One last hurrah ... until October

The four families got together one last time while our friends were in town. We had a BBQ with lots of kids, lots of food, lots of fun, and some crazy bounce house jumping to round off the evening!

The kids' table


This girl LOVES to swing!

And I figure that someone has to carry on the Tri Delt hula-hooping tradition

BOUNCE!


Matching PJs as we head to bed


Thank you Darin, Steph, Ava, and Baby Gavin (who I didn't get one picture of, but is the sweetest baby and was the best house guest we've ever had - seriously, we hardly knew he was here) for coming to visit. We are so glad that our goodbye is only until we all meet in Tahoe in October (and add two more families to the mix!).

Happy Hollow with Friends

Of course, with Ava and Gavin in town we just had to take them to Happy Hollow. What fun to have Charlie, Jack, Aidan, and Bailey join us as well! To think that the mommies of this group were sorority sisters and roommates (and I swear it wasn't THAT long ago), and now we've grown into this group of families - pretty crazy!

A favorite: Danny the Dragon

Luke insisted early on in the day on riding the roller coaster again. He claims to "love" it, but when I review the photos and see the look of terror on his face, I wonder why he insists upon torturing himself. Aidan is LOVING it ... and Ava appears to be hanging onto her Daddy very tight (although she also claims that it was "fun").




Michael rode the Frog Hopper with the kids. I love the look between Michael and Ava - they've always shared a mutual adoration.

Holding-hand-girls and riding-with-Daddy-girls

Some of the boys just after lunch

SEESAW!

Carousel rides

Somehow this Mommy's least favorite attraction always seems to be the kids' most favorite ... feeding the goats.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Some of our favorite friends were in town last week. We joined them in Monterey for a day at the aquarium before they headed up north to stay with us in San Jose. Luke had not been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium since he was about Mia's age, and Mia had never been, so this was an exciting day. The kids had fun together and were really engaged in all there was to see and touch. A few photos from our fun day:

Watching as the fish and sharks in the large tank are fed


Fast friends


Touch pools and water play


Observing the bat rays and ducks


The kids LOVED the tunnel where the waves crashed overhead and around them


The seahorses - Luke was mesmerized


Ava and Luke at the end of the day (don't they look exhausted!?)

More Tahoe Time

Before the summer comes to an end we wanted to be sure to get up to enjoy the glorious-ness of Tahoe in the summertime one more time. It is just so beautiful there during this time of the year, so much for the kids to do, so peaceful, fresh air, lots of time to relax. We took walks, spent time in the village (Luke did bungee cord jumping for the first time ... he loved it and Mia spent the entire time telling us "I want it"), visited the playground and the pools, swung in the hammocks, and just spent a weekend together. What fun!