Summer 2010 Revisited

So, remember this post about our fun field trips this summer? And this post with the summer recap and the lament about losing yet another memory card?

Guess what my parents found at their house? My old camera!!

With lots of summer pictures on it!
Yay!
I'm guessing in my haste to get out of town for a little Vegas getaway (sans kids) after my niece's wedding, I must have left the camera at the reception, and my parents picked it up and took it home.

Anyway--fun to see pictures from hanging out with Valerie this summer and pictures from summer back in SoCal. The timing of finding these pictures is ironic, as always.

Wagon ride at Wheeler Farm

We miss you guys!

Self portrait attempt of me and Helene

Seriously.
How can anyone eat these adorable piglets??

Kids were obsessed with this river

And throwing big rocks into it

We came back in town just in time for Hannah's last week of school. Here is her last day.

She missed her teachers so much!

Hannah and her friend Jasmine who is in her class again this year.

We made a trip out to Underwood Farms with Krista and the gang.

Noticing the abandoned diet coke

But can't quite reach it

and not happy about it.

I so love this picture!

And I had to include this picture because it's almost the same as this one of Hannah
over 3 years ago
uhhh....since when do my kids like sand?!

She looks so little.

And that's the end of my revisit of Summer 2010.
Good times.

One last summer outing

Most people know that I'm just not a beach person--although many have tried to convert me.

I hate the sand everywhere....
the cold water....
the fact that I burn in less than 6 minutes...
and most importantly...
I hate wearing a swimsuit.

But the kids have been asking to go to the beach, so I decided to be a nice mom and take them before school officially started on Tuesday.

So Monday, we went to down to Newport Beach. Dana suggested it for the convenient (and cheap) parking and the park on the beach.

We stopped at this fun park on the way down. I just happened to see it while driving down Newport Blvd and so we stopped to play for a bit.

The kids loved this plane replica.

And this funky slide with the rollers.

And Helene enjoyed the swings too.

I know Hannah isn't in any of these pics....she didn't want her picture taken. But here is her photography attempt.

After some play time, it was off to the beach. I found parking literally 20 feet from the beach. It was perfect.

So I enjoyed this...

(Two of my favorite things: Diet Coke and Vanity Fair.)

While the kids did this...

Helene hated the sand and refused to walk on it, so she was pretty much confined to the blanket. Sounds mean, but she didn't complain...and it gave me plenty of time to relax and read for a bit without worrying where she was going to run off to.

Here is my favorite picture of the day.

We only stayed a little over an hour, but by then the kids were super sandy and getting cold from the water and wind. And, of course, I was totally fried. I never realize it until the drive home when I start to feel that all too familiar soreness and pain of a sunburn. I guess some people never learn.

One more summer zoo visit

Summer is rapidly coming to a close and I have been so bad about documenting it this year. I cannot believe how late school starts this year--September 14th.
CRAZY.
Who's lame idea was that??

Anyway, we took advantage of the extra time and met up with Krista and Lauren at the zoo.

This was the first time I have let Helene out of the stroller for almost the entire time. She was "drunk with freedom", as Krista so eloquently described her daughter Liv's take on it.

It was really hot, despite it not quite being noon yet, so we cooled off with some shaved ice.
Helene was MIA enjoying her stroller liberation.
She also had free reign of the play area and couldn't have been more thrilled about it.
Such a big girl!

I'm going to try and be a nice mom and do a few more outings in these last 10 days of freedom.
We'll see how I do.