this time.

The girls loved having her here.  Mina actually drew a picture of her on the drive to San Francisco, complete with the sunglasses she always had on her head.  Haha.  It was a fun visit.  And, once again, I was amazed at Dru for his language skills.

Noodle Time with Dalia

Mina loved eating any type of noodle when she was younger and I have lots of pictures of her making messes with them.  She still loves noodles, but now so does Dalia and Dalia was cracking me up with how she was eating them this night.  She made the biggest mess, but it was so fun watching her just enjoy herself.

Independence Day

We got a few invites for things to do on July 4th.  We wanted to do a couple things, but ended up only being able to go to the Olson's house for a barbecue.  I made the mistake of not putting Dalia down for a nap.  She had been so cute and sweet all day that I just wanted her with me.  I made the girls some festive skirts with big pockets on them to wear for the day.  Dalia has been obsessed with pockets lately and always wants to put things in them, even when she doesn't have a pocket on her.  She will resort to putting things down her shirt or in her diaper.  She was thrilled when I showed her the skirt with the big pockets and couldn't wait to put it on!  Mina loved hers, too.  They both immediately filled the pockets up with little toys and coins.  Dalia loves to throw coins in the fountain at the mall, so anytime she finds one she keeps it with her and continually tells us, "I want to throw the coin in the water" until we take her to do it.
The girls helped me make some delicious fruit tarts to bring the the barbecue.  I let Mina decorate one all by herself and I'm sad I didn't take a picture of it.  All the families who came to the party brought delicious desserts. Because I didn't let Dalia take a nap, she ended up having a couple of meltdowns at our friends home, but after she ate and ate at dinner time she seemed to be fine.  All the food was so good.  The company was great and other than not being able to see any fireworks (they're illegal in the area), it was a great day.
A couple weeks ago I traced the girls on some big paper and had them color them in.  They had a blast doing it and I really enjoyed watching and helping them.  They make me smile and laugh so much.

The next day, since Dru had a four day weekend, we took the girls to the aquarium.  Mina had been begging to go.