UCSC Arboretum

I have never been to an arboretum before. In my mind I pictured it being a fancy, indoor greenhouse. While I was excited to go I was a little worried about keeping the boys happy and under control. Well, to my pleasant surprise it was all outdoors, the boys could run and be noisy, yay! It was also much larger than I had anticipated. There were miles of trails to wander and explore! They boys had fun looking for birds, especially hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, lizards, spiders and snakes. They also really enjoyed looking at all the different flowers and trees. I, of course, enjoyed getting to take pictures of all the fun things we saw.

Here are some examples of the flowers:

And the trees:
And here are the boys exploring and enjoying it all!
Here is a really cool, and very large spiderweb we found. Austin also got to see a spider catch and eat a bug. He was fascinated by it!
My favorite part was the scent garden, beautiful in scent and color!
Afterwards we decided to continue our adventures and try out a park we had never been to before. We lucked out with the park we picked. It had a big, beautiful pond. We took a walk all the way around and saw ducks, geese, turtles, tadpoles, giant fish and huge dragonflies! It is a joy to me to see the boys so interested in and appreciative of the nature around them.

Danny and the Dust Motes

Danny discovered dust motes yesterday and it was such a magical moment! I wish I had had my camera on hand to capture the look of pure wonder and delight on his face as he watched the golden little motes dance in the evening sunlight. Wouldn't it be nice if the dust laying all over my house looked that golden and sparkly!

Tada!

Danny, dressed and ready to go to church this morning in Austin's shoes!

Independence Day

We started off our 4th of July with the flag raising and pancake breakfast at the church. I love being able to start the day off with the flag raising as it really sets the tone for the whole day. The breakfast was delicious and the pancakes were blueberry! Afterward there were some carnival type games. I have no idea how many lollipops Austin actually consumed that morning! There was also a big blowup water slide that the kids loved!

We spent a quiet afternoon at home with Austin constantly asking me how much longer it was until the fireworks started. Since we did not even leave for the fireworks until the kids are usually going to bed, it was a very long afternoon! We drove into town, staked out in on of the big parking lots and had a little tailgate party in the back of the truck (licorice and Uno kept us entertained til the show started!). There was a ton of traffic to get out of town when it was all over but the fireworks were worth it and the boys both really enjoyed it!

Oooooohhhh, Aaaaaaahhhh, Oooooooo

Our Eleventh Anniversary

We had a wonderful night. I really enjoy the time we get to spend, just the two of us! We went to our favorite place, Rosie McCann's in downtown Santa Cruz. They have the best calamari and I have never had something there that I didn't like! After that we took a quick stroll through town to the movie theater to watch Public Enemies. We both really liked it but it was one of those movies that even though you know how it ends you can't help but root for the bad guy a little bit (especially when the bad boy is Johnny Depp!)
Bryce got me this beautiful bracelet, gold and diamonds, and it goes great with my wedding ring! I am such a lucky girl!

Once Upon a Time . . .

. . . in the year of Our Lord 1998, a young, bold and daring prince, who had recently returned from his crusade in the French West Indies, met a young, shy and lonely princess. Due to the shyness of the princess she was a hard quarry to track down but the young prince was determined. He eventually cornered over a joust of pool at the home of the Bishop. He spoke magic words to her in French and she accepted his offer of courtship. They spent a happy month together taking magcal walks in the snow, visiting museums of magical machines, many more jousts of pool, walks along the river and in the woods and many, many late nights.
Then the young prince took the princess to visit the land near the ocean where he had grown up. The princess had always loved the land near the ocean and was so happy to be there with him. At sunset the prince took the princess out on to a towering rock in the ocean. And there with the wind blowing, and tears in her eyes, the prince pushed her off the cliff.

The End.

No, not really! I just couldn't help myself!

And there with the wind blowing and tears in her eyes the prince asked her the most magical question of all. He got down on one knee and asked her if she would spent time and all eternity with him to which she estatically replied yes, yes, yes, yes!
They were married for time and all eternity in the Manti Temple, which the young princess had fallen in love with as a child because it reminded her of a castle, on July 3, 1998.
Eleven years have pased since that blissful day and they are still happily married. They have added 2 darling princes to their family and live in their own little fixer-upper castle in the woods by the land near the ocean.

The Best Park EVER!

If you are ever in the Monterey area you have to go to Dennis the Menace park!
I first visited this park approx. 13 years ago on a trip to Monterey with the Single Adult ward, and I remember thinking how cool it was then. The picture is old and grainy but I am in there (Trevor too) sitting in the middle row, in a blue sweatshirt (which I still have!).
This park is just simply awesome! The most awesome part of it's awesomeness is the train, a real, live, old locomotive that someone donated to the park. Even better is the fact that the kids can run, climb and explore all over it! And boy did they love it! I think the kids need to learn more about trains because there was a lot of talk about captains and turbulence! We went with our good friends the Hanson's and the Bybee's, and Bryce's little brother Steven is in town visiting for awhile. It sure helped out having his extra set of eyes and hands to help corral the boys! So here are some pics of the kids in, on, around and under the train:

Second only to the train were the slides, especially the roller slide. I think the kids spent at least one solid hour on it!

Oh, but that wasn't all! There was rock climbing wall, several play structures, bridges, tunnels, a maze, hill sides and trees to climb - a veritable wonderland for kids!

We made it home after horrible traffic (an idiot and his idiot friend stole a car, ran from the police, crashed into a guard rail and poof - a major car fire!), and meeting up with Bryce for dinner (who luckily picked a beat at the opposite end of the county). The boys are in bed, completely zonked out. I am a wee bit sunburned but it was worth for such a great day!