Makena, Taylor, Lacey, Allison, Zoe, Cooper, Luke and Jax
The new park opened in May and is great for all ages. We packed picnic lunches and had a nice time catching up while the kids played.
They had fun shooting water guns...
climbing structures...
setting off fountains...
and playing in the wall of water. All for $5 a car!!!
The weather report showed sunny skies and we had an entire weekend open so we crossed another item off of our summer To Do list...Torrey Pines State Park/Beach. We parked down below and make the steep trek up to the park from the beach.
The weather quickly warmed up as the marine layer disappeared and the kids were more interested in making our way back to the beach. However, we did get in a nice hike with gorgeous views of La Jolla.
There were some pretty cool rock structures and lots of plants and wildlife . Taylor was just glad we didn't spot a rattlesnake!
After about an hour and a half, we hiked back down and changed clothes in the car for an afternoon in the sand. By now the cloud cover was gone and it was a perfect beach day!
Matt and the girls were in the water quickly.
The waves provided hours of entertainment for all of them!
We all spent a little time playing Smashball and kicking the soccer ball around. We packed a picnic lunch and spent most of the afternoon eating and playing. It is rare that we have a full day to spend like this, but it was PERFECT!
Today was the dreaded day to get the 4 molars extracted. I had processed over and over in my head how I would be able to be in the room with her, but came to the conclusion, I would probably do more harm than good. I seem to remember passing out in the recovery room after Allison's surgery (embarrassing!). So Matt left work early, met us at the dentist office and went back with Taylor while Allison and I drove to the store to get ice cream for later.
She was pretty nervous...asking about Novacaine, how much blood she would taste, etc. but she put on her iTunes and did great!
They were home in less than a half hour with lots of gauze and four teeth in a box. There were no roots left on any of the teeth, so I think that helped it go so smooth. Within the hour, the bleeding had stopped, she was eating ice cream and even went to the movies this afternoon. She will likely get the braces on in the next few months and is well on her way to having her beautiful smile back!!
We spent much of Father's Day in Irvine, but brought gifts to Matt at the hotel and heated up the hot tub when we got home to spoil him with neck and foot massages and a little down time after a long weekend.
The girls were so excited that the team was staying at the Embassy Suites for the night. They loved going from room to room, getting snacks at the Happy Hour and loved the free breakfast in the morning. This group really knows how to have fun!
The indoor pool was a little too chlorinated which made it tough to stay in, but the girls didn't seem to care.
Several families ate together at Souplantation for dinner, before returning to the hotel for a night a visiting at Happy Hour in the hotel atrium.
We knew this weekend would be tough competition, but a great experience for our players to see their weaknesses and try to improve. We finished 4th out of 8 teams, but had a great weekend having all of the families together!
Brooklyn was itty bitty the last time we saw her and is now 16 months and so fun! 
Poor little Molly started getting an earache during lunch and it quickly got worse, so we had to cut our playdate short so Sarah could take her to Urgent Care...good thing, she had Swimmer's Ear! 
Then it was back to the house for an afternoon with Merritt. She loves her new bubble maker
and Allison enjoyed playing with her.
Allison loves all of the toys Merritt has a Grandma's house too!
We couldn't take the heat any longer, so drove up to the community pool to cool off. Merritt really connected with Taylor, but didn't like the water much and had more fun watching from the pool deck.
She sure keep Grandma moving!
It was the perfect way to end our vacation. The girls had such a great time visiting with everyone and loved having Emily there to share it with us!
It was Emily's first time though and the weather couldn't have been better! 
Grandma and Papa bought the girls unlimited ride bracelets and they bolted for the bumper cars first!
Allison and Emily relaxing on the Skyway overlooking the beautiful beach.
My Mom and I found benches along the way and any shade we could find as the girls ventured from ride to ride along the boardwalk.
The girls laughed hysterically each time the cars made the wide turn and threw them across their seats!
Gliding high as a kite!
I think the girls spent about four hours spinning in circles on all of the different rides and rollercoasters. They had a blast, but after all that riding and Cherry Icees before getting in the car, it was just a little much for Emily's stomach to take. When Papa picked us up, e had to stop twice on the windy road home for her to "take care of business", but she felt much better afterwards, had a fun story to tell and a day of great memories!
We have been trying to cross Rock City off our list our last few trips to Danville and today we finally did. Jenny, Holden and Tanner went with us up to this cool park on Mount Diablo.
It has great hiking trails, picnic tables and these awesome boulders to climb.
There are little caves and carvings all over the rocks.
Taylor is always the dare-devil!
Gorgeous views of the valley
Emily and Taylor really enjoyed this week together.
Resting in the shade before making our way back to the campgrounds for our picnic lunch. The girls love getting together with Holden and Tanner each time we come up and we can't wait to spend more time with them in Alaska!
Tonight, we met up with Scott and Elizabeth to see their new house (beautiful!) and to get some dinner . We ate at Maria Maria and enjoyed catching up about their jobs, friends and all of the kids activities. Sure wish we could see them more often...there are always plenty of laughs when we do!!
