August Activities

We stuck fairly close to home during most of the month of August, with Little Noodle's impending arrival slowing us down.  But that didn't mean we didn't have tons of fun!  We worked on Virginia's bike riding skills, did indoor tent making and camping, visited with local friends, and had lots of fun around the house.

First big girl bike ride with the pedals added!

Push off from Daddy

Overnight indoor tent camp-out with Daddy in Virginia's room.

Princess Virginia playing at a friend's house.

Loving on the kitten at friend Sophie's house.

Meeting the daughter of one of daddy's childhood friends

We also managed to do two smaller road trips, staying for a weekend in mid-August with the Argyris family at their cabin in Lake Tahoe and then going to Stinson Beach for a day over Labor Day Weekend.  In Tahoe, Virginia had a blast going tubing behind a motorboat for the first time.

Loving the Donner Lake boat ride near Tahoe.

Ready for her first tube ride 

Speed demon!

Virginia with our Tahoe hosts, the Argyrises.

The Harveys enjoy Tahoe Donner.

Virginia took this picture herself of all the adults!  We were impressed.

At Stinson, Virginia visited with her favorite friend in the world, Griffin Guidi and generally was up to no good.  We loved visiting with the Griffinger and Guidi families, as we have done many times at Stinson over the years.

Up to no good with the Guidi Boys.

Redneck Riviera Reunion

Webbs reunite!

July marked the culmination of more than a year of planning when we boarded a plane for Panama City Beach, Florida for a Webb Family Reunion!  The first and only time I have been able to get together with all of my cousins since we've started having children was at Granny's funeral two years ago.  We loved spending time together so much that we promised to plan a reunion in the coming years, and we pulled it off!

Every member of the Webb family was in attendance for at least a few days, including 9 kids ages five and under, and three more babies on the way.  My cousins and I have clearly been busy procreating these past few years.  It was great to have so many kids around to entertain each other and a good time was definitely had by all.  We spent the week relaxing on the white sand beaches, playing in the pool, eating delicious seafood, and shopping at Pier Park.  Virginia loved her cousins so dearly and is ready to do it again in 2014!

Bedtime stories with Mimi

Our little daredevil road the bumpy banana boat in the Gulf with 5 crazy male cousins.

Virginia and her Lair cousins enjoy a family dinner.

The cousins enjoy the musical talent in the family.

The oldest cousins hit Pier Park amusement rides.

Anna and Virginia on the Pier Park carousel.

Webb women -- Janet, Suzanne, Leslie, Leesy with Virginia, Jenna & Anna.

Mom and daughter on the balcony overlooking the Gulf.

Virginia loves her Aunt Liz & Uncle Dave!

Chaos ensues when you try to photograph 9 kids under the age of 5.  We managed to squeeze 8 of them in this shot!

The moms to be were surprised with a baby shower at the beach!

Aloha Aulani!

Not a bad view, right?

In March, our family decided to continue our travel streak and take a long weekend in Hawaii.  We had some Alaska Airlines voucher burning a hole in our pockets from a flight cancellation last summer, and when flight prices dropped to equal the value of the vouchers, it was time to take advantage of a free Hawaiian vacation!

Since Virginia is such a Disney fan and we were not going for a very long trip, we thought this was the perfect chance to experience the new Disney resort on O'ahu, Aulani.  The Aulani was very expensive, but we worked our travel magic to get a good deal during the low season.

The trip was truly magical in every way.  The resort was authentically Hawaiian, complemented with all the Disney magic and excellent service.  Virginia loved all the kids' activities and events and got the chance to hang with her favorite Disney characters.  She spent time at Aunty's Beach House (coolest kids' club ever) while mom and dad enjoyed some nice meals out and also ran herself ragged doing the waterslides at the Menehune Bridge water playground.  We also had the chance for a nice reunion with an old law school pal and his daughters one day.  The girls played wonderfully together and Virginia especially enjoyed getting to sit at a "big girls table" with them for our poolside lunch.  Ever since our return, Virginia is begging to go back again.

(For a full review of our Aulani experience, check out the review on my travel blog!)

Shave ice was a daily treat.  Virginia always made sure she got orange.

Menehune Bridge water play area is where Virginia rode water slides.  187 times to be exact.

Breakfast with Mickey!

First time on a paddle board with daddy.

Loving on Minnie Mouse.

Our little mad scientist doing experiments at Aunty's Beach House.

Happy family in Hawaii.

Virginia hams it up at comedy hour at Aunty's Beach House.

A highlight of the vacation was getting to see an old law school pal, Brett Tobin, and his girls.

Stitch and the girls (Virginia was still learning how to do the shaka!)

Santa Cruz You're Not That Far

We got the wandering spirit yet again and decided one lazy weekend day to set out for Santa Cruz, just about an hour and a half from our home in Alameda.  Santa Cruz has a famous historic boardwalk with rides, food, and a gorgeous beach, so we knew it would be a hit with Virginia.  Virginia rode some pretty daring rides and played in the shallow water.

Harveys Hit Hawaii - Part 4

Near the end of our trip, Thomas and I accompanied Nancy and Peter on a night dive with the manta rays.  Our scuba skills were a little rusty, but we had a great dive instructor who got us back into fighting form.  We saw a record number of mantas that night due to the excellent feeding conditions - some were over 16 feet tip to tip!

Virginia had a blast putting together puzzles with Mimi and torturing crazy Uncle Dave:

On our last night, we went out to dinner at the fancy restaurant on site at the Mauna Lani, the Canoe House.

And we followed up dinner with a night of singing and puzzles with the family back at the condo:

Our trip home was not without drama, as our flight was cancelled!  We ended up avoiding an overnight delay by getting on a redeye on another airline.  Virginia was dog tired but a fairly good sport....