Laguna Beach

 Two peas in a pod.

 Construction zone.

 King of his castle.

 Is there anything cuter than a kid running away from the waves?

 Love this boy!

 Faith is happy as a clam in her tide pools.

 Searching for treasures.

 Me and my girls.

 Can we just stop time please?

 A gigantic sand pit, his trucks, and a shovel... He's one happy boy!

 Does the beach ever disappoint?

Miss Faith.

 Soaking in some Vitamin D. I cannot begin to tell you how gorgeous it was that day!

THAT FACE!!! 😍

 He was playing this game where he'd scoop some sand, place it near the water's edge and then run back as the wave came. Darling!

 Run, run, run!

 Look at that joy on his face!

 Such a fun day with the people I love most!

We couldn't pass up another day at the beach because the weather was just spectacular. This time, we went to Diver's Cove in Laguna Beach. Of all the things we could do while on vacation (amusement parks, aquariums, museums, etc.) I just wanted to be by the ocean. There's so something relaxing and rejuvenating when you're surrounded by all that beauty and power.

Plus, it's FREE and everyone loves it. 😊  

Sorry for all the pictures of the babe but they were so darn cute, I wanted to remember them all. 😄

Medieval Times & Newport Beach

We started our weekend away with a trip to Medieval Times.

We took advantage of the homeschool discount rate (half-off), which was terrific!

 Halmoni lives close by and was able to join us.

 Zach had three seats to himself and got a cool light up sword. #spoiled

 Let the show begin!

 Even daddy was into the sword. 😄

 Our green knight was victorious! 

 We had a royally fun time!

 Zach kept edging his way towards the princess.

I guess he wanted a picture with her. 😄

After Medieval Times, we had a few hours before checking into our hotel so we said bye to Halmoni

and headed for the beach!

 We were all so happy to be by the ocean!

 It was a spectacular day in Newport!

 Zach loved playing with his trucks in the sand.

A boy's happy place.

 The girls always have fun looking for seashells.  

 Trump hair. Don't care. 😂

 Exploring with daddy.

A perfect afternoon.

 California winters don't get any better than this! Oh, how I've missed the beach!  

Day one of our mini-vacay was a smashing success!

The Desert Gem

 A few weeks ago, the girls competed in their first ever speech and debate tournament.

There were over 150 kids competing. Our club hosted the annual event called, The Desert Gem.

 We're so proud of all our junior clubbers!

Miss Mandy, Zach's CBS preschool teacher came to serve as a community judge.

 Little brothers came to support their big sisters.

 And Ellie & Jacob came to support their friends and see the awards ceremony.

These were all of the junior competitors. They were amazing!

 Faith competed in Apologetics, Impromptu & Cold Reading.

 Grace competed in Apologetics and Cold Reading.

Faith won 2nd place for her Impromptu speech!

 These kids rocked it! So very proud of each one of them! #superstars

 We celebrated with froyo on the way home.

Our future little STOA champion. He's a natural talker. 😄 

I cannot even begin to describe how hard the girls have worked this year in speech and debate.

It's been a huge time commitment and investment for our family and something that's not been taken lightly. Morgan and I could not be any more proud of both Faith and Grace. Wowee!! We always knew they were meant for something big-- to impact the world with love, for the gospel and for Christ. Through speech and debate this year, they have learned more effective tools to do just that. 

We can't wait to see what else God has planned for these two world changers. #braveamazinggirlsforchrist #proudparents

  

STOA is a national homeschool speech and debate league.

Click here to find out more about the purpose of STOA.