4th of July

We took a little trip up to the bay area for the 4th of July to see Michael and Michelle and their boys. We left on the 4th, in the morning, and got there some time in the afternoon, just in time to go to a little swim party/bbq with them. And that night Daniel, Michael and Damon went to a fireworks show.

It was a pretty chill weekend with them. We went to the park Saturday morning to play. In the afternoon, the boys (all except Brixton) went golfing, and Michelle and I went to do some fun things nearby. We watched the boys hit a few balls at the driving range (it was Daniel's first time ever golfing, so Michael had to teach him how to do it, and he had to get a little practice in) and T off, had a fun little train ride and went on the merry-go-round a couple times before going to get some dinner and putting the littles to bed.

We went to church on Sunday, of course, and then just hung out and played games that afternoon/evening. Daniel, Brooke and I took some time that afternoon to go see one of my good college friends, Madi, who lives near where they do. And it was so lovely to see her. :)

We left Monday morning for a long trip back. We had an awesome time with them, though!

On the train! They're so cute!

Brooke loved riding the deer on the Merry-Go-Round

Brixton was so good to help Brooke around his favorite park. Good cousin!

I think they had fun hanging out together all day. :)

Cruise!

Daniel, Brooke and I took a cruise with my parents back at the end of May. We did a little short cruise from LA to Mexico for 4 days ... well, 3 full days and 4 nights. We had fun! Brooke was sick for the first part. She threw up about an hour after we boarded, not from sea-sickness but from an actual sickness. She had a fever on and off for the next 24+ hours. But that didn't stop her, or us! She was a good sport about everything.

There's our sweet ride!

Apparently we couldn't go on a cruise without some cool hats. So Mom bought a couple for us!

The ship took off in the evening of the first day, Monday. The next day we were anchored just off of Catalina Island. We explored a bit and walked around the island. But Brooke was still pretty mellow and tired, so my Mom and I took her back to the ship for a nap while my Dad and Daniel went on a little snorkeling adventure.

Brooke was fascinated with the seagulls that liked to land on the ship.

Day 1: Catalina Island

This was by far the cutest towel animal they did. We also had a dog, a bear and some other unrecognizable animal.

The 3rd day we were in Ensenada, Mexico. Not the most beautiful part of Mexico I've seen, but still pretty fun. We drove out to the big attraction, La Bufadora, a blowhole. It was not as exciting as people made it out to be; but there was about a quarter of a mile stretch of road that we walked down that was lined with little stands and shops. The people were selling everything: food, treats, clothes, souvenirs, ... And we spent our share of money. :)

We also took a little horse-drawn tour of the city. Brooke liked to see the horse, but she didn't love touching or riding it.

The little shops on the walk down to La Bufadora

Also, we got to play with a lion cub! It was pretty cool.

At La Bufadora

A little Mexican snack for Daniel. :)

Brookie and Grampa

After our excursion, we stopped at a little restaurant for some real Mexican tacos, which were delicious. And my parents paid a Mariachi band $5 to sing and play us a little song.

Our last day was at sea. We just hung out on the ship, played games together, did some mini golf, napped, hung out at the pool, etc. We had a fun time!