Spring Break - part 3

The boys were so looking forward to this day...the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. So much to do, so many rides to ride and so much to see...always good people watching on the Boardwalk, too.

While standing in line to purchase wrist bands, I ran into my sweet friend Marisa. She lives in Roseville, too. We have been meaning to get together for lunch(it hasn't happened yet) and we joked that we had to go all the way to Santa Cruz just to see each other.

Amber and her boys met us in the afternoon! It was so much fun to hang out and visit with them.

 This was one of my favorite moments of our day! Brody had agreed to ride the Double Shot with the big boys. This ride shoots you straight to the top(25 ft. up) and drops you like a bouncy ball until you get back to the bottom. Once Brody sat down to be strapped into the ride, he got scared. I could even see the tears welling up in his baby blues. I asked him if he wanted to get off and he said no. He looked terrified and other by standers were catching on. They began to cheer him on and give him words of encouragement. When the ride was over, everyone was clapping and telling him that he did great. Lets just say that this one the only ride that he did not ask to ride again!

The boys are making plans to head back to the Boardwalk this Summer...hopefully with their cousins in tow!

summer tradition

One of our favorite summer traditions is having my nephews, Malakai, Kannon and Jace came to visit. We love when we get to have them for days straight.


We rode bikes, had Nerf Gun Wars, Air Soft wars at the wetlands, root beer floats, swimming, Popsicles AND...

They jumped on the trampoline and had water fights...several times a day!




They ate. Oh boy did they eat.


We hit the bowling alley for a few frames.



We played at the water park.



We hit the cememnt slide...weeeeeeee!




We made forts and moved the air mattress to all corners of the house. I am pretty sure they thought it was a portable trampoline.

We had a great 4 days. My boys are already planning the 2011 summer activities with the cousins. We are looking forward to it.

a summer tradition

Our summer would not be complete without a visit from the cousins. Malakai, Kannon, & Jace came to stay with us for a few days! What's a few more boys? It is a yearly tradition that we look forward to. The boys always have so much fun together. I was online looking for fun activities to create with all of the boys while they were here. I found recipes for things like "Make your own slime" & sidewalk paint. They kept themselves so busy this year that we didn't get to any of that. They had a great time. I enjoyed watching them play, laugh, wrestle & behave like a bunch of energetic boys.

I met my sister in Fairfield(the half way point) on Wednesday to grab the boys.














We headed home with a packed car. The music was bumping :-)! Tanner has become quite the backseat DJ. He is always making sure that I have the music loud enough & that all of the songs are appropriate :-)! It was fun to listen to them belt out the songs they love. We made it home & enjoyed a yummy taco dinner. After dinner we headed to the FOUNTAINS to get frozen yogurt at BIG SPOON. The boys LOVE BIG SPOON. You create your own...yogurt, toppings & all.





















While enjoying our Yogurt, we headed over to the Fountains to enjoy the music & watch the colorful fountains squirt water to the beat of the music.

















Gee, do you think these boys have Moms who take photos -LOL?
I told them I wanted to take a picture of them & this is how they posed :-)


We started our Thursday off with waffles, strawberries, & whip cream. Each time I made breakfast, lunch or dinner, I felt like I was feeding a small army.














We enjoyed the cement slides today. I was happy to see last years grafitti was gone. Thank you, city of Roseville.


























Brody was big enough to ride down on the cardboard all by himself. He was all smiles each time he slid down.



























The slides wore the boys out. They spent an hour running up the stairs & sliding down. There were many competitive races down when the older boys were sliding. We LOVE this park & need to remember to visit it more often.


















After the slides, we went home & the boys kept themselves busy with baseball games out front, many rounds of the card game SPEED, water balloon fights, & even some down time.

For dinner, we picked up some pizza & headed over to the local water park. Do you sense a theme of the cousin visit? I let these boys play hard all day so they'll sleep really well @ night :-). It seems to work in my favor at the end of the day.



















We ended the night with a silly string war in the front yard.


















We spent Friday at Lake Tahoe with our family & friends! We had so much fun! The boys caught crayfish by the bucketfuls, they played football in the lake, they swam, built a few sand castles,had their lunch on the shore & they went boogie boarding. Not the kind of boogie boarding like we enjoy in the ocean, but none the less, they called in boogie boarding & had a blast.


























Whew!!! I am tired just typing about our activities over the last three days. The boys went home this morning, bright & early. We loved having them. We are already looking forward to next summer when the cousins can visit again.

I am exhausted & need a nap. See ya!

celebrating the 4th

I love the 4th of July! The colors just make me happy. I love to drive around town & see all of the flags waving proudly in the sky. I am very grateful for the freedom I enjoy as an American. I am very grateful for those great men & women who serve/have served to protect those very freedoms. Grateful for a holiday that reminds me to remember & appreciate this great land that we live in.
We spent the day in San Jose with family. Here ae a few highlights from our Independence Day.

We started the morning off by picking up some fire works. We are still amazed(even 6 1/2 years later) that you can purchase fire works here. There are stands, literally on every corner. You don't see this in San Jose so I had to snap a picture of John waiting in line.














The 4th of July festivities were held @ my parents house this year. My boys were so excited to see their cousins. They sure do have a great time playing together. They played all day long, moving from one activity to the next.

First up, the slip n slide. I think they spent a good chunk of the day enjoying the slip n slide.














Then the kids(and some adults, Sommer & my Grandma) enjoyed the cake walk on the drive way.















Carter enjoying his Cake Walk winnings!















Up next, was the water balloon volleyball. I have to get those pictures from my sister. We let the kids start the volleyball game off. It lasted for about, oh two minutes(as we knew it would). That game quickly turned into a HUGE water balloon fight. The entire family got into it, whether you wanted to or not :-). This photo is blurry but I love it. This is my Mom throwing a water balloon at me-LOL!


















My Mom, Dad, Carter & I filled a ton of water balloons for the party. Once the whole family got in on the water fight, those balloons went fast. Once the balloons were gone, the kids started resorting to the buckets & cups...smart boys.

















Chuck & Bandi thought they could avoid the water if they hung out on the kids toys-LOL!















**Warning, lots of pictures coming! It is so hard to narrow down all of my photos, they all become my favorites.


First up, my Grandma & Grandpa Shore. I love these two faces. They are the most amazing, caring people you will EVER meet!


















John & Brody. Be still my heart. You can just feel the love between them!














The boy cousins drying off in the sunshine!















My Mom & her brother, Uncle Wade.














My cousin, Kerstin & myself
















Sommer, Me, Kerstin & Amber














Our cute boys














Her are all of the cousins. Do you know how hard it is to get a shot like this -LOL?
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We ended the night with Sparklers in the front yard. We were a little bummed this year. One of our favorite 4th of July traditions was canceled this year due to budget cuts. The city of San Jose did not have their annual fireworks display, BOO! We were able to enjoy the Milpitas fireworks from the freeway on our ride home. We sure are thankful for another fun holiday spent with family!