So this stuff has all come and gone, but I really wanted to share the rest of our summer. Our vacation sort of squished up really close to when school started - we actually got home only 3 days before! We had such a great summer (I'm missing it already!) so I wanted to make sure to share.
We spent about a month at my mom and dad's in Sacramento and it was just so relaxing and fun. We had a lot of mellow days spent just like this - crazy kids by the pool! Yes they are superheroes, thanks to crafty Aunt Carrie who made them!! Carter got the Batman one for his birthday, such a great idea! Dylan borrowed Sean's Superman and we had cute caped crusaders.
Carter's infamous belly-flop! I love Dylan's face in the background too. Carter did this over and over until he finally hurt his belly one day. Then he wouldn't jump off the waterfall at all. He got his courage back before we went home to Arizona, though. We discovered the muscles this year. None of the other boys had worn them before because I was always worried they wouldn't learn to swim and only rely on them. Well, we may have made that mistake a little with Carter because he loved the freedom of being able to go wherever he wanted!! He loves them! We have been working hard on his skills here at home so hopefully we won't have to big a set back! 
Before Amy and Owen had to go back to Pittsburg, we were able to spend a fun day with them at the zoo, Fairytale Town and Funderland. Such great childhood memories and so fun to share them with my own kids!! Here's Carter in the train at Fairytale Town. I don't have any others because Jake and Dylan were running around like crazy with Patrick. I think they ran the Crooked Mile a million times!
Jake and Dylan - cute brother buddies at the zoo!
All my boys on the roller coaster at Funderland. It was fun to have Patrick with us because we were apart so much this summer, what with us playing in CA and him having to work. I love how Jake is bored with the too-easy ride.
Cute cousin Owen loving the fishies. He looks very serious but cried when he had to get off - a true test of how fun it was!
Thumbs up, dude!
Of course, no trip to Sacramento is complete without a day in San Francisco. Here's 3 cold boys at Pier 39 while we were waiting for our ferry. My mom and I decided to be a little adventurous and take them to Angel Island, where I hadn't gone since a field trip in 4th grade. Our idea was to hike around a bit and have a picnic. 
Grandma and Carter hiking Angel Island. The island is beautiful and not crowded at all. It has great views of the bay and the weather was amazing!
My handsome guys in front of an old army hospital. Angel Island was an army base.
A gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I looove S.F.!
These are the barracks my class stayed in when we had our field trip. Can you believe the view?! I don't remember much about this trip - really only have memories of being cold and sleeping on the hard ground. But I do remember having to do the night watch (we were soldiers, after all) and seeing the beautiful view of the city at night.
Jake and Grandma on the ferry ride back to the city. Once we got back, we headed over for a mandatory stop at Boudin Bakery. I singlehandedly bought out the store's supply of sourdough bread. Okay, that's exaggerating but I think my mom and I brought home about 10 loaves. Best bread ever!!! And when you freeze it, it tastes just like the day you bought it. Delicious!
This is a sourdough crocodile. Of course, the boys wanted to buy it but I didn't know how to get it in the freezer.
I haven't ridden a cable car in years so I was so excited that it wasn't too crowded to wait to ride on this day. I have wanted the kids to ride for a long time. We rode from the wharf to Union Square then went back again. We attempted a couple of stores in Union Square but shopping with 3 boys is not fun so we gave up. The ride back to the wharf was eventful, to say the least. Our cable car basically barrelled through an intersection that cab was dashing through. I'm sure the cable cars and cabbies play chicken all the time - I just didn't appreciate them doing it when my family was sitting in the front of the cable car in question! A little scary, to say the least.
In our family, no visit to S.F. is complete without a little Blondie's pizza. Here's Jake enjoying the goodness.
Grandpa and Carter at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. I was so glad my dad played hooky from work one day and we were all able to go down. My mom and I were grateful to have him come along and accompany the kids on all the spin-y rides that you couldn't pay us money to ride on! Thanks Dad!
Dylan and Jake enjoying the swings. We had such a fun and busy day that I don't really have any pictures. It is such a great park - kind of a combination of Sea World and Six Flags because it has the animal shows and the rides. It's a really great balance. My kids are so fun at amusement parks - not really very nervous and excited to try lots of rides. Jake was especially gutsy and a good height too. He tried his first 2 upside-down roller coasters and loved them both! Here's Grandpa and Jake on the Boomerang. I tried to zoom in the picture as far as I could but no luck.
My dad is wearing the white shirt close to the top and Jake is on his left. The highlight of the day was probably the last ride that Dylan, Jake, Grandpa and I took called Tony Hawk's Big Spin. The boys loved the skateboarding angle and it was a fun ride - a roller coaster that also spins! Grandma and Carter were patient as it was really cold by this time and the ride broke down with us sitting right there after our turn was over. Good thing it didn't happen while we were on it!!!
The first week in August, we flew from Sacramento to Seattle to visit our family up there. Patrick came and met us a few days later and it was so fun to be together again - we had been missing our daddy! Seattle is so beautiful in the summer and we had not been up to visit in such a long time. We were able to stay with Kim and Dave, as Grandma and Grandpa had their house on the market.
Look at all these handsome boys! I love getting them all together - they play soooo well, it's almost freaky. This is the day that we went to Remlinger Farm, which was a farm, an amusement park etc. all rolled into one. It was a great day with great weather, except that after the first half-hour or so, Andrew didn't feel well. So he had to go take a nap in the car which was a bummer.
Playing on top of the fire truck. The kids could get in and pretend to drive it or just climb all over it. Perfect for a bunch of boys but it was hard for Carter and Austin to decide who's turn it was to drive!!
Snack time on the choo-choo train.
Pumpkin time! The other favorites of the day were the little roller coaster for the big kids and the merry-go-round for the little ones.
We were able to have a lot of fun family time while we were in Seattle, especially with the boys out in the garage play room playing Guitar Hero. I swear, when we were at the house, we didn't even see Jake, Andrew, D.J. or Dylan unless it was time to eat! We were supposed to have the chance to see Andrew and D.J. play in their baseball games but Andrew was too sick to play in his and D.J.'s game was too rainy. He played but we were not going to sit in the rain to watch!! Too bad - we would have loved to have seen our studly nephews play!
Probably the highlight of the trip was the day we spent on Lake Washington for Sea Fair. Grandpa rented a boat that the whole family could fit on and we spent the day cruising the water. We got the see the Blue Angels practice, eat lots of yummy food and get in water fights with other boats. There were so many people on the water! Not warm enough to swim but such a nice relaxing day.
Uncle P and the boyz!
Carter eating probably his 500th Rice Krispy treat of the day.
Jake, Dylan, Andrew and D.J. chilling on the bow. Note the Space Needle in the background. So pretty!
Cute skating boys!!
Is this not the nastiest thing you've ever seen?! It's a tomato worm from my dad's garden. The boys and Sean and Ryan were completely obsessed with it. Then they had to take it out and smush it to death.
We also had the chance to go to the Sacramento Temple - so beautiful and so fun to get to go with my hubby and sister Amy.
Me and my pretty sis Ames. She's prego here but you can't tell because she's annoying like that. She's having a little girl!
We spent about a month at my mom and dad's in Sacramento and it was just so relaxing and fun. We had a lot of mellow days spent just like this - crazy kids by the pool! Yes they are superheroes, thanks to crafty Aunt Carrie who made them!! Carter got the Batman one for his birthday, such a great idea! Dylan borrowed Sean's Superman and we had cute caped crusaders. Carter's infamous belly-flop! I love Dylan's face in the background too. Carter did this over and over until he finally hurt his belly one day. Then he wouldn't jump off the waterfall at all. He got his courage back before we went home to Arizona, though. We discovered the muscles this year. None of the other boys had worn them before because I was always worried they wouldn't learn to swim and only rely on them. Well, we may have made that mistake a little with Carter because he loved the freedom of being able to go wherever he wanted!! He loves them! We have been working hard on his skills here at home so hopefully we won't have to big a set back! Before Amy and Owen had to go back to Pittsburg, we were able to spend a fun day with them at the zoo, Fairytale Town and Funderland. Such great childhood memories and so fun to share them with my own kids!! Here's Carter in the train at Fairytale Town. I don't have any others because Jake and Dylan were running around like crazy with Patrick. I think they ran the Crooked Mile a million times!Jake and Dylan - cute brother buddies at the zoo! All my boys on the roller coaster at Funderland. It was fun to have Patrick with us because we were apart so much this summer, what with us playing in CA and him having to work. I love how Jake is bored with the too-easy ride.Cute cousin Owen loving the fishies. He looks very serious but cried when he had to get off - a true test of how fun it was!Thumbs up, dude!Of course, no trip to Sacramento is complete without a day in San Francisco. Here's 3 cold boys at Pier 39 while we were waiting for our ferry. My mom and I decided to be a little adventurous and take them to Angel Island, where I hadn't gone since a field trip in 4th grade. Our idea was to hike around a bit and have a picnic. Grandma and Carter hiking Angel Island. The island is beautiful and not crowded at all. It has great views of the bay and the weather was amazing!My handsome guys in front of an old army hospital. Angel Island was an army base.A gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I looove S.F.!
These are the barracks my class stayed in when we had our field trip. Can you believe the view?! I don't remember much about this trip - really only have memories of being cold and sleeping on the hard ground. But I do remember having to do the night watch (we were soldiers, after all) and seeing the beautiful view of the city at night.Jake and Grandma on the ferry ride back to the city. Once we got back, we headed over for a mandatory stop at Boudin Bakery. I singlehandedly bought out the store's supply of sourdough bread. Okay, that's exaggerating but I think my mom and I brought home about 10 loaves. Best bread ever!!! And when you freeze it, it tastes just like the day you bought it. Delicious!This is a sourdough crocodile. Of course, the boys wanted to buy it but I didn't know how to get it in the freezer.I haven't ridden a cable car in years so I was so excited that it wasn't too crowded to wait to ride on this day. I have wanted the kids to ride for a long time. We rode from the wharf to Union Square then went back again. We attempted a couple of stores in Union Square but shopping with 3 boys is not fun so we gave up. The ride back to the wharf was eventful, to say the least. Our cable car basically barrelled through an intersection that cab was dashing through. I'm sure the cable cars and cabbies play chicken all the time - I just didn't appreciate them doing it when my family was sitting in the front of the cable car in question! A little scary, to say the least.In our family, no visit to S.F. is complete without a little Blondie's pizza. Here's Jake enjoying the goodness.Grandpa and Carter at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. I was so glad my dad played hooky from work one day and we were all able to go down. My mom and I were grateful to have him come along and accompany the kids on all the spin-y rides that you couldn't pay us money to ride on! Thanks Dad!Dylan and Jake enjoying the swings. We had such a fun and busy day that I don't really have any pictures. It is such a great park - kind of a combination of Sea World and Six Flags because it has the animal shows and the rides. It's a really great balance. My kids are so fun at amusement parks - not really very nervous and excited to try lots of rides. Jake was especially gutsy and a good height too. He tried his first 2 upside-down roller coasters and loved them both! Here's Grandpa and Jake on the Boomerang. I tried to zoom in the picture as far as I could but no luck.My dad is wearing the white shirt close to the top and Jake is on his left. The highlight of the day was probably the last ride that Dylan, Jake, Grandpa and I took called Tony Hawk's Big Spin. The boys loved the skateboarding angle and it was a fun ride - a roller coaster that also spins! Grandma and Carter were patient as it was really cold by this time and the ride broke down with us sitting right there after our turn was over. Good thing it didn't happen while we were on it!!!The first week in August, we flew from Sacramento to Seattle to visit our family up there. Patrick came and met us a few days later and it was so fun to be together again - we had been missing our daddy! Seattle is so beautiful in the summer and we had not been up to visit in such a long time. We were able to stay with Kim and Dave, as Grandma and Grandpa had their house on the market.
Look at all these handsome boys! I love getting them all together - they play soooo well, it's almost freaky. This is the day that we went to Remlinger Farm, which was a farm, an amusement park etc. all rolled into one. It was a great day with great weather, except that after the first half-hour or so, Andrew didn't feel well. So he had to go take a nap in the car which was a bummer.Playing on top of the fire truck. The kids could get in and pretend to drive it or just climb all over it. Perfect for a bunch of boys but it was hard for Carter and Austin to decide who's turn it was to drive!!Snack time on the choo-choo train.Pumpkin time! The other favorites of the day were the little roller coaster for the big kids and the merry-go-round for the little ones.
We were able to have a lot of fun family time while we were in Seattle, especially with the boys out in the garage play room playing Guitar Hero. I swear, when we were at the house, we didn't even see Jake, Andrew, D.J. or Dylan unless it was time to eat! We were supposed to have the chance to see Andrew and D.J. play in their baseball games but Andrew was too sick to play in his and D.J.'s game was too rainy. He played but we were not going to sit in the rain to watch!! Too bad - we would have loved to have seen our studly nephews play!
Probably the highlight of the trip was the day we spent on Lake Washington for Sea Fair. Grandpa rented a boat that the whole family could fit on and we spent the day cruising the water. We got the see the Blue Angels practice, eat lots of yummy food and get in water fights with other boats. There were so many people on the water! Not warm enough to swim but such a nice relaxing day.
Uncle P and the boyz!Carter eating probably his 500th Rice Krispy treat of the day.
Jake, Dylan, Andrew and D.J. chilling on the bow. Note the Space Needle in the background. So pretty!We had such a nice trip and it is always so sad to leave. We don't see nearly enough of our Seattle family for our liking. We always have such a good time when we get together - can't wait for April, guys! Hawaii, here we come!
I already know this post is really random so I might as well post a few more random shots. I took Jake and Dylan roller-skating when we were visiting my mom. Can I just tell you how fun it was?! I forgot how much I loved to roller-skate! Girl's night anyone? They did such a good job and we had a good day. Too bad we didn't get better shots of the actual skating - it was kinda dark.
Cute skating boys!!Is this not the nastiest thing you've ever seen?! It's a tomato worm from my dad's garden. The boys and Sean and Ryan were completely obsessed with it. Then they had to take it out and smush it to death.
We also had the chance to go to the Sacramento Temple - so beautiful and so fun to get to go with my hubby and sister Amy.Me and my pretty sis Ames. She's prego here but you can't tell because she's annoying like that. She's having a little girl!Ahh, summer. It's so hard to say good-bye! We had the best time spending it with our families and it just flew by. Can't wait to see you again!
14 comments:
Looks like you had so much fun. You hit all the best spots in S.F. Blondies and Boudin. I just can't get enough of those places. I drag Chris to the city every couple of months. Your boys are so cute and I can't believe you little sis is all grown up. Call next time your in town...lunch or something. So jealous...Hawaii!
Sac! awesome next summer you can rescue Tyler from his mom and play with him too! That is where he goes!
You made me miss summer all over again! You guys did so many fun things. I love the boat ride with the boys wearing sweatshirts. Kind of hard to imagine that was a summer trip as I sit here in my hot house! It must have been great to cool off!
I'm so glad you finally posted some of your pictures. It makes me sad that we didn't spend more of the summer together. Next year! I love the picture of us in front of the temple, I'm gonna steal it. Seatle looks beautiful and fun. I love that you took the boys roller skating. When we were driving to NC we passed one and Mike and I both said how much we loved doing that when we were kids.
WOW! What a great Summer. You got some really good pictures of the boys. I miss Summer too!
Wow! That was a marathon! Good for you though for actually going back and journaling all of that. Your boys will be so glad you did when they are older. You sure had an eventful summer! I can't wait to be apart of all that next year!
So fun Nikki. I love San Francisco so many interesting things. I like the alligator bread that was awesome.
Ohh, you are making me miss Sacto!!! We loved taking Brittany to Funderland and Fairytale Town when she was little. Isn't San Francisco the best? Glad you guys had a great summer.
What a great summer. So glad we get to spend so much time with you guys each summer! My kids love spending time with their cousins!
I hope Carter isn't ruined with his muscles...He had so much fun. That's always been my problem, the kids hadn't learned to swim well enough before summer fun time and I didn't want them to miss out on having fun in the sun! Next year Carter will be old enough for swim lessons before summer really starts, so you'll be in good shape.
I loved how well our three year olds played together.
Miss you guys.
I knew you were holding out on us! Ha ha! Great fun! I haven't seen much of Cali, but I would like to hit ALL of those spots!
Great vacation! Jealous that you spent a month in California. Love the super hero outfits. I want o make some of those.
Wow! What an awesome summer you guys had! I've only been to CA once, but LOVED it and have always wanted to go back...But seriously- what's more fun than doing cool stuff with family? :)
What a FUN summer!!! I love Cali!!! You are making me want to head to CA!!! You have the cutest family!!!
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