Shirley Family Reunion, part 1

Over 4th of July weekend, we had a family reunion with Peter's immediate family in Oceanside, California. We had a great time seeing family that we rarely get to see. And although we were freezing our watoobies off (as my mom would say), we had a lot of fun! We have definitely acclimated to Arizona. The whole weekend in California, it only got up to around 65 degrees, plus it was a little windy at the beach, so we were freezing. I couldn't believe that I was actually happy to get back to 100 degree weather! We only have to get through it for about one more month, and I can do that.

We got to California Thursday night. The kids did good in the car, and even fell asleep before we got there. Peter says I take too many pictures of the kids sleeping, but what can I say? A sleeping kid can bring a mother so much joy! Ha ha!

We got to stay at my grandparents' house in Carlsbad. The only bad part was that they weren't there, and I haven't seen them for a really long time. We will get to see them in September at least. The reunion didn't start until Friday afternoon, so we went to IHOP for breakfast. This is how Levi "smiles":Eden kept us pretty entertained until our food came.

We also went down to Oceanside Pier for a few minutes before we headed over to the reunion.

We started off our reunion at Poinsettia Park in Carlsbad. We talked...

we barbecued...

we snacked...
we watched the kids play...

then we watched the men play.

This was pretty funny. I am only putting two videos on to save these guys from too much embarrassment. Just kidding, they weren't THAT bad!

Here's Carter's awesome shot:

And Peter scored a few...

The kids played for what seemed like hours at the playground. Levi and Nick were little buddies at the park. It was really cute how they kept chasing each other around and going on the slide together. Levi needs a little buddy!
Henry, your smiles are too perfect! Your mom must be a photographer!
Jonah was content to dig in the dirt. Sounds like our camping trip!

After the park, we went over to Cheryl's parent's pool. It was pretty cold, but the bravest of the group got in.

Maddy's awesome action shot!

We figured out really quickly that the hot tub was a great place to be.

This is one of my favorite kids ever! I don't know if I could handle all of his energy (good job, Kristie!) but he is such a little joy to be around! I just can't resist that smile.
to be continued...