Keep Your Old Friends

Old friends are sometimes some of the most special friends, and we're always so thankful when we get to see Tatum and spend some time catching up with her.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

You don't need to go far to have a wonderful adventure.  Sometimes the very best experiences are right around the corner from you.  We decided to take a spontaneous trip to visit our old friends and take in some of our favorite museums that we don't get to go to very often anymore.  We had an absolute blast!  We met up with the Heinz's in San Jose and had a fabulous time at the Discovery Museum.  We got to see some of Trevor's baseball game, and have a super fun BBQ with the Nelsons, Heinzes, and Vanises.  We went to a fantastic water park and the kids had the best time playing with Trevor, Connor, and Reagan.  We got to finish out our fabulous world wind tour with Lauren's adorable party.  If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times.  When you get the chance to go on an adventure, do it!  Go!  Have fun!  You'll never regret it!

Neigh, Lizzy!

Lizzy is the little equestrian of the family.  She loves to go to horse camp every summer and spend time learning about all the horses and getting to groom and ride them.  We love getting to watch her show off her skills at the show at the end of the week.  Go, Lizzy!

Big Girl Camper

Catherine is such a big girl now, she even got to go to camp all by herself!  She loved it, and felt very big and special.  Catherine will be going to preschool at this church in the fall, so it was a wonderful way to introduce her the school.  

Fun on the Fourth

Our Fourth of July was awesome!  We began it in the most All-American way possible by heading to the baseball diamond and watching Peter be awesome in his all-star game.  Then we zipped downtown to catch the darling bike parade.  We had lunch at our favorite deli, and then, because it was so hot, we got ice cream and watched the amazing bike race zipping through the streets downtown in the cool comfort of the ice cream shop.  We had a delicious BBQ with our cousin and went swimming in the afternoon, then caught the fireworks from the lawn of St. James.  We all had a full, but wonderful day.

Zoo Day!

Who doesn't love a trip to the zoo?  We always have fun when we get to play and see all the animals, and it's made even better with special friends like Portia and Xavier.

You Can't Please 'Em All

Sometimes, it's so awesome when you're walking through Target and you just happen to see a Coke with your name on it!  Sometimes, it's just such a bummer when you're walking through Target and out of all the Cokes on display, not one has your name on it!

Camping Fun

Lizzy amazed me this summer!  She went out on a limb and went to Camp Putah with her friend Bria.  This camp was so special.  Lizzy would ride her bike every day miles and miles out to Putah Creek.  There, so would swim in the creek, canoe, do art projects, sing, and just have a great time.  One night, all the campers even spent the night under the stars.  We all were so proud of Lizzy!  We thought she was so daring and adventurous.  It was well over 100 degrees this week, and Lizzy still rode her bike all that way.  What a super star!

Beach Baby

This lady loved to play at the beach!  She couldn't get enough of the sand, water, and sun.  She's a true California girl!

Hike to the Top of the World

One of our favorite hikes in Tahoe is a great path right behind our hotel in south shore.  At one point, you feel like you're on the top of the world.  We climb this big rock and have an amazing view of the lake.  I always get scared we're just going to all tumble down because it feels like we're so high up.  It's so, so fun to go hiking with the kids!

Emerald Bay

Last year on our hike around Emerald Bay we were, well.....unprepared.  The long hike downhill was easy peasy, but the hike back up was tough, and hot, and not too fun.  This year we were ready.  We had on good shoes, we brought water, and we were ready for a great day.  Emerald Bay did not disappoint.  We absolutely loved the amazing views.  Once at the bottom, we rented kayaks and rode to the tiny island in the bay and hiked all the way to the Tea House.  It was awesome!  We were very proud of ourselves as this was no easy task.  The rocks on the island were very sharp, and hike up was steep.  We practically had to drag Catherine up, and Lizzy cut her foot pretty badly on the rocks.  But we did it!!  I will always treasure this amazing day!

Let's Go Bouldering

To kick off our summer, we've gotten into the wonderful tradition of heading up to Tahoe for a few days.  It's so gorgeous there, and we all have so much fun being together and going on lots of adventures.  One of our very favorite things to do is to "boulder."  The kids coined this term, and what they absolutely love to do is go hiking and then climb around and explore all the huge boulders and rocks off the trails.  They are amazing climbers!  Catherine is so big now that even she likes to boulder too, but always in style, of course.  At the end of this particular hike, we made it all the way to the beach.  The kids loved playing in the water.....even though it was very cold!!  

Little Fish

In the summer, it's hot.......so we like to swim, and swim, and swim!  It's so fun to see the kids having a blast together in the pool.  Summer days at our cousins' house are just the best!  The adults get to kick back, and the kids go crazy in the pool playing all sorts of imaginary games, having races, and just enjoying the water.  There's nothing better!

Party Time!

Of course we had to have a big party to celebrate Peter's special day, and since he's a summer baby, a pool party it was!  Peter had his buddies over to swim and play, and we all had a great time!  We swam, had lunch, ran around like crazy during a silly string fight, and topped it all off with cake.  What an awesome way to celebrate our special boy!  We love you, Peter!