Northern CA

When I saw that the wedding would be an hour's flight from my parents home, and that a big Ogden family reunion was happening that week, I couldn't resist extending our vacation. It had been a year since our last visit, and it was Joseph's first time meeting a lot of the people we saw.

We couldn't resist making a tradition out of going to the zoo with Grandpa. The tigers were cool but a little scary.

Hoping along the lillypads was great fun -- aunt Allison was surprised that Ian would intentionally step off the pads into the water. Ha!

Joseph loved all the attention from Grandma. They had fun on the porch swing, eating rocks, and picking green beans.
Checking the tomatoes and watering the garden have also become a tradition at Grandma and Grandpa Ogdens. Ian made this face every time he squeezed the trigger. And can you tell who insists on dressing himself lately? Watering the garden naturally progressed into filling this bucket and stomping and splashing around with floating toys and a glittery ball. Grandpa is full of fun ideas!

While we hurried to get ready for church, Ian kicked back in a comfy chair. Has anyone seen my shoes?

The week began at Pine Mountain Lake for the Ogden family reunion. That is a fun group of people. Highlights included the Fart Machine II, a musical at the outdoor theatre, taking turns with uncle Gary's fake tattoo sleeves, eating great food, swimming in the lake and staying up way too late playing cards. Thanks Allison, Jason, mom and dad for all the help with my boys! We had a great time!

Jason is the world's coolest and knew just how to play with Ian at the lake. He played catch with Ian, chased him all over the lawn, and swam with Ian on his back. Ian can't stop talking about Jason's baseball bat.

We miss you guys! Thanks for a memorable and very fun visit!

Ventura and Family Fun

While in CA for the wedding we had fun going to museums and playing at the beach. (but boy was it cold that weekend!) We miss playing with all the Larson cousins already!

Ian loved a display on planets.

This cool contraption carried sound from one side to another. Ian loved it, then tripped and fell and got a bloody nose. Then we were done with it.

At the harbor museum in Ventura we checked out a dwarf mammoth that used to live on a channel island. Bet you didn't know those existed, huh? Awww.....

Some of the Larson crew.

The bride's family generously opened their condo on the beach to us. It was the perfect place for us! We took several trips down to the sand, but it was never quite warm enough for us Texans.
We finally decided to jump into the heated pool instead. But when that was still too chilly, we went inside and took a hot bath. That was just right! Can you believe Scott fit in here too?