Catchin' Some Waves

Our day at the beach was wonderful! I love it there. I don't think I could ever live in California but I would love to have a ocean in my backyard. We saw a pod of dolphins swimming off the pier. They were probably 10 yards back from all the surfers riding the waves. It was so fun to watch them jump and dive through the water.

We had so much fun gathering sea shells and shining rocks. Sadly, our collection got dumped out and buried by my little boys.

The kids loved running from the waves.

Peyton and Parker would run up the beach to get away yelling, "It's coming. It's coming." I don't think they were close enough to the water for it to get them.

The whole beach experience was complete with checking out the shops and eating lunch on the pier at Ruby's. Fun and yummy!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

When our California adventure started, we had decided we were not going to Disneyland. We had been there the year before so we made other plans. Once we got to California we decided we just had to go. How do you spend a week so close to the happiest place on earth and not go? We went and did not regret it. We were there on a week day and it wasn't very crowded. The longest wait for any ride was maybe 15-20 minutes. Most were only about 5 minutes. Lucky us. We had a blast!

We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride about 5 times. The kids loved it.

Mickey's toon town was so cute and fun. I love all the character's houses. We went on the little toon town roller coaster. Peyton was barely tall enough to go on it. I thought it was pretty fast for my little 2 year old to ride but she LOVED it.

One of my favorite things at Disneyland is when you see Mickey at his house. I think it is so magical. (Parker was a little nervous about meeting Mickey. He thought Mickey would pick him up and put him in his ear.)

Aren't these princesses so nice? They were in the biggest hurry but still stopped to take a picture with us. My girls were so excited. I loved it.

The Winni the Pooh ride is probably my favorite ride. I think it is so cute!

Ride til You Drop

Knott's Berry Farm is a rollercoaster fanatic's dream land. We were there on a very slow day and basically walked on every ride. I walked on so many and ended my day feeling so sick. I never thought I would get sick on rollercoasters. I guess I am getting old.

Gabe & MaKyra loved the rollercoasters. Unfortunately Gabe was to short to go on the really big ones. He was able to go on this one and went many times.

This was Parker's favorite. He rode on it over and over again. He told me he liked it so much he was going to go on it 5 times. He went on it about 15 times. It just took them up and down and up and down. Cute.

Matt and I each rode on this - once. Yikes. Zero to eighty mph in less than 2 seconds. It was fast and really, really high.

The purple and green rollercoaster was fast and crazy. I think it is called the boomarang because it pulls you back up this steep ramp and then you just fly. It is fast and loopy. When you finish you do the whole thing again - backwards. So fun. In the lower left side you can see a white circle around MaKyra and Matt. MaKyra loved all the big rides. Matt and I would split up so some one was always with the kids and she rode with who ever was going. I didn't let her go on the pink one though.

Gabe, Parker, and Peyton loved Camp Snoopy where all the little kid rides are.

The last ride of the day. Matt and MaKyra went on a big, old, rickety rollercoaster. My stomach had had enough so I sat that one out. The kids and I wondered around and found these lovely friends.

It was such a good day!

Legoland

Legoland was a blast. Who knew people could make such amazing things from legos. I can barely make a tower designed by my own imagination. I loved seeing all the things made of legos. Peyton couldn't go on many rides but she loved all the little playlands for smaller kids.

What a cute place! It is so bright and colorful! I am so glad we were able to go and experience Legoland!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We went to a trunk or treat at the elementary and then to my cousin's Halloween Party/Wedding Reception. It was a lot of fun and the kids got tons of candy.

The only downfall was Gabe and Parker were sick Thursday and Friday so we did miss out on the elementary Halloween Carnival but made up for it by watching "scary" movies like The Neverending Story, Double Double, Toil and Trouble (starring Mary-Kate and Ashlee Olsen when they were seven), and Labyrinth. Spooky!

We Love the Water Falls

We love going to the mountains in autumn. The colors are beautiful. This year was a bit cold and the kids wanted to just rush through our little hike to the water falls. I couldn't blame them. I don't know if we have ever been so fast at the Falls. They are beautiful though.

Flag Football

Gabe started flag football on Saturday. Matt is coaching his team. Gabe loved it. I think he'll love it even more when he knows how to play. He played hard. After the game I told him he was really good at football and he said, "Yeah, I know."

I don't think Gabe loved his mouthpiece. He kept it in but I think it was pretty distracting.

Our Summer in a Nutshell

We had a busy summer and a lot of fun!

Parker turned 4!




We moved from here.

To here.

We went on a trip to Southern Utah with Matt's family. It was a lot of fun.We hiked up to Hundred Hands near Escalante.

We went to Devil's Garden on the Hole in the Rock road. It was amazing.

And really sandy and dirty.

We went on a hike through a petrified forest.

After so much hiking this was MaKyra's favorite sign.

It was so much fun!