Capitola - Aug. 12

Marlina and her family invited us to go to Capitola for the day (Thanks Marlina!). We had Pizza My Heart for lunch on the beach. As you can see it wasn't super hot, but warm enough for Carissa & Hailey to go in the water. Maia stayed bundled up most of the time. It was warm enough for ice cream. We spent the night at Marlina's parent's house in Los Altos (Elena, Marlina's Mom, is such a good cook!) and then went to a farmer's market street fair that night. It was a lot of fun. Carissa & Maia were wiped out! This was our last big outing before school starts. So sad.

Lemonade Stand - August 7

We had our annual garage sale the first weekend of August. This is their second time having a lemonade stand. They love it. They each earned $15. Their trick to making money: you give them a $1 for a 50cent cup of lemonade, they give you no change (what some customers told me). Scott was suppose to help with the change, so I'm not to blame. I was too busy running the garage sale. I'd like to think it was their cuteness that helped.

Swimming - July 30

We have been generously invited to the private pool in VV by Marlina and her family (Thank you Marlina!!). The girls LOVE swimming. If we had a pool they would be in it everyday. Carissa and Hailey can be in the pool for 4+ hours straight. They are like little fish. It is so fun watching them jump off the diving board with no fear. Huge difference from last year. I played around with my telephoto lens this day and took photos of them splashing each other. Carissa got Maia and Hailey really good in the last two photos.

Larsen Family Reunion - July 18

Every year Scott's Dad's family plans a family reunion at Howarth Park. All the cousins, Uncles, Aunts, and Grandma & Grandpa (they drive out from Utah) meet for a picnic in the park. Most of them live in Santa Rosa or Sacramento Area. I took this big group photo with my camera. I set it on timer and ran. Came out pretty good considering the amount of people. The girls love horseback riding. It really is one of the nicest parks I've ever been too.Great Grandpa & Grandma Larsen

Carissa & Maia aren't the only twins in the family. Here they are with their twin boy cousins, Jake & Josh (they are 2 years younger than mine). Unlike my girls, they are identical. Their father is an identical twin too.

Discovery Kingdom - July 27

We went to Discovery Kingdom a few times this summer. A couple of weeks ago I went with my friend Laurie and her kids. I wanted to travel light, so I didn't bring my camera. Big regret! We went the Looney Toon show and Carissa got picked to go on stage and dance with Daffy Duck! I was able to take pictures and video tape it with my phone camera at least. Recently we went again with my friend Susan and Robyn. Maia got picked to go on stage. This time I was prepared. I video taped with my left hand and took photos with my right. Very tricky. I wanted to give Maia the best chance at getting picked because she really wanted a turn after seeing Carissa on stage, so I brought an outfit for her to change into. It really worked and she had a blast as you can see.

Utah - July 3-10

The girls and I went to Utah for a week and visited Scott's two sister's families: Stephanie & Stacie. The girls love spending time with their cousins. Mom rented this bounce house for the backyard, which the kids really loved. Celebrating 4th of July was fun...Utah style on a Saturday. Temple square was very pretty at this time of year. I was fascinated by the new exhibit at the visitor's center. It's an exact replica of the temple. They have it cut out so you can see all the rooms inside. There is also an interactive touch screen kiosk in front so that you can explore the temple and hear about the significance of each room.

Solano County Fair - June 25

The girls and I entered photos and other things into the Solano County Fair. We came home with lots of ribbons. We entered the same things we did for the Dixon May Fair, just less. I didn't want to post all the things we entered because it's a lot. Here are just some of the highlights. You can also go to my photography blog to view the other photos I submitted:
http://christinelarsenphotography.blogspot.com/2010/06/2010-solano-county-fair-awards.html

Sandy Beach - Rio Vista

This was our first trip to Sandy Beach. I included photos so you can see what it looks like. The girls and I really enjoy it. Nice and warm and a relatively short drive. We met our friend Susan and her friend Erika Brown with their kids on July 20th. I brought Lauren, a girl from Carissa and Maia's Kindergarten class.This photo below was taken on August 9th. We went with my friend Susan and her two daughters, Robyn and Annalise (it was her birthday so she had a few friends of hers too).