Sleepover with the Ducotes

Joseph and Ella came to Coronado to spend Friday afternoon and Saturday with us while their mom and dad (and Julia) unpacked and set up their new house.

The girls quickly changed into matching outfits (pj's) and we were off to the park.

These two are so sweet

Attempt at a group shot but it was so sunny!

Boys telling secrets :) 

After the park, we came home and the kids made their own pizzas. 

The girls had lots of cheese on their pizzas and the boys loaded up on pepperoni

After pizza, we had ice cream :) Nothing like sugaring them up before trying to get 4 kids to sleep. 

It took awhile to get them down and the girls actually fell asleep first! Cole was the chatty one!!  I went in to check on Sydney and Ella and this is what I saw - I couldn't find Ella.  After freaking out for a split second, I realized she was under the pillow.  Crazy girl.

They all slept great - but were all up before 6 a.m.!  We played outside after breakfast for a bit...

And then headed to the beach!!

Having fun on the sand hill.  Our bathtub was covered in sand after this beach visit!!!

We had such a fun night/day.  And, the best part, everyone napped on Saturday :)  

Dressing up

These two.  They went into Sydney's room after breakfast and told me I couldn't come in and they wanted privacy ;)  They came out in each others jammies!!!

That same afternoon at the park - loved the trees and clouds. 

And there was another costume change.  And more sharing  - this time, Cole's bike!

Home before dinner for another outfit change.  Cole as Minnie Mouse and Sydney as My Little Pony

January 2016

Some pics from January

Incredible girl.  Incredible sunset.  

Biker boy.  I wanted him to wear pants and long sleeves.  He wanted to wear a swimsuit.  Win-win :) 

These two.  Love my days spent with them. 

At the science museum

Snacks at the park with friends

We dropped Sydney off at school and I told Cole we were going to run some errands.  He asked to go to the zoo.  I decided errands could wait and so we went.  Just the two of us for two hours.  We had a blast. 

We have had some cold (for Cali) days/night here.  Playing soccer late afternoon - it was chilly!!

Hiking at Mission Trails (see the bobcat?!?)

Don't worry... it's a statue ;)

Daddy and Cole exploring on our hike/walk - it was a 1 mile trail around the visitors center - perfect for us!

Our little hiker

Hiking selfie

They were happy - I promise :)

There are some smiles

The boys

Sea World

We got passes to SeaWorld for Christmas so went in early January for a few hours.  

The kids loved seeing Elmo and Ernie!

Hugs for Elmo

They have a few rides and Sydney REALLY wanted to ride in the blue elmo car when she was standing in line.  She was so excited when it was her turn and this car was available!!

I could stay at the dolphin exhibit ALL DAY.  You get SO close to the dolphins. It is simply incredible. When we went in November, Cole was pretty scared of them.  It was neat to see how far he has come in just a few months - he went right up to the glass and was loving when they swam right in front of him. 

Not everyday that a bunch of flamingos walk on the sidewalk next to you!

We're looking forward to many fun days at Sea World this year!!

DelaMontaigne's New Year Celebration

On January 1st we all headed up to my parents house for a New Years Celebration.  Since we were in bed by 9 p.m., we were all up bright and early:

The kids wanted to swim... so we let them swim.  You can't do this everywhere in January and we are SO thankful we could do it this year. 

Trying out the pool (unheated!!).  It was chilly but there were some brave kiddos taking a polar bear plunge.

Julia saw the big kids swimming and wanted to join in the acton

Poppa wanted in, too!

While the kids were swimming, the boys were cooking away.  Rich attempted to fry a turkey (again) to redeem himself from Thanksgiving.  Thankfully, this one turned out MUCH better!

The kids being creative (or making messes) with playdoh. 

We caught them licking the window to try and get the playdoh to stick.  Gross!

After dinner Nani and Poppa introduced the kids to the peppermint pig.  A tradition usually done on Christmas Day that involves hitting a piece of peppermint shaped in a pig with a hammer and breaking off a piece and eating it.  The kids loved it!!

Julia and Nani

Choosing their piece

Sydney in action hitting the pig

Ella eating her piece

After dinner Cole and Joseph were playing in Nani & Poppa's room.  Cole kept asking Poppa to shave off his "whiskers" so Poppa let the boys help him!  But first, Poppa put shaving cream on their faces!

Happy New Year!