San Diego

We took a little vacation to San Diego and L.A. to visit Nick's grandparents and his uncle and aunt, Craig and Darlene. We had a great time with them; it was the first time I've been able to spend some considerable time with them, which was neat. We went to some of the places that Nick has fond memories of, like a neat spaghetti place that has been around for years. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera on me for any of the time we spent together, so SORRY, no pics of Nick's family! :(

Part of our trip included the San Diego Zoo. It is an awesome place to visit for ALL ages! We loved each exhibit, but I think the kids' loved the people movers the best. These paths take you all the way up the hill, switch-back style, for about six times the distance you see in the picture. It was a fun feature to get you from one point to the other.


It may be hard to see, but immediately behind the kids is a sleeping lion. The exhibits here are designed in such a way that you always see the animals up-close.



Kaden had to get a quick touch, then ran for it, thinking the goat would chase him. Pretty cute.

Again, too cute!

We loved the trams. They gave us a quick glimpse at every area of the park. FUN TRIP!

Family Gatherings

It seems that whenever a holiday comes, we have time off from school, or for no calendar reason at all, we gather with our family members. This summer, Janna and Ryan came with their family to visit from Virginia. It was fun to see them and hang with the whole crew...


...and it seems that "Risk" is inevitably part of the festivities. Let me just say - if your husbands have not already discovered the world of "Risk," don't introduce it now! (It really is a fun and exciting game, just lasts for HOURS!)

Father/Son Time

Here's Travis practicing for his trip with Dad out on the lawn in front of our house. Without water close by, I guess it's the best you can do.

Nick and Trav took an overnight trip to the cool country up north one weekend in July. They hiked and tried their hand at some fishing, but came back empty-handed :(.

Swim lessons

This was Kaden's first time in swim lessons. He had a blast! He was a little nervous at the first lesson when she started pushing his head under the water, but quickly learned the skills and had a good time! (What you don't see in these pictures is Makenna and I dripping with sweat on the side of the pool while we watched his lessons. Oh, the sacrifices we make!)

Bryana's horse lessons

Bryana had the opportunity to care for and ride horses this summer at a ranch in Chandler. I have to say, it was a pretty cool set-up! I wanted to participate, too!

Brother From Another Mother

We all got a good laugh one day when Travis introduced Kaden to someone as his "brother from another mother." There is no doubt that they share some strong genetics, however!