For Mom's and Alana's birthday, we all went to Disneyland. Mom got her first annual pass to Disneyland, so we can go with Brielle and Gavin anytime now. Pictured above is Alana, Grammie and Grampie having lunch at the French Market in Disneyland.
Brielle, Gavin and Grammie had just gone on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the above picture. The two little kids sure enjoyed that ride.
We all had our picture taken on Main Street in Disneyland.
For dinner after Disneyland, we all went to Clearman''s Galley, better known as The Boat, for a great dinner (hamburgers, onion rings, red cabbage, cheese bread, and bleu cheese dressing). This place is an institution and the food is so good. . .no wonder it was so crowded that night.
Alana had a rather unconventional birthday cake, lemon surprise, but both Gavin and Brielle helped to blow out the candles for her.
Southern California can be hot during the summer but what better way to cool off than to spend a lot of time at the beach. Gavin and Brielle loved going to the beach for the first time. They played in the sand and chased the waves up and down the beach. Clearly, we will be spending a lot of days cooling off on the coast.
We also went on the Sanitation Districts Boat Trip tour off of Palos Verde Penninsula to check the water quality. We saw a blue whale in the channel that appeared to be intrigued with our boat and he pretty much followed us for a few miles. It was amazing to see an animal that was huge - between 80 and 100 feet long.
We also saw a bunch of dolphins on the boat tour. They played near the boat and rode the bow waves, entertaining all of us.
We also rode our bikes to Santa Fe Dam and had a picnic on the shores of the lake. Brielle and Gavin liked playing on the playground at the park. There is lots to do when you want to spend time outside during the summer.
