Happy 4th!

Here's hoping yall have a great 4th of July weekend! Ad I went to the firework stand today and bought "fireworks" for my kids (snaps, sparklers, smoke balls, etc) I was reminded of this part in the movie Joe Dirt. Makes me laugh every time. (and don't worry, I bought some that go "boom" as well)

I'm so behind on the blog. The following 5 posts are from our recent trip to California. Enjoy.

The Beach

The best part of California? The Beach. The main reason for going to California? The Beach. The cheapest activity in California? The Beach. Gotta love it. We went as often as we could. The water was freezing but that didn't deter Trent from getting in. He brought his wet suit(and more to share). I wasn't brave enough to get in but had a fun time playing with the kids on the beach. We dug holes, built sand castles, flew kites, buried each other, and dipped our toes in the surf.

Walking down to the beach with our little guyBuilding sand castlesFlying a kite with Aunt KatrinaBubba stealing Trent's body boardThe last day we went to the beach, all the guys got in. There was a rip tide that was taking them way down the beach so the lifegaurd told them to go down to another part of the beach. After a while, my dad came back and sat down on the mats. I was building castles with the kids but I could hear my mom and brother gasping and hudling around my dad. I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't make out detail, but he didn't seem to be bleeding or anything so I went on with my castle. After a few more "eewww"s I had to see what was up. I went over and he showed me his finger--totally crooked! It was so unnatural! He had tried to dive under a wave and hit the ocean bottom and dislocated his middle finger. He was laughing about it so we knew he was ok. He tried to put it back in but couldn't so then Trent tried to pop it back in and couldn't so we asked the lifeguard if he could pop it back in but legally he wasn't allowed (my dad was so embarrassed we even got the lifeguard!) so we headed out and Trent took him to the ER where the doctor manipulated his finger until it was back where it was supposed to be. Turns out it was hyper-extended and dislocated. Needless to say it was an eventful day at the beach!

The guysThe crooked finger (you can't tell as much in the picture, but believe me: it was BAD)The lifeguard coming to the rescue (not really. thanks for the ice pack though.)Grant taking off with the lifeguard's buoy. Little thief. . .

The Tide Pools

One day we went to the tide pools to see what little creatures we could find. We found crabs, sea urchins, anemones, star fish, hermit crabs, and small fish. Jane liked to find sea shells--even if it was just a fragment, she wanted it. Grant was more interested in getting wet. He didn't much like the tide pools until we let him splash and throw rocks.

Overlooking the Tide Pools. It's a heck of hike down and even harder coming up.Bubba checking out the big rock covered in Pelicans (and their poop)Jane found a starfish. I'm not quite sure she liked holding it, though.Throwin' rocks

The Downfall of being Potty Trained. . .

On our way home from the Aquarium, Jane suddenly had to go to the bathroom. We asked her if she'd like us to stop at a store or if she wanted to hold it until we got home. She said she'd hold it. So she sat in the back seat whining and being uncomfortable. Well, Grant takes his cues off his sister so he started whining and crying and acting uncomfortable. Jane looked over at him and said, "Bubba, you can do your poops and pees in your diaper. I can't. I'm a big girl. I have to wait and go in the potty." Turns out the way to travel is with a diaper :)

Aquarium of the Pacific

We were able to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific one day of our trip. I don't think I'd ever been there before and it was grand! (of course half of the schools in the area thought so as well--there were loads of kids on field trips. blah) Anyways, we got to see sharks, tropical fish, jelly fish, puffins, watch a sea lion show, touch sting rays and little sharks, and learn about fish native to the Redondo Beach/Long Beach area. It was a really cool aquarium. The kids liked the touch pools the best, I think, but our favorite part was the sea lion show. So cool!

Dude soaking wet.

L.A. Zoo

On our wonderful trip to California we took a day and went to the L.A. Zoo. That place is awesome (and sooo big!) Jane was really looking forward to seeing the elephants and Grant was really looking forward to, well, who knows. We got to see the elephants, zebras, flamingos, monkeys, giraffes, a hippo, a koala, kangaroos, a kamodo dragon, otters, birds, a tortoise, and other animals I can't remember right now. Also, at the top of the park, they have a huge playground for the kids complete with a mist machine (that was much needed) and concrete animals they could crawl on. What a fun trip!