Summer of FUN 2014!!

This has probably been the best family summer so far. Even though we haven't gotten to go camping & probably won't before the kids go back to school in 2 weeks, we have had so much vacation fun!

Our fun started out the last 2 weeks of July when we headed down south to Jeff & Angela's house for Lily's 5th birthday party. We took Gramma J along with us & stayed with them for 4 days, Wed - Sun. On Wednesday we drove down after I got off early from work. We stopped in SB to go the the zoo!

Thursday - Our family & Jeff & Coops went to DISNEYLAND!! (Ang met us there that afternoon after VBS with Lily & traded the kids). We had a blast despite the heat & humidity. My favorite part was Soaring over CA & the World of Color show at CA Adventure that night. The kids enjoyed some rides - Star Tours, Flicks Flyer, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.

Friday we spent some time in the pool & got C a haircut :) That night we went to church to watch Lily & her cousin Clara in their VBS ending ceremony / performance.

Saturday was Lily's party in a castle! It was Frozen themed & Ang & Alex did an awesome job of decorating! The kids enjoyed dressing as princesses & meeting Ana & Elsa.

Sunday we headed home after church & lunch at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Coops' 2nd birthday!

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When we got home my sister & her family were already here visiting. They arrived on Friday night. So, the kids & I got up early & headed over to my parent's house to see them. We headed to the Zoo & water splash pad at the park. The next day we went to the beach with my sister's best friend & her family who were also in town visiting her brother (he & his gf had a baby girl on 7/10).

Wednesday night was Girls night - my mom, sister, Steph, Jennalee, & I went to Forever 21 for some shopping & then to Olive Garden for dinner. We had a great time, just the girls! (oh, and Amelia too :)

Thursday after work, the kids' & I hung out with my sister, her girls, & my mom at her house while the guys (Jono, my dad, & Marlon) went golfing. That night my mom watched the older 4 kids so Jen & I could meet up with the guys for dinner at Chili's (we joked that it was a double-date night with my dad chaperoning).

Friday was park day with the relatives for lunch. We headed to MB to Del Mar Park & enjoyed some fun at the playground (my brothers created an obstacle course) & hotdogs for lunch. That night we rented the Lego movie & watched it at my parents. We said our goodbyes that night also since my sister was planning to leave early the next morning.

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The following week we thought about having a end of summer camping trip since it would be our last weekend available before school starts on the 25th.

After not being able to find any available campsites we decided to just take a road trip up north toward SF. We headed out Friday morning & decided our first stop would be in Monterey at the glow in the dark mini golf course. We had lunch & played 9 holes before getting back on the road & heading to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

The kids had a blast riding all the rides they could. It was a busy day but the lines for rides were not bad at all. I couldn't believe the rides the kids liked. I am so glad that daddy now has his roller coaster riders, since I am not! C rode on all the different coasters with Marlon & loved them all! I couldn't believe the fast rides the girls went on. I know they would have gone on all of them if they had been tall enough.

We spent Friday night in a hotel in Santa Clara & headed out the next morning for SF. Before we got there we drove past an Aviation Museum & decided to check it out (I found out that I love spontaneous trips like that :).
When we arrived in SF we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge & back again. Then we parked in a parking structure & walked up the street to Chinatown. It was busy but fun! After doing some shopping & exploring we headed back to the car (riding down in a cable bus) & headed out toward Sac via the Bay Bridge.

Saturday night at 7pm we made it to Marlon's cousins' house in Placerville. We chatted & the kids' swam in their pool. The next morning after a tasty breakfast made by David & Sandy, we headed to a fun playzone building with trampoline areas & a foam pit. The kids, cousin David & I had a great time bouncing. I only ended up with a bruised knee after all the fun ;)

That afternoon we got back to the house had some pizza & got ready to go FLYING!!...
yes, flying, as in a real plane!!

David is a pilot (well so is his dad & Marlon too)! He had rented a plane for an hour & took us all the the small town airport to fly. The first flight he took the kids up. After 2 touch-n-go's he took them over their house & around town. They had a BLAST! Then it was my & Marlon's turn. We also did 2 touch-n-go's the second one & the final landing done by Marlon. It was such an awesome experience. The girls have never been on a plane & C & I have been in a bigger plane & jumbo jet on a trip to Indiana when he was 1.5yrs old. C even got to hold the controls on his flight too! **I found out later that that was the same airport that Marlon first went up in a private plane with Dave senior & got to hold the controls as well! (he was about 12yrs old)

After the flights we headed back to the house to load up & make the 5hr drive home. It was hard to leave after just one day of visiting them, but we definitely will be back!

Such & awesome summer & fun experiences!