Kumquats and such

In February, Jessica came for a visit!!! She had a conference in San Diego, but came early and skipped most of it so we could hang out! She was here for President's Day, and Jason and the girls were off, so we took advantage of the nice weather and headed out to Guajome Regional Park. It's a beautiful park with a small lake surrounded by wide horse trails and campgrounds. We enjoyed a nice hike, then a picnic and some playtime on one of the playgrounds.  It's always so nice to have Jess with our family. The girls adore her and she's so helpful! I'm bummed that she's off to NC for her next tour, but glad she's going to the job she wanted. Until the Marine Corps sees fit to station us close together again, we'll be waiting for her next visit (I mean, 1 ticket is definitely cheaper than 4...)

On Easter Sunday, the girls were up and in their new dresses from Grandma at 7am! They started the morning with a small egg hunt and found their baskets along with extra treats from Grandma & Papa! Then came church, where Reagan made us so proud by standing up front and reciting a poem from memory. She was so brave, didn't skip a beat, and made the service even more special.  After church, they hosted an egg hunt and the girls had a blast running around the preschool playground collecting the colorful, plastic treats! Then, they each received a huge bag of goodies from Miss Jan, the Sunday school teacher!  We headed south to the Rancho Santa Fe Inn where we had reservations for brunch. After dining with the Goodale clan at the Springfield Country Club for the past 3 years, we had high expectations! The Inn did not disappoint! There was a magnificent spread, a bouncy slide and Easter Bunny for the kids, and live music. We sat on the terrace and enjoyed a sunny afte...

One Sunday morning, we hit the local bagel shop and then headed down to the beach before church. Jason suited up and hit the waves while the girls and I stayed on dry land! It was a chilly morning, and we saw several surfers in full wetsuits, some even donned hoods, gloves and booties! Jason caught one solid wave, but the current was strong and getting out was exhausting. I was tired just watching him! It was a nice way to start our day!

In early April, we decided to play hooky from church and opted for a trip out to Palomar Mountain. We love hiking with the girls and Tommy! Again, we had a beautiful day. The girls napped on the drive out while Jason and I enjoyed the gorgeous views. Once we arrived, it was lunch time, so we found a picnic table and snacked on some munchies we brought along.  Savannah found this left behind by previous campers:) One we were sated, we headed out on the trail. There were many signs that said no dogs allowed, but we couldn't very well leave Tommy in the car, so we pressed on:) Reagan loves any opportunity to use her ninja warrior skills, so she hopped on every log we saw! We didn't show this sign to Reagan until AFTER we hiked this part of the trail:) Reagan and Jason read about these birds that peck holes in the trees and store their food inside. Reagan brought along her tweezers from her microscope kit and they certainl...