Southern California Trip Part 1

 

Zoe and Keira after the birthday party.

  In July, we went to Southern California for a week to celebrate the 90th birthday of Kevin's grandmother and attend the first ever family reunion on his mother's side of the family.  We left on  Friday afternoon and headed down to St George where we spent the night.  The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before going swimming with the kids.  This is a big treat for them as they love the water, but because Zoe has had tubes for the past  few years we have stayed away from most pools except when traveling.

 


I asked what they were doing and I was told

"plotting to do something to Uncle Marty"

 

Afterward we continued our journey to Redlands, California where the birthday festivities were being held that evening.  This was our first real chance to test out the new GPS that Kevin got for Father's Day. It was great!  We had taken it with us to Lake Powell but pretty much knew most of the roads.  In California we had no idea where we were going and having the GPS was awesome!  The birthday party on Saturday night turned out wonderful.  We got to know everyone and had yummy BJ's Pizza and treats.  It was sooooo hot!  I think Redlands was about 105 the day we were there.  It cooled off in the evening but not by very much, so after the party we headed back to the hotel and went swimming with everyone.  

On Sunday, we attended church before heading down to Old Town San Diego to check out the Mormon Battalion Museum with Kevin's sister and her family.  The girls thought it was great to spend the whole day with their cousins, which makes me laugh because these same cousins live only 1/2 mile away from us and we see them all the time, but they were still so excited to be together, it's cute.  

The Museum was really interactive and fun for the kids.  The pictures on the walls talked and you moved from room to room in the presentation, learning all about the people who were part of the battalion.  One room was like a wooded camp area, another was full of soldier gear where we learned that some sayings come from firing a musket such as "flash in the pan" and "lock, stock, and barrel".  Afterward there was out outdoor area where the kids could wash clothes on a washboard, pretend to fire bricks, pump water and pan for gold.  The weather was considerably cooler next to the ocean and it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday.  We headed to San Mateo to set up camp for the next few days and get ready for some time at the beach.  

Growing Garden

Our garden is growing and I am so amazed!  I know I shouldn't be surprised that anything is growing but, really I am.  It has been pretty cool to see the plants start as seeds, flower and produce.  Thanks mostly to Kevin, we have been able to keep it weeded and watered which has been the biggest reason it is doing so well.  The kids love going out to see if anything new has grown.  Keira wants to know if we can go pick more food, and then lists everything she can possibly think of that might be growing out there.  

Lake Powell

We headed down to Lake Powell with some of our friends for a few days of fun in the sun.  What a great time we had.  Lots of swimming, playing in the sand, skiing and hanging out with friends.  Kevin tried the wake board and had a blast.  Zoe loved the water and wanted to swim all the time.  Keira had a great time playing in the sand her buddy Tracy and flagging for whoever was skiing.  Sasha loved the boat and especially watching Kevin ski.  She ohhed and ahhed and clapped for him.  Adorable!

We saw so much of Lake Powell, I had never been before and it is just gorgeous down there.  We had a great time camping and lucked out with a shady spot where we hiked up to a cavern with a pool full of tadpoles and had fun yelling just to listen to the echo of our voices.  We stopped by Rainbow Bridge, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and took a few pictures, made a stop at the marina for gas and ice cream and enjoyed driving through lake.  We had a great time with our friends the Bollingers and can't wait till our next adventure with them.

Garden

We planted our garden about a month ago with some starter plants and two weeks ago we planted the rest of the seeds, hoping it was done snowing and freezing so they would actually grow.   I was a bit skeptical that anything would grow but we've been watching it for signs of life and with all the rain lately we have been rewarded with cute little green plants!  

one row of corn

half of the garden: strawberries, raspberries, onions, peppers, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes

You've got something on your face sweetie

We were enjoying the sunny but cold day and I looked down to see what Sasha was doing, she seemed very occupied. 

This is what I found.

The scouts had recently come by and aerated the lawn so there were clumps of dirt that she had gotten ahold of.  I say yuck, but she thought they were oh so yummy!

My little Renesmee

It all started as baby teeth should.  Although I think 4 months is just too early for teeth none of my kids have felt the same way.  She got her first one on the front bottom, then the one next to it came in.  Then another one on the bottom.  So one straggler is ok.  Then the top left side tooth.  What? At this point I started calling her Snaggletooth.  It was funny and cute. 
Then the other top side tooth came in.  At least this time it was in a pair.
Now she has another one on the bottom to match again but we are left with fangs on the top and a row of bottom teeth at varying heights because they all came in at different times.  I think it is the fangs that just reminded me of a little vampire baby named Renesmee.