Trip to the Redwoods

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York Island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

We are well on our way to visiting all the places mentioned in the folk song "This Land Is Your Land".  We took a week long vacation to Northern California and saw the world's tallest trees.  We flew, and since we were camping we had a lot of luggage.  

 The iPad was a life saver in the airport waiting for our plane, bags, and Dan to arrive with the car.

  We spent the first night in San Francisco.  We were really close to Fisherman's Warf.  The lady who checked us into the hotel was of Asian descent and I they must love twin boys because she gave us a killer deal on the aquarium.  Another Asian couple we passed on a hike wanted to take the boys picture.  Our next trip should be to Japan so we could milk the boys while they're still super cute.

 We got ice cream at Ghiradelli.  It was amazing.  Brad wanted chocolate chip, but just picked out the chips.  The next time we went I wouldn't let him order ice cream, I just gave him my chocolate and he was happy.  What kid doesn't like ice cream?

 The boys were in heaven when we came to the beach.  They wasted no time and immediately started digging.

 The Redwoods are the world's tallest trees and they truly are amazing.

 Walking on a fallen log in Founder's Grove

 The view from our campsite (Humbolt State Park), first thing in the morning.  

 This is what the road looks like for the scenic drives- beautiful.

Rockefeller Forest

 This is just to document a good parenting moment, we brought their missed preschool work along.

 We took a major detour on a twisty two lane road, but the views were well worth it.

 Seeing the ocean for the first time (other than the Bay) and chasing waves

 The beach was the boys favorite, Brad's especially.

 We had such an amazing campsite that we stayed two nights.  We woke up one morning to see a whale.  We also saw a sea lion and lots of birds.

 This is Fern Canyon.  It's a slot canyon with walls covered in ferns.  It had rained that night so everything was wet.  I really felt like we were in another country.  This canyon is where Jurassic Park 2 was filmed and it definitely had a primal feel.

 A huge banana slug that I almost walked right into.

 These are Douglas Firs mixed in with the Redwoods.  They were aslo really big.

 Brad

 This is our tribute to kitsch.  Dan was truly annoyed that I made him take this picture, but we had time to kill and what trip to the Redwoods would be complete without a classic tacky picture?

 We found a star fish in one of the first tide pools we came to.

 I had never been to a tide pool and thought it was really cool.  I let the boys touch the sea anemones with a stick so that they would close in on themselves and they thought that was really cool.  We also found some crabs.

 Walking sticks proved to be quite popular with the boys.  This is Seth looking quite sporty.

 It was a really relaxing trip.  We all slept well in the tent, had great weather, no crowds, and amazing views.

Our last night was spent in San Francisco again.  As you can tell, by this point Brad and Seth were tired of having their picture taken.  Our adventure in San Francisco included seeing the sea lions at Pier 39, eating four meals at Boudin, including a sea turtle loaf of bread, shopping at Trader Joes, driving Lombard Street (the curviest street in America) and enjoying the view from Coit Tower.

Easter

This is not an Easter picture, but it is an awesome Star Wars castle Dan built with the boys.

  Fewer kids went to the assisted living egg hunt this year, which made for a better experience for us.  The boys got to hang with their cousins, see Grandma, and the Easter Bunny who they were scared of.

  Whenever I think that I'm in Sandy area all the time and should just move, I have to remember things like this and what awesome neighbors I have.  Tami stuffed 600 eggs and had the kids on our street over for a hunt in her yard.  Awesome! 

 Hunting with their friend Carter and Alicia who I think might have a crush on them.

 This picture is to dispel any rumors that Dan needs friends. :)  This is his buddy Chris who has an equal appreciation for Bear Grylls pants.

 Our neighbors brought over these cute Easter Bunny cupcakes.  Thank goodness for great people who do cute things like this so that I don't have to.

 Our egg dying kit had accessories to make faces, which the boys turned into an entire soap opera story.

Pop Quiz - Do you know which boy I am??

 Looking sharp for Easter Sunday

 Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Ogilvie's house.  You may have to enlarge this picture to appreciate it, but Seth is airborne.   My brother Jimmy was able to get off work and fly home for the weekend, which made for an extra special Easter. 

We also brought back the adult egg hunt for dollars.  We couldn't find five of the eggs, but Jim did find one from last year.

March

 We got a new camera, so some of these pictures are from us trying to figure it out.  This is Brad with his Blue Doggie and Angry Bird.  They both sleep with these each night.

 The boys thought it was cool that they were wearing the same pajamas, just mixed up and wanted a picture taken.

 This is to document that we are good parents. :)  The boys have to do "reading time" with their preschool and are so excited that they have moved onto the yellow books.

 We went to a bounce house for our "Family Fun Day".  Adults were able to get on a lot of the gear as well.  Afterwards we ate at Spaghetti Factory, went to REI and a few other errands that took us all over the valley.

The boys love to dance, especially Seth.  We've been watching Michael Jackson videos on You Tube to help give them ideas.

Coming and Goings this Winter

 I took the boys to the dentist for the first time.  They did great, until the dentist freaked Brad out and he cried huge tears.  He kept his mouth open, though, and no cavities.

 I got the boys "Cars" card games for Christmas and it was seriously their favorite gift.  They have elaborate races and adventures with them.

 They got invited to a cool Ninja party.  This is blurry because they were showing me their ninja moves. They are super excited about their own upcoming birthday and tell everyone they meet when their birthday is, including complete strangers at the store.

 Our project as of late was to make our pantry door magnetic.  The goal was to completely clear off my fridge.  It was a lofty goal, but it did help with some of the clutter.

 The boys helped me shred old documents and got to have fun in the process.  This is obviously an activity we did when Dan was at work. :)

 Seth kept complaining that he didn't have a hood to keep him warm like Brad when we were running errands.  His solution was to pull his vest over his head.  It was pretty clever and on the verge of embarrassing at Costco.  He also wouldn't leave for church this morning without a winter hat, because it would keep him nice and warm on the way into the building.

 We went to the Children's Museum and had an extra ticket for the boy's friend Derek.  These are some very cool boys.

 This is a horrible picture, but for those of you familiar with "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" you'll appreciate it.  They came to Salt Lake and we went to the show.  It was awesome.  It was a great night for the boys as well because they had their first friend sleepover at Derek's house.

 They build big weapons and then shoot down the dinosaurs.  Their latest interest is in the Solar System and we had to go to the library because I couldn't tell them why Pluto wasn't a planet anymore (now classified as a Dwarf Planet we found out).

St. George Trip

 Dan's brother Scott and family stayed with us for a few days and then we all went down to St. George for a weekend trip.  The first day we went to Snow Canyon.

 We spent a long time at the sand dunes building and destroying castles, rolling, and jumping.

 Cousin Aaron looking cute.

 This picture makes me want to go back, just hanging with our family.

 Brad takes building things very seriously.  With the help of adults a pretty impressive canyon was built.

 The secret to any good hike is good snacks.

 Day two was spent at Zions National Park

On Sunday we went through the St. George Temple Visitor's Center.  It made me think of my Grandpa Adams who was married there and a temple worker for at least 20 years.  It was great to spend time with Scott, Katie, Timmy, and Aaron.  The boys finally figured out how to play with each other,  Katie and I got to spend time together on the ride down, and Dan got some brotherly bonding.  We'll miss you guys!