Kids Space Museum- Pasadena

Mackie took a day off of work to take us on a little adventure before school starts. We went to the Kids Space Museum in Pasadena. We thought the museum would be about Space- which Eli is really into thanks to Wall-e, but "space" for them means "area". Eli was disappointed to find that he wouldn't find any rockets- BUT super stoked to find that the museum is packed with every activity that little ones LOVE! It was awesome. They went in a giant hole, looked at bugs & shells with magnifying glasses, trudged through a stream, climbed giant tree branches, built stuff with giant blocks, played in a gymboree-like gym, listened to story time ...... Needless to say everyone had a blast! We even got a season pass at the end of the day so that we can take the kids again and again. THANKS MACKIE!!! We love you!

Buddies for LIFE

Rich & his friend Chris have been friends for almost 25 years & the cool thing is we all still live near his family and we have kids close in age. It is a truly special bond to have grown up so close and now to see that with our kids.

Sunday night we had a little BBQ- Swim night and I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the kids all together. Christian & Eli loved watching Thomas videos and Sierra & Landon took advantage of the big boys being in the other room- they played with all the cars in PEACE.

Bath Time Babes!

There's nothing cuter than a pair of little buns. I love bath time!

In this picture they are practicing blowing bubbles for swim lessons.

A Sweet Moment

I loved catching this little exchange between Elijah and Sierra. I'm not sure what he was saying- but it seems full of wisdom.

Cookie Cutie

Thank you, Oreo Cookies! I love this messy little face.

Mt. Baldy Family Hike

I'm totally fired up about hiking since having so much fun with my sister last week, so this morning I dragged the whole gang along for hike in Mt. Baldy. Eli walked on his own...and complained a little bit. Sierra went along for the ride in Rich's backpack. They were so funny saying, "Howdy, partner" & "Be Careful" to all the real hikers that we passed. As we got to the end of the trail, we found an unexpected surprise...a waterfall. Can you believe it? So. Cal summer and there is still a fresh water fall - AWESOME!!! We couldn't help but put our feet in and have our picnic lunch on the rocks.Just getting started...Ooooo! That cold water felt great!
That's mommy's girl! She is always up for anything outside. I love that about Sierra- she must be decked out in a cute outfit and her hair done... but then she's ready & willing to try something new.Of course- what would a Mountain adventure be without drama- We were stopped on the winding road for about half an hour as a motorcyclist who went off the road had to be pulled up the side of the cliff and air lifted out... typical LA, though, people were honking for us to go- not realizing we were stopped for a major accident. Thankfully- the kids didn't see anything beyond the cool helicopter. Watching this take place made us all QUITE thankful to be going home safe & happy about our luck in finding a waterfall.

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

This week was just a regular week around here...swim lessons, nightly "dance parties" (my kids favorite form of exercise, and some pretty solid Lego action. Check it out...

Eli is an extremely cautious little swimmer...

Sierra is NOT!!!

At night the kids love for me to turn on the radio- LOUD- and let them BOOGIE! It is so fun... and I have to admit, I'm usually the first one who is worn out.

... That's right! Sierra is in "Big Girl" panties at 23 months. Not too shabby!

As most of you know, Eli is a WALL-E fanatic! He draws it, talks about it (to EVERYONE!), begs for the toys, and has now BUILT HIS OWN! I was totally impressed by this Lego marvel.

Craft Night Mondays

I am attempting to shake up our typical nightly activities and tap into the kids artistic sides. It is fun for me (except the clean up) and they loved it. The first Monday Craft night we made door hangers with the kids names on them and this last Monday they acrylic painted on canvases. I think we're on to something here.

She was not too keen on the getting "dirty" aspect of painting. Later she got over it and painted the leg of my pants while I was into reading People magazine. What a Stinker!Her finished product.His finished product. "It's Buzz Lightyear, mom, of course!"

Huck Finn-ing IT!

This is Elijah and I before going to the mud-park (Adventure Park in Huntington Beach). We were clean and excited about our little outing. We had never been there before and had only heard that at the end of the day - we'd want to throw our clothes away.
Off we go!

This is what we saw as we walked into the park. My first reaction was this looks like a scene from Huck Finn. The park is a boys dream! A mud pond, a mud slide, rope bridges, a zip line and forts that they get to work on using real saws, hammers, and nails.


Elijah and I tried this a few times together and then he ventured off with a friend. I was so proud of his confidence.

This was the highlight of the day for me! After years of Elijah being in Occupational Therapy working on his strength and coordination- he was able to get across this rope bridge all by himself. He concentrated and shook and then he reached the other side. HE BEAMED and I could see how proud he was. Of course than he did it again and again...and I have about 30 pictures of it.
This was exciting! I of course had to do it first- then- he was willing to give it a try. They go so far & FAST! It was pretty cool.

White Rafting...and Hanging on for DEAR LIFE!

Laura have gone whitewater rafting before and on the American River 3 times previously, but never have we had such an exciting- and TOTALLY SCARY adventure. The trip was a 2 day down the South Fork of the American River. It is all class 1-3 (out of 5) rapids and one class 4 at the end. We felt really comfortable and prepared, but on the the 2nd day on the class 4 rapid (the Troublemaker) our raft was not set up properly before we attempted the rapid and we ended up getting our raft stuck on a boulder - which forced us to our side and Laura out of her seat- taking me out with her. It was truly terrifying! Thanks to adrenaline and a lot of mommy instinct I was able to grab hold of the boat and my sister's life jacket keeping us from taking the rapid on our own. Because it is a big rapid, photo companies set up the shore and take pictures. They also got shots the day before on 2 other big rapids.

I was able to buy photos of the whole event. Please click on the link below and then choose slideshow in the top right hand corner of the new screen to view them all (I'm still working on getting them into my photos folder). The photos of Laura and I falling out start at about #50 of 153 photos...Sorry! Laura has a black Nike hat on and I am in the back with an army green hat on.
Curtis Ching was on our boat and he set up the photos so you'll see his name. Enjoy! http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisching/sets/72157606627314293/

Hiking in the Sequoias

Laura and I went white water rafting for 2 days on the American River in Sacramento (still working on getting those pictures uploaded) and then we camped one night in the Sequoia National Park. It was super scary at night- we could hear the bears in our campsite at night and see their tracks in the morning YIKES!!! During the day, however, it was wonderful. The air was filled with the smell of trees- it was clean & energizing. The sights were incredible as well - from the Giant 300 foot Redwoods to the rock mountains to the waterfalls. We hiked for 4 hours before getting in the car to head home. These are a few of my favorites:This was at the start of the hike and as you can tell I was a cheerleader & I tend to get excited!
This fallen tree was a great way to show proportion. It was HUGE! GOOFBALL. This was my gymnast moment.Laura and I finally found someone to take a picture of both of us...YEAH! We were at the end of the trail. On the other side of the rocks we're standing on is the Tokopah Waterfall.

I'd never seen this cute, little critter before- a Marmot.It's goofy, but this meadow reminded me of the Ponderosa... Where are you Little Joe?

Look at how small this car is in comparison with the two Giant Redwoods that it is driving between- Crazy.
I was pooped at the end of it all and took a little nap before heading home to reality. An Awesome trip.

I'll be putting the rafting photos up soon.