pick an apple, put it in the basket...

Our friends invited us to come pick apples in their yard this fall.  I think the kids had more fun playing with their insanely cute foster puppy, but they did a great job picking a bunch of apples for me.  I made homemade applesauce for the first time, and the kids were shocked that they liked it.  Maybe someday they will agree that homemade is better!

disneyland '16

I really do love Disneyland, I feel very nostalgic about going there.  Glad we got to take Avika on her first trip there.

Not quite sure if this is the happiest place on Earth...

Spinning teacups...

About to ride on Dumbo (the flying hathis!!!)

 

Waiting for the parade.  Delia spent much of these two days in the stroller because of some painful issues with her knees/ankles/feet.  We all managed pretty well considering how much walking did.

Avika LOVES Minnie and Mickey Mouse, but was terrified to meet them it turns out.  She was just happy to wear her MM shirt all day.

Happy smiles waiting in line at Pirates of the Caribbean.  No one looked liked this after the ride :(

Waiting to see Mickey in the Parade.  Highlights of the day: Dumbo, Star Tours, so many churros, Big Thunder Railroad, Jungle Cruise (more elephants!), creating light sabers!

disney ca adventure '16

We spent two days at Disneyland- this was actually our second day, we spent it at the California Adventure park.  We had so much fun and the kids did great! Favorites of the day: rock climbing at Redwood Creek Trail, the carousel, so many churros, Radiator Springs Racers, Delia and Pop on CA Screamin' (!), the Lego store at Downtown Disney, designing and creating remote control cars!!

 

 

 

 

SoCal '16 (2)

We spent most of our first day in OC at the beach.  I desperately miss the beach- the mountains are fine, but I love it here.  It was so fun to play in the waves all day.

 First time in the ocean!  She LOVED it.  Then hated it.  Then loved it again.  This is a very typical response from Avika.  Glad we ended the day in "like" mode.

 

 

The kids had the best time!  We are trying to figure out how to get back to the beach sooner than later.

 

SoCal '16 (1)

A couple of weeks ago we got to take a vacation!!  It was a much needed (and far too short!) break from our everyday here in Durango.  We drove to California- it was a LOT of time in the car, but the kids did great!  Even Avika.  Here we are at In-N-Out in Kingman, AZ.  We definitely need to figure out how to get to In-N-Out more often.  Three years is too long!

 

Staying at a hotel with four kids is... hard.  This place was a ton of fun, though!  The kids loved swimming in the pool and looking at the fish and turtles in the atrium.