It was love at first sight when Oliver sailed into our lives three years ago, and he's
had me wrapped around his little finger ever since. He's a hilarious mix
of entertainer and introvert; he loves singing and reading books and
Paw Patrol and Creative Galaxy. He wants to be an artist when he grows
up (Arty from Creative Galaxy, to be specific...so I guess he wants to
be an alien when he grows up). He loves to copy his big sister whom he
adores, but he's also got a wit and spunk that's all his own, and brings
so much laughter and sweetness to our home.
This 4th of July week, we had a one-of-a-kind adventure living with peacocks. Candy, a friend of Patrick's parents welcomed us all to stay in her lovely SoCal home for the week, whose backyard garden & neighborhood boast free range peacocks.
Grampa came prepared to keep the kids entertained....sidewalk chalk & blow-up pool!
We spent much of our time enjoying the back porch view and being entertained by the visiting peacocks. They often made their way in via the roof (a little hard to see below, but there's a female there.)
This guy's a bit scraggly, but still strutting his stuff.
It is quintessential Vianne to discover a lemon tree in the backyard
and want to make lemonade out of them :-).
She does that in all of life!
Proud to be an American!
4th of July cuties :-)
The night of the 4th, we had a lovely steak dinner and when it got to be dark, we sat out front and watched fireworks shows for miles and miles across the whole LA area! Spectacular!
We went on an excursion to the Queen Mary. A little rundown compared to its former glory, sadly, but the kids were enchanted with the experience.
Oliver entertained everyone with his map :-)
The Lego room proved to be the main attraction.
Another fun outing to Redondo Beach
And a stroll through Shoreline Village in Long Beach...
Vianne saw this jumper when we first arrived and then begged to do it for the next couple hours.
Oh my goodness. She is so brave. I could hardly watch.
The last day of our trip we got to see Rachelle & the boys (apparently I didn't take any pictures, though) and spent a night at the Losies' before heading back north to Sacramento.
