California

The day that school got out we took off for California!  It was such a great time together as a family.  We were able to spend time with our friends the Elgersma's, see Jerry's cousin Jim and his cousin Amy and her family, and we had tons of fun at Sea World and Universal Studios.  It was the perfect way to start the summer!

 Up in the mountains somewhere on our hike with the Elgersma's.

 Beautiful creation

 The hotel pool is always a hit!

In Palm Springs...about 105 degrees.

 Going up the aerial tram in Palm Springs....11,000 ft up!

 Up here it was a beautiful 66 degrees!

 The kids loved exploring the area and finding "fool's gold" in the streams.

 We dined with Shamu...or at least a relative of him.  It was fun to see the whales up close.

This ride was part water ride and part rollercoaster.

 The Manta at SeaWorld was fast and fun!

 Shark Attack

 Ben would have been content to sit in the hotel all day and karate chop the couch pillows.

Universal Studios.  I know I'm rockin' it in this picture with the fanny pack.  

 Scene from War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise.

 Near Balboa Island with Jerry's cousins and their sweet girls.  

 A gorgeous day at the beach.  We watched about 15 dolphins surfing and riding the waves close by.

Erin had fun catching all sorts of critters...mostly sand crabs.