Monterey & Big Sur

We went up to Monterey for Ben's birthday weekend! A year over due, as we were supposed to go up to San luis Obispo last year.  We were so thankful to finally explore some new territory of California.

Saturday morning, Ben and I went for a run.

Finding food was a little bit of a challenge, as Monterey was even more locked down than Camarillo, but we made it work.  We found an Italian place for lunch that had a pick up window and we ate in the car next to the ocean.

Then we drove down the 1 to Big Sur.

 No one got car sick and the views were incredible!

It looks like a painting, but this was real life.

Why go all that way and not go for a little nature walk?  We went into the state park to see the redwoods and somehow we ended up with a little more adventure than I planned for.

 

 

This is a classic mom picture.  I'm wearing Alison's old coat that we realized on the trip is too small (why does that always happen?!?!) and holding a comic book that Eli brought along under my arm...and jumping across a river.  I really should learn to just carry a giant backpack with me everywhere.

 

Don't you strike a yoga pose when taking hiking pictures?

We were back in Monterey for dinner and found a Mexican restaurant that had a few tables outside.  It was really cold by this point and we all huddled together next to the one working heat lamp. 

Pinnacles National Park

The best picture is going first..I could look at this picture all day long.  I tell them every day to stop growing, but they just won't listen.

We stopped for a hike in Pinnacles National Park on our way up to Monterey.

It took us a little longer to get to the trail head than we thought, but once we got on the trail, it was well worth the venture!  It was absolutely beautiful and a really fun hike.

 

 We turned around at Bear Gulch...not the best name for such a beautiful place.

 

My every day + not every day

Still, every morning:

 

Can you see Colin in that pile?  

It actually rained.  It rained really hard for a few minutes and Colin just happened to be in the garage playing at the time.  He came running inside and said,"Mom!  Come quick!!!  It's the biggest storm I've ever seen!"  I couldn't stop chuckling.  Which he didn't understand why...because "Mom!  There's a stream running by the sidewalk!"  It stopped raining just a few minutes later and I kept laughing to myself the rest of the day.  Heaven help us if Colin ever experiences a real Kansas storm.

 

Tennessee and hiking

Ben and Alison went to Tennessee to surprise Jordan for his 40th birthday and to meet baby Grace.  While they were gone, the boys and I went on a hike with some friends.

One of the best things in the world is seeing little boys play in nature.

 

We met Thomas at the Mugu beach and found out that he lives just down the street from us.  We meet up with his family every couple of weeks at the the park and the boys always have a great time.

 

 

And we did a little shopping and had a Chick-Fil-A picnic in the car because California is still stupid.

 

Ben and Alison got to go mask-FREE and eat inside a restaurant! 

This is what I hear from their trip...

Grace took to Alison immediately, but took a few days to warm up to Ben.

They went out to dinner to celebrate Jordan's birthday and played some games. 

They went to Madisyn's gender reveal party...she's having a girl!

They spent some time at Rick's and then went out to another dinner...I might be a little jealous...

 

And they got some time to just hang out and play with Grace.

 

I love this picture so much.  How many hours did we read little board books to Alison? We even had a little pink chair like that, and now she's reading with Grace.

They also went on a hike and played some games.

I can't wait until it's my turn to meet Grace!

P.S. Alison is in the home stretch of her braces life and is VERY over them.  Watch out world, her smile is going to be killer soon!

Catching WAY up

 The boys came with me to read on the beach one Sunday afternoon.  Well, Colin played in the sand while Eli and I read, but it was still wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

We make a lot of popcorn in this house...

Picking up a treat and doing a little thrift shopping has also become a thing we do around here.  I'm not a fan of boba tea, but Alison loves it and apparently it's the cool thing to do.

 Big news!  We ate at a restaurant (outdoors) on Valentine's day!

Colin has read a ton of Nate the Great books and I will forever be thankful for those books; they were his springboard into some longer/harder reading.

 

Church is still meeting outside and most often, church looks like this for me:

I was a super mean homeschool mom and I made my kids go to the tide pools in Santa Barbara.  We haven't been to this particular area before and I felt like I was driving through a movie set to get there; girls in bikini's in their front lawns reading, skateboarders riding down the middle of the street and people carrying surfboards on their bicycles. 

Sometimes school needs to be done in a fort.  I love 3rd grade!

See Colin go to the park

 

 

Doesn't everyone walk home from the park while hula hooping?