Cousins

At the end of July, part of our Canadian cousin clan (Cathy, Rick, Zach, & Jarred) visited us for an overnight during their California trip and we spent the following day with them in the city. Lombard Street and Fisherman's Wharf were the two stops we managed to include a nice lunch and of course Ghirardelli Ice Cream. All the kids, even though at vastly different ages - 1, 4, 9, and 13, had a good time together as did we! Thanks for visiting, it was fun!

Reagan and Jarred at the ice cream shop:

Monterey with Grandma Connie

Grandma Connie was visiting July 11-19 and we took a 3-day trip to Monterey. We had a great visit and the kids loved having her here, especially Reagan of course.

We stayed at the Deer Haven Inn and had a 2-BR suite, nice and spacious, not super updated, but spacious. It was basically an apartment and now that I think about it, I wonder if it use to be apartments. The evening we arrived, we got some food and ice cream on the wharf, talked a lot with Ryan about the "sleepy" seals on the beach. Ryan: "mommy, daddy, arc! arc! (seal sound)"

The next day, we finally made it to the Aquarium in the afternoon. Here's everyone checking out the life size killer whale on the ceiling ...

Some favorite parts were a playful penguin who repeatedly came right up to Reagan at the glass. Also the Jellies (now called that as opposed to Jellyfish). Funniest was the Seahorses and Shrimp. Hear for yourself :-)

Before the aquarium while the kids were napping, Connie and I took a walk along the coast and saw tons of deer grazing:

The next day, we biked the coastal trail and stopped at a beach for a bit followed by lunch and dessert on Cannery Row. The most perfect weather and scenery, it was soooo nice. I pulled Ryan in the trailer and Reagan rode her Trail-A-Bike attached to Cam's bike again. Connie rented a bike there.We ended our ride at Dennis The Menace Park, always a favorite stop in Monterey. A couple years ago, she was afraid to drink from this fountain.

Big Sur, Monterey, and Camelot

Last weekend, my parents flew in for a quick weekend where we met Trixie, Philip, and Alex (aunt and cousins) for a night of camping in Big Sur. Cam came up with a great idea for keeping all the sleeping bags and pillows away from Ryan (we had never camped when Reagan was this young) - a kid bed rail between our air mattress and his little mat. Reagan was on her own camping pad at his feet. What a nice, cute little family tent layout, right? Fast forward to 2 am when Reagan woke up crying, which woke up Ryan and the only way to pick up Ryan without sitting on Reagan's sleeping area was to kneel on the unstable air mattress while reaching over the [previously] genius bed rail. Other than that, camping went well! :-)
Hmm ... scorching pot of chili and no tongs. This is called planning ahead folks! We bent a roasting stick and moved quickly.
Time for S'mores!
Next day at famous scene where waterfall falls directly onto beach.
Grandma Laurie and Reagan in their twin pants doing their twin walk back to the car
Stopped in Monterey on the way home ... 2 men and a baby ... a 22 lb baby with no stroller since it wouldn't fit with all our camping stuff in the van
The Berenstain Bears got candy apples for Halloween in one of Reagan's books and now she knows what they are (it's actually a caramel apple ... better in my opinion)
At the neighborhood pool the next day
back at Camelot

Fun With Grandpa Don & Grandma Connie

We had a great time during their 10 day visit in June and have had to go back to cleaning the kitchen ourselves again. First, there was Grandpa Don's transformation, saved exclusively for Reagan. Before, no haircut or shave for 4 months (we're celebrating Gma Connie's birthday here)
After, Reagan said, "You look different but your voice sounds the same." Grandpa Don was very impressed by all her insightful remarks and enjoyed many "interesting conversations" with her.
Reagan really enjoyed some art and learning time with the colored pencils and dry erase writing strips Grandma Connie brought. Thanks for keeping Reagan so happily occupied, that was a nice break!
We were able to get out of the house kid free a couple times while Grandma Connie snuggled with Ryan, thanks again!
We all went to Kristen's (Daddy's 2nd cousin) wedding together and Reagan was a Woodland Fairy Flower Girl. She never actually walked down the aisle (luckily, there were 2 other flower girls) because that was too scary.
The basket of flowers was very important though and she wasn't letting them go anywhere.
They taught Reagan how to swing the bat in the backyard. (yes, that's a helmet. no, it's not for playing baseball. yes, she dressed herself. no, the ball didn't hit Ryan.)