Finlay Cousins explore Disneyland

Grandma and Papa Finlay were able to enjoy Disneyland with 9 out of their 10 grandchildren. (Bo unfortunately made it to town a couple days too late.)  Margaret had a conference there, and then we all met up to be able to join her for the twilight hours.

Last time we went, Elise and Ethan went on Indiana Jones for their first time.  They however, had their eyes shut the entire time believing that the command of not looking into theTemple of the Forbidden Eye was meant for the whole ride.  This time they decided to try the ride with their eyes open.

Preston is still (a month later) talking about the jungle cruise.  He continues to ask me if I remember the boat with all the animals.  He loved it!

I remember when I went as a kid thinking the animals were real.  I'm sure he probably does too.  All part of the Disney magic.

Having such a large crew, we were able to have entire boats to ourselves on Pirates and Small World.

Ethan is obviously excited to be going on one of his favorite rides (Thunder Mountain Railroad) with his cousin Gavin.  Look at that grin!

And they of course tried to keep their arms up the entire time.

Uncle Evan did a great job grabbing fast passes to some of the bigger rides, so we were able to get on a lot of rides, even if we were just there for the evening.

While Brielle and Ethan went with the others on the bigger rides, Preston and I got to enjoy some of the smaller rides together.  Our plan was to stay as long as he was happy.  He lasted the entire night, until Disneyland shut down at midnight.  All 3 kids immediately fell asleep as we walked to the car.  (I piled the big kids in Preston's stroller and wore him in the Ergo.)

Through a series of unfortunate events, James wasn't able to join us.  He made it from work to Disneyland but got stuck in traffic and then trying to find parking for over an hour.  He ended up hanging out not far from the park and waited for us to finish our fun.

Laboring in Morro Bay

Since moving to California, we try to get to Morro Bay at least a couple times each year.  With going so often, it would seem like we would just be doing the same things over and over, but like the sand that blows on the beach, it is never the same.  Each trip has different discoveries and adventures.  Here is some of the latest trip we made over the Labor Day weekend.

To get a head start on holiday traffic, the kids and I left straight from school, driving halfway to Ventura.  We stopped and played at the beach and at the park for a few hours.  Once James was done with work, he was able to catch a train to meet up with us and we continued the trip up north.

There was a new trail-an extension built along the beach by Morro Rock.  The kids loved the small sand dunes that were right there to run and jump down.  

Brielle told us she wasn't going to get wet.  She was just going to take a book and read on the beach....she changed her mind once she got there and had a great time.

We had been to the Sweet Springs Nature Preserve once, but went back to finish exploring.  Preston liked watching the ducks fly over the ponds and kept trying to get them to perform for him.  "fly ducks, fly!"

He also decided he wanted to be our photographer for the trip.

While walking along the bluffs at Montoña de Oro, James and the big kids discovered a blow hole.  It was mesmerizing to watch the waves come in and try to guess how big the spray would be.

The kids really wanted to go kayaking, since we didn't get a chance to last time we were there.

It was a lot of work for James, going back and forth to bring us, then the kayak over to the beach so we could kayak over to the spit.  The kids were learning how to paddle as well, so maybe James won't have to do all the work in the future.

We had the beach on the spit almost to ourselves with a great view of Morro Rock.  

James taught the art of making balls out of sand...

the kids loved being able to make their own and throwing them in the water.

Preston couldn't get the hang of making his own, but loved having James make them for him so he could throw them.

And in between hikes and play on the beach, we relaxed at the house.  Playing, reading, watching football.

Successful Summer Part 2

This is a picture heavy post...just a brief glimpse of some of the things we did over the summer that didn't get their own post.

Museums

Kidspace Children's Museum

Adventure Playground

Autry Museum of the American West

LA Arboretum

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

Griffith Observatory

Water Play

Lots of beach trips with family and friends

including beach volleyball

splash pads

bubble baths

and plenty of pool time.

Backyard Fun

building

hypothesizing

destructing

creating

exploring

riding

meeting new friends at special olympics

and lots of time to just be silly

The End of a Successful Summer

September arrived.  Fall may not be officially here, but kids are back to school and summer is over.

What makes the summer successful?  For us it was to accomplish what we set out to do.  Our plan was to have fun with family, travel, learn and relax.  We put up a summer calendar to outline our plans.  We wrote in the things we had specifically planned and had a separate paper to list our other unplanned activities we wanted to do.

We started summer break with a bang of parties for graduation, baptism and birthday.  At the beginning of the summer our August calendar was still pretty empty and unplanned..we managed to fill it up quite nicely.  

The kids requested homemade milkshakes for our final celebration before heading back to school.  Sunday prior to school the kids each received a father's blessing, then got to choose their mix-ins for a yummy candy bar milk shake made by Dad.

So we're on to fall, but with great memories of a wonderful summer.