Aquarium

The kids and I went with my God children to the Monterey aquarium last week. It was great! The boy didn't want to leave. There is so much to see and do there. This is the boy and A and Z at the penguin exhibit.

My favorite exhibit, the jellyfish. I could have stayed there all day!

The wave tank.

My favorite picture.

Waterworld

It was our last full week of summer, so the kids and I decided to go on some day trips. We started the week going to a marine research lab/aquarium. We were very lucky, since we were the only three people on the tour, we were able to go into the research area that is normally off limits. We got to see the researchers working with some retired navy dolphins and we saw several endangered sea lions. We were not able to take any pictures in the area, because of the nature of the work and the fact the animals are endangered. It was amazing, seeing how intelligent the dolphins are, the kids are still talking about it.

The kids in front of a blue whale skeleton. The whale washed up on the beach back in the early seventies. It was huge!

There was an area of gray whale bones for people to explore and pick up.

Touching a swell shark.

Swell shark egg casings.

For Tia!

The next day we headed to the beach. The boy boogie boarded all day.

My bathing beauty.

Since we had been at the ocean for two days, we decided to hit up the water slides on day three of our water adventure.

The girl coming out of the slide.

Since we had done the ocean and the water park, next up was playing in the river. The dog played with the kids in the river, but he was to fast for me to get a picture.

Then, at the end of the week, it was back to the beach with their cousin A. The boy boarded all day, only coming in when I made him take water breaks or c eat. There was a seal and some dolphins in the surf behind him, but I couldn't get a clear picture.

Coming in for a water break. The girl and A body surfed into the waves all day.

Elevensies

Today was the girl's eleventh birthday. She thought she was going to school, as if it was a normal day. When we dropped off her brother at school I told her not to get out of the car. We headed off to the mountains to a zip line/sky bridge course about 40 minutes away. She didn't know what we were doing, until we meet our instructors and stepped into our harnesses. Hubby wanted to go with us, but he wasn't able to get the day off. After a practice run, we were anxious to get on the course. We did 8 zip lines that were at 100-180 feet high and three sky bridges. It was a two hour tour of beautiful landscape and fun. Since we had the place to ourselves, it was extra special.

The zip line instructors were teaching the girl to hang off the side of the platform using her feet for balance. Once they found out she was a daredevil and not afraid of heights, they did a bunch of extra stuff with her.

They would "slingshot" her off of the zip line platform. A slingshot is where they grab you, pull you back and let you go. She would get this big grin on her face and let out a little "whoop" of glee as she went speeding along.

Here the girl is playing around on the zip line. The instructors would push her out from the platform and then she would hand over hand her way back to the platform. She loved it! After a fun morning hanging out in the tree tops, we headed off to lunch at a local little "cowboy" restaurant and then topped off our day of playing hookey with some ice cream. Happy Birthday to my little girl. I had such a great time hanging out with you today!

The Lost Weekend

On a neighbors farm are the remnants of a French Utopian colony. They were kind enough to take us on a tour. By tour I mean let us run around to our hearts content.

There were a surprising number of ruins over 7 acres.

It was a beautiful spring day, perfect for a hike.

The boy riding in our neighbors polaris.

The girl found this laying not far from the ruins. There is still twine on the wooden spool. Our best guess is that it was a kite spool. There is still a lot of paint on it.

The perfect end to the day was this bouquet of wildflowers the girl surprised me with.

Week in Review

I thought I would give a quick update on what went on last week. The girl making a bunny easter cake. It was really cute. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture.

The boy building the Legos his cousins sent him in his easter package. His friend T is helping.

The girl and her friend G. I took this pic, since I love the fact that the still hold hands and skip at this age. We had just gone to a movie in the mall. Since the boys were at the property with friends for a few days, the girl had a sleep over with her friend.

The boy graduating from a bear cub to a boy scout (webelo 1).

Before the moving ceremony, all the boys get marked with different colored markers on their face to denote their rank.

April Fools

The girl played the April fools joke this year. She made "brownies" and left them for us to eat the morning of April 1st...clever girl!

Let Them Eat Cake!

My Aunt recently had a birthday. She requested a home made chocolate cake with our family icing. The kids happily complied. The girl made the cake and she and the boy made the frosting. As far as I know, this particular frosting doesn't have a recipe with precise measurements, at least not one I've ever seen. My Grandma, Mom, Aunt, Sister and I ust combined the ingredients together until it tasted right. So that is how I had the kids make it. As they made it, I thought about how they are the fourth and quite possibly the fifth generation of my family to make this icing. I know its a small thing, but it makes me smile. Even better, their Auntie proclaimed it delicious. I hope they make it for her many years to come.