world's biggest dinosaurs

on the drive home from the river we stopped for a potty break in cabazon which is just outside of palm springs. we were surprised to see two enormous dinosaurs next to us. we luckily had stopped at the worlds biggest dinosaur museum.

i was suprised when miles offered to take the kids in for a tour. he usually wants to rush home. the kids were so excited. we first climbed the stairs inside the 150 foot long apatosaurus which is also a gift shop to buy our tickets. it was $7.95 for adults and $6.95 for kids but ages two and under were free. we figured we might as well do it then because it was unlikely that we would be stopping there in the future.

it was kind of a trippy place. the first room you go in has the robotic dinosaurs that move their heads and make noise. there were even a couple of dinosaurs that the kids could sit on and you could pay to have them move. it was a little weird. there are all these bible quotes everywhere and signs that say "by design not by chance."

the rest of the place has the dinosaurs outside. there is a super huge t-rex you can climb into and look out his teeth at the top. it is four stories high. we took a picture of the kids all sitting by his teeth. these are the same dinosaurs that were in the movie pee wee's big adventure for those of you who remember that movie.

the rest of the features include a dino dig where you look for rocks with dinosaurs names on them. you can turn them in for a souvenir. there was also a crystal mine where you could sift through sand to look for crystals. the "crystals" they have that you can keep are really just painted rocks but you could buy a real bag of crystals in sand to sift for $10.00. dahlia had lots of fun picking out colored rocks to take home.

it was kind of cheesy but so much fun for the kids. there are lots of huge dinosaurs and connor was in heaven. he still in fascinated with dinosaurs. they all left with their free tiny dinosaur souvenir. i loved that we stopped there. it reminded me of the days when miles and i would take road trips and stop at random road side attractions just for fun.

river trip

we are home from the river. what a fun trip we had this year. i was so happy to have miles join us. it was so much easier taking care of three little kids with another adult helping. we stayed at the same echo lodge resort we always stay at. this year we had three campsites. my brother and his friends decided they did not want to sleep outside and they rented a trailer like us. we shared our trailer with jen, ray, bodhi, kira, and susan. there were kids and stuff everywhere. so fun and super messy!

all the kids were excited to be at the river. as soon as we got there they jumped out of the car and ran to the water. that is pretty much where they were the whole trip. swimming in the water and playing in the sand. it was crazy hot there. over 100 degrees during the day. it usually takes me a day to get used to it. i always have a moment when i am unpacking our stuff and i ask myself "why do we come here?" of course by wednesday i am wanting time to slow down so our vacation can last longer.

we were lucky and didn't have any drama this year. hurray! no boats sinking or trips to the emergency room, just lots of relaxing by the water. we did all our favorite river activities like water skiing, riding the sea-doos, swimming, cooking outside, playing games at night, and gazing at the stars. dahlia was such a little fish. she would be in the water all day. it was so nice to spend the week with the family. we all got a little sad when it was time to pack up and drive away. "goodbye river" the kids and i chanted while we drove away. see you next year.

santa monica

we went to visit jen, bodhi, and kira today in santa monica. ray was working so we didn't get to see him. i normaly would have stayed for dinner so the kids could see ray, but we are leaving to the river on sunday and there is a ton of stuff for me to do.

we walked to the bluffs with the kids and let them run around. it was the most beautiful day. just like a postcard. perfect blue skies. the kids played on the wooden geodesic sculpture that looks like a shell. they love it. they also had fun looking at the flower garden near it. bodhi said the yellow flowers smelled the best. i think he is right.

we had a lovely visit and were all sad to leave but we will all be camping together for a week starting sunday so it is only a short goodbye.

treehouse update

i took the kids to orange county for the weekend so miles had lots of time alone to work on the treehouse. he has made excellent progress. the support beams are up and he is ready to start on the deck.

we are thinking we will not put a roof on it and instead just keep it open. there is not a lot of room on top for a roof and the weather never gets too bad here. for the sides we are going to make a rope railing with manila hemp rope. we ended up making the treehouse a lot higher up than we originally planned. i think that will make it more fun. i just hope it will be safe. i can't wait for the deck to be done so i can sit up there.

ballet

dahlia is now taking ballet and tap lessons. we started them at the end of june. she has been asking for ballet lessons for quite a while now. i finally found a studio and signed her up for the summer session to see if she liked the classes. now that she loves them i went ahead and signed her up for fall classes as well.

we are taking classes at the revolution dance center in montrose. they are a pretty big dance studio offering tons of classes for all ages. she is in the 3-4 year old class called totrevolution. the little girls are so cute. dahlia is in heaven. the first part of class they do tap and then they change shoes and work on ballet moves. it is very sweet. i am excited about the fall classes. i think they have a performance during christmas. she is going to love it.

backyard fishing

we had lunch plans today to celebrate ray's birthday but they were cancelled because he was sick. to cheer the kids up we set up their favorite pool with a slide and they swam for a while. when they were cold and tired they took a short break to warm up and snack on chips. then they jumped back in the pool and i filled it up with all the toy fish from their bathtub. they used their butterfly nets to catch the fish. it was super cute and they loved fishing in the pool. the kids were so silly and insisted on wearing their swimming vests while fishing. just to be safe.

later the kids helped daddy with the barbecue and we grilled chicken for dinner. i love these summer days when we are all at home and get to be together outside.

starting the treehouse

miles has officially started the treehouse. yes. he has now put up two boards. yay. this is significant progress from all the planning with no action. we started talking about this project way back at the end of may. i knew it was going to be a long project but i didn't think it would take us this long just to get started.

the tree we have is actually two trees right next to each other. it is in a great location next to our garage/office in the backyard. for research i bought this book called treehouses and playhouses you can build by david and jeanie stiles. it was helpful to tell us how to begin and the supplies we might need. it gives step by step instructions but of course every tree is different so there is a lot to figure out. this is really miles' project. he has never made anything like this before so it is a large project to tackle as a first. i am really no help. i don't know anything about building. so we will see how it goes.

today miles actually started cutting wood and put up the first boards. the kids were so excited they ran inside to get their own tool kit. they all put on their hard hats and worked on their own piece of wood measuring and hammering. it was so cute. they can't wait for the treehouse to be finished so they can play in it. i just hope miles can get it done before winter.

the gardens

even though we were super tired today we got up early to go the huntington gardens. we had free tickets that we ordered a month ago. jen had to work in the afternoon so we got the morning tickets. it was a good thing that we went in the morning. by time we were leaving at 1:30 it was already getting super hot out. the morning was nice and cool.

we didn't have a long time there. we went straight to the children's section and let the kids run around. that is their favorite part. on our way there we came across some snails. they were all fascinated with the snails and moved them out of the walkway so no one would step on them. after the children's section we had a short while to explore the chinese gardens. it was very beautiful. i was surprised that in the two months since we had been there the flowers had already changed so much. there were not as many flowers as spring time. still it was beautiful. the poor kids were so tired that they all started melting down when it was time to go. all three of them fell asleep on the drive home. i have to say i need a nap too.

4th of july

what a fun july 4th we had. we went to jen and rays house in santa monica again. we showed up on the 3rd and had a sleepover. we walked to the bluffs to see the bel-air bay club firework show. the kids loved it. christina and zena came too.

in the morning we all got ready and went to the beach. we walked this time since we had the boys with us to help carry the strollers up and down the stairs. we also didn't want to deal with traffic on a holiday.

it was a little cold and cloudy so that was kind of a drag. it didn't stop the kids from heading straight to the water though. ray and i spent most of our time in the water with the kids this time. miles conveniently didn't wear his swim trunks so i was the one who had to get soaked. ray took the kids out super far and was jumping in the waves. they loved it. dahlia insisted i go out as deep as ray. i didn't get out quite as far but pretty deep for me. it was fun. while dahlia and bodhi played in the waves mason, connor, and zena were digging for sand crabs. they would catch some and watch them dig and swim in their bucket. they were completely fascinated with them. i remember doing the same thing when i was a kid.

when we were tired of the beach we went back to jen and rays house for barbecue chicken and corn on the cob. we decided to not stay and go see fireworks like we usually do since we had seen some the night before. it worked out perfect because we were all exhausted after a full day at the beach.

swim playdate

we went to mason's friend andrew's house to swim. he still has the same best friend from school that he met two years ago. i really like that they are still so attached. i was thinking they might get bored and move on to new friends but no. i am so glad. he is a really sweet boy and i love his mom. andrew is going to italy for a month so this was our last chance to get together before they leave next week. why does summer go by so fast?

we met at their community pool for a swim. the pool was empty so we had a great time swimming. i even let dahlia and mason swim without their swim vest on. dahlia is getting so good at swimming. she does great. mason still seems to forget to hold his breath while swimming and ends up sucking up water sometimes. he is getting better though.

when we were tired of swimming we went to their house for a pizza and salad lunch.the boys played legos upstairs while dahlia and connor played outside with me. we had such a nice visit. i am really going to miss them.