A Day Off for Mom!

Spencer gave me quite the treat this weekend!  He took off with the kids and let me have some free time!  He took the kids to visit his sister Sabra for dinner Friday night.  He stayed in Sacramento for the night.  Then on Saturday he took the kids with Sabra and her kids to a water park in Yuba City.  They had a blast!!

The last photo is of little Allison.  How cute is she?!?  Spencer said that he and the kids decided that they should do this every few months.  I sure hope so!! 

Aunt Jenny's Hike

So, I was thinking that the kids need a hike.  They need a hike so we can cut back on the fighting.  I figured that they had too much energy and I needed to wear them out.  Delayne came on board and we all hit Upper Park this morning.  We busted out the double jogging stroller for the job.

How cool are we?!?!  Okay, maybe I'm a little crazy...

The kids were too busy climbing to fight, it was GREAT!

We got a little creek time in too.  The water was great.  Maddie was so brave!

Mac was really smiling until he realized that we were walking on a road.  He didn't understand why we had to walk, why didn't we just take the car?!?  Too funny...

Lake Almanor with the Woods 2010

We made it on our annual trip to Lake Almanor with the Woods.  It was so fun!  We hadn't been able to spend time together much over the summer and we've really missed our friends.  We just LOVE Lake Almanor, too.  It's a bit of heaven on Earth.

The water is very high right now and John could touch for a long ways out.  It was really fun to watch him explore!

I'm sorry that this picture is so bad, but it's the best one of the two of them playing together.  John kept hitting Campbell, poor girl.  He does love her.  It's so nice that they are getting old enough to play together.

This is how Macky felt about going to the park.

Ryan didn't know what a stump was, so we took him to a stump. 

Turtle Bay 2010

The Stapfs and I took the kids up to Turtle Bay in Redding for a fun day trip.  Grandpa Gary came along to help us out.  We had a terrific time!  They have a new exhibit there where the kids can try out some geocaching.  They all had a great time - except maybe Eliza who couldn't find her mom in the maze.  She didn't like that.  She hung out with me until we found Delayne, then she was happy.  But, before hitting the maze we did lots of other things too!

John loved looking at all of the fish.  The older kids tried to figure out which kinds of fish they could see swimming by.

Ryan loved all of the hands-on exhibits.  

Bonnie and Maddie are best friends. They don't care where they are as long as they are together!

We walked across the sundial bridge at the end.  It was a million degrees outside, but it was fun!

These are some of my favorites.  We were missing two.  We sure missed Chandler and Jaycee!!

Quote of the Day

Aunt Jenny:  "I love you Bonnie."
Bonnie:  "I'm so glad you do."

Kacee's Baby Shower

Sunday was a special day.  We are getting a new baby in the family and I am so excited.  My cousin Jason's wife Kacee is expecting their first mid-August.  It's been so fun!  Kacee, Jason, and I all went to high school together.  Jason and I grew up together.  His mom and mine are best friends.  Kathy is a superstar.  She taught me to always tell the truth and to keep up with the boys!  I love her!!  So, my mom got her a grandma shirt.  My mom loves grandma shirts, and it looks like Kathy is pretty pleased to have one too.

Kacee was so nice and let Maddie help her with the presents.  Maddie was so happy to be apart of things.

My Mom made this Eeyore blanket for Kacee and Baby Girl Perez.  Kacee loves Eeyore.

We just can't wait to meet our new little girl!

Uncle Steve's July 2010

We finally made it!  We've been wanting to visit Uncle Steve for ages and we finally got there.  We stayed in a hotel this time, which was much more comfortable for everyone.  We arrived on Thursday evening in time to check in and head out to Joe's Crab Shack.  We LOVE that place.  Maddie and Mac can eat amazing amounts of crab.  Friday morning Uncle Steve had to work, so I took the kids to the De Young Museum.  They have a great exhibit on Impressionist Art from the Museum D'Orsay in Paris.  It was just incredible.  Unfortunately, it was also packed.  I wish I had gotten there earlier.  Ryan and Maddie really enjoyed it and I think got a bit out of it.  Mac was not a fan, and John was tricky.  I couldn't bring in my stroller.  I was really happy to be able to see a Degas up close.  They seem larger than life, but in person they are quite small.  Exquisite, but quite small.

After the museum, we ate a yucky lunch at the De Young Cafe.  If you take your kids there for a trip, pack a lunch.  The food is terrible!  Then we headed back to the hotel for a rest.  Uncle Steve got us in time for dinner at Whole Foods.  Boy oh boy do I wish we had a Whole Foods in town.  Then we went over to see Despicable Me in 3D.  I was able to watch most of the movie, but by the end John had had enough.  

Saturday was a full day!  We got up and packed up and loaded up the car.  We headed out to the Exploratorium first thing.  Man, I love that place!!  We could have spent the whole day there!

I have to say here, that Kayla (Uncle Steve's girl) was a super great sport!!  My kids were great, but definitely not awesome at all times.  Kayla was a lot of fun and super with the kids.

After the Exploratorium, we went to Kayla's for lunch.  She has a very nice apartment.  We attempted naps, but it didn't happen - which was a major bummer.  Next it was off to the zoo.

My kids just adore their Uncle Steve.  I'm so glad as I like him too!!  We had a fantastic time with him.  We ate dinner and the kids were pretty much melting down, so we left quickly.  I'm sure it will be a bit before we get to see him again, so I'm so thankful we had this fun weekend.  Thank you to Steve and Kayla for their hospitality.  We love you guys!!

Riders

Maddie has been riding horses for over a year now and we've moved her to a new place.  This place is much closer to home, so we are happy.  Maddie loves it and has been so excited, that Ryan decided that he wanted to try too.  So, he's taken two riding lessons now.  He can already trot!  They are both so happy riding, I wish that we could send them twice a week!

Swimming with Cousins

By far, my favorite summertime activity is watching my kids swim with their cousins.  When I was a kid I only had one cousin (Matt) that we got to see a couple of times each year.  I sure love Matt and I was sorry that we didn't see more of each other.  It makes me really happy to have cousins around for my kids to play with during the summer.  This photo is of John (16 months) and Lily (10 months).  They were being silly together at the sliding glass door.  John LOVES Lily, and Lily should stay on the other side of the glass!!  (He, he...)

Camp Gud Klein Fun - Day 4 (The Fourth of July)

Spencer and Brett were worried about the raccoons.  So, they spent a good part of the day working on a trap for the raccoons.  It required sharpening sticks and the like.  It did not catch a raccoon, but they had lots of fun doing it!

Mac read most of the time while camping.

Spencer promised to take me to a parade for the Fourth.  We went into Medicino to see the weirdest parade ever.  It felt more like a political rally.  I'm still glad we went...

We didn't look around after the parade, there were just too many people!

Later we went to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.  It was a bit of a hike, but nice to see.

Boys in the bath!

I love this picture of John.  He was so happy.

Maddie started to read to the girls.  Eliza was so tired that she fell asleep on Maddie's lap.

We ended up leaving early as Spencer just was not feeling well.  He's doing better now.  We sure had lots of fun!  A big thanks to the Carrs for putting it all together!