Seattle

We spent the Fourth of July in Seattle. I attended college just south of Seattle in the early 90s and haven't been back in more than 7 years, but the real impetus was spending time with one of Jason's sisters- Jessica.

It was just like I remembered it-- cold and rainy-ish. But that didn't stop us from getting out and about:

On top of the Space Needle.

Inside Pacific Science Center (just before we entered the butterfly room).

On a Duck tour.


From this photo, you'd never know the weather wasn't beautiful-- the sun peeked out for just a few hours that afternoon. This was our view while we boated around Lake Union.

Our 4th of July barbecue was moved indoors for rain, but after dinner all the kids were outside, playing with sparklers and colorful smoke firecrackers (all totally legal), for about an hour until it started getting dark. Casey wasn't too keen on the sparklers, so this is the only one he held.

Marcie, on the other hand, couldn't get enough.

We had a really fantastic time-- and Jason's sister was such a wonderfully gracious host.

Camping

Each year we try to do some sort of camping activity. Two summers ago, we took the kids camping up in the Cuyamaca mountains. It was a little hot, but there was plenty of shade, and we just went for one night. That same summer, we took them on a very low-key camping trip to our local lake, where all we had to do was bring a tent and meat for dinner-- the campfire, activities and hiking were all set up for us. But even then, we couldn't help but feel that if we were going to go to all the trouble of packing all that stuff, we should at least sleep in the tent for a couple nights.


Last summer, we tried beach camping with some good friends in a borrowed motor home. To us, it felt like extreme tailgating. The only reason we had space for the kids to play was because the spot next to us was empty. And it was the only one in the whole lot that was empty.

This year, we decided to try out a private camp ground we'd been to about 5 years ago. It's more expensive than state parks. And more crowded. There are some tent-only sites and some RV only sites, and some that allow for both. We did the latter, near the beach. Which turned out to be windy and cold the first night. But by noon on the second day, the weather was beautiful.

The camp ground has a giant play structure, a swim area for the ocean, plenty of sand, bike and boating rentals, and a bunch of heated pools. There is also a skate park, an arcade, a horseshoe area, a cafe with ice cream and a general store. So it's not what you'd call roughing it-- but that's okay with us, too.

This year, our group grew by one family. Casey is about 2 1/2 years older than the next oldest kid, and the youngest is about 22 months old, so the kids get along relatively well. The first night, the kids were so hyped up, we just could not get them to sleep. And just as we got them down, fireworks from Sea World riled them up, so of course we let them get out of bed to watch. That didn't meant they slept in the next morning, though! They were up by 6:30, ready to start their day. The boys napped a bit on Saturday, after swimming, kite-flying and playing in the sand. Then the group rented a giant 11-seater bike contraption, and we pedaled all over the park.

The kids rode their bike all over the asphalt, and then Casey decided he was ready to have his training wheels removed (at long last). (I personally attribute this to him biking with his cousin, who is a year and a half younger than he is and has off the training wheels for about a year now, the afternoon before.) And all be darned. He did it! By the end of the weekend, Casey was riding his bike without his training wheels. (After we got home, Jason took him to parking lot, where he fell for the first time, but wasn't injured too badly-- and now he's up and riding again already!) Here's a snapshot (yes, it's blurry-- he was moving.)


After that, we headed over to the play area, where I proceeded to embarrass Casey by "yelling" at some middle-school-aged-looking kids who were throwing hands-full of the rubber chips from the roof top of the play structure, many of which were landing on other, smaller kids. When Casey saw me explain to them that I understand they were having fun but that it was hurting other kids, he yelled at me: "You're not the boss of the playground!" A nearby dad overheard him, and said: "Do you want me to go find your parents?" Sheepishly, I had to admit I was the parent, and he was sassing me because I'd apparently embarrassed him.

Finally, we headed back to camp for dinner, banana boats and another camp fire.

Sunday morning we packed up camp and headed back home, where the kids and I took nice naps. It was a great weekend-- great friends, great food, great weather-- can't wait to do it again next year!

Here are some photos of the fun:


Left column: the bigger kids getting ready for a walk and roasting marshmallows for s'mores
Middle column: headlight, the girls at the park, Casey in our tent
Right column: Lucas practicing without training wheels, watching the fireworks, Griffin preparing the beer, and the girls

Disneyland

I love going to Disneyland on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. It's never too hot. It's never too crowded. But this year, someone has to work (and it's not me). So we decided to head up for the weekend before the holiday. This ended up working out well (especially because it's now raining and we got to enjoy the Magic of Disney in sunshine).

We went last year at the same time, but it's been a whole year, so the kids were pretty excited. Though they did inform us that they would not being going on Pirates of the Caribbean (too scary, they claimed).

We stayed at a very conveniently-located hotel, in a family suite. We started our day yesterday in California Adventure at Soarin' Over California, which we've always wanted to ride. Marcie is well over the 40" mark now, so she got to enjoy the experience, too. (As a side note, I just found Casey's 5-year check-up paperwork when I was cleaning and he was more than an inch and probably two pounds lighter than Marcie currently measures at age 4!) After we finished up in California Adventure and headed over to Disneyland for lunch, we headed to the hotel for an afternoon nap. Then we let the kids stay up for the fireworks last night.

This morning we nibbled on our continental breakfast before we hit the park (just in time for the gates to open). We went straight for Indiana Jones, which was broken. I waited while Jason and the kids rode the Jungle Boat and climbed Tarzan's tree. They returned just in time for the ride to open, and for Jason to take Casey on it for the first time. Marcie and I snuck off to ride the Pirates ride (which she rode again with Jason, though Casey vehemently refused). We ended our trip back at California Adventure, watching Turtle Talk with Crush and riding all the rides in Bug's Land. We even managed to catch the High School Musical 3 show three times (twice just the tail end, though).

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but the ones I took actually came out pretty nicely. Here are a few of my favorites:

Casey carried this journal with him, copying down words and drawing pictures of things he liked in the park. Sometimes his writing-while-walking slowed as down a bit. But who wants to discourage that? So we went with it. This is arriving at the Park.

A nice couple visiting for their anniversary snapped this one of us at Toy Story. I convinced Jason to wear the 3-D glasses. But not Marcie. She's one tough negotiator. And I'm not kidding.

There is no significance to the letter "A" except that it was empty and the kids wanted to climb on it this morning.

One of our favorite things about Bug's Land is the repeated reference to Casey's name. But Disneyland isn't selling paraphernalia with "Casey" on it anymore. We got some at Disneyworld before he was born, but we couldn't find mugs or key chains or anything with "Casey" on it this time. What's up with that?

A Camping We Will Go

Our friends Ann & Mark loaned us their motor home for the weekend to head off with the kids for some beach camping. We had never been motor home camping (actually, I think we've both been in an RV in the past- my family rented on for a camping trip up to Yosemite and the Red Wood Forest when I was younger). Okay, we had never been motor home camping together.

Jason was in charge of the trip. I did, literally, nothing. I had been working such long hours at work that I just simply didn't have the time to help.

And, despite the fact that we'd never been motor home camping before, we bravely invited some family friends to join us. Lucky for us, they are good-natured and easy to be with. Because the weekend wasn't what we were expecting. Actually, to be fair, I'm not sure what we were expecting. For those of you haven't been motor home camping before, though, it's kind of like a giant tail gate. Without the big game.

They don't give you much room in those RV parking lots. Lucky for us, there was no one on either side of us, which let us spread out a bit. And it gave the kids some space to ride their bikes:

Okay, so it was just Casey riding Marcie's bike. With no helmet, because we forgot it and left it at home. I know, parents of the year.

When the kids weren't riding around without helmets on, they got to spend time at the beach:

Though they actually went in the ocean, I didn't have my camera with me at the time. But here they are are running along the shore. And below, they are "sand swimming."


And some nice, older kid showed them a giant hole he'd dug. And that brought a great deal of entertainment for the kids.And when they weren't playing in the water, they were snacking:

or hanging out inside the motor home, playing:

(Okay, I admit it- we forgot the kids' toys and books! Good thing our friends brought stuff for the kids to do!)



And at the end of it all, we were just as tired as if we'd gone tent camping! You can tell just by looking at us:

But don't be fooled- I think we're just not as photogenic as our friends-- for a weekend camping at the beach, they look pretty amazing:

Oh How We Love Casey's Birth Family

Seriously. We always enjoy spending time with them-- and Casey absolutely loves it. When I went to pick him up (early) from school, he waved good bye to his classmates and said, "Good-bye friends!" When asked where he was going, Casey didn't boast Disneyland travel plans. Instead he shrugged and said, "I'm going to get my brother at the airport." He was giddy with excitement. And for good reason.

It's been a little over a year since we saw Casey's birth family. And the kids have grown so much. Marcie, who wouldn't even look at Papaw Jim without crying until our last night in October, over a bowl of popcorn. It did take her a little longer to warm up to him this year. But not that long. By our second day in Disneyland, she was giggling and hugging him. Here's proof:

The kids had a great time. When we arrived in Anaheim, ready to blast on over to Disneyland, Casey whined, though. You see, there was a pool in the hotel. And he didn't want to go to Disneyland. He wanted to go swimming. Can you imagine? But rather than drag them to an amusement park kicking and screaming, we succumbed to their request and Jason played in the pool with them.


The next morning, after breakfast we headed off to Disney. The hotel was one long block away-- totally do-able with the stroller. And the park wasn't too bad. Marcie and I started on Buzz Lightyear (her favorite ride) while the boys went into Star Tours. Then I bounded off to Nemo, while they did Buzz. They caught up with me and Marcie a little while later, and from there it was all a blur.


We did go to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner, which was a huge treat. Not only did the kids get a great picture with Mini Mouse, but the buffet was decent, and we were visited by a variety of Disney characters-- Goofy, Alladin, Princess Aurora, Baloo-- it was pretty neat.


On Friday we headed over to California Adventure and walked right on all the rights in Bug's Life Land. Marcie was even tall enough to go on all the rides. Then we made a bee line for the new Toy Story ride, which was super-4D fun (and Marcie's other favorite ride). The cranky kids did fall asleep mid-day and I couldn't make it back to the hotel carrying one and pushing the other, so I hung out right inside the park entrance and let them nap. We got lucky later in the afternoon and caught Wizard Mickey and Woody, and we walked right on the Monster's Inc. ride.


Saturday we headed home, and we had a barbecue with our families. On Sunday we went to Legoland. And it never ceases to amaze me how engaged kids are by the Mini Land structures. They could probably spend hours looking at all the cities if we let them. But we didn't. After Legoland, when we asked the kids which they liked more, they said both Legoland and Disneyland. As if they are even on the same level. Sigh. Oh well.

It was still a blast. And this kids miss their Ohio family. . .

Here are some highlights: