Mom!

 Feast of Lanterns pet parade.

 Girls (+ August) dinner at Lalla Grill.

(boys were at Cal's birthday party)

 Feast of Lanterns program/fireworks.

Asilomar for the beach, making s'mores, and casting spells.

(watched a lot of Harry Potter that week)

Lunch date (mom and me) at Old Fisherman's Grotto on the wharf.

Locals menu was a great deal and so good.

Except that calamari, which we couldn't even try.

Farmer's market.

 Bagpipes at Spanish Bay golf course by the beach.

(Mom was there).

 Sally's project choice was this cupcake sewing kit.

Drew chose this weather station/green house.

Owen chose a magnet kit.

Crafts, crafts, and more crafts.

And I didn't have to help the kids with any of them.

I've said it a million times. My mom is the best. She lightened my load for a lovely week and left our house a better place.

Summer Visitors

Sunday (7/20)
Met sweet baby Meril
Went to church. Minus Brent, who was sick.
Visited the forest. Ellis collected sticks. And August turned every stick into a weapon growling, "Die!"
Stopped at the high school.

Monday (7/21)
Ate breakfast at Wagon Wheel. Hence Sally's Miss Piggy Pancakes. Don't mind her gum.
Attempted Point Lobos. It was full.
So we went to Hacienda Hay & Feed where the turtles were once again mating (sorry, not pictured).
Then to Earthbound Farms where raspberries were picked and soft serve ice cream was eaten.
Back at home, Ellis and Sally turned into cats. This was Ellis's random request. Love that she wanted me to paint her face.
Ended the day at the aquarium and Dennis the Menace Park (not pictured).

Tuesday (7/22)
17 Mile Drive.
Stillwater Cove.
Swam at the Lover's Point pool (not pictured).
Then jumped off the cement dock at Lover's Point.

Wednesday (7/23)

Drove with Brent and Errin to Big Sur on their way home.
Stopped at Bixby Bridge (not pictured).
Played in the river.
Tried Pfeiffer Beach (aka Purple Sand Beach). It was full.
Moved on to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to do the short hike to McWay Falls.
Said goodbye to Brent and Errin's family.
Visited Pfeiffer Beach on the way home since it had opened up. Purple sand was even less purple than last time we visited there 5 years ago.


We haven't gone anywhere since Justin left. The weather is too good and there is so much to do. So it was fun to have new people to do that stuff with.

On the side (7/21-25)
Owen and Drew had baseball camp every morning that week (at Cal State University - Monterey Bay). They loved it, but missed out on all our morning activities with Brent and Errin.

Summer Photo Dump

 6/27

7/1

So many doctor/dentist appointments.

Braces. Poison Oak. And other random things.

 An afternoon on the trolley.

Got frozen yogurt (below), then went to the aquarium.

7/2

7/7

This lasted about a week.

Owen and Drew are so sloppy with their handwriting, I was having them relearn how to write.

7/7

This is one boredom buster that worked.

Love his stance holding his imaginary bat.

7/7

7/7

Sally is dying to start gymnastics.

Tried out a few gyms.

7/9

A letter to Justin that we can't mail because he literally has no address.

7/9

7/10

7/15

7/17

7/17

Owen, Drew, and Sally did a session of swimming lessons with friends and loved it.

Wish we had done a few more.

7/11

Anytime the shower/bath gets turned on, he comes running.

7/11

Free Slurpee day.

7/11

7/12

He picked up that divider and started yelling, "Die! Die! Die!"

Had never heard him do that before (he is not a baby of many words) and now he does it all the time.

I wish it wasn't hilarious, but it is.

7/15

Fort Ord park with friends.

7/15

Oh blessed moment.

7/15

She is the most creative of the bunch. Made this on her own.

3/26                                                                                                  7/16

It only took me a year to update scout patches.

I used to think San Diego won the battle of the patches, but Monterey's is growing on me.

7/17

After our hike at Jack's Peak.

7/18

Also comes running anytime I open the fridge.