"Memorial"-ble Weekend

We had a nice little Memorial Day weekend. We started off the weekend by going cherry-picking. Baylee's preschool teacher had told me about it, and I kept checking to see when the farms were going to open. Saturday (Memorial Day weekend), we went to Brentwood, which has tons and tons of u-pick cherry farms to choose from. Here's some pictures from our cherry-picking adventure:

We had a great time, it just got a little hot for Ben. We came home with plenty of cherries. Baylee ate so many while we were picking them, and had evidence all of her face. She loved them. Payton insisted on carrying his own bucket around and picked a lot of cherries off some of the lower branches. Some of them weren't as tasty, but that's okay since he had so much fun. We also bought olallieberries and strawberries, and then next day I made a cobbler with the cherries and some of the berries. I hate canned cherries so much, but the cobbler was actually pretty tasty with fresh cherries.

On Memorial Day, we went to a pancake breakfast at our church. We thought we saw that it went until 10, but a few minutes after we got there (a little before 9:30), everyone started cleaning up and putting everything, including tables and chairs, away. So we ate fast and put our chairs away and left. It was a little disappointing, since we didn't even really get to talk to anybody. That afternoon, we went to a Kids Fest thing in Concord I had found. Baylee and Payton loved getting to run around and play.

There were plenty of inflatable slides and courses. This one was for 2 and under, although Payton went on all the others too. He's really good at climbing up the steep slide ones.

The kids and I went in this weird bubble thing that blew balloons all around.

Payton and Baylee had fun doing gymnastics (and karate) moves at some of the booths. Payton held the line up a little at this one, but all the people that were there to coach them were so patient with him and he was so proud of himself. At a different gymnastics one, he even got to pick a ribbon. He decided on a pink one, and carried it around and slept with it for a couple days.

Baylee and Payton got to pet mini horses. Baylee said she liked the fake pony that moved the best. I think she actually thought it was real.

Payton was so excited to meet Dora and Boots! He gets so excited now when the show comes on.

Baylee was excited to meet a Smurf, but i think she was a little sad it wasn't Smurfette. She loved the smurf goodies she scored though. She's been into Smurfs for a while lately, although I'm not really sure why.

Payton and Baylee tried to hula hoop. I even tried to teach them, but I'm not quite as good at it as I used to be. Another mom came over with her kids and showed me up. She was good. I left it to my kids after that.

It was nice to have something different to do with the kids for the day, and it was great that it was something where they could get a little of their energy out.

Father & Sons/Girls Party

A few weekends ago...

...Payton and Ben went on a Father & Sons campout.

Payton had fun exploring the woods....

....and wandering around camp....

....and getting dirty with the guys. (I'm not really sure what all they did, but we are down a car since they came home.)

Baylee was sad she didn't get to go camping, so we had our own girls night (or party, as she's been calling it). We cleaned up kid/toy messes, went to Target to buy treats, ate Panda Express for dinner (her choice), then rented and watched Ramona And Beezus while curled up in bed with our treats. I even let her sleep in my bed that night.

She completely took over my side of the bed. So much for a better night of sleep. However, she had wanted to sleep in the backyard in a tent, so at least this was warmer. The boys were back in time for soccer Saturday morning. They had a good time too, and Baylee keeps telling me that they need to go on another campout for three days so we can have a girl's party again.

Ben's Birthday In Monterey

Ben is officially in his last year in his 20s, so to celebrate we went to Monterey for the weekend. It was a nice little break from things, and even though the kids were quite a challenge, we had a great time.

After we were all checked in to our hotel, we walked around and ended up at Fisherman's Wharf. While trying to decide from clam chowder samples and restaurant menus where we should eat at, we saw one place that had cheap oysters for Happy Hour. Ben and Baylee went in to eat two at the bar. Baylee was curious enough to try them.

She ended up not liking it though, and spit it right out onto the plate. I don't think Ben minded downing the rest on his own. We ended up having dinner at one of the first places we had passed, and enjoyed the great view of the ocean. I had Baylee try to get a picture for me, but I ended up with several of just the water with the window reflecting her shirt and the sun shade. After dinner, we drove around, grabbed some cupcakes, and called it an early night.

Saturday was Ben's birthday!!! He took the kids with him to grab some Jamba Juice for breakfast, and then we did presents in our hotel room.

After we were all ready, we headed to the Aquarium. We grabbed a cinnamon roll and this cute cookie for the kids on our way. Baylee was very excited about that seahorse cookie and insisted we get a picture.

Baylee loved the big tank and had fun pointing out all the sharks that were passing by her.

Outside on the deck, this little spot was perfect for Payton and Baylee. They got to see what it looked like to be underneath when a big wave comes by.

It's not a successful aquarium trip without touching the starfish and stingrays.

Payton stood and just watched these little seahorses for a while. He laughed and thought it was the best thing ever. The people next to him were getting a kick out of him.

Baylee and Payton got an idea of what it's like to be a clam in this giant shell. Payton was probably ready to take a nap in it.

Of course, they were too busy tickling each other to look at the camera when Ben wanted me in the picture too. We had a lot of fun at the aquarium, but were pretty disappointed that a big chunk of it was closed for remodeling. We missed a lot of great stuff.

We walked around after the aquarium, and ended up at a little beach area. The kids loved playing in the sand for a minute, and getting close to the water. They were definitely destined to live by the beach. I'm still trying to convince Ben to move back to Hawaii.

Payton fell asleep on the little walk to dinner, and slept through all the fun at Bubba Gump's. It definitely made dinner a little easier and mellow though, even in a place like Bubba Gump's. It was a good dinner, even if I was a little bummed that they forgot to sing to Ben.

Sunday was Mother's Day. After Jamba Juice for breakfast again and checking out of the hotel, we went to Carmel and hit a candy store. The kids had to have these lollipops. Payton had a little sticky rainbow on his face when they ate them on the ride home. We ate at a little bakery and deli in Carmel before heading to do some shopping on our way home.

To celebrate Ben's, Mike's (Ben's twin brother), and Ben's dad, Dan's (on Tuesday) birthdays, we went to Chevy's for dinner on Monday night. The singing and birthday sombreros at Chevy's never fail to entertain.

The three of them also got to share a birthday cake after. That was a lot of candles on a little cake!

Happy Birthday Ben! The kids and I love you and are so grateful for you in our lives! We appreciate all that you do for us and all your hard work to make sure we are taken care of. We couldn't ask for a better daddy/husband. Thanks for everything! We hope you had a great birthday and enjoy your last year of this decade of your life.

The Year Of Lots Of Eggs

As you know, it was Easter a little while back. So, we had a little Easter fun this year, which included a few egg hunts. I helped in Baylee's preschool the Thursday before Easter, and her teacher was so cute and had the kids do a scavenger hunt to find an Easter bucket for each of them (including Payton who came with me too) filled with goodies. They also got to dye two eggs and she had a little egg hunt in the yard. I don't have any pictures, but here's some from the rest of our Easter fun.

Baylee got her face painted at a little Easter egg hunt we went to that Dublin had. At the egg hunt, the kids were each able to pick ten eggs from a big open field. Good hunting skills were not required for this one. Payton would only pick the blue eggs, and Baylee checked each egg to make sure it had something she wanted before she took it.

We also got to meet the Easter Bunny, and of course Payton did not want to sit on his lap. I have to say that the bunny was a little creepy looking, so I don't blame him too much. Baylee agreed to it because Ben told her that it was just a person in a costume. I think this shattered her dreams of really meeting the Easter Bunny a little, but at least now she can imagine one that's a little better looking.

The Easter Bunny didn't scare Payton too much that he wouldn't get a picture at all though. As long as he was safe in mommy's arms, he was fine.

After we were done hanging around, Payton was happy to stroll back to the car, away from the Easter Bunny, with his hand in his pocket.

On Easter, Baylee was so excited the Easter Bunny had gotten her present right this year! She wanted something My Little Pony related, and she wasn't let down.

Payton came down with a little car in hand and was happy to see a bigger truck that can hold the little cars (it even came with a new little car).

We failed at taking a good picture of the kids before church. This is the only one we have. Baylee's hair is still soaked, and they were not very happy to be taking the picture.

After church was dinner and another egg hunt with Ben's brother's families. There were tons and tons of eggs. Plenty for all. Payton did pretty well finding them too (not that they were all hidden to hard, but not as easy as the last egg hunt).

Ben was in charge of helping Baylee. I am glad I at least got this little shot of her even if you can't see her very well. You might notice the repeat Easter outfit from last year- it still fit!

I loved this picture of Payton I took with my phone, but it's a little blurry. I still love it though.

Baylee had fun checking out her goods. The kids all ended up with a nice stash of eggs and goodies.

A couple days after Easter, we finally got around to dying our eggs. I know we were really busy before and on Easter, but I can't remember what we were doing that caused us to wait so long. We did eventually do it, even if it was after, so it still counts, right? The kids loved it, and it just made Easter last a little longer. I hope everyone had a great Easter!