4th of July 2013

 What a month of fun and vacation! We went on 2 wonderful trips this month, then filled the rest of our days with rest, swimming, bike riding, and a few trips to the spray park. The hot weather is definitely upon us and we have 100+ heat almost every day. The wonderful part about Elk Grove is the fact that we get breezes off the Delta and our nights are cool and comfortable. Most evenings this month we have been able to relax and eat dinner outside in the back yard. The BBQ has been a great help.

 Our first wonderful trip was down to the Central Coast. We stayed at the military base in San Luis Obispo. We had a great time staying with the Robinson family and the Valdez family. The Ryan family couldn't come this year because they had a new baby born as a premie and she is still too small and fragile to travel.
 Our visit was full of fun. We arrived on Tuesday July 2nd and celebrated Darryl's birthday with a trip to the Avila beach, then we came home to eat cheesecake and relax. We continued to play at the beach for 2 more days. While we were there we did a lot of exploring. Tanner, Sophie and I went on a huge walk around the waterway that lead to the beach and we found tons of crabs and seashells. We built sandcastles and did the dribble technique for the better part of an afternoon. Tanner got very good on the boogie boards and stayed out in the water for hours. The kids loved getting snow cones from a vendor on the pier, and relished all the goodies and snacks we packed.

To celebrate the 4th we went to the parade in Cayucos. We got there pretty early and enjoyed breakfast burritos and donuts with hot chocolate. The coast is so cool and overcast in the mornings we needed jackets most of the day. Back in Elk Grove it got up to 105 on the 4th. We were glad to be at the beach! After the parade we played at the beach and looked at the sandcastle contest entries. We munched on some local treats and then went back to the condos for a big BBQ and some sparklers. Alyssa and Bella Robinson were inseparable all weekend. They were like 2 little sisters that did everything together. Unfortunately the fireworks in the evening near Morro Bay were lost in the fog. We sat out near the coast and couldn't see much. It didn't dampen the spirit of the evening and the kids had fun with glow sticks and games around our little spot. One of the evenings at the base we decided to go for a hike up to an eagle painted on the side of the hill. To get there we had to go over a fence and through a gap. The fence was falling apart, so it was an exciting challenge.We also got a chance to launch these fun whirling slingshots that lit up with LED lights.
On our way home from the coast we stopped at Montana De Oro State park. We ventured into the tide pools and explored the beach and rock cliffs with the Robinson family. The kids loved climbing all over the rocks and the colors were beautiful. The waves were amazing and even caught my foot while I was standing on a rock taking a picture. I tried to escape to higher ground but got soaked. I had a soggy shoe the rest of the morning.