4th of July

...San Diego here we come

right back where we started from

i hope we can come back next year

next year!...

Since this year chris and i are living so far away we were only able to go to san diego for part of the week.  we were able to come out for the first weekend and stay through the 4th of july.  We were super lucky not only because my work (having only been there a month and a having gotten a promotion only a few days before) let me take a few days off to come see my side of the family, but brian, kim and kids were in town as well (one of chris's brother's family.)

They came to hang out with us at the lido on sunday 

erik getting a free ride

enjoying the scenery

best friends since kindergarden!

VA buddies Chris and Frank

it was so fun because so many kiddos were there this year!  Rafacz kids (3) Wheeland kids (2) Vaughan Sacks (1)

wheelands! (minus matt)

Chris was such a champ playing uncle to all the kids! (even the ones he wasn't sure he was related to... better be nice to all the kids including neighborhood kids)

sierra was obsessed with kayaking!

cody let us bury him :)

erik being a little ham.  my mom kept saying to him "come here my erik"... i think she was a little fond of him! 

love these boys to pieces!

a HUGE group of us went to the beach

sierra running from the camera

erik didnt seem to want his picture taken...

cody playing with seaweed :)  found a big one!

then decided he needed to smash it

upside down pictures

my dad in the water

brothers!  

cody playing indiana jones!

model!

love this

self portraits

haha look at erik!

sand trees

love birds! 

next day amy jason and ryden came down/up to see us!

love this little boy!

drinking some beer on the 4th

ryden playing on the blow up mattress in the kids room 

"excited face"

ryden's cool shoe towel

kiddos playing at the beach

bethany and gracie playing in their "hot tub"

amy and katie supervising said hot tub

view of our group

brothers!

ryden rocking the sunglasses katie got him!

oslo playing with jeff's crutches!

he is going to be a heart breaker!

oslo so badly wanted to play with ryden... maybe when they are a little older :)

ryden "readin a magazine" to grace

"hold on ryden... let me read this last thing...don't flip the page yet"

waiting for fireworks... eating popcorn

future mr. president

us

next day we went to meet the other rafaczs at seaworld

waiting in line...

arctic zone with baby beluga whales

chris and i went on this rope thing with the kids while kim and brian went to save seats for a show

erik kept losing his shoes

cody trying to steal elmo from taking pictures with other families

we never seem to get group pictures so i made sure to get one before we had to leave

saw this as we were leaving seaworld...

once getting back we got to shower and then were rushed off to the airport to catch our redeye flight home.

some group shots before we left!

my "two moms" as my mom would say :)

new siblings!

mother and son (in-law)

twins

long flight home... left california at 10pm... landed in VA at 9am... worked from 12 to 5...

chris went and picked up GA while i was at work.

 GA was happy to be home :)

first night home