One of the first things we did was go to the beach with Camie and Spencer and their two kids. I asked Spencer later how often they went to the beach and he told me "whenever family comes in town." The girls thought the water was too cold to even attempt going in more than over the tops of their feet, but Ryan was a bit braver, and Spencer even helped him boogy-board.
Of course, they LOVED the big sandbox. Uncle Adam is helping Kate look for shells.
It is amazing how big the shells are in California! And how much they look like the shells you can buy in a bag at Wal-Mart.
Sand shark. Ok, I can't take credit for this - some other people had made it and then vacated the area soon after we got there and we sort of took over.
The kids loved being buried in the sand.
Spencer and I both thought of the same thing - we think Adam looks like a centaur.
Marin playing with her cousin Ben.
Joshua, my 18-month-old nephew. FYI, this is the last good picture I got. I think some sand got in my camera and ruined the focus. From here on out it is cell phone pics.
Camie and I also went to the science museum by her house featuring a grossology exhibit. Ryan ended up loving the parts the museum had about space. Astronomy seems to be his new obsession.My parents have a hot-tub in their backyard. The kids loved to go swimming in it, except for Marin. The first time we went in it, Marin was sitting in the pool, enjoying herself, when she suddenly started yelling and jumped up and got out of that pool as fast as she could saying, "ahhhh - poison dart frog! poison dart frog!" The spa has a little waterfall that apparently was home to a little frog that was forced into the spa when the water was turned on. Even after Marin held the frog, she was still wary of the spa in general.
We also visited the community pool a couple times, and Ryan really enjoyed showing us his new swimming skills. Dad came at one point to the pool and was about to jump in when he remembered he had a cell phone in his pocket. He took it out and was just saying to us, "good thing I remembered I had this" when he accidentally dropped it into the pool. We started yelling at Adam to go get it and take the battery out, which he did. Wouldn't you know it, it started working again a day later. Dad has this ability to get things to work out for him. If we ever complained about something not working, like a car, he would go check it out and of course it would work for him. The ultimate example of this happening was when Jerry couldn't get the Jeep to start with his key. Dad of course got it to start the first try. That is about when Jerry noticed that Dad was using the key to the Chevy Van.We also went and hiked the Hollywood sign. On the path, Adam swears that he saw Rainn Wilson. I, however, was too interested in the rattlesnake crossing our path to notice any celebrities.
Ryan in cactus heaven. Only Adam, Ryan, and I hiked this time.
Lest anyone be concerned, the girls also got to see their beloved Hollywood sign - from the "Bat Cave" down at the entrance to the park. They were building a set for an episode of Bones (I know, I was excited too) and my dad talked his way past security and we all got to see the set and the cave (which has no bats, fyi, but is the bat cave of the 60s version of Batman).Overall, it was a great vacation. We had a great time visiting family.
I have to blog one more story because I don't want to forget it. On the day we hiked the Hollywood sign, Adam had to get back so he could go to an orientation for his senior year of high school. While my parents and Adam were gone, Camie and her kids came over. I had noticed earlier that there were only 2 of the delicious brownies my mom had made the night before left. So I made brownie ala mode for Camie and myself and we slipped away from the kids and were hunkering down in the living room with our treat. No sooner had we sat down to eat it when we hear the garage door opening - the rest of the adults were back and we were about to be busted. We just sat down low in our chairs and started shoveling in brownie. Mom and Dad found the kids pretty quick, but it took them a minute longer to find Camie and me. When they did, they looked at our guilty expressions and just started to laugh. But at least we got to eat our brownies.
3 comments:
Yikes, was that really a rattlesnake? What a nice trip to see family before school started!
It was a real rattlesnake. The next day while Alyssa and kids were visiting the Carrolls in Orange, a rattlesnake visited us at the mission home. It was in the process of eating a large rat. We called Animal Control to come take it to a more remote area. It did provide a lot of excitement for the Elders who were staying at the mission home ready to depart the next morning. I was sad that Ryan did not get to see that rattlesnake.
Alyssa.. That sounds like such a fun trip! The kiddos are so cute...and Joshua is so big now! I laughed my head off about Dad! He really does have amazing luck, with the exception of the hands dealt to him in Rook. Love you!
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