Matthew - through the years

Camille and Jonny

Camille and Jonny Dye have been friends from birth. We do things together as families, and the kids love to switch houses and play on long summer afternoons. Today Jonny came over to the house and he and Camille played happily for hours. That's why I was a bit curious when I came up the stairs and heard him screaming, "NOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOO!"

When I got to Camille's room I saw that she had Jonny pinned to the floor and she was saying, "You WILL marry me! Say you WILL MARRY ME!!!!" Again he screamed, "NOOOOOOO!" But she wasn't going to give up that easily. Finally she let him go when he said, "Okay, it's a possibility, but I'm not sure." Brad and I are hoping she becomes a little less aggressive and a little more demure by the time she hits puberty, but we're not holding our breath.

Santa Cruz

Even though we loved our quiet little beach at La Selva, we thought it might actually be fun to go to a beach that was sunny -- so we headed over to Santa Cruz. The warm air gave Camille the courage to get into the freezing cold water, and the boys had a great time body surfing.




After we played in the beach for a while we headed over to the boardwalk. On Monday and Tuesday nights they have "throwback prices" and rides, hot dogs, drinks and cotton candy are all only 75 cents. I find it hard to believe that people paid 75 cents for a ride back in 1907, but we enjoyed the bargains nonetheless and spent a great, late night riding rides and eating junk food.

that's me in the bikini!

Nicole, Nathan and Adam on the roller coaster

Camille enjoyed riding the rides with her very brave little cousins.

What a great trip! We had a fabulous time together, but it's always great to come back home! One of the highlights of the trip for Matthew was that I didn't get very many pictures of him to blog about. That's what happens when your kids become teenagers and take off on their own without you or your camera!

Day Trip to Monterey

Even though we were loving beach life, we needed a break from the sand for one day -- so we headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we . . .

checked out the sights,

talked to the penguins,

tried to stay dry,

got aquainted with sea life,

and admired the jellies!

Of course a trip to Monterey isn't quite complete until you stop at the Dennis the Menace Park. We have loved playing at this little park over the years, and it seems like every time we visit they have added something new. The highlights this year were the familiar train and suspension bridge and the new rock wall.

La Selva Beach

We spent last weekend and the first part of this week at a beach house in La Selva that my parents rented for our family reunion. It was a great place - lots of room for everyone to stretch out and a short walk to a nice beach that wasn't at all crowded. The kids spent a good part of every day riding the waves, playing in the sand, flying kites and climbing the bluffs that lined the ocean shore. We adults (for the most part) stayed out of the freezing water and enjoyed the time we had to visit each other and adore our beautiful children. It doesn't get any better than this! (Okay...warm water would have been nice!)

Davis Manor Pool

Since my sister lives in Yuba City, my mom lives in Elk Grove and I live in Vacaville, we try to find things to do together that are centrally located between the three of us. This week we went to Davis Manor Pool for a day of fun in the sun. They have three different pools and a playground that squirts water - plus a nice shady spot where the adults can sit and visit. It was a great day, and I'd recommend it to anyone who lives around here. Here's a few photos of the kids...

Let's Swim!

New Hair Like Nicole's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Camille. Last night I got my hair cut just like my cousin Nicole's. This is the shortest my hair has ever been. I think it looks good. Do you like it?

While the Scout's away...

To the two younger children in our family, the life of a teenager seems full of excitement and never-ending fun, while theirs seems boring and dull. So while Matthew was gone at Scout Camp last week, we tried to have as much fun with them as possible. Every night we did something fabulous - the pictures are mostly for the purpose of torturing Matthew and making sure he realizes that we CAN have a good time without him.

So, Monday night we went to the park...


Tuesday night we went to the movies...


Wednesday night we walked to the ice cream parlor...

Thursday night we went out to dinner...

And Friday night Adam got to have a "three way" sleepover complete with pizza...

and hours of mindless video gaming!

I think we were fairly successful, as Adam and Camille thought it was a GREAT week! (Even though they did miss their brother.)

Speaking of their brother... Brad and I are proud to announce that this year at Scout Camp Matthew not only completed 4 merit badges, but he showered EVERY day!!!! This is in contrast to the first year in which he earned lots of badges but never took a shower, and last year, during which he earned some merit badges and took some showers. We're so proud - baby steps, you know!

Camille's Trojan Horse

Camille spent most of Saturday afternoon holed up in her room with some cardstock, markers, tape and a pair of scissors. When she came out, she had this fabulous horse! We created a mane together, and a masterpiece was unfurled. This thing was huge, and I told her it looked like a trojan horse. Of course that comment led to an internet search, a mini history lesson and another hour of play as she surprised people with what she could fit into the horse's belly! I love her creative spirit and the way she's learned to entertain herself when the boys are busy doing things she's not interested in.