Elora's 4th Birthday

My baby girl turned four yesterday!

French toast breakfast for the birthday girl

Then it was time for me and my friend Leah to bake cupcakes and transform Elora's bedroom into an Under the Sea wonderland.

The guests arrived and removed their shoes.  Pretty fancy footwear!

The girl's absolutely loved the bedroom turned ocean!

There were 10 clear balloon 'bubbles' on the ceiling and another dozen or so balloons scattered about the room.  The window is covered in blue bubble wrap so the whole room looks bluish and the walls are covered in paper shells, fish, and other sea creatures.

Alexia, Sophie, Elora, and Rachel

Elora wants to keep her room like this forever and ever and ever and ever!

Getting excited over gifts

Cali Trip - The End

Mothers' Day

Breakfast in SLO and then drove 7 hours to Vegas

We really liked The Orleans - just off the strip, great rooms, lots of food options, awesome pools for the kids, great price

Had a breakfast crepe at The Sugar Factory after walking thru The Paris resort

followed by a walk thru Bellagio's atruim

Then picked up pastries at Jean-Philippe Patisserie in the Bellagio

Then more swimming before the 5.5 hr. drive home

Cali Trip - Day 4

Handful of caterpillars

Playground at the campground

Caterpillar mansion, complete with bedrooms, kitchen, and sandbox

Walking out to see the harbor seals

One of three lighthouses we saw driving along the coast on Hwy 1

Spent most of the day driving thru the 90-mile Big Sur region where I was enjoying myself so much that I never even pulled off the road to take pictures so I had to steal the photo below off the internet. There are no chain hotels, supermarkets, or fast-food outlets in the area, and there are strict codes which do not allow billboards or commercial development, as well as prohibitions against any new construction within view of the highway.

 

We did stop for a lunch break at a cute picnic area and very rocky beach

Mussels

Tide pools

Hermit crab

crab

creek running down to the ocean

Stopping near San Simeon to watch the Elephant Seals (they are stinky & huge & not cute like the harbor seals)

curried mussels

Stayed the night in San Luis Obispo, another town we fell in love with.

Cali Trip - Day 3

Drove an hour south from Santa Cruz to the beautiful city of Monterey.  Got online and began looking for jobs there because we were both in love with it:)

Spent nearly five hours at the incredible (and incredibly expensive) Monterey Aquarium.

Jellyfish and more jellyfish

Got to pet and feed bat rays.  Had to pretty much drag Jonah away from there after he stayed at their pool for like 20 or so minutes.

Touch pools

In this glass tunnel waves crash overhead.  Super fun.

Even more jellyfish

And more!

A weedy sea dragon, one of the wonders of the ocean!

Baby sea horses

Fish face with a big fish

@ Point Joe on the 17-Mile Drive thru Pebble Beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea

View from our campground in Carmel

The camp was crawling with caterpillars and the kids LOVED it

Check out the Spanish moss hanging from the oak trees at our campsite!  This is California?