Vallecito Playground

I drove to San Rafael this morning to hang out for the day, and the kids and I will head back to Sacramento tomorrow. We went for a walk to Vallecito--it's so fun watching the kids play where I went to elementary school. Their favorite part of the playground is the cow statues. I have memories of sitting on them with my friends 25 or so years ago! They are really not very comfortable to sit on, though! 

San Francisco

Bekah, Lynne, Brian and I spent the day in San Francisco yesterday. We dropped the kids off at my parents' house along the drive, and continued on into the city. We did a bunch of fun touristy stuff, like Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square for ice cream, driving down Lombard (Brian drove and was soooo excited!), and then ended up at AT&T Park for a Giants game. Such a fun day!!

Me, Brian, and Bekah with Alcatraz in the background.

Bekah, Lynne, and I at the game! Go Giants!!

Thanks Brian for getting such awesome seats!

Rafting

We went rafting today with all of Andrew's family, except for Bill, Elaine, and Micah. The kids did great out on the river!  I got terribly sunburned on my legs (they haven't seen much sun this summer!), but still had a fun time. We hadn't been rafting in a few years, and I forgot how relaxing and peaceful it is out there! Thanks to the Scotts and Ewers for supplying the rafts!

 I am in the gray raft with Brian, Andrew, and Bekah. Chloe is wearing the pink hat in the little raft with Shae and Ella.

Jen and I taking a break from rafting

 After rafting, we went back to Bill and Elaine's house for a BBQ dinner to celebrate Bekah's birthday. After dinner, the kids each grabbed a book and wanted to read with Grandma and Grandpa. I love that my kids love books and love their grandparents!!!

Swim Team

Tonight was awards night for the swim team. It has been a great season, and we are looking forward to swimming again next year!! 

(Although, there were moments after Chloe learned how to swim that I got frustration with her at practice, because she was too busy trying to swim under water and spin in circles to actually swim laps. We joked that she belonged on synchronized swimming instead!!)

Here is her adorable photo!

All the awesome coaches!!!  Haley, Katie, Chelsea, Doug, Anna

Coach Haley spent hours in the pool with Chloe teaching her how to swim. Thanks for your patience!

 6 and under girls getting their medals

 Chloe, Ella, and Keilani

Ella, Chloe, and Halle

Zoo

Lynne and Brian are here visiting from Ohio for a week, so we decided to take all the kids to the zoo today.

All six kids piled on Brian. The five older ones thought it was great. Micah was a bit freaked out!!

fun on the merry go round!  The older kids rode the train....

Camping fun

Today we drove up to Union Valley Reservoir near South Lake Tahoe to join up with 7 other families from our Wednesday night Bible Study. It was so fun to hang out with friends for the day. We are not brave enough to camp overnight with our kids, but it is fun to hang out for a day!  We got to have a fun picnic on the beach, and then went out on Dustin's boat. Micah cried until he fell asleep in my arms, and Chloe loved it. Dustin even let her drive!! And the girls enjoyed watching Dustin and Andrew jump off a big rock!

Chloe loving the boat!

Brylie and Landice right at home on their family's boat!

poor Micah!

Back on the beach, Micah ate most of Elle's snacks, and then kept asking her to take pictures of him!

Chloe started complaining of a tummy ache on the drive up to the lake, but seemed ok once we got there. After the boat ride, and shortly after this picture was taken, Chloe threw up on the beach. Poor girl!  She was fine for the rest of the day, but then got sick on the windy roads on the way home. Apparently, she inherited our propensity for carsickness!  Sorry, Chloe!

Landice, Elizabeth, and Brylie were performing a song for us, and Micah ran up to the "stage" to sing with them. So cute!!!

Two sweet kids bundled up for the drive home!

Washcloth hat

Tonight during bath Micah put this washcloth on his head and said "Look, hat!!"  Then he wanted me to text a picture to Daddy!  So cute!!!

Build and Grow

We met up with the Serranos (and a lot of other people) at Lowe's for the Build and Grow project. Today we were working on a Kung Foo Panda spinning attack wooden thing. The kids both had fun wearing their aprons, goggles, and hammering!!  So fun! We will definitely come again!

Last swim meet

Today was Chloe's last swim meet for this season. We have been so pleased with the Carmichael Beavers--Chloe has loved her coaches and she has learned to swim!!  Before the season, she couldn't swim at all, and now she can swim a full lap by herself! She still lacks a lot of confidence, stopping frequently on the lane lines for a break during freestyle, and wanting a coach in the water helping her with backstroke. Andrew and I decided to bribe her for this meet if she could swim a full lap by herself without stopping--a treat from the snack bar for freestyle and a new dress for backstroke. The stakes were higher for backstroke, because, until today, she has never swam further than the first set of flags without a coach helping her. Well, Andrew and I found out today that Chloe just needed the right motivation--she swam the two laps all by herself without stopping!!!  We are so proud of her!! 

Love her diving form!

Ready to pencil jump into the water for backstroke

Ready to go!

4th of July

Hapy 4th of July!!
Chloe and Andrew walked in the Carmichael Parade today with the swim team. She has been looking forward to it for so long!!!

Waiting for the parade to start!

here they come!

This made me laugh! Kristen, Elaine, my mom, and Dean all out there with their cameras taking a picture of Chloe on Andrew's shoulders. Still haven't gotten a copy from anyone...

Alannah and I love to snuggle!

My mom made friends with a woman named Marley sitting us next to us, and she told us that her husband Mel was riding his tractor in the parade. So she called him and asked him to stop, so Micah could ride!  Micah was braver than I expected and actually sat on the man's lap for a minute!!!

After the parade, we went swimming at the Serranos and ate a yummy BBQ dinner. 

watching the fireworks!