LA Trip

Last week the kids and I escaped for a week to LA to visit family. 

We had to squeeze it in before Abby starts school August 7th, so it was the perfect time.

Its a "quick" drive down, only took us 5 hours and we never stopped!! Kids did great.

Day 1-- Met Aunt Sarah and Brenda and Sheila for a stroll around the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market. Abby had her face painted and they rode a cute train through the outdoor mall.

\

 Then we headed to Uncle Craig's firehouse in San Pedro. He is the boat house captain, and gave us the full tour. The kids LOVED every single second and probably would have chose to stay all day if they could. Brings back many fond memories, as we did this often when my sisters and I were kids, visiting the station. Very fun to share it with my own kids.....good thing he isn't retired yet :)

 

 After the firehouse tour we went for a visit at my Grandpa Jerry's house (the kids Great-Grandpa!!)

They loved playing with his cat Miss Daisy!!

 Our next big outing, my mom and I took the girls to Long Beach where we rented a covered pedal bicycle thing!! Not sure the real name, but it was fun and exercise all in one!!

 The kids spent all their free time playing with Aunt Sarah's dog at the house. Not sure who enjoyed it more....but he was exhausted each night!!

We spent a few days with my Grandparents, out and about.

Maddy and her Great-Grandpa Bob!!

 We visited the Marine Mammal Rescue Center in San Pedro where they take in all the sick/injured seals and more for rehabilitation before release. This day there were 30-40 sea lions to see, and 1 young elephant seal. The seals were very active and entertained the girls.

On our last day in town, my mom took us to her Elks Lodge for Sunday brunch!

It was an amazing spread of food, and also had a beautiful view looking down upon San Pedro and the harbor. THANKS MOM!!!

California State Fair

Two weeks ago we took a day trip up to Sacramento to attend the State Fair.

It was a nice hot day, so we got some sun, enjoyed the exhibits, and of course some fair food!!

We will definitely be back again next year!!

 FIRST deep fried Twinkie!!!

Miss Attitude

If you've EVER met Maddy, you know she has a personality like no other.....

And an attitude to match!

Luckily between her ugly moments she is the sweetest, and most fun kid to be around!!

Friends that travel

Our OLDEST Navy friends from back in our Pensacola days, just moved to Monterey as well!

One of the perks of Navy life, your friends follow you around sometimes!!

We have known them for 10 years and both have two kids. The girls are thrilled to have a close friend here now. They live in the neighborhood here as well.

Lawn Movie Night

Our military housing is hosting movie nights every Friday for the July/August!

A few weeks ago we let Abby attend the first one, and it is on the lawn in front of our house!!

PERFECT!!

She LOVED sitting out there with her friends enjoying the show on a big blow up screen; eating popcorn....but it is COLD here at night, so she bundled up!!

Monterey Kids Museum

Grandma Donna got the kids an early birthday present.....a membership to the kids museum here in Monterey!!! The kids beg and love going there. Its a fun interactive environment.

A put put golf area, a craft zone, hospital, stage for dress-up performance, restaurant, etc.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Mike took Maddy out for a special afternoon visit to the aquarium.....

Just the two of them! She's getting older, but still prefers different activities to Abby at times.

So he had the grand idea to start spending some time with them alone one-on-one!

Maddy was THRILLED when he asked her to go.

 Her little body couldn't keep the seat down!!

 Snuggling on the giant stuffed otter on the walk to the aquarium

New Toy!

Mike got a new motorcycle!! Now that we are back in beautiful California, it seemed only fitting for him to pick up his favorite past time again. This area offers wonderful places to ride, and he has been out many times already. Many of the guys here ride as well to take advantage of limited car parking at the school, so hopefully it will be good transport to 'work' and back too!

Last night I got to go for a quick ride on it since our friend Dan is staying here this week. So he watched the kids while we escaped for a bit.

SWIM!!

The girls are officially in swim lessons!!

And yesterday was our first day of a two week session.

 Maddy is in the youngest group, level 1, with three year olds

 Abby is in level 4. The kids progress through the levels based on their own individual skills achieved. And there is a maximum of 3 kids to an instructor in each level. They should each learn skills we can build on in the indoor pool here in our community!

Navy Friends

This past weekend, wonderful Navy friends, the Eks, from our Mugu days came out for a visit.

They currently are stationed in Lemoore, so a visit to Monterey was a HUGE cool down for them!

We all enjoyed the wonderful weather, a trip to the aquarium, and some good food and fun!! They have twin 2-1/2 year old boys, so the kids kept very busy all weekend.

 Mike & Britany

Haircuts and Ice Cream!

Last week I was WAY over Abby's long tangled hair. So we bolted over to the hair salon!

She LOVES her new 'do!!!! And I love not battling her everyday with knots!! Win Win!!

  On the way home we stopped by our community housing office. They were doing a 4th of July Ice Cream social for everyone. So the kids got to make an ice cream sundae!! Fun perks of base housing that we are thoroughly enjoying!!