Chris & Regina Visit

We left the mountains Friday morning and by the time we got home, Chris & Regina and kids were there.  They made the long trek to California to come see us for a few days.  We had so much fun together!  Even though it had been a year since we'd seen them, the kids played like they'd never been apart.  

We spent the first day at home and the kids went swimming all day.  

Lilly and Nate were adorable together and feel asleep like this the first night:

The second day we went to San Francisco.  We're not the best at showing people around the city since we don't go there often and we had some hiccups but we still had a good day.  We walked around the farmer's market by the Ferry Building, grabbed some lunch, then took a ferry out across the bay and back.

Finally found parking and the kids were enjoying the truck:

We met a nice balloon man:

Natalie & Sam playing before lunch:

 

Chris, Regina & cute Maddie:

 Once we got going on the ferry the wind was out of control.  

We didn't last too long on the deck, but we got some good pictures before it was too bad.

 

Cute Lilly was loving it:

 So was Eli:

 Goofy kids hanging out inside the ferry:

 We stopped at a park for a little bit and the kids loved this jungle gym:

 We also discovered this fun fountain:

 Nate & Maddie

 That little girl was so much fun.  It was fun to get a glimpse of what Elijah will be doing in a few months.  I don't know if I'm ready to chase him around everywhere, though!

She and Joe bonded one night:

On Monday we had the best beach day.  Elijah was sure happy to be there:

 The adults worked hard to bury all 6 of these cute kids:

Nate refused to smile in the pictures.  What a stinker. 

Even Maddie liked being buried!  She enjoyed sampling the sand as well.

 Joe took a turn, too:

Lizzy & James

 Some more beach fun:

Buried again:

We had a blast playing some wiffle ball.  Nate could have played for hours and Grandma was patient enough to keep pitching to him.  It was cute to watch. 

 Chris and Joe had a grand time catching clams:

 They (along with Marsha) got it into their heads that they had to take them home and make chowder out of them.  And...with no consent or help from Regina or I, they managed to pull it off.  It was pretty good!

Here's Nate and Lilly playing with a hermit crab in the clam bucket:

One huge highlight of the day for me was watching the dolphins.  There were tons that were so close so I decided to swim out there.  I went farther out than I ever have and it was awesome.  I was only about 15-20 feet away from actual wild dolphins!  They were jumping and rolling around.  I loved every minute and didn't want to come in.  Joe finally came out to get me since they were a little worried.  He got to see them close, too.  Man I love the ocean.  It really was a perfect day.

 Back home and swimming some more...

I just can't get over the cuteness of those two.

Of course these two are right on the same cuteness level:

We were all so sad to see them go.  Thanks so much guys for driving the 15 hours out here!  We love you!

Allen Reunion

We had a great time back at Old Greenwood for the Allen reunion.  We sure missed Matt & Melissa and family, but it was great seeing everyone else.

Of course we had lots of time at the pool...

The kids bonded with Tyler in the pool and the girls loved all the cute things he would say:

Joe had to leave to go back to work for a few days so I sent him this picture of Elijah and I kicking back at the pool:

I loved the evenings--hanging out and talking after good meals while the kids played on the golf course:

Emily even fell in this little stream helping Nate cross back.  What a great cousin! :)

It's so beautiful there:

We went to Lake Tahoe one day and had a great time.  We rented a boat and took turns going out.  I sat out with the boys this year but the girls had a blast tubing behind the boat.

Nate loved digging in the sand and actually played in the water!  

He loved that the waves were much calmer.

One day when Joe was back we went on a family hike around one of our favorite spots above Donner Lake.  You can't beat the view:

The kids just love climbing the big rocks:

Look!  It's a picture of Joe and I (and baby) for once:

There were many other highlights I didn't get pictures of including a family soccer game, a fun rafting trip down the Truckee River and a great FHE given by Emily and Hannah.  We had a blast!