This was a full summer! I felt an impending doom knowing that Seth would be starting a full day of school in the fall. This would mean that we would be tied to a schedule, family time would be on the weekend, and Emery and Seth wouldn't really get to play together until after 2 every day (and they are both tired and grumpy in the afternoon). Knowing this, we packed in a lot of fun.
Our neighbor found a tortoise wondering in our LA neighborhood. That doesn't happen very often. She located the owner, but until then we had fun making house visits to care for their "pet" for a while.
I was able to spend an entire week in Northern California with my mom and sister. This allowed Seth and Emery to swim, swim, swim. They progressed more in swimming in that one week that we have in a 4 week session of swim lessons. I wish it were consistently warmer here in the summer so we could swim everyday. Not to mention there are not many good public places to swim around here (ironic since it is known as Sunny SoCal).
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| Jelly Belly factory |
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| Emery paying for the tickets to enter a kid water park! Oh how happy these kids were! |
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| Nana's pool! |
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| Seth will not thank me for this picture when he gets older:) Vest and yellow goggles:) |
We also had our share of visitors this summer. My cousin Heidi was able to stay with us on two occasions, and my mom came down for a few days. We went to the top of Kenneth Haun park and played at the playground. In addition we went to a Dodgers game (where Emery insisted on wearing her pink tutu!)
Uncle Randy came and spent a few days with myself and the kiddos. It was nice to spend time with just Randy. In fact, I can't remember a time when I have ever gotten to. He was so good with the kids, and they adored him while he was here. We went bike riding on the beach, to Malibu and ate at Dukes, and Downtown disney where we spent a good portion of time at the Lego store for Seth.
Emery had a ballet class, where she was the youngest by far. I have never seen her so obsessed. Her face always portrayed pure concentration as she tried to follow her teacher. She would ask every day if she had ballet. I secretly hope we have a ballerina in the family, so I will happily indulge this obsession.
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| Movies in Playa Vista park |
The kid spent lots and lots and lots of time on their bikes and scooters this summer. Seth learned how to ride a bike in late May (maybe early June) and he has never stopped. He is a pretty good roadster. He loves to slam on the breaks and lay some skid marks and look at them with pride. It is pretty fun to watch. Emery continues to fly on her scooter at ridiculous speeds.
Lots of family beach time! It was a beautiful summer for the beach. I think the best we have had in years down here. Seth even boogie boarded for the first time. I'm sad I don't have any pictures of that.
Trips to the Science Center
We had a family reunion in Tahoe with the entire Davis crowed. We really are a crowed now! It is amazing how it has grown since I married into the family. Getting a family picture is near impossible and very entertaining these days. I don't know if we will ever have another really great family picture, but we will continue to try.
Our kids ran around wild for 4 whole days. Sugared up and in a giant 4 story cabin surrounded by cousins was a 4 and 2-year old's heaven. I enjoyed seeing my kids so happy and enjoying where they come from. It is so important to me for them to know what wonderful people surround them and the support they have.
We rounded out part of summer staying in Chico for an extra few days, making Donut Nook runs, swimming, and enjoying Tyler's boat. Kids tubed and adults attempted wakeboarding. I have to say I thought I was in shape, until I spent 15 minutes on a wakeboard. I have never been so sore!
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| In front of Ty and Bryn's home and all the kids doing gymnastics while parents tried to round them up to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's for bed. |
We spent a day in Griffith Park riding the ponies and the old carousel. The pony rides were the best I have seen. The ponies are not tied up and they just follow a path. The kids feel like they are on the range on their own. They get to choose the speed of the ponies: fast, or slow. Seth and the older kids rode the fast horses. Emery was demoted to the slow horses because of her age. She pouted the whole time as her pony walked around the course and the other kids trotted ahead. We begged to ride a faster one, alas, she had to do her subsequent rides on the slow pony as well. I'm impressed how unafraid she was of the ponies since she was out there by herself. Seth was pretty brave too to ride the fast trotting ones.
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| Pouting after she found out she had to ride the slow one again. |
It was a fantastically full summer. I'm so happy we got to spend so much family time together and I got to enjoy my kids. I look forward to next summer and having my kids home all day again. I really feel like it is important to build these relationships and memories now so that as we come up to teenage-hood and harder times, we have many bonding experiences to rely on.
