Hurricane Harbor

My dad went with me and the kids to Hurricane Harbor on Thursday. I thought it would be really difficult with the baby and figured I might need to just leave with him and go back to pick them up. To my surprise, he stayed really happy all day because of all the shallow water in the kid area that he could crawl around in. The older boys were really helpful, also and really enjoyed taking him in the water areas. This new, huge, area called "Splash Island" kept everyone busy all day, in between long lines for the larger slides. Overall, really fun day and great memories. Can't wait to go back!

Not happy about this vest that is way too big!

One of my favs....

I just had to share. I bought this calendar last year at a little shop near me. It is one of those things that makes me happy every day! My kids love to get up and change the date and day of the week. I was going through a phase of loving birds...no idea why....so that's what made it catch my eye! Anyway...just a simple thing but it makes me happy!

Summer "baths" for baby....

Even though Jonah has taken steps (and continues to take more each day) his primary way of getting around is still crawling. Because of that and because of his love for the backyard, he is ALWAYS filthy. He looks like he is covered in dirt from head to toe all the time. He really should take several baths a day. (But...quite honestly, each child that came along, took fewer baths than the one before) So....we came up with a new plan....we put a few inches of water in his pool and add baby bath and a few toys and put him in. He thinks he's playing out back, but...he's actually taking a "bath". Works like a charm (well for a little while anyway). :)

July in San Clemente!

This was our 1st camping trip in the middle of summer. It was great because the weather was perfect and we were able to escape the heat. However, we are spoiled by being able to travel during the year. The campground was FULL and so were the beaches. Wow...I have never been to such a crowded beach! We had a blast. It was also our longest camping trip ever. We had never been for more than 4 nights and this was for 7 nights....which meant more meal planning and more laundry (which I have yet to start). It sure did go by fast, though. It was also a little sad. We have decided to sell the RV and seem to have a buyer so it was probably the last time we would camp in it. It is a long story but we always drive 2 cars so we have a car to leave the campground and my husband is always worried about doing something to hurt the RV while we are camping since it wasn't overly cheap. This puts a bit of a damper on our trips. So, we are hoping to get a much less expensive trailer so we can tow it and have a car to drive around in. Today I had to leave my husband because something went wrong with one of the jacks and he spent hours working on it at the campground before he could drive it home. He is still on his way home, now. (which is why I have not started the laundry....it isn't here yet!) I guess "she" (the "RV"...don't people sometimes call their things "she"...weird) doesn't want to go easily! Last night, Julia was crying as she went to bed, knowing it was the last night she would sleep in it and asked if we could still see it after it was gone. Poor girl. Anyway....I took more pictures than I could ever post but below is a sampling of a few of my favorites! (I am trying VERY hard to learn how to scale back on how many I post from a trip) :)

LOVE this face more every day!

Coolest pier!

View from the campground at sunset!

First Steps...

I had to document this for myself and my journaling. Today we saw Jonah take his Fist Steps. I have no picture of it, since it happened spontaneously. He is 13 months and 1 day! He has been standing on his own for quite a while. he has taken steps holding on to furniture. But today is the first day we saw him take steps on his own. I heard Julia yell from the family room, "Jonah's walking." She was the only one who saw it. A few hours later, several of us witnessed it as he stepped toward me to hand me something. It's funny how precious it is to me to see this even more since I haven't seen one of my babies take his/her first steps in years. I feel like I was just sitting here last summer, holding him in my arms, savoring every second...knowing it wouldn't last. I love newborns. I love how they let you hold them for hours. I already miss that so much. Every stage is fun and exciting...even the teen years, which we are just beginning. I do wish I could slow it down though. I wish the years that my kids were home with me lasted longer. It is so hard to believe that before long they will be moved out and living their own lives, Lord willing. Well, today was Jonah's First step toward being a bigger boy and he was so proud of himself. Oh, how we love that boy!!!

Jake Turned 12! (last month....oops)

We have had a busy summer, to say the least! Birthdays are still a big deal to our family but we use to make an even bigger deal out of them. As the kids get older, and times get busier, we can't celebrate the way we did when they were younger. However, it is a time for us to honor each child individually and make them feel special. We feel like this is so important in a big family. Jake's birthday is exactly 1 week after Jonah's. We celebrated as a family on his birthday and then he had a few friends over to celebrate with a few days later. It kind of got lost in a busy weekend (with other parties we attended) and then VBS week. So...since we had plans on the evening of his birthday, we went out to corner Bakery on the morning of his birthday. It is one of our favorite breakfast spots. They all got yummy things and we had fun hanging out. We went home and opened gifts together! He was a happy boys and got everything he wanted (that's because he never asks for much and is always happy with what he gets). :) He is a precious addition to our family and has very unique interests! We love him so much! His tender heart is a joy to see!

Days after his birthday, some great friends came with us to Mountasia and Farrell's to celebrate...then swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's...then a couple of them stayed the night! It was a fun day!

These are the dorky teenagers....too cool to sit with the others and too cool to smile! :)

Jake was mortified by the large drum and announcement!

And...of course....at the counter, trying to figure out what to buy with tickets earned in the arcade! Always a huge decision!

Another happy boy!

A few days ago, I wrote about Jeremy's happiness with his new air soft gun. We are leaving for San Clemente tomorrow and Jeremy can't wait to have battles in the canyons bordering our campground. Only problem was....none of my other kids had guns that could compete with his. So, dad took them all down to the Evike store (the same day we got home from Ventura). Joshua cold not wait to pick out a gun. He was so excited. Jake got sucked in a bit, which I knew he would. He isn't much of a battle/gun type of boy. He enjoys reading, drawing, cooking, planting. Jeremy and Josh are a lot more a like in their interests. However, I think Jake was talked into it, due to the fact that they needed more people to participate in the battle. So, both boys came home with a brand new, expensive, fully automatic air soft gun. Oh Joy! They couldn't wait to set up targets and shoot them. Josh cracks me up the most because he cannot keep his hands off his gun. Every time I see him, he has it back out of the box and is taking it apart for various reasons. He actually had me take the below photo because he wanted to email it to show his friends. That picture isn't good enough now...so now he wants a close up shot of the gun. It is so funny to me and so cute at the same time. He is thrilled with it and I am counting the days until it breaks (not to be a cynic but these types of things always seem to break. ) For his sake, I hope not....I doubt we would buy another one for awhile. Until then, Josh can be a soldier battling for good (or evil) ! :)

Our Bounty!

So, the day before we left for our trip, I posted pictures of our apricots. While we were gone, my husband collected another gallon ziplock full of apricots. When we got home, we picked plums (which were delicious but there weren't really enough to photograph). However! We were excited to see our other trees and are hoping they will be ready to pick and eat before leaving this week for our next trip! Funny how we feel so "rich" when eating our own fruit from our own trees. I can't imagine how I would feel if I lived on a farm! :)

Nectarines

Peaches

Ventura for the 4th!

We have been going to Ventura for summer vacations since Jeremy was born. Many of those trips have been over the 4th of July. The kids look forward to it so much because the beach house we stay at is on the channel so they can fish, paddle boat, paddle board, kayak, play on the sailboat, etc. It is so hard to narrow down the hundreds of pictures I take on every trip but for one reason or another...these are my favorites from this trip. (Sorry...there's a lot)

Julia is very serious about her fishing and stays out there all day....participating in every slimy detail.

Hard to see in this picture since it is out of focus, but Josh is holding his fishing pole with the bait end in my face!

Jumping into the channel off the sailboat

Santa Barbara Zoo! (We LOVE it there!)

Joshua surfing!

At Sharkys before fireworks on the 4th

Macaroni Grill for Nico's birthday

One fun day.....

I am playing catch up on my blog again because we have been on vacation. right before we left, we went to the beach for a friend's birthday. It was a really fun day for the kids. I have almost no pictures becasue I spent the whole day sitting i the cage with Jonah...he was not happy unless I sat with him. Oh well...we made it through and the kids had fun.
Rewind....oh, and if you don't have boys, this will make no sense to you. Jeremy (my oldest) has been BEGGING for a fully automatic airsoft gun for months and months. Finally, we broke down and let him order one (after many many conversations where he educated us on every type of gun and all of their functions).Well, he had ordered it a week or so before this day. On the way home from the beach, he said to me, "Now, what would make this a REALLY great day is if my gun was waiting for me when we got home." And....it was. So....I had to take a picture of this much anticipated day!


One very happy boy on one very fun day!