Lake and Grissom

We put up a little pool for the kids over July 4th.  They love it!  It's been great since it's been so hot.  But the other day we decided a trip to the lake was in order.  :)  I just took the kids for an overnight stay at Mom and Dad's, but it was a nice quick trip.  The lake felt great and we even got to go down the water slide a few times.  But mostly the kids just liked playing in the sand and rocks. :)

This weekend we took the kids to Grissom Air Force Base Museum.  The boys thought it was pretty cool.  They were really excited when Daddy let them get toy helicopters before we left.  :)

This is a "Top Gun" plane

California, part 2 -- Train ride

The boys loved the train ride up the mountain that we did last year, so we had to do it again!  That, and Phil and Chelsey needed to experience it too.  :)  Erin loves trains now, so we thought she would be thrilled with the ride.  However (as you will see below), she was not a fan of the steam engine's whistle.  Every time it blew she stuck her fingers in her ears.  It was too cute! 

After the train ride up the mountain, we walked over to the state redwood park.  The boys enjoyed following the map and looking for the trees with numbers.  They got a kick out of finding their number for their age and made me take pictures.  :)

Once back at Grandma's, we spent time picking lemons, oranges and apricots, going for walks to the park, and helping water Grandma's flowers.  We even took a quick trip to see Grandma D's house.  The house was empty so the kids were running circles in it, and the roses were beautiful as usual. :)

 Over all we had a great trip, but it was good to get home.  Although we really didn't stay home long.  Three days after we got home, we packed up and moved!   It rained the whole day, but it got done and we're so thankful for the helpers who came that day (Pete, Neil and Wayne).  We are loving our new home and can't wait for visitors.   ;)

walking thru the redwood park

I made this bigger so you could read the dates.

watching cars go by

Grandma D's house

California, part 1 - Asilomar

Our trip to California was a much needed break this year.  It seemed a bit crazy to leave for two weeks right when we bought a new house and in the middle of trying to sell the other one, but God had everything under control!  The weekend before we flew out west, we accepted an offer on the house---which made our vacation much more relaxing. :)   

We made a quick trip up to see the Jackson side of the family.  We all enjoyed the visit and look forward to seeing Johnie when he comes see us in November!

The next day we drove down to Asilomar for our 4 day stay there.  Believe it or not, we had sunshine the whole time!  It was absolutely beautiful.  The kids loved going to the beach and we couldn't keep Alex out of the water.  Even though the water is so cold it hurts, he didn't seem to mind.  Adam liked to go to the rocks and find good ones to throw into the water.  Erin was content to just play in the sand and have water in buckets.  Erin had a thing for Bruce too.  She would kinda flirt with him!  She kept tabs on him and wanted to know where he was if she didnt' see him.  But if he tried to get a high-five or smile from her, she would give him the cold shoulder.  It was too funny! 

Needless to say the kids had a blast and asked when we were going back.   Looking forward to next year!

with the Jackson's

going over the mountains

driving along the coast

beach full of sails

Batman!

throwing rocks

picture of beach from rocks