More of Family Fun Week, days 4 and 5.

Since I did days 2 and 3 first, now we're on to days 4 and 5. Thursday August 12th we spent at the water park. I didn't even bring my camera. The kids and I all have passes, but Tyler was going to have to buy one. Well, he got into the wrong line, I told him to ask if it was the right line to buy a ticket, someone up ahead heard him and gave him an extra ticket they had! Yay! We rented a tube and took Micah and Jacob on all the "big kid" rides. The Black Hole, Vertigo and Vortex were among the favorites. Morgan was able to drive out with Dustin since she had just gotten her Drivers License! The Dockstaders had brought Essien and we were able to steal him when they left. It was a long day in the sun, longer than we spent at the water park any other day this summer. I haven't been wearing sunscreen the last month or so and I almost got a burn, I looked pretty pink for a few days. It was a fun day though.

Day 5, Friday the 13th! Oh what fun, one of my favorite days. It was miserably hot and somehow I still had a smile on my face at the end of the day. We went to StoryLand and PlayLand. Let me just say, they have done wonders with that place! I hadn't been since they put the Splash Junction in at PlayLand, so it was a pleasant surprise to see how good everything looked.
We got a great deal with a Groupon and we all had all day ride passes. Let's just say that we got more than our moneys worth with those! I also learned that my 2 youngest kids are my most daring. Ben will for sure be my ride partner for the most thrilling rides. We were in line to get on the train (from PlayLand to StoryLand) and go home. I really wanted to take Ben on the Ferris Wheel with me. I had just gone with Jacob and he wouldn't let me flip us over (it was a cage-like one that you could use a bar to make the cage flip). Ben said that he would let me flip him once and if he didn't like it I wouldn't do it anymore. So, we determined we had time for us to go. Ben let me flip him 10 times! He was a little scared but never cried or whined. He told me a few times that we had flipped enough. I said "Can we do it one more time for mommy?" He was such a great sport and he let me, more than a few times. It was so much fun.
Peyton went on the same Ferris Wheel with me but I didn't flip us. At first she was scared, then she said, "It's scary...I like it.!" I rocked us back and forth a bit and then I used the lever to hold the cage still but let go before we flipped. She will be a good ride partner in a few years too.

We all took took turns in Pirates Cove on the paddle boats.

After the first ride, the ferris wheel, we took Peyton on a kiddie roller coaster that was incredibly rough. After that she was done with rides for the next few hours and it took about 3 rides on the Merry Go Round bench in mom or dads arms until she would even sit on the small non-moving pony. After a few rides on that she finally wanted on a big up and down pony, yay! Then she didn't want off.

Splash Junction was a nice cool off break for the kids, minus Jake who hung out with Mom and Dad in the shade. I kind of wanted to chill out in the water too!

If Peyton is happy, in the least bit, she's jumping. Here she is, mid jump.

The biggest hit was the Tilt-A-Whirl. I rode it with each of my boys, many times. Many, many times. I don't get sick on rides and even I started to get a bit nauseated. If you ever go, buckets 4, 5, and 7 are the whirliest.

No idea why this picture loaded this way, but I had to get a picture in action. we laughed so much on this one.

Peyton kept wanting to go on the bug ride until we took her on the roller coaster. Somehow we finally got her on it and she DID NOT want to get off. She rode it at least six times (each ride is about 3 minutes)!

The race cars were a hit too.

The kids can't wait to go back and neither can I! I hope I can get them all to let me flip them on the ferris wheel! Tyler said he wouldn't let me flip him, but you know what? There isn't really any way he could stop me if I got him in it with me....

Millerton, Family Fun Week day 1

Monday, August 9th began what became known as "Family Fun Week" We stuck close to home. We went to breakfast in Old Town Clovis at Sandy's Country Junction. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun. After breakfast we got started on the cars, well, the van and the truck. Truck outside and van inside. I learned that I love to work together as a family, it makes it so much more fun and it gets done more quickly!

We had to put a halt on the car cleaning to take Micah to the orthodontist to get new, thicker wires and an elastic chain. I will post his progress soon. His teeth are looking so good! Micah had a doctors appt. too that I was able to take him to. The Linford family invited us to go to the lake with them for FHE, so that is how we ended our first day of vacation. Peyton spent most of the time asleep in the car but when she woke up she was as happy as can be.

After a good swim some dessert was had.

Here are the big boys, Melissa and I were there too.

The kids had a lot of fun using the Linford's boogie boards.

I know none of these pictures are great, but you get the idea! Ben didn't have the time to stop for a photo.

The sun went down and we went home.

Hoping ALL IS WELL

We just got home from a Grizzlies game, our second of the season. All the kids behaved wonderfully again (woo hoo) and we were all able to enjoy the game, and this time they won! On our way home we passed our church building and Tyler said there were a bunch of police cars in the parking lot and one other car. Me, being daring and adventurous wanted to stop and see what was going on, my ever practical and caring husband however did not think it the best idea for us to stop with four sleepy little ones in the back. Now, as a mother, why did I not think of that? So glad I have a wise and loving husband who looks out for us! He is now at the church with the officers thanks to a kind and thoughtful sister in our ward. Hopefully, ALL IS WELL. I will be posting more about our fun week soon. Things have been busy trying to get ready for 3 kids starting school Monday and trying to cram in a last little bit of family fun.

Monterey Bay Aquarium and Dennis the Menace Park

Tyler took this week off work and we are having "fun week". I am going to blog it all out of order, well, I guess because that's how I do things! Tuesday and Wednesday we spent in Monterey, I even got to wear a sweatshirt for a bit! Below we are walking Cannery Row to the aquarium.

Sadly the aquarium was incredibly busy, apparently all of Europe vacations in August. It was very frustrating to try and see the exhibits and enjoy ourselves, it took forever just to look at each tank. The kids, especially Peyton, loved this area below where every 10-15 seconds a huge wave would pass overhead.

The Europeans weren't as into this as some of the kids were so we hung out here for awhile.

I love the touch pools, I think the kids liked them too, my favorite...the sea cucumber (not pictured)

The splash zone for kids was a hit. Peyton found a little area just high enough for her to walk through that had several different tanks lining the walls; it was hard to get her to leave there.

I had to include this little guy. He was such a funny looking fish, can you see his lips?

We spent some more time in the less busy area, Hovden Cannery. The aquarium occupies the same space the cannery once did and part of it was left intact so we can see what it was like as a cannery. Here the kids are in a fish basket. WHAT A CATCH!

Well, we made the choice to take off from the aquarium and head over to the best park, Dennis the Menace Park. I was sad to leave the aquarium early, but it was really too busy. I made the suggestion that we come back the following day (we bought a membership which allows unlimited entrance to the aquarium for a year because it was only $20 more for our entire family). Below is Jacob going down a slide at the park, one of many it has. I know it isn't the best picture but I wanted to include it so you could see a few of the slides; these are very fun; they are curvy and bumpy.

Peyton conquered a fear there. She has a huge issue walking on suspension bridges, even the little tiny ones on play equipment, she hates how they move. Well, at this park there is a very big one, and she said she wanted to go on it. As soon as she stepped on I could see the fear quickly creep into her eyes and I said, "How fun, it's like a trampoline huh?" She loves tramps and immediately began jumping. She made it all the way across the bridge.

I went down this roller slide myself, on my bum though. It was so much fun, most of the kids were "surfing" down it like Jacob is here. I wanted to try and probably would have if there weren't so many adults watching!

Here Micah is "surfing"

I took a picture of Micah and Jacob several years ago in this same tunnel and wanted to get one of all the kids but Peyton was elsewhere with Daddy.

Southern Pacific Railroad donated this real engine that the kids can play on. The boys loved it and requested going back to the park the next day too, so it looked like we would go back to both places the next day and skip the beach. When we got to our hotel we went swimming (a bit cold) I let the boys swim longer and took Peyton back to our room where we played in a nice warm tub and she didn't let me get out until she was done too.

Here we are the next morning walking to the trolley stop. I got my way, we were going back to the aquarium! I thought it was so funny that Peyt was picking her nose up on Daddy's shoulders for all the world to see.

One of my all time favorite exhibits is the jellyfish exhibit. I hate to see them dead on the beach but love them in all their beauty swimming in an aquarium!

The aquarium has a few new exhibits, Seahorses, flamingos, and sea turtles. They are beautifully done and I enjoyed them but there was A LOT of global warming/polor ice caps are melting propaganda that I really could have done without. Anyhow, I am all for treating our planet well and recycling and being green and all that it just irritates me to hear it tied in with global warming. That being said, the exhibits themselves are awesome. Here is Ben with a seahorse statue. He was always ready for a picture. Did you know that the female seahorse gives her eggs to the male and he caries and delivers the babies?

This is Peyton with one of her "friends". It was like pulling teeth to get her away from these guys. A while after this was taken we lost her and I went directly back to the turtles and there she was, squating by her turtle friends, pooping.

The second day at the aquarium was great, much fewer people, still busy but not as bad. Again we went to the park afterward and had lots more fun, the camera battery died so I was freed from taking pictures and we just had fun. We then drove home. When we got in the car Ben said, "Where are we going now?" Ty told him we were going home and he started to whine. I guess they were having fun. More to come, stay tuned.

This is something we do

JULY 12, 2010

During the hot summer months when school is out, we swim at Nana's. We sometimes bring some friends too. When you swim, you work up an appetite and kids sure like pizza!

Peyton and Savannah

Ethan, Benji, Micah and Jacob

Kendyl and Yo

Savannah, Dustin and Peyton

Rebekah was there too but I somehow didn't get her picture. We love our friends, we love swimming and we love no school!