Vacation Wrap Up

We had such a wonderful time on our vacation. It really brought us closer together and gave us quality time with one another. We will remember it forever. We're very grateful to have had the means to make this vacation a reality and will cherish the memories we created.

Well, if you can't tell through the pictures by now, the weather was a tad bit chilly while we were there. Our hardy children braved the ocean time and time again, but barely got my tootsies wet. Towards the end of the week, my water logged kids decided to try some "dry" activities. One afternoon, we had fun making shapes in the Sand.

~ Here's my Turtle ~

Ben made a moat with some sort of structure protected in the middle.

Jacob was buried a few times. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, after breaking out one on occasion he claimed it was too cold and try to cover himself up again.

Chloe made a squirrel, and stole Earl's shirt to keep herself warm.

Matt made a moat, but hadn't quite figured out what it was going to circle.

Earl made an awesome Dragon!

And, of course, we had to make a tribute to our dog Lulu. We really missed her. Thanks Grandma Susie for taking care of our precious little puppy!

More Fun in Sunny California

So, I don't know if our kids were dry for more than 10 minutes on our vacation (except when they were sleeping). If they weren't at the beach in the ocean, they were in the pool. I think they started forming scales on their skin. Our condo was on the ground floor looking out into the pool area. The kids simply climbed over the rail and screamed into the pool. Nothing but smiles around.

October, continued... La Jolla Cove

We started at Mission Beach surfing on our first outing on vacation, but I wanted to have a variety of experiences while in California. I read about La Jolla Cove with sea lions, a cave, tidal pools and really wanted to go. I had to convince everyone that it would be worth it. While it wasn't surfing (not by a long shot, according to the bunkins) it was cool to see sea lions up close and watch the crabs crawl around the rocks.
We found someone to take a picture by some really cool trees near the beach. This is one of the rare photos we have of everyone together.

I really tried to get a picture of the surf splashing the kids but I could never trick them into backing up far enough. It would have been awesome, but alas, it was not to be.
There was a small cave that you could walk through. It was cool. Ben walked all the way through with me. I have to admin it was a bit creepy. There were so many crab in the tidal pools and on the rocks and walls that when you walked through it looked like the walls were moving. Ben didn't mind but it freaked Chloe out.
Aren't they adorable. All the kids together having a great time on our vacation. I am glad they humored me. I really enjoyed this beach.

October Rocked!

In October, we went on a family vacation. This vacation had been in the works for almost a year as well. We were so excited. We took the family to California and played at the beach for several days. The weather was colder than usual but that did not stop us. On the first day, we purchased boogie boards and that turned out to be the best purchase of the trip.

Here's Jacob trying his board out...

Here Matt riding the waves...

Chloe was a little "energizer" fish. She just kept going and going and going...

Here's Ben having a good time...
Here they are, all approaching the mighty ocean in an attempt to conquer...
Here's a shot of each of them with their board. They sure loved it.


We sure do have some of the best kids around. This vacation was just what we needed. It was so great to spend time with one another and not have to worry about work and errands and going back and forth. We could just be together. What a great family!

Lake Dierkeys... (In September? Brrr...)

Earl got a new job in August and it could not have come at a better time. I was about to go crazy without him on the weekends. We really needed him home. It was so hard for him to give up those days with the kids when we see them so rarely. Now that we had our weekends back, we needed to get in a trip to see Grandma Carly. It's a favorite family trip that we try to make at least once a year. September is a bit late in the season for Lake Dierkey's but we went anyway and had a good time!

Jacob likes to climb the cliffs and explore. He looks pretty cool at the top of this rock. Ben really got into the cliff jumping this time. He went several times. I never got used to it. It always made me a little nervous. But he looked awesome doing it. Just went for it with very little hesitation!
Grandma Carly always makes us feel so welcome and takes such great care of us. We packed a fun picnic and enjoyed the temperate weather. It was too cool for me to get in but the kids and Earl were quite brave.
I made the kids pose for me on the diving board. It was hard to catch them all in the same place. So, while they were taking turns diving, I had them pause for a Kodak moment. They are awesome kids.
Chloe and Jake found a few moments to play. They found a place with some fish and they were trying to catch one. Although, by the look on Chloe's face, I am not sure she is sold on the idea.

August - River rafting in Wyoming

Earl has always wanted to take the family river rafting. In fact, he started planning this river rafting trip back in December. It was fun to get it all together and finally go. My parents were amazing. We planned the location, date and rafting details. They agreed to plan the meals. It worked out! We barely had room in our van for our kids and camping supplies, we never would have been able to fit food in. My parents also did a lot of the cooking!
Chloe had a good time. She figured she was camping and could get away with not combing her hair... at all.. I mean I don't think she took a brush to it once...
But, we had a great time together. She is a funny person and we are sure happy she's a part of our family.

The food was great. The last morning we did a big breakfast... pancakes, eggs, bacon, you name it. It was fantastic. It was the traditional Jeffery chuckwagon breakfast. It couldn't have been better.


We had a wonderful time. Kevin, Wendy and kids joined us along with Richard and his family. Unfortunately, I lost my camera after the first day and did not find it until the last day. Wendy will eventually send me the pics from her water camera. If there are any good ones, I will probably include them. This was a family tradition from Earl's childhood adn one we will most likely repeat.