Aquarium of the Pacific

For a while now I have been wanting to take my kids to the Aquarium of the Pacific. This Aquarium is in Long Beach and is so amazing! It puts all other aquariums to shame. My mom came along and we made such a fun day out of it. It was super packed since some summer camps were there but with so many exhibits it really wasn't bad. The boys got to touch jelly fish, sting rays and baby sharks and they loved to see the sea lions, hammer head and saw-sharks.

This fish was giant and it was my moms favorite.

For lunch we ate at the cafeteria and were able to get a bench that looks over the sea lions. There was a show going on while we ate and we had the best seat in the house.

 

There were divers in all of the big tanks and this one waved to Trey. Trey turned around and said " I made a new friend. He was in the water." That kid says the funniest things all the time!

We spent a few hours there and could have easily spent more but we were worn out. Such a fun memory.

Kidspace Museum

Right after the Tetons the kids and I drove to California with my parents. Eric had such a busy week at work that he couldn't take time off, so I took advantage of the situation and took the kids to California for the week. Our drive was long and poor Trey was sick the whole time. He threw up a few hours into it but then slept almost the whole drive. By the end of the drive I was so glad that I chose to fly home :)

Once we got to my parents house Trey wanted to get in the hot tub so bad. My dad turned it on but it takes a few hours to warm up. He told Trey that it wouldn't be ready until the morning. So by 8:00am the next morning Trey was suited up and ready to go! This happened every morning that we were there and the boys got in at least 3 times a day!

Our first day there both my parents had to work since they took a week off already. After the hot tub I took them to the park and then to a children's museum in Pasadena. I had just learned that my Thanksgiving Point pass got me into a bunch of museums in LA for free. This museum was 5 min away and so cute! They had fun learning about physics, riding bikes and playing in the Bugs Life play land. Cambria was in heaven to finally be able to roam on her own and explore.

It was so hot outside that we were really grateful for these water fountains. Tatum stuck his head right in to cool down.

We went inside to cool down some more and were amazed by what was there. This whole area had platforms to climb on and tunnels to crawl through. It was like you were the ant crawling through the ground. They all loved it!

 

Before we left we went back outside to ride bikes. There were some cute little roads they could ride trikes on and a little baby area for Cambria to play on that was just her size.

 

I'm so glad that we found this place and that is was so convenient. We will definitely be going back!

Teton Reunion

Every year at the beginning of August we take a trip up to the Grand Tetons for the Bradley family reunion. For the first time ever we drove our RV up there and everyone joked about us bringing the Taj Mahal. Our RV is huge and we were so nervous to drive it up there because its further than we have ever taken it and the roads to the campsite are super narrow. It made it up there like a champ and it was so nice to have a toilet, shower, A/C and heater. I'm pretty sure we can never go back to camping in a tent!

When we got up there everyone was grumpy because our normal spot was taken and the occupants were a bit inconsiderate and rude. We have been camping in the same spot for more than 50 years and there have only been a handful of times when it is taken and we have to find an alternate spot. No one is ever happy about it. Other than that everything went well and we all had so much fun!

Breakfast of champions...on the road... 

 

My cute parents took the babies on a few walks and put them to sleep every time!

Tatum went on the bungee and knocked out one of his wiggly teeth. He was so surprised when the tooth fairy found him up at the Tetons!

The highlight of the trip is always the Olympics. We all gather round and play silly games and laugh at each other.

This game was so funny. You put whipped cream on your hand and have to flick it into your mouth. Tatum could never get the hang of it but came close a few times. Eric pretty much won every game and this one he got on his first try.

The pole game is every ones favorite. Of course Eric won this one as well.

And of course the classic egg toss event. Tatum and Noah won in their age group and Trey and Logan lasted one toss. Eric and I won in our age group!

We had so much fun playing games, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, playing volleyball, and jumping on the bungee.

 

The one and only time of year my mom will eat a hot dog :)

We spent 3 days up there and came home just to unpack, do laundry and repack to leave for California the next day.