San Juan Capistrano Hike and Strawberry Picking

With record rain in the winter and spring, everything near us was gorgeous and green for miles around. Wanting to see some wildflowers close to home, we hiked the Patriot Trail in San Juan Capistrano, which leads to a flagpole at the top and amazing views of the ocean.  We did the hike last year on Memorial Day, but it was so dry last year that everything was brown and we could barely see the ocean because it was so cloudy. This time, skies were blue, the wildflowers were blooming and the hills were unbelievably green and covered with wildflowers.

 

The rolling hills looked like a painting.

A few miles later, and some whining, we made it!

Signing the log book with our signatures at the top. There’s a little mailbox next to the flagpole to leave the book there for the next hikers to sign.

Hello ocean.

Meredith hiked the entire way there and hitched a ride on Jake’s back on the return trip, much to the annoyance of the jealous twins.

Taking the shortcut.

April is not complete without our traditional strawberry picking at Tanaka Farms.

Instead of picking in the fields, we tried the hydroponics instead. So big and juicy.

Eating our spoils.

The girls’ treat was a ginormous chocolate covered strawberry.

From strawberry picking, we went straight to duck feeding at the lake.

 

We love spring weekends!

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March 2019 Fun

We had a very rainy and unusually cool winter, which bled into spring. All the rain made everything green and gorgeous! We didn’t have time for everything on our bucket list this summer, but we did check off quite a few.

 

Hiking at Casper’s Wilderness Park.

Meredith loved school and begged to go more than two days. On Wednesdays, all the girls stayed for an extra hour and loved doing fun projects with Miss Erica, who is the Queen of Pinterest Projects. Every Wednesday, the girls would groan when I came to pick them up and asked to stay longer.

Samantha and Amelia were jealous of the fruit loop rainbow project Meredith did in her class, so we did it at home.

St. Patrick’s Day chocolate pancake breakfast.

St. Patrick’s Day at school.

Visiting with Great Grandpa!

During one horrible week, the girls were sick with fevers, snot and coughing, all within a few days of each other. Amelia was so sad about going to school by herself… until she got to go on a special Daddy Daughter date for waffles.

Once Samantha was all better, she went on a Daddy Daughter sandwich date.

Helping with treehouse construction.

I am Meredith. Hear me ROAR.

Playing 52 card pick-up.

Building epic block towers and screaming when Monster Baby Eleanor crawled over to destroy the city.

Eleanor’s favorite homemade mac n cheese.

Someone went overboard on the bubbles.

So proud she can stand!

 

Scooter ride around the neighborhood while sisters were in school.

Tennis practice.

In March, the twins stayed after school for an art class with the 1st grade teacher, Miss Iumi.

Their final cute paintings.

Softball was in full swing, with a practice and game every week. While the girls tolerated practices (mostly because of the tag games they played plus donuts), they alternated between staring off into space and refusing to run after the ball at all during the actual games.

 

Jake: “Why don’t you run after the ball, Sammy?”

Sammy: “Because someone else will get it.”

They did like trying to hit the ball and running the bases! The first few games, they played the game with no tagging outs, but the last few games, the coaches decided the girls were ready to play for real. The first time Sammy got tagged out, she cried hysterically and refused to play. She sure ran fast the next game though and never got tagged again.

Art and writing projects!

Amelia was no match for this 27-pound baby.

Meredith and her bestie, Maple, at our Tuesday park date.

The girls climbed the tree at the end of our cul-de-sac every day after school.

Sammy the sloth.

 

Eleanor’s favorite pastime.

Sammy in her natural habitat.

More science and art projects!

Lots of love,

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Maui 2018: Nakelele Blowhole and Honolua Bay

With the Moana soundtrack blasting nonstop, we drove up the coast to Nakelele Blowhole for a short hike. We were hoping to hike down to the blowhole and take a picture next to the heart-shaped rock, but it was too windy and I didn’t think I could balance with Eleanor strapped to me or trust that Meredith could make it down without falling to her death. So, pictures at the top overlooking the blowhole for the win!

Sammy Grumplestiltskin.

The girls weren’t too disappointed about not hiking to the blowhole… they jumped around on the rocks forever.

Jake and I couldn’t get over the fact that the last time we were in Maui, seven years ago, we had ZERO kids. And now, seven years later, we have FOUR!

There are so many little stands selling drinks, coconuts, smoothies and Maui’s famous banana brand along the side of the road, it was hard not to stop everywhere. This guy cracking open coconuts with a machete was one of the more sketchy stops, but the girls were fascinated and drank the coconut milk right up.

Is this the same guy from seven years ago??!!

Our hike of the day was through the dense jungle leading to Honolua Bay. It was only a twenty minute hike, but took us an hour because the girls were obsessed with swinging from every vine and climbing every log. The jungle was gorgeous!

Tarzan wannabes.

 

SO many fights broke out over whose turn it was to swing on the vine of choice. Didn’t matter that there were approximately eleven thousand other vines from which to swing. NOPE. Had to be this one.

We finally made it to Honolua Bay.

On a less windy day, the water would have been perfectly clear and great for snorkeling and seeing turtles, which is what Jake and I did last time we were here. The girls had fun splashing around, spotting fish and sea creatures, even though the visibility wasn’t great.

Eleanor and I watched from the shade of the jungle.

Lunch time with a view!

Jake and the girls went to grab sushi and my favorite Hawaiian poke bowls while Eleanor and I relaxed.

Lots of love,

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Cedar Breaks Part II and Home

Tuckered out from our hike at Cedar Breaks, the girls took a long afternoon snooze and Grammy and Grandpa took off back to Utah County as the thunderstorms rolled in full blast. There was a flash flood warning in the area and they got stuck on the road waiting for the trucks to clear out the mud, but made it back safely. In the mean time, Jake and I watched a Nicholas Sparks movie marathon on the cabin TV and played Go Fish with the girls when they woke up. It was nice and cozy playing together while the torrential downpour roared on outside.

Later that afternoon, it was still sprinkling in Brian Head, but everyone was having major cabin fever, so we loaded everyone in the car and drove up the mountain toward Cedar Breaks, where it looked sunny and dry. Turns out it was sunny and beautiful on that side of the mountain, so we stopped to get our energy out hiking the Bristlecone Pine trail.

The girls were in much better spirits on this hike than they had been in the morning, and since we weren’t in a hurry to beat the rain or get back for lunch/naps, we let them stop and play with sticks or do whatever they wanted to do. Relaxing!

The girls asked me to play duck duck goose with them in a field. Why not?

These pines are some of the oldest living things on earth! From the top of the trail, we had a beautiful view of Zion in the distance. Another trip for another time!

Yoga retreat!

Meredith was not happy about something…I lose track over everything she gets mad about!

We made mac n cheese for dinner at the cabin and conked out from our long day of hiking. On Monday morning, we were hoping to check out some of the zip-lining and tubing activities at Brian Head, but found out they were only open on the weekend, and it was still drizzling anyway, so we made an early departure for home.

The road down the canyon to Cedar City was closed due to the flash flood the night before, so we had to go the long way around, and everyone was GRUMPY. We stopped at a park in  St. George to let everyone run around and stretch their legs, but it was scorching and we only stayed a few minutes before everyone collapsed. The rest of the trip I’ve blocked out of my memory, but it basically involved Meredith screaming for hours on end, Samantha complaining she was uncomfortable and couldn’t fall asleep while everyone else snoozed, and endless bathroom stops in the scorching desert. After eight hours in the car, we were SO happy to be home!

This was Meredith in St. George/the majority of our trip home:

Lots of love,

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