shred it: California Adventure- Day 11

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Whew. Had such a perfect California day that it was hard to see it come to an end. It's 10:30pm here and we're just now getting the boys into bed... and for those of you who really know us, you know it had to be one hell of a day for us to let the boys stay up so late!!

We left the condo at 9:00 in the morning and didn't come home for 12 hours. This morning we drove out to Malibu without anything specific in mind, but ended up having the most amazing morning. Per Matthew's request, we stopped at "Cactus Park" on our way out. We are 80% certain that Cactus Park is actually someone's front yard, but if it was they didn't seem to mind us roaming around for a half hour :) The boys loved touching all of the different kinds of cactuses. Cacti? Not sure how that one works, its not a word we use too often in Michigan. They did not so much enjoy picking the pickers out of their fingers... but Cactus Park is a wonderful place for learning the art of natural consequences! After Cactus Park we drove up the PCH and stopped at Zuma J's surf shop where the lady there pointed us in the direction of the best lunch in town- a little road side fish market. The boys chowed their lunch- they had fried food for the first time in their little lives! Matthew ate half of Grandma's clam strips and Caleb ate four of Grandpa's steamed shrimp but also thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of french fries :) The view from our table was just amazing. When we finished lunch we jumped across the highway and climbed down to the beach for a little sand and sun. By then it was nap time so we loaded up in the car for a drive. We drove through the campus of Pepperdine University which was absolutely gorgeous, then took another spin on Mulholland Highway, then back up to my aunt and uncles house for the afternoon.

I don't even know if I can describe how amazing our evening was with our family at my aunt and uncle's house. My cousin, his wife, and their 2 year old also drove down from their place about an hour north which was really nice because we don't see them very often. The boys took everyone down the street for a trip to the skate park. It was their first time riding with their pads on and I'm afraid that the pads might backfire. Although they DO protect their little knees, elbows, and hands- they also gave the boys more confidence to skate faster and crash harder!!! Within 10 minutes they knew they could rely on their pads and things got a little sketchy!!! Then we went back and had a wonderful dinner. The boys and their cousin Kelvin made a little fort under the grape fruit tree, and somehow while they were under there alone Matthew must have figured out how to climb the tree because at one point he came out with three grapefruits despite the fact that ALL of the grapefruits were at least 3 feet over his head! (He then ate two of them!) I don't think anyone knew how much fun could be had with a bunch of grapefruits and a big medicine ball, but we about laughed until we peed our pants! The boys did a bit more skateboarding in the driveway before we finally packed up and headed home at 9:00pm, a full 12 hours after we left this morning!

Here are a few awesome pictures from our perfect day. My cousin Jeff took some more amazing pictures so I'll add those when he shares them :)

This is Caleb touching a cactus...