OurLittleMcFamily.com

In February, we took a fun little excursion to Ventura, CA for a baby blessing. It was nice enough to swim that weekend. Well, at least for the kids. :) It was the Littles’ first time visiting the ocean. And Marisa and I were so excited for our kids to spend some time together. There are 11 children between the two of us now. It was awesome to watch the kids get along so well. We got to eat at Tito’s…even though a car had just backed into the restaurant…we were the last order to be taken before the Health District shut them down for the night. We also visited the Los Angeles Temple Visitor’s Center. It is recently reopened, and completely worth the trip. Very Cool!

What’s even better is that a couple of weeks later, the Brown family came to stay a couple of days with us. Again, it was nice enough to swim! The kids had a blast. Annie still asks where Lyndie is. :) I felt so spoiled in February…twice in one month? Whoever would have thought it possible between our busy schedules.

Marisa and I have been friends for a decade now, and I am so grateful to her for the influence and friend that she is in my life.

MACBETH

A much needed group date before the craziness of three more children sets in!

YUMMY FOOD

GREAT COMPANY

METRO PIZZA

PUMPKIN PATCH

Family Date Night was that much more fun because of the company that joined us. We don’t see Tio Rob’s face as much lately because of his MBA program schedule so we were grateful to have a few precious moments of fun with him.

We have yet to carve our $20 pumpkin for fear it will rot before Halloween. I guess I really have learned a thing or two since moving to the desert. Although, I suppose it is finally time to break out the knives and scoopers!

Need I say anything??? Totally AMAZING!

We are so glad we took this side trip on our way home from vacation. We have wanted to visit Yosemite for years. Our day trip drive-thru confirmed that we must go back and explore this American Gem for our next family vacation! The little speck of a rock in between our heads below is Half Dome. It was much more majestic in person.

On the way home we thought we would take the long way (not on purpose–teehee). We ended up in the middle of Nowhere Cali/Nevada. We climbed some amazing passes and found some amazing views, but we were a bit worried about our gas and bathroom needs. The roads were pretty windy for a few hours, and we were all feeling a little queezy. The craziest part of the drive was when we came to a one-lane road on the windy pass. That’s how narrow and curvy the roads were.

Good thing I have such amiable children, and an adventurous husband. They kept my annoyance at bay. :)

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma McCracken
Redding, CA
August 2010

We were met with a delicious dinner, delightful smiles, and crafts galore from grandma and grandpa. They were so excited for us to arrive, and we were so excited to finally be there. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the ninos and these particular greats. We will cherish this long awaited memory for a really long time.

Mt. Shasta

Such a pretty drive from Portland to Redding. It doesn’t get much prettier!

Day hike to Cape Falcon.

Super troopers, all the way to the end. And check out that view!!!

I will always be in love with the Oregon Coast. There is nothing like it. The kids also did a lot of biking with their daddy while on vacation.

While staying in Seaside, we took a day trip to Tillamook, OR for the “cheese tour.”

The drive had spectacular views:

There were cows and cheese aplenty:

And the ice cream was to die for:

Actually, Tillamook ice cream is my most favorite ice cream on the planet.
And the cheese is my family’s favorite–although I (the cheese hater) would know nothing about that.

Meet great-grandparents Penning!

The whole Penning tribe made a very special day trip to Point Defiance Park in Tacoma to spend some time with them. I am so glad we got pictures. Let’s face it grams and grandps…you’re no spring chickens anymore. :)

We also celebrated Danny’s birthday…the Nerf bow-n-arrow is something Danny’s has been asking for for 18 months. he LOVES it.

We all had a great time. Hopefully, the kids will remember the experience for a long time to come.

JULY 2010

Summer will quickly be upon us here in the desert. And you all know how cranky I get when summer comes. So I try and make the summer as busy as possible for myself so that I can endure the baking hot sun.

Here is what we are planning:

MAY
–Zion Nat’l Park, of course. Year six. We leave tomorrow.

JUNE
–Spring Mountain Ranch, Willy Wonka. Planning this outing for months now with friends. So excited to take the kids to their first official play.
–Camp Invent. Danny is going to his first invention camp with a buddy. He is totally stoked.
–Bear Lake. The kids and I are planning a week at the lake with my mom and sister. (Adam will be in China on business–boo, boo!)
–Swim lessons. Hopefully we can squeeze a couple of these in. :)

JULY
–Grandma Penning Visits. YAY!
–Relay for Life. We are going to Oregon to participate in Team Georgie this summer. So Excited!
–Washington. Oh how I love escaping the desert heat, trading it in for two weeks in Yakima. I can’t wait to hang with my family, scrap with Jes, camp at Rainier with cousins, and see old friends and their children.

AUGUST
–The Beach. Yes! Who love the Oregon Coast? We do. We do. We have been planning this vacation since Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings. One whole week in Seaside with my family. The kids are going to learn to body surf this time around. Can’t wait for vacation with my hubby and kiddos.

Here’s some awesome sledding video from our trip to Washington. Where it gets really interesting is at about 1:50. Adam’s true colors shine through. I love being married to this guy!!!

Adam uploaded all of our sledding videos here.