Our family story: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Monterey, CA

Our first leg of the trip was driving from Surprise to Monterey, California. We left at 6:45 in the morning on a Saturday, and drove/stopped/drove for the next 14 hours, arriving at the Eger's home at 8:30 p.m. They live in Pacific Grove, and it is beautiful. And they bought a charming house! We felt so welcome and loved. Here's Audrey in Meri's garden:

The next day we went down to the beach in Monterey. It was pleasant weather, but the water was freezing. We didn't put on swimsuits, but Ian felt the need to strip down anyway. The kids got so dirty, we should have just done swimsuits for sand play, even though it's too cold to swim. Next time.

The following day, the Egers treated us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and lunch! We are so spoiled. The aquarium was great, and the kids had a blast. We headed home for Declan's nap (and Mommy's), and a bit later Spencer and I took the kids to a nearby park. We just fell in love with Pacific Grove, and it was so great to see the Egers again after a year. It's the most blissful place we ever go; whether in Atlanta, Tallahassee, or Pacific Grove, the Egers' home is magical because Robert and Meri make it so!

Friday, June 28, 2013

Summer in Arizona

Summertime in Arizona is hot, we know. School got out near the end of May, and I made sure that I had some fun things lined up to keep the kids busy. We still went on walks and to the park in the evening, until June hit. At that point, the heat was brutal all the time.

I signed Audrey and Ian up for a few morning day camps. They did a one-day art class and a one-day dinosaur camp at the house of a preschool teacher we know from church. They also did a theater camp at a local studio. Ian's camp was one week, and Audrey's was two weeks, with a little performance at the end. It was fun. She said it was a lot of work too!

My goofball kids love to play in the car. Here they are trying to fit in one seat. This was their idea. I think they are hilarious, but also I am usually thinking, "It's HOT. Let's get going!" This particular day merited a picture before booting them out of the car.

Here's my beautiful Audrey, posing outside of Red Robin. I had spent that day cleaning the house and packing in preparation for our big summer road trip, and I couldn't bear for anyone to make a mess, so we went out to dinner.

Mostly we spent our month off of school in Arizona going to the gym, hanging out, watching TV, playing video games, and hosting a few playdates. We were excited to head to our big adventure: a road trip to Washington state.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Las Vegas

Mr. B and I went to Las Vegas for a little getaway a few weeks ago. Mr. B's parents came out for a long visit, which was wonderful and we had such a good time with them. While they were here, Mr. B and I escaped for a few days of grown-up fun! We got to walk around Vegas (we'd never been) and experience its wonders, rode this roller coaster which was so fun and gave us a priceless photo, ate a couple of fabulous and extravagant meals, saw two movies, went to the temple, swam at the pool, and did lots of relaxing. It was heavenly. I loved spending time with my favorite person, no interruptions or schedules.

At the temple

Last day of school

Audrey finished her year of Kindergarten, and Ian finished his first year of preschool. They both had successful years with fabulous teachers. I was fortunate enough to volunteer in Audrey's classroom, and it was so fun and I love those kids in her class. She had a great group of sweet kids. Ian also made some neat friends that we continue to see. I'm so glad my kids have had positive school experiences!