Watery

7/9

I love telling people here about how hot Arizona is in the summer.

It's kind of unfathomable.

Even I forget how bad it is till I'm back.

We braved the heat this year solely for Cole's farewell.

We survived by jumping in any body of water we could find, starting with my mom's inflatable pool at 8am the morning after we got there (above).

Rachel and Jacob moved into a guest house on a property with a super fun pool. Went there as much as possible.

7/10

Also thanks to Rachel and Jacob, we learned about a great spot at The Salt River.
Wasn't sure the sweaty 15 minute walk to get there would be worth it, but it most definitely was.

7/11

One of my most favorite things from our whole trip was the swim down this river back to the parking lot I did with Rachel.

7/12

After Cole's farewell talk in church.

7/13

He got a fever and fell asleep on my shoulder in the pool. 

7/13

Discounted movie day.

And dress like a cow/get free food day at Chik Fil A.

 7/14

All my brothers. Hopefully our boys get the Hollobaugh hair genes.

A thunderstorm came out of nowhere right after Cole got set apart for his mission. Nothing better than an AZ thunderstorm. Side note: loved not having to worry about water during this trip. The California drought situation is sad and stressful.

7/14

Owen was full on sobbing Cole's last night before his mission. Cole was so sweet and just sat and held him. 

One last Cole memory: His friends took him to the airport and brought him his favorite hazelnut chocolate milk. Somehow we got the leftovers after they came back from dropping him off. We already miss him.

7/15

SoCal

7/5

The Tate's (aunt and uncle) invited us to join their Sunday bonfire.

Roasted pink Starburst are my new favorite thing.

 Errin took us to a top secret rope swing.

Rope swing spectators:

7/6

7/6

Met Brent & Errin at the drive in to see "Inside Out."

Got a free trip to Sea World's water park, Aquatica, thanks to their military appreciation.

After a few rides, Sally's upset stomach benched her.

While the boys were here:

And here:

7/7

Have I mentioned Justin had never been to a water park before we were married?

His first water slide experience is probably in his lifetime's top 10.

Next up: Arizona.

7/8

Accommodating

All pictures 7/4-7/5

Our Carlsbad acommmodations were thanks to my friend Nicole letting us take over her house while they were on vacation. 

Their backyard is a kids' dream. Okay, mine too.

All the kids loved the chickens, but Auggie REALLY loved them.

Wish I could've seen the happy dance they did after we left.

Red, White, and Beach

Karen, Rachel (+ families), and Cole were all in California for the 4th.

We got to the beach at 9am to get both good parking and beach spots.

Plan worked.

My cousin Joey was the genius behind the half-buried exercise balls. I guess that's really a thing called Fitballin. Youtube it. Anyway, it was so fun and the kids always had a random audience.

Joey also gets credit for the awesome VW Bus tent. 

Watched fireworks at our old favorite spot on the golf course in Carlsbad. Monterey still doesn't do them and it's sad. 

We Took a Trip

We took a trip. A 2-week trip to Southern California and Arizona.

It was so nice to get a break from my work, Justin not having work, and day-to-day life in general.

Justin drove home from his 3-week stint doing USMC Reserves time at Camp Pendleton only to turn around the next morning and drive us back to where he just came from.

By the time we got on the road we were set up to hit LA traffic at its peak. So we detoured.

In Solvang we fed emus and ostriches and ate over-priced, not that great pastries. In a cute bakery.

The detour was worth it. Traffic free the rest of the journey.

7/3

Limekiln State Park

6/30

The state parks around here are starting to look the same.
But that's not a bad thing.

Took the kids to Limekiln. Just us.

It was far (made extra slow by extra tourist traffic), but so beautiful.

Justin said I can die now that I finally crossed this place off my list.
But he doesn't realize how very long my list is.

16-year-old me would never have imagined 36-year-old me feeling this way, but nature is the best.