Another vacation update...

Tuesday we went to the beach again. It was an awesome day, we arrived there at 10:07am (to be exact) and stayed until 3pm. It was overcast most of the day, which made the weather perfect. The last two hours warmed up and made the sand burn our feet. You know how when your a mom, you always take care of your kids first and you last, if at all. Well, I had a problem with that this day. I made sure the kids all got sunblock on the entire bodies. But, me....not so much. I had Colby spray me down when I dropped him off at work on our way, but there must have been sand or something stuck in the spray nozzle. I thought I was getting sprayed, and I covered the rest of me after the kids were done when we got there. But, my sunblock must have mostly just been spraying cold air with sunblock only here and there. Granted, it was an old canister. I came home with the most ridiculous sun burn ever. Speckled and striped is what I am calling it. And.....I didn't remember my face at all! So, I have the opposite image of my sunglasses imprinted on my face for awhile. It's extremely embarrassing. Oh well, such is the life of a mother having an airhead moment. But, hey! My kids were completely protected the whole day. Woot! We had such a great time playing in the water and sand, especially with the Toones there. Thanks for joining us guys!

After a shower and some naps, we headed down to Thousand Oaks to meet up at the Hoffmeier home. We shared some dinner, and the kids all had a great time playing together while we chatted. Thankfully, Colby got away from the office for a bit to enjoy this time with us.

Paul and Blanca Hoffmeier, Eliza Toone, and Colby.

Wednesday we chilled out in the room for the first half of the day, then hit one of my favorite places for lunch: The Habit. And then...over to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. Mmmm...cake batter ice cream with fudge and brownies mixed in. (Sorry for that brief Homer Simpson moment, it won't happen again.) After quiet time, we met up with our friends the Foster's for some play time at McDonald's. The kids hadn't had enough time to burn energy, so on the way back to the hotel we stopped at one of our favorite places: Coyote Park. Notice that B isn't wearing his glasses, he accidentally stepped on them and bent them.This is where we used to have park day every week before we moved back to Utah. Then my friend Jo called and invited us over for homemade chicken enchiladas. Of course my picky kids didn't eat, but I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Today we had a date to meet up with Jo and her kids again. We found this place in Oak Park called Fo-Fo Figgily's and/or Bright Child. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! Much better than Chuck E. Cheese. The website said that part of the new movie "Imagine That" was filmed there. It had one gigantic, and a couple small, play structures inside, like those at McDonald's. It also had a big kids basketball room, and a little kids basketball room. Nice shot, Gabe! And Tristan scores as well!

A fire truck near the food area for the kids to climb on. A soft Lego pit. An arcade, a couple electric keyboards for kids to play, and a huge fish tank. Did I forget anything? Maybe, but who cares, we (me included) could have played there all day long if not for a much needed nap time. Robert and Braxton shooting foam balls at us on the bottom level. Everything is proportioned for little guys. Even in the bathrooms, the toilets and sinks. Carly and Gabe at lunch. (Only 3 weeks separate these kiddos in age.) Robert and Braxton enjoying there food. (You would never know that B is older.) G and T putting some foam balls. Braxton enjoying the zip line, while Tristan waits for his turn. Tristan, Carly, Rob and Braxton lined up for the basket up top to dump foam balls on them. Rob started this trend, it made fun that lasted quite awhile.

Later, Colby came home for 2 hours to have dinner with us at the Simi Towne Center (a big outdoor mall).

Of course it's not all fun and games with us right now. There have been multiple melt-downs, fights, punching and injuries. But, I have chosen to only post the positive on this blog. Kinda like a gratitude journal. I am too much of a negative person. If I used this site to vent, you would get done reading it, and think I was a terrible mother. So, we just post the positive and other major events in our lives, and that helps me forget the trials and frustration that come with being a parent. Okay, enough of that. Way too serious. I shall be back with more of our week, when there is more to report. TTFN: Ta Ta For Now!