Our California Trip, Part II

We made it to Escondido in the afternoon, around 2:30.  The Williams' house sits on about 8 acres at the top of the hill and it's a kids paradise with everything there is to do.  Hiking the hill was one of the first things on the agenda and Brian & Cory took all 5 kids and the dog to the top.  I was on the back deck using our super zoom 70-300mm lens.  We don't use it often but it turned out to be a great lens for all the scenery during the weekend.

 Not even an hour after we arrived, Brian & Curtis were driving down the driveway and saw a rattlesnake going across the pavement.  It's become a tradition for us to kill rattlesnakes whenever we come to town.  Last year we found two in one weekend and this creepy guy greeted us right away.  It's so sad to kill any animal but you can't have rattlesnakes squirming their way around your property when you've got kids and animals running all around.  This particular snake was a female and she was pregnant with 9 eggs.  See those yellow oval shaped things below?  Yup, those are baby rattlesnake eggs.  So creepy.  I was pretty grossed out but this was definitely a highlight of the trip for our kids.

The next day Cory caught some amazing photos of a hawk that was flying around.  Much prettier than a rattlesnake.

Our kids play so well with Devin & Curtis.  It's like a non-stop kid party all weekend long.

Cory was the resident photographer for most of the weekend and he captured some really sweet shots like this one of Reese:

 and this one of Ryder (who was in hog heaven with all the fake guns around):

 and another one of Reesey:

 and this one of sassafras Ryan:

 After all the cute posing it was time to shoot some guns.  Again, this nothing we would ever do in Chandler but when in Rome.

 
While Reese was shooting stuff Ryan was trying to collect eggs from the chicken coop in the background but got chased out by an angry hen.  She was running like her life depended on it and I couldn't stop laughing.

 Then it was time to pose and make gang signs on a pile of wood.  They were all so funny together.

 And then it was time for us to leave.  So sad to go but we're happy to know that we will be back in August to celebrate Cory's grandpa's 95th birthday.

Our California Trip, Part I

We just got back from California and we had such a blast on our trip.  First of all it was amazing to get out of the blazing heat even if it was just for 5 days.  I think we timed it perfectly because we were getting updates from back home that it was 113 degrees.  That made the 78 degree weather in Malibu seem pretty awesome.

We woke up SUPER early on Wednesday morning and headed out.  The plan was to leave at 4am but Ryder woke up at 2am with a bloody nose in our bed and by the time I cleaned it all up I was wide awake.  We decided to hit the road at 2:30am and I drove for the first 2 hours.  By 4:30 I was pretty tired so we pulled over and Cory drove the rest of the way.  We got into LA just in time for breakfast and some rush hour traffic.  When we arrived at Alexa & Justin's house they were at swim lessons but we got settled in and they arrived around lunch time.  We took it easy that first day because we were all pretty pooped from driving in the middle of the night.  Alexa & Justin took us to Stonehaus, one of their favorite neighborhood restaurants.  We had wine & snacks while the kids ran around and played outside.  It was so nice.  After we got back home the kids were dying to put on a concert with all of Justin's instruments.  It was one of the funniest things I've watched in awhile.

 They were rocking out and having so much fun with Lexington.  Ryan looked super cool in her shades.  Ryder was so tired that he fell asleep on the way home from the restaurant and slept until the next morning.  No rockstar Ryder that night :(

 Reese picked out her fancy outfit with bow and dressed Lexington up to the nines.

 I'm not sure what they're whispering about but I'm sure it was about the grand finale.

 Then it was our turn to duet.  Eight years of piano lessons for both of us and we can play some mean heart and soul jams.

 Justin was the designated baby Zane holder.  I could seriously eat that kid up.  He is too precious.

 Cory got on the guitar and had a jam session while I recalled some of my Richard Marx tunes I had memorized from 8th grade.  Epic.

 There's that sweet little squishy boo again!

Day 2 we woke up and had some breakfast and played in their garden.  Alexa had ladybugs to release and that turned into oodles of fun for the kids.

 

Then we headed to the beach in Malibu that afternoon.  Our Aunt Marilyn & Greg were staying down the road in Ventura and joined us for some fun in the sun.  The sun kept peeking in and out of the clouds and it was a wee bit chilly at times but we still had a blast.  The kids love running from the waves and playing in the sand.  There's just something so awesome about the salty air and having your feet in the sand.  Below is a photo of all of us minus Aunt Marilyn because she was snapping the photo.

 Then I got a cute one of Alexa, Justin, Lexington & Zane together.

 Here is our crew about to start running from the waves.  Seriously our most favorite game ever.

When we got back home we had a gourmet dinner of gazpacho and grilled shrimp that Justin threw together.  Our kids wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole unfortunately so I made noodles with butter and parmesan and they tore that up.  The beach always makes me so hungry.  Not sure what it is.

Day 3 was our day to leave and head to San Diego.  We were so sad but we know we'll see the B family soon when we all head to CO in July.  Before we left we tried to get a photo of the 5 kids together.  Of course it's like herding cats and Reese & Ryan were fighting over who could hold Zane, but we finally got a few good ones together.

 I seriously can't get enough of this kid.  He gives me baby fever in a major way and that hasn't happened in awhile.  I am dying over this photo of him in shades.  What a hoot!  That was Ryan's idea.

 So long for now and we'll see you soon!

Fall trip to Mexico

Our blog is in need of some major updates.  I'm starting with the most recent and trying to work backwards for the past month.

We just got back from Mexico and as usual, had the best time.  The weather was perfect, the beach was beautiful, and we just relaxed and hung out as a family. We kept the Rocky Point economy thriving with the following purchases: 6 bracelets for the girls (3 each), 5 bracelets for their friends, 3 beach dresses, 5 pairs of sunglasses, 2 silver rings, a truck & ukulele for Ryder, braids for the girls, & a 45 min massage on the beach for mama.  They could smell the gringos and their money coming!  I busted out some of my Spanish for some tip top negotiations on our purchases.

The Ryan team retreat was Saturday night and I didn't get many photos of that because we were chasing Ryder around the entire night and that's not an exaggeration.  Keep that kid out of trouble and danger is my full time job and I think that's why I feel so behind in life.  He is the most fun but he runs me ragged some days :)  Anyhoo, here are the latest photos of our fun vacay:

 We ALWAYS get the hair braided.

 Love playing in the sand.  Mimi brought Roxy down and she had fun frolicking on the beach.

Reese is starting to look like a full fledged Jack-o-lantern. She's lost 4 bottom teeth (another post on that to come) and the top two middle ones are vewy vewy loose!

I'm always so surprised at how patient they are to sit there while this stranger is braiding their hair.

 Sassy little Ryboo!

 I was trying to figure out when I took the photo below and then realized that Ryan stole my camera and was taking photos of Reese.  They were playing 'fort' underneath the draped 8' tables at the party.  So hilarious!

Ryder's cheeseball smile is too much!  It's SO him right now.  

I see that face all the time, especially when he wants something he knows he's not supposed to have.

Our sweet family of five :)