Lake Tahoe

We didn’t have anything planned for July this year-no trips anyway, I suggested that we go to the beach one Saturday. We decided it would be less traffic and less windy roads to go to South Lake Tahoe, so we packed up some food, toys, towels and swimsuits and headed up there. We were wrong about the crowded part-it took us a while to find a parking spot. It was kind of chilly too. The kids were not impressed at first-they wanted a REAL beach, but they had to settle for it. It was beautiful scenery, but there was no way I was getting in that freezing lake! Everyone else did (except Tessa.) They all ended up having a good time. I just decided, I’m not a beach person-the sand in your swimsuit, the cold water, lots of people around, the giant geese trying to get our food. I’m sure I could enjoy the beach in Hawaii though (again)

Why did it have to go by so fast?

We had a blast spending every waking moment with Tami and the kids, Grandma and Uncle B a couple of weeks ago. From Monday through Friday, we played hard and had so much fun. Lots of swimming, outings, good food, long talks, kids playing, sleepovers, movies. Here’s the recap:

Monday-swimming and dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s.

Tuesday-Sacramento Zoo-Grandma got us Groupons, and we got to ride the Carousel and the train! What a treat!

Wednesday- We went to the Fountains outdoor mall in Roseville. We took a picnic and the kids played on the splash pad and then we got frozen yogurt. We had everyone over for tacos that night and the girls had a sleepover.

Battery died on my camera, so this is the only shot I got.

Thursday-We went to another splash park in Folsom and took a picnic there. We stopped at McDonald’s on the way home for ice cream. You can never have too much ice cream! The kids went swimming again that evening after dinner. Then Julio came and got the kids and Mom, Tami and I stayed up to watch Les Mis. (Tami didn’t quite make it through the whole movie

MoviesSleepovers

Friday-we were so tired from all the week’s activities, we decided to just chill at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The kids played and swam and we didn’t leave the house at all that day. I brought over stuff to make pizzas and that’s what we did that night.

I wish they lived closer! It’s so hard having them live far away! Come back family and stay a while! Oh well, we will see you in December!

The cute things they say

The other day I was giving Tessa some hugs and kisses and I said, "I love you. You're my sweet baby," and she said,  "I love you. You're my sweet mama." I melted.

Sylvie and Grandma were tossing a Velcro ball back and forth with Velcro mitts. Grandma accidentally hit Sylvie in the nose with the ball and it started to bleed. Sylvie got a startled look on her face and paced the room a few times. Then she walked back over and picked up her mitt and said, "I'm ok. Let's try that again!" We all felt so bad for her, but she didn't mind the blood trickling down her face.

It’s summertime!

At the drive-in seeing Monsters U.4th of July BreakfastTessa and GrandpaSylvie riding her trikeThey were hot-it was so muggy!

4th of July BBQ with Grandpa, Uncle B and the Donaldson’s

Ninja kick!Tessa about to jump into the pool.

Cannon ball!These kids are little fish! We had a fun 4th-lots of yummy food and fun in the sun! The little girls were out by 8 pm, so Julio took Lucia to see fireworks in Carmichael. Marco and I sat in the front yard and watched our neighbors set off their fireworks. We didn’t have to spend a dime, but enjoyed them just the same.

Visiting the Hill’s in Chicago

I had such a great trip to visit Callie, Brian and the girls in Chicago. I got there late Saturday night, so didn’t get to do much that day. Sunday we went to church-they have a really nice ward with lots of young families. After church we drove around Evanston-I couldn’t stop gawking at all the beautiful old homes! We went down and walked along the lake and fed the ducks-it was such beautiful weather. One thing I did notice there is that public restrooms do not have toilet seat covers. I know-that’s weird of me to notice that.


Monday we got up early and headed to downtown Chicago. We went to the zoo-it was free! There was a great view of the city there.

Then we dropped the girls off at Callie’s friend’s apartment and parked the car there. We had to run about a mile to get to the boat we were taking for the architecture tour. It was so hot and we were so exhausted, but we made it, with 3 minutes to spare!
Chicago is such a beautiful city-so many cool skyscrapers. It’s interesting though that they were all built after 1900 and the big Chicago fire. I loved all the bridges across the river.
After the tour, we went and picked up the girls and met up with Brian. We got a deep dish pizza and walked along the riverwalk to the Vietnam Memorial. Then we headed to Millenium Park.
The beanEden on the splash padThese cool fountains that change faces and spew out water.
By that time we were exhausted and ready to go home-we got rained on a little bit, but it was a fun day.
Tuesday, we stuck around Evanston because we were so tired from all the Monday activities.
Their apartmentDowntown EvanstonAndy’s frozen custard.Walking home.
Wednesday we headed back to the city. We had big plans, but we were still so tired so we didn’t do as much as we had wanted. We went to the Planetarium and the Field Museum. Then we headed back for a nap.

Because of our decision to take a nap, we missed Navy Pier and I missed my flight. I did catch a flight into Oakland but didn’t get in until 11:30 pm. So, besides that, it was a wonderful trip. I loved spending time with the Hill’s and seeing Chicago-such a cool city! Thanks Callie and Brian for hosting me and thanks to Grandma for watching my kids and feeding them and to Julio for letting me go :-)