Oh Brother! Lots of Fun with Jared's Family

We were so excited when Jared told us he wanted to spend his family vacation with us! Then we realized that that would mean 7 kids in under 1200 sq. feet + 4 adults. Yikes--actually it worked out really well. We set up the tent in the backyard for all the kids (minus Alissa and Caleb). We also kept so busy that the kids were worn out and only here in time to fall asleep.

Here are a few of the things we did:

First we went to 6 Flags. We went almost right when it opened, and we stayed until close to closing. We were all worn out, but what a fun day. The Daniel really enjoyed feeding the giraffes. Liam was brave and rode with Uncle Jared and his boys on the log ride. They all got drenched and had a great time. Caleb enjoyed a few conversations with Alissa (stroller to stroller), but wanted to play and ride with the big boys. He and Liam and I rode the boat ride that rocks up and swings around and Caleb loved it, As you can see with his arms up.

We drove out to Muir Woods. It was really beautiful. The Redwoods always amaze me, because in my mind I guess I'd expect the forest to gradually get taller and taller until you reached the giant redwood height. Instead you drive and drive and then BAM! there they are, huge and beautiful, totally dwarfing the trees around them. Caleb was having a lot of fun with Liam's camera and with his hat and polo shirt he totally reminded me of my dad! One lady in the forest (a total stranger) saw him and thought he was so cute that she was taking pictures of him! About 2/3rds of the way through Liam took one of his more impressive spills....tripping, falling to his knees, rolling (still skidding) onto his shoulders, and finally on his face (still skidding) up on his eye. Poor Liam he is constantly getting injured. His eye got all swollen and bloodshot for a week.

We made a quick stop, in San Francisco, for some clam chowder in a bread bowl and other warm sea food. The boys had fun watching the street performers (the bushman is still our favorite) and feeding the pigeons.

Jared and Nathan went shooting with our Elders Quorum. They had a good time. Meanwhile, Daniel had a Tee-ball Game. That afternoon we spent at Old Sacramento. Lots of fun shops. Beware of the candy shops. They say you can have as many free samples as you want to eat in the store--but it is all a scam, because once you start you can't stop and you end up with a basket full that adds up much more quickly than you ever thought possible. (So after that we had 7 kids + 4 adults all hyped up on sugar in less than 1200 sq. feet!) It was still lots of fun and we had lots of treats for the rest of our excursions.

We tried to work off some of that sugar at the water park. Unfortunately, my nephews and sons turned on me and it became everyone against Michelle. (They will say that I started it, but don't believe them!;)) I think I got them pretty good, but they most definitely won. I tried to give Nathan a hug after the waterfight just to say I love you--so innocent, but he ran away from me. How unfair. First I get bucket after bucket of water dumped on me, then rejected by my own (dry) husband! That evening we celebrated Jared's 36th Birthday with Reeces Peanut Butter Cup Pie--delicious. After the kids went to bed we played The Office board game (Jared's B-day gift from Jenna--at least 'that's what she said' ;)).

We checked out some tide pools and even got to see some seals. Then we spent a day at a beautiful beach next to Dunes' Beach. It had a little fresh water river which was perfect for our little ones to play in. It was also fun for all of the boys (Nathan and Uncle Jared included) to engineer dams and reroute its path. Daniel finally had big boys to play with in the crashing waves (Ryan and Nathan are great cousins!). Liam, Matt, and Caleb, played in the sand and in the fresh water. We also flew kites and played catch.

Despite having already gone to Muir Woods, we decided to also visit Calavaras Big Trees. Muir woods is a beautiful forrest but the girth of the massive trees in Calvaras is even more impressive to me. (We are all fans of Brian Regan and we had lots of "girth" jokes as we walked the trail.) I also love that in Calvaras Big Trees there are trees to climb on and fallen trees to climb through. It is a playground made of trees and dirt. No wonder my boys love it.

We were busy every moment, but we had a blast. What a fun way to end summer. We love visits from family. We hope you'll come out and visit again soon.