What a way to celebrate turning 5!

A trip to California!

Angelina's 5th birthday turned into a birthday vacation:

Day 1:
Pool time with Hannah and Martina (cousin Matthew arrived later)


Horseback riding with Hannah


Day 2:
More pool time, followed by grunion hunting....for those who have never heard of grunion or why one would "hunt" them, they are little sardine like fish. They come ashore to lay eggs and for a few months of the year, you can catch them. But only with your bare hands. No nets, no hooks. And they come during the night. So at 9pm off she went with Papa, Uncle Chris, Nanny and her cousins to the beach to catch some grunion. She loved it.



Day 3: off to Big Bear Lake and Uncle Bruce and Aunt "Doretta's" cabin...
Day 4: Turn 5!!! Complete with Dragon cake


And a ride on the "taco" on the lake. At first she didn't want to ride the tube when we went out with Uncle Bruce. Later, when Uncle Chris arrived and took the kids out again without Frédéric and I, they convinced her to try. And in customary fashion, she didn't want to get off.


Day 5: 4th of July with friends

Day 6: Learning to rock climb with cousin Justin. She loves the climbing wall at the park, so Justin, an avid rock climber and home from college for the summer, offered to take her to his climbing gym. Martina, Hannah, and Matthew came too. Camille did as well but having had surgery that day to remove a rod from her arm, she avoided the climbing. Of course, at first Angelina was afraid to try. Then she did and there was no stopping her.


And more pool time



Day 7: Off to Pismo Beach! Wanting a little "family" holiday, we headed up the coast to Pismo Beach. Beautiful!

Day 8: Searching for shells, crabs, and clams in Pismo Dunes

Day 9: hiking the sand dunes south of Pismo, followed by blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry picking near Lake Cachuma.

Day 10: More fun in the pool....


And then home.

for more pictures, click HERE. Pay particular attention to the water slide photos.