Cousin Vinny

One of the highlights of the Blake Family-Solana Beach trip is the social life. It is just awesome to walk around condo to condo each night filled with family (I think we have 11 condos between us all), looking for the best party and conversation going around. Its heavenly. Theres mini parties everywhere. From the little kids to us big kids, you gotta find where THE party is at. And swapping kids for sleepovers happens too.

Here's Calvin, AKA, Cousin Vinny, sleeping in our condo/pull out couch with Logan. (While the girls had a sleep over at Aunt Sissy's condo of course)

Yes, Logan is going to bed still in his bathing suit and swim shirt.

What do you do, it's vacation.

Vacation Walks

I love going on walks in California...

I am in love with this house below, dreamy.

Sophie loved going on walks too, especially because she ended up at Fletchers Cove each walk. Can you imagine a more beautifully situated park?

Let me tell you what Sophie is a little obsessed with right now... Birds. She finds birds everywhere and then tells us "birdie-birdie-birdie" over and over.

She didn't want anything to do with the playground when there was "birdies" to chase around, she laughed and laughed...

... until the birdies got away from her. I love this face captured below as she kept saying, "UH-NO, GO?"

Since the birdies got away, I convinced her to come to the playground...

but then she just wanted to sit and wave at the Spanish lady who was sleeping on the bench, for real. Ha ha.

Oh man we love this little sophe-a-loaf.

Beach Days

A few weeks ago was our ANNUAL BLAKE FAMILY

SOLANA BEACH TRIP

(this years t-shirt above)

I only took my camera to the beach one of the days, and some of my kids went up to the pool soon after I got to the beach. But it was good times. Ocean waves are mesmerizing.

Gender Issues

Funny Thing:

The other day my cousin Lancey Pants was over playing Rockband with the family... afterwards our kids and us were all sitting around talking about probably Veterinary Medicine (because Lancey pants is in Vet school to become a Vet just like Dr. Vernon)... and my 8 year son Logan breaks out and says:

"We've checked, and most our stuffed animals are girls"... then he pauses for a second and says, "well, actually, they are all girls"

It took me a sec to realize what he was referring to

and then I laughed and laughed. ha ha ha

Here is Logan last week at our Solana Beach trip...

with his little cousin Coop-a-loops.

Oh the wonderful beach days...

Dr. Vernon

My last few posts have been from here in Cali...

working from Dr. Vernon's lap top.

I found some cool pictures on his computer that I don't have at home on mine.

Turns out, he's a pretty good surgeon.

Some poor little doggie's knee surgery below:

Dr. Vernon loves power tools...

Okay, the below picture is my real motivation for doing this post.

I was going through his library of surgery pictures, and got to this one, and was like, "Bruce, WHAT are you doing here?" He looked at it and claims he has no idea.

But it sure looks like he is howling at the moon, ha ha...

maybe it helps him in surgery.

Thankyou

We are in Solana Beach, and I wanted to remember this...

Sophie, who hasn't been a super early talker, and will be 2 next month, said the word "thank you" for the first time today. Because I was busy on multiple business calls tonight, Bruce made dinner. Chicken Alfredo. He grilled chicken out by the pool, and made the pasta, broccoli and sauce. We were all sitting around the dinner table and Bruce gives little Sophie her dinner. After the other kids say thank you, Sophie looks at Bruce and also says, "tank-ooo".

It was especially sweet for her to say to him today. This morning a large group of us went kayaking in the ocean on this "cave tour". Bruce missed the fun kayaking adventure to stay home with Sophie because she was too young to go. Our oldest 5 kids and I went without him. Instead he took Sophie on a walk, played at the Fletchers Cove park with just him and her, walked around shops and took her swimming.

After a special daddy-daughter day with his little baby girl, how appropriately sweet for Sophie to learn to say thank you just for him. :)

ps- All our kids got to help paddle their kayak through the ocean waves... poor Lily had a little adventure, she was with her Aunt Carrie and Uncle Geoff and their kayak tipped over and dumped them in to the sea.

Military Stuff

Greetings from San Diego, California.

We just went to the "Mormon Battalion" museum.

It is my new fave place here... you seriously have to take your family there... run!

The church just re-modeled it amazingly (looks like an old Spanish Mission). So interesting for parents, but SO cool for kids!!

(Notice Above- Ashlin got a hair cut and now has bangs, big moment in her life. Its way cute, Dallin said, "Isn't that the hair cut you had when you were 4? Um, actually, yes it was... ha ha, but its still so cute on her)

Someone described the new museum to us as "Harry Potter meets Mormon Battalion"...

you'll have to check it out to see why.

ps- I just have to write this down to remember what Emma said. After watching a 20 minute movie on the Mormon battallion (but before the amazing tour)... a missionary asked the big group if anyone new what a battalion was and Emma raises her hand immediately, so excited, and yells, "A WATCH!".... um, NOPE. Really Emma, after a whole 2o minute movie on it?

Definition:

Battalion- a military unit or group of soldiers prepared for battle; infantry