The Crew at the beach in Monterey Last Wednesday Lee's sister Rochelle, her husband Zach and the darling twins braved the drive from Boise to come and visit us for a few days.   The anticipation of their visit was almost too much for me.  These twins are the cutest (and most active) set of twin boys we know and we were over the moon excited when they decided to come.   They originally planned on arriving mid-day on Thursday the 26th but instead were surprised by how well the boys traveled and they pulled into our driveway at 4:30pm.  Thank goodness I have such a terrific boss who let me duck out early to beat them home.   Lee was stuck at work until 5:30pm, and while we waited for him to get home, the boys ran around the yard hunting for and "whacking" to death (with croquet mallets) the innumerable roly polies in our yard.  Sharks! Exclaiming "nailed it" with each successful round.  

The boys were up and at 'em before 5:30am on Thursday.  So we got up, made waffles, got ready and headed out the door to Monterey.  Some of our good friends were incredibly generous and let us borrow their Honda Pilot for a couple of days so we could ride all together.  Each of us were very grateful for that offer - no one wanted to be separated and Zach and Rochelle appreciated not having to navigate unknown territory.   Our first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium so the boys Miles playing in the waves with Uncle Lee could see sharks and play in the "Splash Zone".  We made it in time for the 11am feeding and the boys loved it.  For being energetic little boys, they did quite well - lasting nearly three hours!    We then went to the beach.  We were really fortunate in that the morning fog lifted and we had a gorgeous afternoon.  Kite Flying with Miles This was the boys' first time to the beach and they LOVED it.  They loved the waves, building (and destroying) sand castles and flying kites.  The beach was empty enough that they could wander and play to their hearts' content.   They also got away with dropping their drawers to pee in the ocean.   We left the beach around 5pm and drove Zach and Rochelle through the 17 mile drive before returning home.  The boys got out their whackers for a few more roly poly executions while we made dinner and once they were in bed, we enjoyed catching up with Z&R.  It was a pretty fabulous day.

Max on the Red Baron Friday morning the boys slept in a little later - thank goodness! And we were able to move a little slower.  We decided we'd head to Santa Cruz for more beach fun and the boardwalk.   The weather was hot and perfect and the beach was packed.  The boys were a little braver with the water and loved their time at the beach.  After a couple of hours we packed up our stuff and hit the boardwalk.  We bought wristbands and we maxed them out!  Boardwalk Fun We were at the rides for nearly six hours.  I was surprised at the number of rides available to little guys.  Max and Miles loved driving cars, boats, trucks, dragons and airplanes.  The old school airplanes were their favorite.   They had full control over the height they flew and once they figured it out - loved being "so high".  They were beyond excited all day long.  Every ride they wanted to do over and over again.  Even the log ride with the steep final slide.  They giggled like crazy on that one.   We packed them full of sugar - ice cream, cotton candy, kettle corn.  The Twins at their first In-N-Out They got the full boardwalk experience and loved every single minute.  So did we.  It was one of the best days ever!   Around 8pm we finally left the boardwalk and headed to find an In-N-Out.  This was the boys' first experience at In-N-Out and they devoured both the hamburgers and french fries.   And on their way out, they charmed the firemen who just had pulled in and walked away with San Jose fireman hats and stickers.   It was the perfect end to a perfect day. 

Saturday we had planned to go up to the city.  Miles on the slide! But the sea lions up and moved on Thursday to an unknown destination and we realized that it wouldn't be nearly as much fun as our prior two days so we reassessed.  We also weren't excited about splitting up into two different cards since we had returned the Pilot back to its owners late the night before.   We decided we'd go to Fremont's Central Park where there are great play structures and Aqua Adventure.  We went to Aqua Adventure first and never even made it to the playground.  This was the first time Lee and I had gone to the park and it was pretty great.  Water Park Fun Admission was super affordable and it was a great place for kids.  The boys LOVED it.  They swam, jumped, played, slid and cried when it closed and we had to go home.  It was a definite hit.  Once home Zach and Rochelle left to go to Palo Alto on a date and Lee and I watched the boys.  We had big plans to take them to get hot dogs, ride the BART for a stop, get ice cream and then head home.   We got as far as the hot dogs and Miles fell asleep in the car before we got to the BART station.  We tried to talk Max out of the ride on the "train" by getting ice cream first - but that was unsuccessful.  So Lee dropped us off at the Fremont stop and picked us up in Union City.  1 - 2 - 3 Jump! It was pretty fun and Max's conversations with the people at the station were the best.  He let people know his mom was on a "hot date with his dad" and that "Miles was sleeping in the car with Uncle Lee".   We "hung on tight!" when the train picked up speed and he did not want to get off.   It was a fun-filled day.  Or fun-filled three days. 

We loved every minute with those little boys.  There aren't any cuter pair of boys out there.  They cracked us up with their one-liners and phrasing.  We hated to say goodbye to them on Sunday morning.  I'm glad we'll be seeing them again in a month.  AND we are even happier that this was such a successful weekend and Zach and Rochelle plan to come back - sometime!

Photos from our weekend are here.