Brandon's CA Vacation

You may have noticed that Brandon did not feature in any of our stay-cation photos.  That's because he was  on vacation in California for a week, for our friends' wedding, but now he's back!!  YAY!   Our home just wasn't the same without him.  And I am totally jealous that he got to go, and I didn't.  It got worse when I started seeing pictures.  Although, they started the trip off by going sky diving in Monterrey Bay, and I am so glad I wasn't there for that.

The pier at Santa Cruz, between Monterrey and San Francisco.

The sea lions were just right there, hanging out under the pier.

San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

these guys have been friends since high school---and our 10 year reunion was this month.

The redwoods.

Goat Rock and Jenner Point, near the mouth of the Russian River.

The wedding.

 Oh, holy cow, the wedding.

They looked amazing, naturally.  You won't find many girls prettier than Sam is.  Put her in her wedding finery, and she belongs in a magazine.  (You should probably know that she made that bouquet, and those roses are made from the pages of a romance novel.)

from the photographer's FB: corrine krough photography

Her new husband is pretty easy on the eyes, too.

also snagged from the photographer's FB

And my husband looked darn good, in his groomsman's garb.

The reception was lovely, from what I've seen.  I think most of it was DIY, like the bouquet.  

They rented the tables and chairs and such, but did all of the decorating and set up themselves.  The use of the river house was a gift from her father's friends, the liquor for the open bar was apparently a gift from their boss (they work in different restaurants, but they're owned by the same guy), and the catering was done at a discount by friends of theirs from work.

Congratulations, you two.  :)  I was fighting not to cry when watching this video, because I wasn't there.  Pictures like this one kinda made me tear up, too.

They leave on their honeymoon --a cruise to Alaska--on Monday.

I'm still stalking the photographer on FB, waiting for the rest of her pictures, so I can torture myself some more.  (Sam is stalking her FB, her website, and her blog, so I don't feel too bad.) 

Stay-Cation: Brave

Sunday, we didn't go anywhere.  Rebekah came over for the afternoon, we hung out, played with the kids, and I got some sewing done.  Monday, I took the girls to see Brave, and it was amazing!  

I would highly recommend it to everyone!  It was definitely a break from what Pixar has done in the past, but they did not let us down.  There are a few parts that are a bit intense, for small children...if you're thinking of taking your wee ones, but worried about whether it's appropriate, this review is spot-on.

I love kids' movies.  It's possible that I like kids' movies better than I like grown-up movies.  Disney is bringing The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo back to theaters to show them in 3D, which is pretty cool.  And did you know, Pixar is putting out a Monsters, Inc. prequel?  It's called Monsters University, and it's supposed to be released next summer.  I'll certainly be taking the girls to see that one...Ooh, and there's a Despicable Me sequel coming out around the same time...I'm so excited that I have children to take to the theater!

Stay-Cation: Virginia Living Museum

My girls are crazy about dinosaurs.  Elora can name all the common ones, and the only animal sound I've been able to teach Kaylie is "rawr" for dinosaur.  So naturally, when the Virginia Living Museum started advertising a "living" dinosaur exhibit, it went to the top of our "must do" list for the summer.

We got up on Saturday morning (after our sleep-over) and caravan-ed (since neither of us has a car big enough for 2 adults and 3 car seats) up to Newport News to check it out. 

Kaylie, telling Aunt Bekah what dinosaurs say---without prompting

corythosaurus with nest

triceratops with babies

skinless dinosaur robot, with a panel to control its movements

the t-rex

I think this one was Kaylie's favorite

triceratops photo-op.  I should have taken the photos from straight-on, but I didn't think about it until I was going through my photos at home.

Naturally, the dinosaurs were a major hit, but there was a lot more to see there then just the dinosaurs.  We didn't venture outside, because it was just too hot, but we did look at all of the inside exhibits, which focus on the local ecology.  

Appalachian Cove exhibit, upper level

There were lots of hands-on and interactive things to see, do, and climb on.

Cypress Swamp and  Appalachian Cove exhibits, lower level.

I'd say we saw about half of what the VLM has to offer, and it was great.  I'm thinking that we'll have to go back.  The dinosaurs will be exchanged for something new in September; maybe we'll go back then?  

Stay-Cation: Sleep Over

Rebekah came for a slumber party on Friday.  We watched movies, ordered pizza, and just generally had fun.

Rebekah is planning a trip to visit family, so the slumber party was a good trial run to see how James would do away from home.  She kept to his normal routine as much as possible, and he did great!

I was glad to see how much he likes his hoodie towel.  :)

After his bath, it was story time, and then bed time for little James.  The girls enjoyed the story, then finished their movie and went off to bed themselves.  :)

Stay-Cation: Pool Day

We're not going to the farm in Alabama for the Fourth, like we have the past few years, so we're having a "stay-cation", a little mini vacation, right here at home.  We went on Wednesday to paint pottery, but I forgot to get pictures.  Thursday, we went to the pool at Aunt Bekah's, and I took a ton of pictures!  We got there early,  to avoid the heat, but we didn't realize that the pool didn't even open until 10.  We spent the hour or so waiting in the club house, putting on sunscreen and such.

Kaylie was totally fascinated by that crane.

Elora just could not wait to get in the pool.  She's not very comfortable in the water, though, and she hates to get her face r hair wet, so as soon as she was in, she was scrambling to get out.  She spent the rest of the time playing right next to the pool, or right on the steps. 

Kaylie loved her little floating cabana--at first.  She splashed and giggled and played.

She threw her sunglasses in the water. (Because simply taking them off wasn't good enough.)

Then she decided to get herself out of it, and nearly gave me heart failure in the process.  She is my little daredevil child.  She wasn't at all afraid of the water!  

Rebekah and James sat in the shade and kept us company, and helped keep an eye on the girls.

Especially Kaylie.  

About half way through the morning, a few other families with children came out to the pool, and invited the girls to play with them.  They shared their toys, and Elora was really good about taking turns.

We packed up at about 11:30, and headed to Sonic for some limeade and a picnic lunch.  It was a good day.