Ferguson Family Vacation Part 2 . . .

We're home, and I'm here to tell you that there is nothing like spending a morning at the busy San Francisco airport to make you appreciate being back in the Midwest. We arrived last night very happy to be home. We had a wonderful trip, and the kids were great travelers--we're really amazed at how well they did throughout our two week trip. So I know you've all been dying to see more pictures of our trip! (No, this is nothing like me making you look at slides from our family vacation . . . remember, you came to my blog on your own free will . . .)

I took this picture on our last day at Brandon and Misty's house. I have to say that I am quite proud of it . . . four kids all looking at the camera and smiling . . . quite frame-able if I do say so myself. (Forget that it took about 1,000 shots and the diligent work of my mom, Misty, and I to get it!)

Sophia and mommy on a beach near Carmel. It was warm enough for the kids to swim a little the day we were on this beach. There is an area where some sand dunes separate the ocean from a lake. The kids actually swam in the lake rather than the ocean because the lake was much warmer. Both kids had a great time, although Sophia didn't like the sand sticking to her wet feet. What can I say, she's quite the princess.

On the evening of Father's Day the Fergusons headed to Napa to visit with our friends Barb and Keith. Travis lived with Barb and Keith when he was on staff with Young Life in Napa, and they have been wonderful to us ever since. As you may know, the weather in Napa is perfect every day. Not kidding, mid-70's and sunny everyday. We spent a lot of time in Napa playing in Barb and Keith's backyard. The sky-chair was one of our favorite backyard spots.

Buckets o' fun. The kids spent a good part of each afternoon playing with water in the backyard. Who knew storage bins could bring so much fun?

Sophia lounging in her own little "pool". Again, who knew a storage bin could be so much fun?

We spent our last two days in California at Great America, Paramount's theme park. The children's section of the park was themed on Nickelodian cartoons. Grant and Sophia were thrilled to "meet" Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego along with numerous other Nick characters. One of the most fun aspects of being a parent is getting to see your children enjoy things. I will never forget the look of utter joy and amazement on Sophia's face when she saw Dora "in person" at the park. Each time Sophia met one of the characters she would run to them and give them a big hug. Precious. Grant enjoyed meeting each of the characters as well. Throughout the day when we would ask him what he wanted to do next, he would say, "Let's go meet more friends."

One issue that Travis and I don't particularly see eye to eye on is guns. I don't like them and he does. When it comes to our children, I am particularly conservative . . . I don't allow toy guns of any sort, including water guns. We also do not do Super-heroes or any sort of fighting games (unless you considering wrestling and tickling a fighting game). I have been fortunate that Grant hasn't been interested in these things and that Travis has complied with my wishes to avoid them as well. So . . . we are at Great America and for whatever reason Grant is attracted to a rifle shooting game in the children's area (seriously, why do children need rifle shooting games??). Travis followed Grant to the game, and I decided to bite my tongue and just take a picture of my boys enjoying the manly guns together. They tinker with it a bit before Grant loses interest and drops it unimpressed. He tells Travis, "That stick didn't have any water in it." Proud to be raising a peace-loving son.

Sophia dancing with Eliza Thornberry. Sophia has never actually seen this cartoon, but hey, who doesn't love a six-foot tall cartoon girl with orange pig-tails?

When it comes to rides, Sophia is our little dare devil. So far, she hasn't seen a ride that she doesn't want to go on. When the ride didn't allow parents, Sophia would walk up by herself, choose where she wanted to sit, and wait for the ride attendant to help her buckle herself in. She was crushed when she was too short to ride the water-slide. As I watched her get on and off of the rides I kept thinking, "Is she really only two years old?" Grant tended to prefer to watch the rides. He would get on a ride with a little prompting and enjoyed each ride he rode, but his preference was definitely to be an observer.

So, vacation was great. We spent quality time with friends and family and even had a little time for just the four of us. Traveling is great, but it is also good to be home.