Summer Adventures

The kids tell me I'm waaaaay behind on blogging, and I literally haven't done a post for over two months.  The summer has been so full, and I've enjoyed every minute.  I think I could blog for hours about all of the things we've done in the last few months....but I'm going to cheat, and condense it into one measly post, but with a ton of photos!

We made a last minute change in Jim and Kathie's summer schedule, since they were supposed to fly out for a week to go to Lake Powell the first week in September.  But when Jim got assigned a project in Hong Kong for a few weeks in August, they decided to send Kathie and the kids out earlier--so we could enjoy them for the whole month!  It was a blast to have the boys here to play, and little Brynn is already getting so grown up--we got to see a whole month of that!  

Some of the highlights of the time they were here:

Landon and Kathie built some complicated multi-track railroads for the electric Thomas and Friends.   The boys spent literally hours down here switching tracks, fixing derailed cars, avoiding collisions etc.  It is so fun to watch these boys play with this train set.  

Brynn was entertained by watching her brothers play.  If you put her down, she would roll, scoot and army crawl all over the place to join the fun.  This little girl really gets around!

We always have to fulfill the request to go bowling when the boys are here--for some reason that has become a tradition when they are visiting.  And Lily and Tyler got to stop by for a quick visit to check out the fun.

Brynn really is our little ray of sunshine....she is happy and smiley and content to just hang out and go wherever we took her.  I love her sweet disposition.

One of the places the boys enjoyed was Jungle Jim's.  I remember taking my kids there when they were little, and we had a great afternoon trying out all the rides.

The best was when they rode in the bumper cars together.  Gavin would turn the wheel one way, Griffin would pull it the other.  The net result was total chaos.

They loved the rocket ships, where they could control their own craft and go up and down to their heart's content.

When they rode the jeep, Gavin was more interested in how the track worked and was very diligent in turning the steering wheel correctly.

Griff was brave enough to ride the Amazon with Grandma....

Another day, we made a trip the This is the Place Heritage Park, where the boys got to "milk" a cow.

"Hey mom!  This isn't milk coming out!  It's just water!"

A nice calm pony ride...

Landon helped with the boys as they learned about blacksmithing.

They took a "train" ride around the whole Park.

while Brynn stayed back and talked to grandma!  

We did Native American crafts, beaded necklaces, and leather work.

And we took train rides around the lake...

.....panned for gold...

And saw what it would be like to live in a Native American hogan.   We loved having some summer time adventures with our "California Kids."

A Quick Fix

It's like an addiction, this grandparenting thing.  I can't make it more than a few weeks without need a quick fix.  The California kids are coming in June for a couple of weeks, but when Scott said he was going to fly out over Memorial weekend to meet Brynn and see the boys, I jumped right on board.  Pretty soon, Lauren called up and asked if there was room for her and Claire to tag along.

Um, yeah.  Twist my arm.

We had a great visit just hanging out, eating out, and getting out.

Grandpa got to meet Brynn.  I think he was a good influence on her.  Well, and she on him.  Brynn loved grandpa...

Griffin loved Claire...

And this grandma loved every single moment!

 The tech museum craziness....

 Brynn slept through most of it...

 Jim and Kathie danced their way through it

 Griffin crawled through it...

 Jim practiced his space maneuvers

 And Brynn came home happy as could be!

 There's nothing as sweet as cuddling a sweet sleeping baby....

 Unless it's being surrounded by a whole bunch of sweet awake ones...

 Tuesday, we went to Happy Hollow--the perfect sized zoo and amusement area for little ones.

 The boys found plenty to keep them entertained

 Brynn was happy to have grandpa haul him all over the place.

 ...and grandpa got a double work out some times.

 Here's 4/5th of heaven!

 Look at the adorable dress Lauren sewed and brough to Brynn.  She wore it to church on Sunday.

 Okay.  This is seriously one of my favorite pictures ever.  Get the feeling these two are going to grow up to be much like their grandpa?

 Four beauties!

 Happy Hollow

 Happy girl!

 Gavin got a little adventurous as the day went on, and even went on this ride without anyone sitting right next to him.

 They don't get much cuter than Griffin!

 After a long day, the boys gave grandpa a nice swing ride in the shade!

Thanks, Jim, Kathie and kids for letting me and Grandpa and Lauren and Claire enjoy such a fun weekend!

Disney Weekend

We knew Jim, Kathie and the boys weren't going to be able to come home for Thanksgiving, so we arranged a short getaway the weekend prior to meet up with them in Southern California for a few days at Disneyland.   Kathie has already posted multiple detailed blogs about our fun days, and you can read more about them here.  I picked a few of my favorite pictures from the trip....

Little Griffin wouldn't let Papa out of his sight.  If Papa wasn't carrying him, he still wanted to hold his hand, even when he was riding in the stroller.  So sweet!

Gavin's favorite ride was small world.  He sang along with the dolls, as they sang "Jingle Bells" along with "It's a Small World" throughout the ride.

The morning after this ride, Griffin woke up, sat up in bed, and said, "Papa and the baby elephant!!!"

It was so fun to see the delight the boys got over the simplest things.

Their favorite, of course was meeting Mickey and Minnie, as well as some of the other Disney characters.

Gavin immediately figured out how to shoot and twirl in the Buzz Lightyear ride.

The parades were spectacular!

Gavin is a Wild and crazy driver!  Takes after his grandma!

The boys had a little speak with Santa.

I love this picture because it reminds me of how cute the boys were with the maps.  We're in the California Adventure Redwood Creek Challenge here, and Gavin would follow along on his map and tell us where we needed to go.  Throughout both parks, he'd sit in the stroller and open his map, guiding us where we needed to go.  Maybe we have a little navigator on our hands?

When we went on the Mickey Mouse Fun Wheel (or the Steering Wheel, as Gavin called it), Gavin was given a choice to get in a stationary car, or one that "swings and moves a lot."  He chose the one that swings, and you can tell by the look on his face, he was a bit of a thrill-seeker!  Grandma hung on tight.  To the mesh bars.

The longest line we waited for was the new Toy Story Mania on Paradise Pier.  But the boys were champs, and so well behaved.  Finally, we got to put on the 3D glasses and board the ride.  Gavin rode with me, and was a mighty good little shooter--he scored several hundred points without any help!

A trip wouldn't be complete without getting to see Buzz & Woody!

Um, yeah.  We pretty much wore the boys out.

Griffin played every night with his "DonaldGoofyPluto" figures, and wanted to carry all of them everywhere he went.

We are grateful for the kids who were willing to make the drive down from Palo Alto to pick us up at the airport, and let us experience Disneyland with the boys!