16 posts tagged “vacation”

For vacation this year we took the kids, the dog and the trailer to Malibu for 10 days.  Our campsite was amazing.  This was the view from our spot

It was unbelievable waking up to this every morning.  We would sit in our seats in the misty sea air, warm cups of coffee in hand and watch dozens of dolphins swim by.

We toured the famous Adamson house.  The Adamson's were the family who founded Malibu and later sold land to Pepper-dime University.

Everyday we strolled the shore lines, where the kids found sea enemies, starfish and shells galore.

We spent one day in Santa Monica.  We walked alot of downtown, did the kids school shopping at the Promenade, walked the pier, browsed the street vendors and rode the original carousel which still sits at the beginning of the pier.

 

 

Kenna loved to stop at every single telescope along the boardwalk

One morning we woke up to a thick marine layer so we ended up driving inland about 30 minutes to sight-see in Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

We stopped in and checked out the wax museum and Guinness museum

Jules had plenty of fun camping and handing with the family

Of course we spent plenty of days lounging and playing on the beach!

 

 

What

 

 

 

a

 

 

perfect

 

 

vacation

 

 

enjoying

 

 

this

 

 

beautiful

 

 

world

 

 

GOD

 

 

 

created

 

 

with

 

 

 

my

 

 

husband

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

children

4 kids

1 dog

1 fish

1 gecko

1 husband

and now (very temporarily) 7, yes I did say 7, cats...

Meet Olivia, or as Ethan calls her, Owivia.

We found Olivia while on vacation and then Olivia went from being 1 cat to being 7.  She went into labor on Friday night at 10:00pm and by 5:00am had given birth to 6 adorable kittens.  She herself is a Bengal tiger cat.  4 of the kittens have her same markings, 1 is gray with white stripes and 1 is solid black.

So far she is an excellent cat.  She has the sweetest disposition!!!!

Now all we need to do is find 6 good loving homes 8 weeks from now.......

We're in route back home after having a great family vacation for the past 10 days.

We lounged on the beach.  Did some sightseeing. Plays tons of games. Shopped. Ate at some delicious restaurants. Saw many stars. And are brings home a new pet, or should I say...pets?

Driving home sucks, not only because we're leaving the beach, but because we're headed back to the heat.  Headed back to unpack.  To do the laundry.  Do the grocery shopping.  Pack Christian for surf camp. Head back to reality.

We started our vacation last Friday when we packed up the car, attached the trailer and headed to Malibu.

Upon our arrival we were mesmerized at how utterly breathtaking the Pacific ocean is from the top of our little cliff which we will call home for the next 10 days. 

After unhooking the trailer from the suburban we took a short walk down to the water, where we climbed some rocks and searched for seashells.  Christian was excited to find a perfectly shaped purple starfish lying on the sand.

There's a severe surf advisory so each night we've be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the harsh bearing sea crashing against the dense rocky cliff-side.

Yesterday we ventured down Pacific Coast Highway to Zuma beach we're we put up our umbrella, played in the sand and soaked in the California sunshine.

Last night we took a winding dirt trail down the hillside to the Beach Shack for the most delicious fried fish, shrimp, chowder and piping hot sourdough...

We drove and drove and drove....Then we stopped in San Francisco for lunch and jumped back in the car, Ryan pulled the cord and off we went.

Arriving 3 hours later at my sisters!  Yay for family!  My parents and brother come tomorrow and then we'll spend the next 3 days talking, giggling and spending quality family time under one roof.  Just being family.

 

 

We are packed tight as a sardine can in Ryans little mini-car.  Driving for hours. But Maverick I see the San Francisco skyline.....

 

Stay tuned!

Ok.  Time to get down to the nitty gritty.....

A week ago Sunday we flew to Seattle just the two of us for a mini- getaway...  When we got off the plane we ventured through a crowed confusing airport to get our rental car.  From there we drove to our friends Tim and Michelle's house for Easter dessert.  Michelle made a carrot cake for Ryan (who has always been spoiled by Michelle's cooking) and her Mom made a delicious raspberry cheesecake!  We visited for a few hours and then were off to find our hotel.

We stayed in the Lake Union Marriott which happens to be the same hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon.

Only this time we had a spectacular view of the Lake which was overflowing with stark white masks of sail boats tied to docks in one direction and the space needle in the other.

 The next day Stacey and Jason picked us up and we spent the day doing touristy stuff in downtown.  We walked pikes place, ate at the cafe from Sleepless in Seattle, enjoyed the city views from the gasoline park, did the Underground Tour and some shopping.  All of which was followed by dinner where the four of us were joined by Kathy and Lindsey for some delicious seafood.

 

The next morning while getting ready I noticed something strange when I poured my jewelry out onto the counter.  More items fell out of the cup then I had originally placed into the cup.  Ryan had apparently slipped my anniversary gift into the cup while I was sleeping.  He got me a beautiful sparkling anniversary band which he special ordered to match my wedding set!

Which was ironic because due to his recent dramatic weight loss I had purchased him a new wedding band and took it on our trip for him...

After all this excitement was the main event of the trip.  THE GAME.  Opening Day for the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field and we had exceptional seats dead center in between home base and first base.

After the game we met back up with Tim and Michelle for dinner at the Palisades

Wednesday we slept in and then headed up to Snowqualmie Falls.  The cool breeze and light mist walking down the pathway are so exciting and then the moment you see the falls you catch your breath and stop in amazement at the beauty that God has created.  They are absolutely breathtaking!

 

Heres a few more random pictures from our stay

until our trip to Seattle!!!!!!!

and by our, I mean just Ryan and I!  Yep thats right!  Just the 2 of us, alone, no little people for three days in the gorgeous romantic city that we honeymooned in just 10 years ago....

We have many plans in our 3 short days. 

Visiting our "Seattle families", opening game for the Seattle Mariners, a trip to Snoqualmie falls, an underground tour, a trip to the coveted Bon, visit Pikes place, dinner at the Palisades and whatever else we can fit into our schedule!

Most importantly we will get to talk with out using "code" or spelling.  We will get to sleep in.  We will get to walk hand in hand without little hands intertwined in the mix too.  A trip thats all about us. 

So on that note, Mr. Weatherman can you please make the yucky freezing weather go-away!

Christian LOVED his trip North to my sisters house.  He came home last night and was so animated talking about is venture.  Heres some highlights in HIS WORDS...

 

"Uncle Norm was on his best behavior, because Aunt Denice told him to be."

"I ate raccoon, bear stew and wild pig and they were all sooooo good!  The food was my favorite part."

"Michaels girlfriend is HOT."

"Aunt Denice cut and died her hair and she's really skinny!"  (Ok, I'll add my own comment to that one...Bitch)  :-) (I feel better already, sorry sis, But I don't like being the heavier sister!  My new years resolution is to be skinner then you!)

"Michael and Taylor are soooo cool!"

"Mom, I drank 5, count it, 5 Dr. Peppers."  (yeah, we don't do caffeine here so that was a big deal)

"I got to feed the deer celery and oranges of the back porch."

"Tay and I played a rated M game."  (again, a big deal because we only let him play rated E)

and to sum up how much he loved it, he asked if he can go ahead of us by a few days in June for Michaels graduation.

***question is will Aunt Heidi (a.k.a. the airport shuttle) be available?

Christian left today on his FIRST solo trip.

He flew North to my sisters house for a 4 day vacation with his cousins.

Scary part for me?  Nope, not the fact that my 11 year old went on a plane by himself, or even that he'll be gone for 4 looong days.  It's the fact that my nephews are 15 and 18 and I have a feeling Christian will return with way more knowledge about life then he had when he left.  Oh and I'm sure his uncle Norm will also help in that department :)

Neecie, take good care of my baby.  Miss you Christian.