July in a nutshell

...I have once again failed at my goal of posting once a week...

 The month of July has a been a fun one for us. Besides settling into our new home, we went on vacation for the 4th and had a visit from my sister, Lizzy. Over the 4th of July we went down south for a Hamilton family reunion in Agoura. It was a total blast. It was awesome to see family, meet new family, relax, and eat way too much food. (seriously, I literally gained weight that week we ate so. much. good. food.) There was lots of swimming in the pool, beach trips, and forcing Jude to nap. I also learned just how competitive Hamilton boys are--everything became a competition, especially in the pool. I've never seen such intense Marco Polo. Jude had a lot of fun, too. He LOVES water, even the ocean. He also got to play with his cousins and crawl all over Grandma's house. He also may or may not have destroyed a pop-up book...sorry Grandma!

Jude discovers sand...

It was freezing, but Jude laughed so hard at the waves

Peter, Jack, and Layla built a giant hole at the beach, complete with stairs, seats, and cupholders

Dad, Jude, and Cousin Layla chill in the pool

Cousin Eve gets a sweet ride in the pool

Apparently not only is it possible to flip yourself up on the diving board, you can do it with one leg.

(another Hamilton competition)

First 4th!

The babies hold counsel on the dinner table

Jude, Dane, and Will

Dane and Jude-- the boys in stripes

"cleaning" Grandma's window

this picture makes me laugh so much... it looks like Dane wants a kiss

 After our return to the North, my little sister Lizzy came to visit us! It was super fun to have her to hang out with and help with Jude. We went to the San Jose Zoo (which is essentially a little carnival with a few monkeys and rip-offs of Disney characters... kinda sketchy). We also did a lot of shopping (my 15 year old sister has much better fashion sense than I do, so I wait till she's around to do all my clothes shopping). It was nice to have some company and to explore the South Bay with Lizzy.

Waiting in line for the Dragon train

Meeting the monkeys

Lizzy was a good sport and climbed into the kids hole with Jude to look at the lemurs

This week we are going camping with the Langlois family in the Humboldt redwoods. Can't wait!