Live Oak is a Music Festival to benefit Public radio that is put on every Fathers Day Weekend. It’s three days of music, arts, crafts, camping and friends. The music was a great mix of Americana, Roots, Reggae, Rag time and Folk. Every morning at 8 people line up to get into the main stage area so they can lay claim to their place for the day with their low back beach chairs. If you get up to explore the kids area, or the arts for sale, or grab a bite to eat your seats are up for grabs so someone else can enjoy the show. Its an understanding that when you come back they will get up so you can enjoy your seats. Its just a really great friendly vibe from everyone there. There was a lot for the kids to do in the dedicated kids section. Aubri made her own hula hoop and Dylan got to create a rocket. They both made multiple paintings, played some ping pong and tetherball, and ran around with their friends Leo and Ruthie. They also saw a few friends from school that we didn’t even know were going.

On top of the excitement of the festival it was also our first family camping trip. We got to try out our new tent, mattresses, sleeping bags, etc… It all went even better than i expected. With the help of Maurica the tent was up in less than 20 min, and I even got it back in the bag when the trip was over. Tomi didn’t think it was possible. The kids were great. They both loved sleeping out in the tent and slept really well. They got to find firewood and roast marshmallows, which I think was the best part of the trip for them. They didn’t want to leave and I think they would both be very happy living in a tent the rest of their childhood.

Live Oak will definitely become a tradition for us that we go to every year for a very long time. It has also made us realize how fun camping is as a family and it has inspired us to seek out some new camping spots. We already have multiple trips planned for the summer. So stay tuned for more summer camping posts. See all the pics from the weekend here

Dylan loves live Oak this much

Aubri and the Rollie Polie

Aubri's Hula Hoop

This was an intense stare down

Jon and Casey in a clam shell.

Aubri and I snuggling in a penguin egg

After dinner we walked down to a place where you can get out on the beach and walk down to the water. The kids had a great time burning off a little energy there and exploring with their Aunt and Uncle. Below are a few pictures from our trip.  Please click here if you would like to see more.

Uncle Jonny checking out the Monterey Bay with Aubri

Auntie Casey checking out the rocks with Dylan.

Alina and Dylan, 4/29/2006

Dylan and Alina, 1/08/2011

While there, Mike had to leave for a little while and while he was gone Josh decided to dress Dylan up in his Giants gear. He convinced Dylan to put on the shirt by telling him that it said “I Love Daddy”. If Dylan had any idea it was a Giants shirt, he wouldn’t have touched it. He was all dressed up and ready to surprise Mike when he walked in the door. The first words out of Mike’s mouth were “take that off now”. Luckily I took some photos before Mike got back so we will be able to enjoy the moment for years to come. For those of you that don’t know, Mike is a hard core Dodger’s fan, so Dylan putting on the Giants stuff is about the worst thing he could have done. Even Aubri joined in the fun and got to wear a Giants shirt, but with Alina’s help she added her own touch with a princess crown. I decided on this post to put up a before and after picture. The first picture was of Dylan and Alina meeting for the first time, and the second is a photo from them this trip. It is amazing how much they have grown. To see more photos from this weekend, please click here.

Dylan thought the Panda hat was really awesome!

Aubri got all dressed up also.

The first ride Dylan wanted to go to was Buzz Lightyear so we headed there first. When we got in to get on the ride Dylan got a little scared, I don’t think he really remembered everything from last time.  It took him most of that first ride to really get the idea of the whole thing again, but as soon as it was over, he was ready to go on it again.  Aubri wasn’t sure about the ride, and she really didn’t seem like she liked any of the rides the whole time we were there. The only ride she seemed like she really wanted to go on was Dumbo and that was only after Dylan and Grams got on the ride and she was left standing on the sidelines because we figured she wouldn’t go on it.  We had a lot of fun, but it is amazing how few rides you actually get to do when you are there with young kids and you have to go on their time and deal with multiple potty and snack breaks.  Dylan did go on the roller coaster in Toon Town again and he really enjoyed that. I tried to get him to go on Thunder Mountain Railroad with me, but he didn’t seem so sure about that. Maybe next time I can convince him to go on it with me. One of the highlights we found by accident was getting to ride in the very front car of the monorail in with the driver. You get a great view of the whole park looking out of the front window, and it was really neat at night to be able to get to see all the lights from the park as well as all the lights from the hotels. Both the kids really enjoyed this part of day.

We have realized that Dylan is much more of a daredevil than we used to think.  He doesn’t really seem to let heights or speed bother him.  When Mike took Dylan on the Jellyfish ride, he was much more nervous to go up high then Dylan was on the ride.  Mike kept a tight grip on Dylan even though was hooked in, and he checked his seat belt several times before the ride started.  Probably everyone’s favorite ride was Toy Story.  It is a great ride and it is really interactive.  We just had a hard time getting either of the kids to keep on their 3D glasses so they could get the full effect of the ride.  They also had both of the parks all decorated for Halloween and it was really neat to see all of the pumpkins and Halloween related decorations all over. Since we all have season passes now, we are already planning a trip to head back around Christmas time so we can see the park all decorated for Christmas.  Click here for more Disneyland Pics.