Snapshots

Summer boredom?  

They went in the office and came out covered in stamps and marker drawings.  

They made themselves super heroes! 

 Running fun!

 We have loved swimming so much this summer!  They really have become confident and good swimmers.  

And (at SweetHart's suggestion) we made a deal that if they took a good picture for me, that then they could take a silly picture.  It has helped so much!

 Mesmerized by a caterpillar.

 Leaping over each other.  So fun!

 Firework fun.  

We like to make our fireworks last a little while.

 C got his "bling" on for lunch one day! 

(But didn't really want me to take a picture!)

Skate Town

Playing the number game at skate town.  

California Visit, Heading Home

We really enjoyed our time with Pop, SweetHart, and KK!

I even got to see a few of my childhood friends. 

 Fun and silly times playing games and being crazy when KK was home from work.  

 Back at the airport! 

Watching our plane get fueled up and ready to go.

 On our flight to CA, the boys were too nervous to go greet the pilot, but C had worked up enough nerve to say hello on the way home. 

 Airplane selfie!

Tatum was so happy to be home, and he and C were so happy to see each other. 

California Visit, California Academy of the Sciences

The boys were amazed by the huge dinosaur skeleton.

I've been looking forward to going to the aquarium since we planned our trip.  I remember going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a girl, and how awesome and (magical?) it was.  We went to the California Academy of the Sciences, because they had an aquarium and many other exhibits.

 Checking out the anenomes

 The big and little people were mesmerised by the penguin feedings.  

The people who work there are so knowledgeable and great at getting the kids involved and interested.

 Checking out the sting rays under the bridge

 The four story rainforest was amazing.  

So much to see at each level, and it was so humid in the rainforest that it felt like home!

Snakes, spiders, birds, lizards, frogs, butterflies, and more!

 Down to the aquarium.  It was as amazing as I remembered!  

The boys loved all of the different kinds of sea life.

 I think we all loved the jellyfish the most!  

There was a color changing light above the tank, and so the jellyfish kept changing colors. They would have stayed and watched for a long time if we'd let them.

 Cheese!

 The Touch Tank was a fun one too! 

The anenomes were not as spiky as we thought they would be, and the star fish were heavier than we thought!

 Worn out on the way home!

 Night time snuggles, remembering the fun day.

California visit, Tilden Park

We celebrated the Fourth of July by going to Tilden Park with SweetHart and having a good supper and red, white and blue dessert that night. 

 They had a neat indoor informative museum

 And a wonderful hilly petting farm.  The further you went up the mountain, the more animals you could see.  We saw pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, cows, sheep and more.  We were able to feed and pet most of them. 

They had a wonderful little steam train that went through the mountains.  We sat right behind the engine and enjoyed putting our hands up in the steam.  I love the looks of joy on this picture.

 We went on a nature walk near the farm. 

 There was an old, very large carosel in the mountains (I have no idea how they would have gotten it up there) that we loved to ride on. 

 Picnic lunch at the play ground

And worn out on the way home.  

This was one of my favorite excursions while we were in CA. 

California visit, Lindsay Museum

We went on an excursion to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.  Last time we visited CA we went there too, and they have made some great changes, and the boys were really into it this time!

(This is the last time we went.  The boys have grown so much!)

 They have a neat fight simulation where you lay on it and it flies like a hawk.  

(H this visit)

 (H on the last visit, he's a lot longer this time!)

 My little chicks!

I found some interesting critters in the burrow!

We saw owls, hawks, vultures, eagles, mice, snakes, bees, (C said the bees were going out to collect their "nectarines" hehe!) and several other reptiles and critters.  

California visit, part 2

The boys loved to explore the neighborhood with Pop and SweetHart

We even found a black berry bush!  They loved picking berries for snacks and desserts

 We made some new friends at the playground.

 C learned how to zoom on the scooter.

We had fun going to the pool up the street each day.  

Because the pool was so big, they really grew in their swimming(and jumping in) skills.  

 SweetHart helped them plant seeds and plants in aquariums so they could watch them grow and see the roots grow in the dirt.  They also picked lettuce leaves and radish tops for our salads each evening. 

 We made red, white, and blue sugar cookies for Fourth of July (and we ate them with our fresh picked blackberries!!!)

 Snuggling up with KK!  We loved seeing her everyday after she came home from work.

 Pop and SweetHart took us to Pete's Brass Rail for lunch one day and they hung up the drawings of "Pete" that the boys colored.  The loved seeing their work hung on the wall at the restaurant.