NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRIP 2013

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRIP - AUGUST 2013

SANTA BARBARA:  Elaina in front of city hall on the first day of our trip.

MORO BAY ROCK:  We camped at Moro Bay overnight.  I remember camping here in junior high with the young women in my church.  I had a great time and it has been one of my favorite campsites ever since.

PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK:  There wasn't enough here to make into a national park, but we visited it anyway.  I would visit it if I lived in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way.  I think President Obama was paying back some political favor when he made this a national park.

PIGEON POINT LIGHT HOUSE:  On the way to Half Moon Bay.  Elaina, Pamela, Seth and Aubrey stand in front of it.

RITZ CARLTON HALF MOON BAY:  I feel like I'm in Ireland looking at this view.  It isn't how far away you go, but how far away you feel.

RITZ CARLTON HALF MOON BAY:  Seth stands on the south facing view of California's Ireland or Scotland.

PIER 39 AND THE SEALS:  It is fun to watch the seals , but it is too bad for the people who once docked their boats there.

UNION SQUARE IN SAN FRANCISCO:  We came there on a Korean festival day.  It is a place I've never been to before.  Union Square is also the premiere shopping area.

THE TROLLEY TOUR:   Once I was allowed to let Aubrey roam about a bit, this tour was fun.  Fortunately, Aubrey's engaging personality made her adorable to the other passengers on the trolley.  This trolley tour took us to many parts of San Francisco that we had never seen before. 

RUSSIAN CHURCH IN SAN FRANCISCO:  Apparently when the Romanovs were killed in the early 20th century the Russian aristocracy escaped to San Francisco.  That is why there are Russian churches there today.

SWING DANCING IN GOLDEN GATE PARK:  We came upon a a group a people swing dancing in the park.  What a treat, since I use to go swing dancing whenever possible when I was single.  Apparently they set up speakers an come here every Sunday at 2:00 pm.  This almost makes me want to move to San Francisco.

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: This was a scary sight to look up at, but a fun one.  Neil remembers coming here when he was young so we had to go back.

ROOF TOP GARDEN AT THE CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES:  It was quite cold up there but fun to visit a roof with grass on it.

AUNTY COUSIN BECKY:  Neil has cousins old enough to be his aunts since his dad was 50 when he was born.  Funny how Neil has repeated that legacy.  Becky was one of the best hostesses ever and it was wonderful staying with her and her collection of Tweety birds that her friends donated to her.  She has around 200 of them.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

STINSON BEACH:  We had to stop to go to the bathroom and ran across this park.  I loved it.  Seth learned to go across these rings all by himself.

POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE

MENDOCINO, CA:  We prepared to visit this quaint location on the Northern California coast by listening to the 60's song "Mendocino."

MENDOCINO, CA:  In the garden next to the restaurant where we had dinner.

RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK.  This was a great little park and campground right on the beach.  We talked to a European guy there who was biking from L.A. to Vancouver.  He said he could only go 50 miles a day.

SHRINER REDWOOD TUNNEL.  We were actually able to drive our van through this tree.  A tight fit, but we made it.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY FAIR:  A small local fair that made up in charm what it lacked in size.  I loved seeing the local kids displaying their animals.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE, FERNDALE, CA.  This used to be the town hospital.  Now it's a popular B&B.

FERNDALE BEACH.  You can find some very secluded beaches in Northern California.  I ran for 20 minutes along this beach, looking at these rocks.

CARSON MANSION, EUREKA, CA.  This is one of the fanciest and most photographed Victorian houses in all of California.

WHISKEYTOWN LAKE.  We took the opportunity to cool down in this beautiful local lake near Redding, CA.

LAKE HELEN, LASSEN NATIONAL PARK.  This isn't one of your more well known national parks, but I liked it.  I want to come back when our kids are old enough to hike down to the geysers.

ELAINA, KATIE AND ANNA AT LAKE HELEN, LASSEN NATIONAL PARK.

AT A WATER PARK IN REDDING, CA.  Seth really enjoyed this place.  They really need something like this, considering how hot it gets in Redding in the summer.  And this water park is totally free!

ELAINA WITH LEGO EXHIBIT AT TURTLE COVE.  We saw signs all over Redding for this unique exhibit.

HAPPY HERMANSONS.  We love staying with this fun family near Redding, CA.  They even taught Aubrey to sing the ABC song.

FORMER RITZ CARLTON, PASADENA, CA.  I enjoyed coming here when I lived in La Canada.  We got this Mickey Mouse balloon from a nice kid who gave it to Aubrey.  She even held onto it, unlike a more recent balloon that she let go into the air and whose loss is still traumatizing her.

JULY 2013

OCEANSIDE BEACH:  Elaina and Natalie play in the waves at Sunset on Oceanside Harbor Side Beach.  We came here for the summer family Home Evening Bonfire.

VINCIENT LUGO PARK, SAN GABRIEL: Neil took the time to look up unique parks.  This one had some really fun sculptures.  All of the sculptures formed slides.

4TH OF JULY OUTFITS:  We like to show our patriotism.  Seth and Daddy show their red, white, and blue colors in red and plaid.

4TH OF JULY AT MARILEE'S:  Marilee invited the neighborhood and set up this pool just for our kids.  She made sure they used the pool, when she put Elaina in cloths and all.  Unfortunately since the sun had gone down it was a little cold.

TRAVEL TOWN, BURBANK CA:  I went here years ago in my youth.  Seth and Elaina are enjoying one of the old steam engines.

A LATE BIRTHDAY GIFT:  Kevin Thompson father of 4 girls has enjoyed spoiling Seth with great boy gifts.  I like the safety goggles in this set of kid'a power tools.

DADDY READS TO ALL BEFORE BED:  I am amazed Neil can read to all of them at the same time, but he enjoys reading to the kids each night.

OLD TOWN, SAN DIEGO:  MY friend Mary, former room mate from my mission, came in from out of town and we visited the Mormon Battalion monument.  Elaina found this huge Hibiscus flower and showed it off dancing on the baile folklorico stage.

HIKING SLEEPING INDIAN:  Seth was a brave hiker, up a difficult trail, with daddy, on their monthly father son outing.

MONKEY BARS ARE FOUND EVERY WHERE:  Aubrey finds monkey bars everywhere,  at the top of slides, on the sliding door handles to the van.  She hangs from the bathroom sink.  She hangs from the island counter top in the kitchen.  She is my little monkey and possible gymnast.

KITTY FROM MONSTERS INC:  She looks just like the little girl in Monsters Inc.  We dressed Aubrey Elle up for the Pioneer day celebration.

SETH TAKES A HAND CART RIDE:  He enjoyed the small ride through the Vista Steak Center parking lot.

ELAINA DRESSES UP FOR PIONEER DAY:  Elaina looks good in her cow boy hat.

JUNE 2013

BYE BYE, CAR:  Alas, my husband really wanted a new car. so he pushed my old car over a cliff!  Just kidding!!  After 14 years of loyal service my Honda Civic bit the dust, when, while trying to fix my car, Neil pushed it out of the garage and over the side of our driveway down a cliff.  However, we now have a brand new red Mazda 3.

6 YEARS OF MARRIAGE:  We celebrated our 6th anniversary by spending the night in Laguna Beach.  My sister Liz was in town and babysat our 3 kids.  Yes,  I did get a spray tan.  A little orange, but not bad.

LAGUNA, MY FAVORITE BEACH:    This is the view from where we ate dinner.  I love Laguna Beach, with its many coves for snorkeling and the hills covered in houses.

THE GRAND DEL MAR:  Yes it is my hobby to check out fancy hotels.  This one had a golf course and everything.

MY KIDS LOVE FOUNTAINS

RUNNING A 5K:  Our stake has a 5K once a year.  This time, I did much better than last year.

LOVE THOSE BOOTS:  The kids played at the park while we ran.

UNDERWEAR HELMETS:  If you can't think of a halloween outfit.  Here is an idea.  Elaina and Seth came up with it all on their own.  2 pairs of underwear going opposite directions on top of your head.  They laughed and thought it was hilarious.

HAWAII, MAY 2012

KOLEKOLE BEACH, THE BIG ISLAND:  We drove all over the big island looking at its 11 climate zones.  This was the tropical zone next to this rocky beach.

AKAKA FALLS:  This was an impressive water fall of about 300 feet.  Seth maintained a good pace going up and down the stairs when we made it into a race.  He didn't like it when I beat him up the stairs.  OK next time I will let him win.  It was hard beating him though.

SUGAR CANE:  This is what sugar looks like before it is processed.  This is a farmer's market in Hilo.  It is cheaper to buy vegetables at a farmer's market than at WalMart, where they import their onions from New Zealand.  It was fun chewing on the sugar cane and then spiting out the fibers.  Too bad Seth didn't know where to spit out the fibers.

TURTLE ATTACK:  We stopped at a black sand beach tide pool where 2 turtles resided.  Elaina was walking in the water when one of the turtles bit her.  I screamed, because I had just learned how much turtle bites can hurt.  I yanked Elaina to safety and then realized how dangerous her green shorts were.  Those shorts were the same color as turtle food.

BLACK SAND ON CLOTHS:  You certainly wont miss the sand on your cloths when its black.  There are only 2 black sand beaches in Hawaii.

WHAT'S A LAVA TUBE ABOUT:  We have a book that talks about lava tubes, so we were excited to get to go into this one in Volcano national park.

I GOT MY 45 MINUTES EXERCISE IN:  I had to keep up with my life time wellness challenge which means exercising 45 minutes 5 times a week.  15 minutes here and there while seeing Volcanoes national park did it, as long as you don't mind being stared at.  I'm doing tae boe here.

CHURCH IN HONOLULU:  These trees are what they make leis out of.  Look at all the flowers on the lawn.  It was steak conference that day and this building in Honolulu is almost 100 years old.

THE KO OLINA MARRIOT:  We loved all the jacuzis at our resort and the pools.  It was nice to stay at a nice place, and to be near the Disneyland resort.

THE TEMPLE IN LAIE:  We went to the Polynesian Cultural center and the temple.  Our niece who goes to BYU Hawaii watched our 3 kids so we could go to the temple.

THE END OF THE ROAD:  The road ends here on the  Ko Olina side of Oahu.  It was fun to go where the locals go and swim in a place with big surf and a calm pools.

HANAMA BAY:  I have wondered about this place since I studied calculus with my freshman friend Melodie Fair, who told me about it.  I finally got to go snorkeling there.

ELAINA'S 5th BIRTHDAY:  Elaina turned 5 in Hawaii and we celebrated at the Cheese Cake Factory in Honolulu.

HONOLULU AT NIGHT:  We wondered through the mall and then saw a grassy area, which we walked through into a hotel, which had this view of the beach on the other side of it.  It was very romantic with diamond head in the background.

THE FLOATY-DEAD-MANS-FLOAT:  Don't worry Aubrey (18 months old)  is still alive and loves floating on her back.  She is my only child to do this.  I hope she learns to swim at 2 and a half.

OUR LAST NIGHT IN HAWAII:  We went to the Disney resort for dinner which had cheaper food than our place.  The sunset was beautiful and we had a lovely evening.

MAY 2013

THE FAIRY PARTY:  I have worked on this hillside for months and this is what I pictured:  fairies flitting up and down the hillside.  Elaina is the head fairy in green and blue.

FAIRIES COMES DOWN THE HILLSIDE

DECORATING CUPCAKES:  Everyone got to decorate cupcakes for Elaina's Birthday party.  She loves planning parties even when her birthday is months away.

HOUSE ON A HILL TOP:  I cut away this hillside for months.  Just in time, to have a place to put this playhouse that our neighbor gave us.  The only problem is when the kids play up here, they get really dirty!

CAMPING AT SAN ONOFRE:  Yes we camped at one of the Surfing USA, Beach Boy locations.  The view of the ocean was great, but the sound of the freeway was not.  How did I live next to a freeway all those years in LA?

SECLUDED BEACH:  It is a 10 minute walk to the beach from the camp ground.  It was surprisingly remote, I went jogging and only saw 4 people.  It was beautiful and different.  Seth had fun having daddy toss him into the air with the blue sky background.

IRVINE SPECTRUM FERRIS WHEEL:  Aubrey knows how to pose for a picture.  When I lived in Orange county this was one of my favorite places to study.

TEMECULA
GRAPE VINEYARDS:  It isn't how far away you are, it is how far away you feel.  I feel like I am in Europe when I go here.  We had to go somewhere on Memorial day, even though we just finished camping.

SETH SLEEPS IN SACRAMENT MEETING:  Yes Seth falls asleep in church every Sunday.  This week was exceptional, because he used a Hymn book for a pillow.

LEGO LAND AQUARIUM:  We got to go with the Parkinsons on a field trip for Harper and Elaina's pre-school.  It was our first visit to Lego Land.

RACHEL HOFFMAN'S BABY SHOWER:  It was nice to see Rachel after such a long time.  It is exciting to know they are having a baby.