California Summer '15

We came home from Branson a day early and I'm so glad we did because we are going mohave a busy weekend of soccer.  Michael is playing in his first tournament (and game) with his new team this weekend.  He's been also complaining about an earache so we have to get him to see the doctor today.

Anyway before I post about our Branson roundtrip, I need to share our trip to California. We had so much fun with my family.  It's always great to visit with them and just hang out.

My dad picked us up from the airport in the morning and the first thing the kiddos wanted to do was go to the donut shop for a hamburger and some donuts so that's what we did!

My parents have lots of fruit trees in their backyard and one of them happen to be some sort of lemon/orange tree so they boys love to make lemonade with them.  It was delish. Michael started to help but got bored and left before it was all done.

We visited the Aquatic Center for the first time.  It was actually very nice and the boys had a great time, but it was one of the hottest days there so it was packed!

This is the look of a boy who's had too much fun...

I'm so glad I got this picture of Matthew reading to Ben.  So cute!

Cousins having fun and hanging out.  Makes my heart happy to see them play together.  I wish we were closer so they can play together more often.

We always visit Bonnet Gardens when we are visiting my parents.  The older boys may be getting too old for the rides, but they still love to go.

Getting ready to watch Mark's fave show - Superwhy!

They have a new spray ground and they boys loved it.

This is the original spray ground when the park first opened.  This was July 2015.

This was July 2007.

Little brother carrying on the tradition.

My sister also took some time off of work to come hang with us.  So happy to see her and nobody is happier to hang out with her than this this guy.  He loves her so much.

My two little monkeys.

We celebrated the Fourth of July at my brother's house.  Ben and Mark enjoyed making a mess with the sand table. 

My sister had some safe and sane fireworks from 3 years ago and we decided that it's finally time to light them up.  This boy was super excited.

My little brother and his little love. 

M joined us in the middle of our trip.  We left the boys with my parents and took an overnight trip up to San Francisco. We met up with of of M's friend and his wife for dinner at a Shabu-Shabu restaurant and it was delicious.  I really miss the food there.

After dinner, we met up with my old friend from college and had a blast catching up.  Of course, I took zero pictures.

The next day, I was headed up to the city again with Michael, Matthew and my brother to cheer on the Giants!  Unfortunate for them because they lost, but we had fun.  Thanks to Sandi and Jeff for the awesome Club tix!

My sister texted this picture to us while we were at the game.  If you look really close and squint the right way, you can make out a kid in a green shirt on the left with another boy in a blue hooded sweatshirt to the left of him.  Yes, Michael and Matthew were on TV!

Yes, it was cold enough for Ghirdelli's  hot chocolate.

We drove up to Mt. Madonna one day to hike the many trails up there.  One of the boys' request was going hiking on the redwood trail.  It's so peaceful and beautiful up there.  Another thing I miss about California.

I love these three boys.

On our last full day there, we drove down to Monterey and visited the Aquarium.  We were just there when we went to visit during Spring Break, but the boys wanted to go again.  Another one of their favorite things to do.

Yes, I realize that Mark was not looking at the camera, but this was one of the better pictures.  When you have three boys who don't like to take pictures, getting a money shot is very rare.

On our way back to the car, they saw this elevator and begged to go on it.  As they were coming down.  They presented to punch each other out in there.  I thought it was hilarious. Of course, I don't have any pictures of it.

After the Aquarium, we went to Del Mar Beach and let the boys play for a little bit.  It was cold and the water was freezing, but they didn't care.

I love this picture.  They all wanted to sit on the tailgate before we went to dinner.

The restaurant was on the waters right next to the Marina so we had a beautiful view during dinner. Love my people.

We were missing my sister here.  She had to work so she couldn't come with us. So sad we didn't see her on our last day there.

These two love each other.

Our last day was so much fun!  The next day, we had to get back tot he airport in the morning.  Poor Michael was so sad!  You can't tell here, but he was crying all the way to the airport.

We have another California trip on Labor Day weekend for my cousin's wedding, but it will be a short one so we probably can't get much in.  However, it will be nice to see everyone again!