Ready to get SOAKED!

On the last full day of our trip we went to Soak City. We had gone last year and the kids couldn't wait to go back. Teri, Chessa, and Carynn made the drive and met us there, so we had a big group and lots of kids. We had a fun time with the water slides, wave pool and lazy river. Cooper was a bit sad though because for 2 of the rides you need to be 48" and he is only 47". I told him that next year the whole park would be his! The kids were all assigned buddies and off they went...

(Jax and Cooper having a great time!)

(Zoe and Maddyn soaking up a little sun!)

(Zoe and Jax on the BIG ride...next year Coop!)

(Still smiling!)

(The moms trying to stay cool and having a little fun!)

More Palm Desert fun!

Jax came down to finish out our stay in the desert. We went to the Children's Discovery Museum and had a great time playing and enjoying the air conditioning!

We went back to the pool for the afternoon and spent HOURS splashing, jumping, flipping, and playing in the water. After a long day I thought the kids would be exhausted and ready for bed...I was wrong! They decided to get their suits back on and go running through the sprinklers as the sun was setting. It was still 90 degrees outside, so they had a blast!

Time to get out of town!

Well, we decided that we all needed a little getaway. Since a big vacation wasn't in the plans this year, we got a super cheap rate through our timeshare and headed out to Palm Desert. Now, the desert in the summertime isn't my idea of a great vacation, but it was still nice to be away for a bit!

Since our first full day there was 110 degrees, we spent the morning just enjoying our hotel room and the air conditioning, especially since Joe wasn't feeling all that great. By midday it was time to beat the heat, so we went to the movies! The kids were dying to see G-Force in 3D.

We spent the rest of the day having fun at the pool, getting some dinner and yummy ice cream, feeding the ducks outside our room, and playing late night Rummikub.

The next morning we were up bright and early to get to the Living Desert Zoo. Let me tell you, not many people choose to brave this kind of heat to hike through the desert! But we had a great morning, and felt like we were the only people there! There were actually a few other brave souls who joined us to feed the giraffes, but otherwise we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We saw the giraffes, cheetahs, foxes, desert tortoises, snakes, birds, goats, African bulls, tons of butterflies, and many others. Luckily there were quite a few shade spots, and after about an hour everyone downed a few bottles of gatorade to avoid some dehydration!

(The kids bonded with a few goats and got to pet and brush a bunch of them)

(We all got to feed the giraffes...the Dad, Mom, and baby were very hungry!)

(Trying to cool off in the misters!)

After lunch back in our room it was time for the pool again. We spent lots of time playing in the water and the kids got to do a water balloon toss, sponge relay, and even played life-size checkers.

Since Daddy has to work tomorrow, it was time for him to head home tonight. We were all sad to see him go and will miss him the next few days!

More Summer Beach Days

Another great day at the beach. Today was back in Newport and the kids had a great time and had their annual beach picture taken. We've had a picture of Zoe and Cooper with Jax and Cole taken every summer on the rocks at the beach for the past 6 years.

The rest of the afternoon was spent boogie boarding, skim boarding, digging in the sand, and finding huge sand crabs. It doesn't get much better than that!


While the kids were at the beach with Grandma and Grandpa, I got to spend a nice afternoon with my friend Christy. We went over to Balboa Island and had a great lunch, walked all around the island, and took the ferry over to the peninsula to get a Balboa Bar (if you've never had one, I highly recommend it!). It was a great time to visit and catch up.

Island Bound...

Grandma and Grandpa took us, along with Uncle Jeff, Cole, and Jax to Catalina Island for the day. We were so sad that Daddy couldn't come with us. After feeling pretty well for the past week or so, he was so excited and planning on joining us for a fun day. Unfortunately, he woke up at 3am with a horrible headache and throwing up. So he spent the day at home on the couch curled up with Polo. We missed him a lot!
We got up early and went to Newport Harbor to catch a ride on the Catalina Flyer. We went straight up to the top deck so we could feel the breeze and avoid any seasickness. The kids really enjoyed the ride and tried to find some dolphins, but no luck.

(There's our boat)

(Zoe and Cooper ready!)

(Granma, Cole, and Uncle Jeff waiting to go)

(Cooper and Jax spent the hour hanging onto the rail looking in the water and seeing the island approach)

(Zoe, Cole, and I spent the ride on the lifejacket boxes)

It was a beautiful, sunny day on the island filled with lots of tourists! We walked through town and headed to a snorkeling spot. Grandpa, Cole, and I found a great spot and saw lots of fish. I finally got Zoe out there and she picked up snorkeling pretty easily! She loved holding my hand and swimming along to see what we could find. The water was pretty cold, so she had a hard time staying in too long, but we had a ton of fun! Cooper and Jax on the other hand, couldn't quite get the hang of it. The beach was mostly rocks which was really hard on the feet. So between the rocks, the cold water, and trying to get the hang of the mask and snorkel was too much for them. They did swim around a bit with their masks, but that was about it.

(It was quite a task trying to get them all in the water with their gear!)

(Zoe and getting ready to head out into the ocean)

(Cooper was not liking the rocks under his feet!)

We left that beach and had a great lunch overlooking the bay. Then we headed to another small beach for some swimming and playing in the sand.
This beach wasn't quite as rocky. Grandpa took each of the kids out for a swim to the white bouy lines.




We took a break for some ice cream and window shopping before heading back on the boat for the ride home.

(Waiting to get back on the boat)

It was a nice day doing something different. We didn't get a lot of great pictures, but I guess sometimes that happens. We were all beat by the time we got home! The only thing missing from our day was Daddy. Hopefully next time!

Seriously??

Poor Polo...we had to take an unexpected visit to the vet this evening. I noticed that he was limping this afternoon, and after a few hours of that, he wouldn't put his paw down and couldn't stop licking his paw. After a lot of wimpering, I decided to take him in. $118 later, we left with a toenail removed, leg bandaged, antibiotics and painkillers. It seems he had ripped his nail halfway out and it was infecting his paw.
It just never ends!

VBS Week...

(Mitchell, Marley, Taylor, Cooper, Zoe, Allison)

The kids went to their first week of Vacation Bible School this week and the theme was Crocodile Dock. They had a ton of friends going so we knew it would be a lot of fun! Zoe was very excited, but Cooper was very hesitant. After the first day, he wasn't too thrilled. Thankfully, he said he'd give it another try and by the second day he had a great time. They spent the week doing crafts, singing songs, watching a play, playing lots of fun water games outside, learning some bible stories, and holding a food drive.
I spent the mornings enjoying a little quiet time. I cleaned the house, did a few errands, and had a good time working on some photo projects. Each day after camp we had different activities to do. We did some shopping, had playdates, went swimming, had ice cream, and yesterday we spent an awesome afternoon at the beach. We had to drag the kids out of the water and didn't get home until 8 o'clock.
What a great summer week! Can't wait for next year!

Lucky #13...

Happy 13th Anniversary! Let's hope this lucky number gives us some great times this year!

Joe and I had a great weekend to celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa took the kids Saturday so we could have some free time. We went out to Pechanga with Teri and Matt and had a great dinner and went to the Comedy Club for a show. We had a great time and laughed so hard that our bellies hurt! I was worried that Teri was going to laugh the baby right out of her belly! Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures, but it was a fun time!

I love you honey!

It just never gets old...

I just love the beach. I wish we could spend every day there. Today we went with Jenny, Teri, Kate, and a few of Jenny's friends to Oceanside for the day. It started out a bit overcast, but by noon the sun was out and it was beautiful. The water was still cold, but they had fun. Cooper spent some time in the water and then spent the rest of the day playing in the sand, digging, playing catch, and just hanging around. He didn't tell me at the time, but I found out later he had gotten a rash early on, and the water was stinging him. He was too embarrassed to tell me with other people around! Zoe spent the morning boogie boarding and spent about 3 hours in the afternoon digging one big hole.

It was a great day and I hope we have a lot more before the summer is out. Unfortunately, I really don't think that's going to happen!