The Vineman

The main reason for our trip up north was for Casey to compete in the Vineman Ironman.  He placed 2nd in his age group and 15th overall.  Not bad for all the issues he had during the race.  We are very proud of our Ironman.

 Eating popcorn while reading scriptures in the hotel room.  

 Casey on the bike

 Casey on the run

 Two tired boys at the end of the race

 Grandpa watching the boys

 Casey with all his supporters after the race.  It really is a team effort.

 Spencer had just spilled his juice all over himself so we had to take a photo.  And, this is the reason why you shouldn't teach your kids to say "cheese" for pictures.  

 Spencer helping his daddy take the bike to the car

 Casey receiving his award for placing 2nd in his age group.  He got a bottle of wine.

San Fransico

After hanging out in Oakland we crossed the bay and spent some time in San Fran.  We went to fisherman's wharf and ate fish n' chips.  We gazed across the water at Alcatraz.  One of these days we'll pay the money to take the tour!  Then we walked half way across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We would have liked to walk further but it cooled off fast and we didn't have jackets or hats for the boys.  It was freezing and poor Oliver was shivering. 

On our way to Fisherman's Wharf

Spencer wanted to hold Oliver while we were walking to Bubba Gump's.  He's such a sweet older brother.

Waiting for our fish n' chips.  Yes, I love coloring and doing all the puzzles on the kids menu:)

Spencer riding the double decker carousel.

Family shot with Alcatraz in the background

Spencer hanging out before walking on the bridge

Casey and Oliver

Family pic to prove we were there.  When the boys get older and say that we don't travel enough we can pull out the photo albums and show them all the cool places we've been.  Whether they remember the trips or not we were there.

Oakland

Casey participated in an Ironman in northern California (separate post soon to come) so we made a trip out of it.  We flew into Oakland and had plans to spend the afternoon site-seeing, but the boys were exhausted from traveling so we waited until the next morning.  Oakland was a scary place and I felt this way before Casey told me about the shooting.  I definitely wouldn't live there and probably wouldn't go back unless I had to.  

 A view of the bay from the Oakland Temple.  If you look close enough you can see the Golden Gate bridge.

 Family picture in front of the Oakland Temple

This Fairyland was an interesting place.  It was packed full with smiling kids, but it was run down and disgustingly dirty.  Oh, and most of the attractions were broken.  Glad we went and would recommend it to the non-germ-a-phob's. 

 The boys by Humpty Dumpty

 Casey and Spencer sliding down Jack and Jill's hill.

 Spencer got to ride the mini carousel by himself.  He's growing up too fast!

 

 Who's the extra dwarf?

Ryanne and Oliver waiting for the puppet show to start

Random moments

Spencer on his new bike.  Boy can he go fast!

The 5 grandson's

Cooper trying on Uncle Brady's scout shorts before heading to boyscout camp.  Brady was tiny as a boy.

Eating at one of our favorite restaurants - Wahoo's.  Love the fish tacos!

Olliebug being silly or better yet daddy being silly

Olliebug happy as can be.  We just love this little boy so much.  He gets lots of kisses and hugs.

The Balboa Ferry

We've made it a family tradition to take the Balboa Ferry to get Balboa Bars on Balboa Island while in California.  It started when we were dating and now both our boys have experienced this fun tradition.  It's cool to look back at our first picture taken on the ferry (if I had more time I'd dig up the photo from our hard drive and post it but I don't have the time this late at night) and compare it to the one above.  We've come along way!

Spencer almost ate his whole Balboa Bar - oink, oink!

Oliver tasting his first frozen banana

Slumber Party

We thought it would be fun for Spencer and Oliver to spend some 1:1 time with their cousins so we had a slumber party.  We started the evening with a delicious dinner compliments of Ryan.  Then we danced to the Wii game "Just Dance".  It was Spencer's first time actually doing dance moves.  Up until that point he would just stare at the TV while sucking on the remote.  We ended the night with chatting around a fire and cooking smores - another first for Spencer.  The next morning we went swimming with Ali and the kids. 

Avaree and Oliver

Don't mess with these guys!

The gang

Here we go Angels here we go

Spencer loves to swing the bat, hit the ball, catch the ball, and pitch the ball so we thought it would be fun to surprise him with Angel's tickets.  I think excitement got the best of him or he had ants in his pants cause he couldn't sit still.  Aunt Aymee, Uncle Mike, Grandpa, and Cooper came with us.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we went on "banger" night so it was extra loud. 

Irvine Park Zoo

We needed a break from the pool and thought the local zoo would be fun.  It wasn't hard to talk Sophie and Reagan into coming with us.  For a little zoo we were impressed by the variety of animals and the activities it offered for the kids.  See you next year zoo!

 Reagan petting a baby goat

 Casey with kids

 Oliver sleeping through all the fun

 Spencer showing us his wingspan

 Um it looks like Sophie thinks she has more of a wingspan than she actually does.  

 Everyone getting ready to go on the train ride

 Casey with the boys (thank you grandma for the adorable matching shirts)

Spencer happy as can be.  He LOVES trains and thinks every train is Thomas.  This definitely was the highlight of his day:)