End of Summer

We have been so busy the past few months! Too much too blog about and not enough time to sit down to write. In an attempt to catch up...here we go! We'll start with our trip to Santa Cruz in August!!



After returning from our camping adventures in July, we headed to Santa Cruz for some more vacation time! While in Santa Cruz, we were able to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the day. Mia LOVED all the fish and even learned how to say "fish" while we were there.

Mia LOVED the touch pools!

We also spent lots of time with Doc and Gram at the beach and the park!

It wouldn't be a trip to Santa Cruz without riding the Merry Go Round at the Boardwalk!

Camping at Burney Falls

We had a wonderful time on our annual camping trip to Burney Falls...so much fun that we actually went twice. Since I couldn't get any time off from work, we drove up to Burney Falls on Friday and stayed through Monday with Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly. I then worked Tuesday and Wednesday and went back up camping on Thursday and stayed until Monday. In addition to Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Michelle and Cousin Kaiya also joined us! It was really nice because we were able to leave all our things at the campsite and even left our tent pitched! It made it really easy to come back up! Mia LOVED everything about camping....the tent, the campfires, the beach, the hikes in the backpack, and especially helping Grandma Shelly with the dishes!

Reading with Papa Peter

Asleep in the backpack after a hike

Mia and Cousin Kaiya

Reading the paper

Feeding Papa Peter on the beach

Opening bottles with Grandma Shelly

A hike to the falls in the backpack with Daddy!

MMMMM...Grandma Shelly's famous Banana French Toast

Happy camping girl!!

Helping Grandma Shelly with the dishes!

Santa Cruzin'

We just got back from our first Santa Cruz trip of the summer and we are already looking forward to returning later this month! We were so excited to be able to join Doc, Gram, Roger, Mika and the girls for some great beach days! Mia had so much fun playing with her cousins on the beach and the boardwalk! I was relieved that Mia seems to like the beach now. Last year, she didn't like the sand and screamed when we put her feet in the ocean. We explained to her that this is simply not allowed in the Thomas family! She loved digging in the sand and splashing in the ocean. She even got to taste some sand and ocean water :) Mia experienced her first ride at the boardwalk (which I got to experience as well!)
The girls loaded in the car on the way to the beach.

Mia laughing in the water with Daddy

Digging, digging, digging...Ready to swim
Mia and Mommy with Nisa and our beach family, Lisa and Lily

Mia and Mommy on Mia's first ride at the Boardwalk

Maile and Nisa loving their boat ride!

Last ride of the night

Fairy Tale Town

Mia took her first trip to Fairy Tale Town last month and had a blast. It brought back so many memories for me. I went there a few times with my grandparents when I would visit Sacramento in the summer. It was almost exactly as I remember, although it did seem quite a bit smaller! We enjoyed running around the park and going down each slide over and over again. We hope to go again sometime, but we really can't wait until we can make a trip to Fresno to visit Doc's Storyland!Mia loved driving The Little Engine That Could!

Mia as the Scarecrow

Mommy as Dorothy

Mia inside the Jack and the Beanstalk foot

King Arthur's throne might be big enough for my Papa Peter!

Mia's First Haircut

In an attempt to prevent Mia from having a mullet, she got her first haircut! The girl who cut my hair had offered to cut Mia's hair, so we took her up on her offer. Mia was very excited, but unfortunately she wanted to watch the scissors which made things a little more difficult. She looks so cute with her cute little cut!

Ellie Grover Photo Session

Thanks to a very generous birthday gift from Meeko and Emily, we had our family photos taken recently. Ellie Grover is a good friend of Emily's who does amazing photography. I had been admiring her work through her blog and was thrilled to hear that she recently moved to Roseville! We are so thrilled with the results and now the only problem will be deciding which ones to print!!

Giants Opening Day

We have started quite a tradition for our little Miss Mia. Once again we took Mia to the Giants Opening Day game...this was her 2nd! We were so lucky that Papa Peter was able to find tickets for all of us. Although the weather called for heavy rain all day, we took a chance and drove to San Francisco. Although it rained before the game, the skies cleared just in time for the pregame ceremonies. Mia was decked out in her Tim Lincecum Giants Tee and brought her Giants Bunny that Holly made her along in the car. Mia LOVED every part of the experience and enjoyed giving high 5's to the people sitting around us. Although Lincecum only lasted 3 innings, the Giants pulled out a win...we pray there will be many more wins to come!Mia and Giants Bunny on the way to the game.

Holly made this bunny for Mia when she was born.

Mia in her fancy stroller with it's custom raingear.

Although she looked ridiculous, she stayed warm and dry as we walked around before the game.

Mia and Papa Peter at the Java House before the game.

Our independent woman walked the ramp to the game by herself!
Mia even got to see one of her favorite friends...Emily!
Mia catching the game from our seats