disneyland with mimi and grandpa.

just some photos of our magical {albeit crowded} disney day with mimi and grandpa!

we also saw the royal theatre's Tangled play and it was equally entertaining and adorable and the girls sat through the whole thing!  i'm loving having passes and getting to explore and try everything in the parks! 

goals

some things that i've been working on...

1. being a happy mom

IT IS A DAILY STRUGGLE.  i get woken up by a toddler poking me in the face, or a baby crying "mama!" in the next room every. single. morning.  i am so tired.

during the day, messes get made, things get broken, i get whined at, and i never seem to have enough time to do what i want to do... let alone the bare necessities.  (like scrubbing the toilets?!)

of course there are wonderful moments.  wonderful moments where i get to snuggle and love my girls and throw everything else out the window!  but by bedtime, i feel like the bad has outweighed the good at every level.  and i am trying to be better at that.  i'm trying to be happy even when hazel breaks a dish and cora pokes her with a butter knife when my back is turned.  (both these things happened yesterday, if you're wondering)  i am trying to be selfless in my approach to motherhood.  

2.  i am working on developing my talents

i teach the 7-year-olds at church, and one of our recent lessons on developing our talents really stuck with me.  since then i have started painting more, playing the piano more, and have been actively doing newborn shoots for friends and family.  here is my photography blog, for anyone that is interested in newborn or family shots in the future>>>  paigebsouthbayphotography.com <<< and since i am building my portfolio, my prices are really great.  

3.  reading the scriptures and praying more.

mimi and grandpa visit!

there is something so wonderful about having grandparents in town!  i was so glad mimi and grandpa came visiting.  we had so much fun!  hazel has been asking when we can see mimi and grandpa again, ever since they left.

we went to a pumpkin patch, they watched the girls so john and i could go on a real date (hurray!) and then we stayed down in newport for a few days.  we went to an indoor trampoline park and swam and hot tubbed, went to aunt jayme's beach, and went to disneyland.  it felt like a vacation even though we live here! couldn't have asked for a more perfect staycation.

we also tried bill's pancakes in downtown manhattan beach.  and i have to say, it was a relief to take the girls out for breakfast food because they actually ate!  i think i may have solved our restaurant aversion problem....

when a friend comes into town for disneyland, you definitely go out to meet her there. + a snapstory video!

 our favorite ride in CA adventure.. mater's tractors.

at the end of a long day, this is how i survived the walk back to the car.

snapstory from disney ca adventure! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

utah!

well, i'm back. we've been traveling the past couple of weeks and i haven't had a chance to sit down and blog in quite some time! but here's a little recap of our brief visit to utah! (is a week and a half brief? to me it is.)

we flew to utah because a couple of John's nephews turned 12 this year and wanted to go to priesthood session with their dads and uncles. it was a fun excuse to visit family. 

while we were there we jumped on honey's trampoline, ate raspberries, and swung on the swings. we spent several days with both the Brunt's and the Neffs. we watched conference, went to the cabin, and played at the curiosity museum with cousins. hazel and avie are such good playmates, it made me sad that we don't live right next door to each other. maybe one day!

our first day at disney CA adventure!

we've driven to anaheim several times since we got our disney passes, but this week was the first time that we went to california adventure.  each year it keeps getting better and better.  it doesn't have the same nostalgia for me that disneyland does, but i realized something while we were there.  in twenty or so years when hazel brings her daughter to disney ca adventure, it will have that same special nostalgia for her!

disney CA adventure from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

beach respite

despite a lot of feelings of inadequacy day in and day out, i am doing my best to be a good mom to my girls.  but some days... the house is a mess... and it's hot... and i just feel like the most impatient mother.  that was the case tuesday afternoon.  and typically when that happens, getting out of the house usually is what we need (both me and the girls!).  

so we went to the beach.  i snapchatted and we played.  we chased seagulls.  it was beautiful and a little cloudy and the sun was beginning to set and everything was perfect.  daddy met us for dinner, and we ate delicious tacos.  {john and i did, our stubborn girls refused to eat, and we ended up buying our starving children 20 chicken nuggets on the way home}.  so, you know, not quite perfect.  but still a much-needed beach day.  

chasing seagulls at hermosa beach from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.