October trip to California

Before we left our first trip to California in July we had already decided we would be coming back. It was so fun having Brayden and Kira play together that another trip would be well worth it. We planned to come back in October while Jared had two road trips back to back. It worked our perfectly, and before we knew it my parents, Libby, and Teresa were all going to be able to make the trip as well. The timing worked out that BSU was playing San Jose State; which is about a 2 hour drive from Hailey. We arrived and Kira and Brayden reunited and had a blast. Some of their favorite times together were in the bath tub, making very big splashes. We had to have a beach day so we drove up to Goat Rock Beach and had a lunch and let the kids play. It took Brayden a few minutes to get comfortable in the sand, he wasn't so sure about it.
Before long we headed down to the water where there real fun was about to take place. At first Brayden was pretty freaked out by the water, I think because it was a little cold and the crashing waves were rather loud. He had fun making footprints in the sand and running away from the water.
This picture was taken right before he realized it was okay to get wet from the water.

He got pretty dirty so we had to shed his shorts and diaper and let him roam free, like only a little boy can do. It took a little time cleaning him up, but we still managed to go to Doran Beach where this mess was put to shame. He was so messy that no one had clean hands to get to the camera, so no pictures. Let me just say that he took a spill and had sand on one whole side of his face.
Our drive to San Jose was pretty tight, we picked up Cale from the airport and we had one too many people in the minivan. Teresa was able to book some hotel rooms for us to stay at so that made the trip even better. We got to San Jose and before we knew it we needed to be heading towards the stadium. Traffic was a nightmare and we ended up being a little late to the game; which doesn't happen very often. The game was a typical BSU win. We felt bad that the San Jose team kept playing the clip from the Spartans movie about how they were going to stop them; which didn't ever happen so every third down we saw the clip again and again. The next day we headed down to Monteray Bay. It was a fun little town, Brayden liked to see all the birds and boats near and on the water. We also made a way through the Monteray Bay Aquarium which was a good time. Brayden was really into the fish and seeing all the water.He even got to touch a few star fish and other sea creatures in the touch tank.After the aquarium we headed down to the other end of the beach to see the sea lions. There were everywhere. It was so funny because they were all barking and all of the sudden Brayden started making the same sound. It is so funny what they pick up on.On our drive home to Hailey's on Sunday we stopped at Golden Gate Park in San Fransisco. It was a pretty cold day, but Brayden still managed to enjoy the climbing rock and slides. Jared would be so proud that his son always wants to climb around. I was glad to have Uncle Cale there to help him.The rest of the week we had fun letting the kids do their thing. We played at the park across the street, which is a great park.

Monday we filled our day with a visit to the Jelly Belly factory. It was rather interesting, at least the parts I heard. Brayden always makes those tours a little difficult. He did enjoy the free samples they handed out when we were finished. We spent the rest of the day shopping, the kids were troopers!

The morning that my parents and Libby were scheduled to leave we went to the State Park; which is really close to Hailey's place. We walked around the lake and had a snacks on the grass. Brayden thought it was so funny to play in the leaves.
It was way more fun than sitting and taking a picture.
I am glad all my family was able to get together and have such a fun time. I was glad because I was going to be able to stay for 6 more days.