Sunday, July 29, 2012

Ocean Park Trip July 2012

Could spend ALL DAY here...
We had our annual trip with JuJu, Titi, and Belen this weekend! We always have so much fun together, and the girls LOVE spending time doing fun stuff, especially playing on the beach. We had much better weather than we anticipated, and we all got some sun. But the one who probably enjoyed the weather the most was Miss Emily, the little girl who was coated in sand from head to toe both days, and LOVING every single second of her time on the beach and in the water.

We stay at my aunt and uncle's cabin in Ocean Park, and enjoy time together laughing, eating, playing, watching movies, shopping, playing in the sand, and the water, and much more. Emily had her first ever experience of flying a kite all by herself, AND it was an Ariel kite nonetheless. THANK YOU Titi!!!

We had fun in Long Beach shopping, going out to lunch, going on rides, and on a great horse and wagon ride around Long Beach! We also enjoyed the Saturday Market in Ilwaco as well.  As you will easily be able to tell from all of the photos, Emily LOVES SAND and WATER. It was so much fun to just sit and watch her play for hours, and watch the joy and happiness on her face as she rolled around in the sand, then water, then sand again. She also ran back and forth multiple times with her wagon full of sand toys. Both Friday and Saturday, as soon as we hit the beach, she was nonstop motion for two or three hours. Needless to say, she slept VERY WELL each night. Hope you enjoy the photos of our great weekend with our dear friends, whom we think of as family! Most of the pictures will definitely speak for themselves. We love you Titi and Belen!!

Love,
Kathy




HOURS of fun!

Love you Sugarplum!

Water baby

Belen and her kite

Emily's first kite

Loving her Ariel kite

She can dig, pour, fill, and dump for hours

Cutie

Best Buds

Friends for life

Can you just hear the laughter...

My Sugarplum Belen

My girl...Hello Kitty Tattoos and all

Cheese....

Notice how coated in sand Emily is...

Waiting for us to go shopping, busy writing

Bumblebee glitter tattoos

One of my favorite shots

Thanks Belen for riding with Miss Emily

Carousel FUN!!

Mommy's sweet girl

Mommy and Emily and the annual Frying Pan shot

We love you Titi and Belen

Fun on the horse wagon ride

Silly girls

Spent hours with these toys

Back and forth over and over

One of my favorites of dear Belen

Flying her kite


LOVE this face!

She didn't care how cold or how clean the water...

Is this my child under all this sand???

What great secrets were shared out there???

Monday, July 16, 2012

Wildlife Safari Trip

Mommy's little goat
Well, this past weekend we had a very exciting time in Winston, OR. Auntie JuJu got really good discount admission tickets to the Wildlife Safari in Winston, so off we headed early Saturday morning. From my house it was a 3 1/2 hour drive, but with the portable DVD player, Emily does very well on long car trips. That, along with snacks and potty breaks, she did great! 


When we first arrived, we ate the lunch we had packed, and then headed into the park area. We looked at many animals in there, went on the train ride (very short), went to the gift shop, and Emily rode a camel.  Yes, you read that correctly...Emily rode a camel all by herself! Such a BRAVE girl! 


Then it was time to get back in the car and head out to drive thru the safari. Emily was beside herself because she got to ride out of her car seat and stand in the back on the floor while mommy rode in the back seat with her. This way she could go from window to window to see all of the animals. You are only allowed to go 10 miles per hour so it was great! 


We saw so many different kinds of animals, but a few of our favorites were the giraffe just walking around next to people's cars, the elephant giving people car washes ($20 we only watched), the lions, hippo, cheetahs, tigers, and the bears. All of the animals were fun to see, and the only one that came too close for comfort to make us roll up the windows was the Emu. Very aggressive bird. You just have to wait them out until they move. All in all the route lasted about 1 1/2 hours. 


Then we were off to Corvallis, OR to spend the night with Tammy, our sweet dear who is like another daughter. She is currently going to Oregon State University. So that was another 2 1/4 hours in the car, and Emily did SUPER!


When we got to Tammy's apartment, she had another surprise for Emily. Tammy's mom Mary Jo (who was in China with us when I became Emily's mom) and sister Olivia were on their way to also spend the night after Olivia's softball tournament.


Needless to say, Emily was thrilled to see her Auntie as well as Olivia. It was wonderful! 
We headed home Sunday, and Emily was in bed here in Vancouver by 5:40 p.m. and slept until 7:00 a.m. today. No naps on Saturday or Sunday, staying up until 9:30 on Saturday night, and going straight to swimming lesson when we got home Sunday took it's toll on the wee one! 


Enjoy the pictures from our great time! Most of them speak for themselves.
Love,
Kathy







CUTEST Wallaroo EVER!!

Not too sure about feeding the birds

Such a brave girl

WOW...Just like Princess Jasmine


Second time around...








Bear splashing in the pool


What a beauty

Too funny


Close enough to touch...but no thanks



BEAUTIFUL Cheetah!!

Mommy's favorite...a very sleepy tiger