These photos are from Arthur’s phone. I thought they were great so I made a new blog picture post for them! I love the pics of when we were getting drenched at the base of the water fall. 

We woke up early at camp the next morning! There is something about waking up in fresh air, outside! You can’t beat it! The camp host had suggested that we should plan to get to Yosemite by 9am or 10am because the park is so popular and traffic gets crazy. So we planned accordingly! We gave Arthur his Father’s Day gifts (they were all from Disneyland)! And then we began our drive into Yosemite! We did it old school style since we didn’t have cell service! We just followed the road signs lol! The drive to the park was breathtaking! It almost didn’t seem real! I kept telling Arthur that is felt like we were in a fairytale. Everything was so beautiful. Probably one of the MOST beautiful places I’ve ever seen, there were huge trees, mountains, waterfalls, everywhere! If the drive was this pretty, I couldn’t imagine Yosemite park being any prettier! It was! We were really interested in seeing waterfalls! We first stopped at a waterfall and took tons of pics! It didn’t have a name that I saw! Then we stopped at Bridalveil Falls and right in front of us was the ginormous El Capitan! It was HUGE! What’s crazy, is that we had JUST days before read about a guy that successfully climbed it with no ropes. Seeing it in person brought a whole new sense of awe to that. It was BIG, really BIG! 

Here is the article: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/fooeatures/athletes/alex-honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/ 

It was an easy hike for us and the boys to Bridalveil falls. It was a beautiful site! The older 2 boys climbed around the rocks and got closer. Kian stayed in his pack on Arthur’s back. We then took another trail to get closer to the falls and higher up! We hiked to the base and all got misted and splashed by the water! It was a hot day so that was great! On our way back down from the base, we saw 2 people almost fall into the rushing stream coming from the falls! It was scary!  We had read warning signs about not getting too close because people can fall in and die or break a bone or their skull! ☠️ Then we went back down and found a log along the edge of the falls. Arthur carved into it: The Green Family. Cade carved his name into a log as well.  Then we spent time putting our feet into the streams of the falls! The water was super cold!!!!!! Kian hated it, you can see the look on his face in the picture.  Then we went back down and found the restroom aka permanent ports potties with no soap or anything, yuck! I definitely recommend going pee before you hike, so you don’t have to use those lol! Imagine 2000 people using those potties every day, with temperatures in the 90s, that smell was horrifying! 😷 Then we made our way back to our van, creating some really cool photo spots along the way.  Then we drove around a bit more and saw Half Dome mountain. It’s amazing how huge these mountains are in person. Then we went to the Yosemite Valley Village and parked and I made sandwiches for the family and we grubbed before heading to the next spot! Next we checked out the LARGEST waterfall in the US!, Yosemite falls!!! It was beautiful and so tall, 2425 feet to be exact. A lady we met said that the fall waters were better than they have been in like 5 years! It was due to all the snow they had! How blessed to be there and see those rushing falls! On our way out of Yosemite valley, we saw a momma dear and baby dear, super close to people. It was such a lovely place, it would take probably a week or two to see and do everything there and take your time doing it. We went back to camp to cook a camp out feast! Steak and potato 🥔 packets with onions and peppers, with strawberries on the side for my handsome dude and our boys! Then we roasted s’mores, because it’s a must while camping!!! S’mores are one of mine and Cade’s favorite desserts!!! Then it was sweet dreams under the clear sky and stars ✨ 😴……​

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​​​https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

We were thankful for a nice clean hotel in Bakersfield. We all slept good there! We woke up, packed up, and headed to our next big destination: Yosemite!!!! This would also be the start of lots of camping! When I booked Yosemite, there were no campgrounds available in the actual park. Apparently Yosemite is the most popular National Park, in the United States, to camp at. So I found an Airbnb campground about 1 hour from Yosemite that we booked. It was called Westlake and it was in Greeley Hill (a teeny tiny town, with a grocery store that closes at 6:55pm…for real). We got there when it was still light out. We set up our little campsite for the next 3 nights. It was super hot there, in the 90s-100 degrees. The campgrounds were unique. They had interesting signs set up everywhere with historical information. I could tell they liked to collect old lumber and farm equipment because they had decorated with it. Everything was older, but they kept the bathrooms clean which was really nice!  You could pretty much pick anywhere in their park to set up at, which was interesting!  We set up where they had the strongest wifi signal so that Arthur could try to get some work done. But even the strongest signal wasn’t very strong, it wouldn’t even allow my blog site to load. Also we had no cell service there which was no bueno! The night was so quiet and the stars were so bright and clear. It was peaceful.  The stillness of the outdoors and the clear sky made not having all the modern conveniences worth it! 

On Day 15, we left our beloved Oceanside for a new adventure! We stopped at In N Out Burger on the way out of town. Then we hit the road. We left in plenty of time to make our 2pm appointment for a Pepperdine campus tour, But the traffic in Central California was insane! AGAIN LOL Always add 1-2 hours on any appointment you are trying to make near Central Cali, traffic is Crazy! We drove through Malibu tonget to Pepperdine. Malibu is absolutely stunning! Lots of Cliffs overlooking the ocean 🌊! Its fabulous! And then we made the way up the hill to Pepperdine. I had always heard the campus was beautiful and the view was awesome. But its hard to even describe the beauty, you just have to see it in person.  The tour started off in a cute chapel with stained glass.  We toured the campus and all the views were breathe taking. Cade thought the campus was beautiful, very hilly, smaller than what he thought it would be, and eye opening to the different kinds of campuses there are and to opportunities colleges offer. We then went to this adorable little shopping area that a local friend, Christiana, referred me to. It was called Cross Creek. There were tons of cute restaurants and shops. It was the kind of place you look for celebrities! I saw someone that looked like Kathy Griffin. I dont know if it was her because she had sunglasses on, but it could have defintely been her doppleganger! 😎 We ate outside at Tra Di Noi, because the weather is always perfect on the coast. We got a spinach ravioli and a pizza. It was all delish! Then the kiddos played at the cute little playground there. They loved having play time with other kiddos! It was a great Malibu day!!! Next we started heading to our airbnb reservation. The 2 airbnb experiences we had had so far were pretty good, so I was really looking forward to staying in a remodeled RV for the night with the boys. I like to book fun places if I can, because everyday is an adventure!  We made a Target run first, because every Target in Cali pretty much is a Super Target!  I ❤️ Super Targets and we live out of our ice chest and food box, so we always need supplies lol! Then we headed to our reservation. The host which will remain nameless in the blog, had parked the RV in an area that was supposed to be closer to Malibu, then it normally is. It was still probably a 45 min drive to the RV from Pepperdine.  The RV was parked in an upper middle class neighborhood they said. It was not upper middle class at all. There was a white old van parked in front of it that looked like someone had been living out of. And it smelled like they had been peeing in the grass next to that van. So the odor was all around the outside of the RV. The host’s son is the one that showed us around the RV. The RV smelled like it had been smoked in for years, it was remodeled so it wasn’t as bad as it couldve been, but still hurt my throat just being inside.  The weather in the LA area had been incredibly hot that day. And so the inside of the RV was about 90 degrees probably and super stuffy. They suggested just leaving the windows open. We did, and it did not cool down! We contacted the owner to see about out turning on the air. She told us how to turn on the generator. We did. And immediately the rv started filling up with nasty fumes. Like the kind of funes you smell when you are racing old go carts! I quickly shut all the windows. The air cooled down to maybe 85 degrees, and it still smelled like fumes! I was stressing! I didn’t want us dying of carbon monoxoide poisoning.  So Arthur and I talked and decided we would just leave and drive and get a hotel in Bakersfield for the night.  I gathered our things and we loaded up in the van. I called the host and told her the issues. She apologized and said no one else had complained about that. My guess was that no one else had turned on the generator for air because its usually nice weather there! The rv had been remodeled, so it was kind of cute, but other then that EVERYTHING else wasn’t working! She was sweet and apologetic. She recommended calling Airbnb to get a refund! That was a hassle! Airbnb told me they had to speak with her about it. And apparently I didn’t give my host time to fix the issue. Sorry Airbnb I wasnt going to risk our lives! I also forgot to mention there was a sketchy dude walking around outside our RV in the so called “upper middle class” notsomuch neighborhood the entire time we were in the RV! ANYWAYS!!! Lol! Moral of my story: Be careful when booking Airbnb! And never, never book an RV in the Central California area! 

We have officially been on the road 2 weeks! We have learned so much about each other and I feel like the Lord has been teaching us along the way. 1. Patience, lots of patience…. things will not always go like we plan. We have a 1 year old that needs naps and lots of other things that makes traveling unpredictable!  2. That He is in control and He provides always!! I’ve always known that but I feel Him watching over us BIG TIME on every inch of this trip…whether it’s close parking spots, awesome deals on lodging or equipment, putting super cool people to meet on our path, keeping us safe, landing new accounts for our business, all kinds of things! He is providing and protecting us, His kids! 3. To just go with the flow, life is an adventure! He is in control! Just trust him and He will take care of you!

On day 14 we prepped for our next leg of the trip. We had been in Oceanside for a week and were about to head to malibu the next day!  But first, we wanted to go to some tide pools to look around for sea creatures! My dad drove us all to Tides Beach Park to go explore. We found tons of crabs 🦀 and other interesting sea things! And some amazing rocks to boot! It was a great place to explore and find sea things!  Arthur Thomas is obsessed with water and just wanted to be in it as much as possible. Kian found a small tide pool and just started digging tons of good sized rocks out of it! He probably found 15 rocks in it! Lol! We collected our finds, then we went back to the condo to work on laundry and get ready for Sunset Market! When we checked into Wyndham Oceanside we had been told about the sunset market. It’s a market that sets up EVERY Thursday night! I didn’t know what exactly to expect. But we invited Chris and Carole, our cousins from San Diego to come and go to it with us! They came and met us, we walked to the market. Y’all it was so cool! It is worth going to visit if you are ever in So Cal on a Thursday! Tons, tons of food vendors set up selling food from all over the world, live music, tons of shopping booths, crafts, jewelry, a bounce house, you name it! It was so much fun! We had Filipino food and Hawaiian food! It was so good!!! We got Hawaiian pork and chicken, Hawaiian macaroni salad, lumpia, chicken adobo, and pancet. And they sold Coke Life (sweetened with cane sugar and stevia) in a can! I was stoked about that! You can’t get it in a can in Fort Smith! Then Arthur Thomas went to the bounce house and had a blast. Next we went shopping at some of the cute vendors! When we shopped we found a ring for me, sunglasses for the guys, and a phone cord charger! Then we headed down to the Oceanside pier to watch our last sunset there, it was a beautiful one! We will be sad to say goodbye to this lovely town! 

My parents met us in Oceanside for the week, so we were able to get a DATE NIGHT during our road trip! All of you with kiddos know how important it is to date your spouse!!! Those adult conversations and uninterrupted time spent together, is crucial to keep a marriage thriving.  I learned that from my mom and dad. They set a great example of that when I was growing up. Arthur and I try to go on a date at least once a month. But before our date night, I took the kiddos to swim at the pool and hot tub at Wyndham Oceanside. It’s such a nice swimming area! Arthur Thomas has learned how to swim on this trip and is holding his breathe under water! I’m so proud of him! I remember when Cade was about the same age and we taught him how to swim at our apartment in Fayetteville, now he is a great swimmer! Now Cade helps Arthur Thomas with his new swimming skill. It’s sweet! Then we went back to the condo and got ready for my date with Arthur. The boys were going to go on a date with Didad (grandpa) and Dede (grandma).  We went and saw Wonder Woman. It was such a great movie! I want to be an Amazon!!! Lol! Then we went to The Original Johnny Mananas And grabbed a margarita and chips and dip. We talked about our new business we a launching and our hopes for That! Then we went to Tin Fish, which was a little place to eat on the beach! I got a Mahi Mahi fish taco and Arthur got fish and chips! It was really good! Then we walked to a coffee shop stand on the beach. It was called bistro at Oceanside pier. If you could quote a specific memory verse from the Bible they would give you a discount! I didn’t have the verse memorized that they asked for, but I thought it was a cool concept. The coffee shop is used as a ministry by a local church. What a cool way to reach and teach people! #thegreatcommission Then we sat on the beach, had our coffee and chatted more before we headed home. My parents had taken the boys to Ruby’s, the cute diner on the pier, and they had seen us on our date and hollered at us. It was really cute! Then when we got home, we watched Moana with everyone. It was a wonderful date night with my love, Arthur! We’ve been together almost 12 years, that time has flown by!!!   #dateyourspouse ​

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On the 7th day God rested. I believe there is definitely an importance to that. He needed a day of rest and wants us to take a day of rest as well! So on day 12, we cooked delicious food at the condo and took some major naps. Disney wore everyone out! Then when we woke up, we all got beach ready and went to the beach and rented surreys! Cade got the more hip 3 wheeled one! I can’t remember what the name was, but you had to be 16 to drive one. We drove the surreys around the beach area and then we went to the beach, just to hang out and play in the sand! It was such a nice, restful day with some awesome family time!  I love my little family! 

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

~Psalm 62:1-2 🌊🙌🏻☀️🌺🏝

Disclaimer: I have been to disneyworld in Orlando probably about 12 times and we LOVE it!  We are Disney junkies!!!  But This was my first trip to Disneyland so I had to write all about it!!! 
I set my alarm for 4:30ish, it was the first time that I was going to Disneyland and I wanted to be there when they opened! I packed everything we needed for the day: sunscreen, snacks, lunch, water, Disney autograph book, a change of clothes for the boys, diapers, wipes, sunglasses, you name it. We headed out. In Central and Southern Cali you have to add about an hour or more onto every trip because there is always traffic and more than likely rerouting. We got to Disneyland around 8:30. My first goal was to redeem points from our Disney cc into Disney dollars to spend at the park. We did that, and bought a one day park hopper, my dad rented a stroller for Kian and then we went immediately to the California Adventure line to get in. I knew if we wanted to ride the new Gaurdians of Galaxy ride, we had to get fast passes to that first, because it had just opened about 2 weeks before! The line to get fast passes was probably about 20 minutes, I guess everyone else had the same idea! Lol! Then we went to a little kiddy ride called Monsters Inc, which was right around the corner. It was anything spectacular but it was cute. The kids liked it, Kian could ride it too which was great!  Then we went to a super hero station which was right outside that ride. We all had to answer a series of questions to figure out which super hero we were. Arthur was spiderman, I was the avengers, Cade was Captain America, Arthur Thomas was Thor and Kian was honorarily hulk! Then we went to turtle talk with Crush, which is always so cute, it was similar to the one at Disney world. My kids love it because crush actually will have conversations with you, it’s an interactive show! Then we went and got fast passes for the worlds of color (or something like that, which was a show we ended up not going to). Then we went to Carsland. Carsland is amazing! Cade, our 16 year old, has wanted to go there for years and he was in Cars heaven! We rode a cute little ride called maters junkyard jamboree. And mom and dad went to get us fast passes for radiator springs racers that has a long wait. Then we went to luigis rollickin roadsters ride. It’s so so cute! The cars dance the mambo with you in them. Then we rode the little mermaid (it’s also a kiddy ride that all ages can ride on) it’s pretty much just like the one at Walt Disney world, it’s very cute! Then we went to ride Gaurdians of the Galaxy because it was time to use our fast passes. Arthur and Kian went to go get fast passes for Soarin’ while the rest of us went to Guardians. It’s super cool the way they remodeled tower of terror to look like Gaurdians of the galaxy. I was expecting the ride to be similar to tower of terror, the way that the ride is laid out. But it wasn’t, at all…. I probably would have thought twice about taking my 4 year old on it, if I would have known the way it would go. You basically go into the elevator and it takes you up and drops you fast, over and over and over and over again. Lol! Maybe 10 -15 times! It was intense! It was fun and there is a story to it, but I was watching Arthur Thomas to make sure he was ok. He handled it like a champ. At one point he said he wanted off. But other than that, he was proud he rode it and was stoked to buy a Groot Tshirt in the gift shop when the ride was over! We went ahead and bought Kian a Rocket shirt, and Cade a Gaurdians shirt. They look so cute wearing them on the same day! ​Then cade, Arthur and I rode California Screamin’, it was my favorite ride of the day for sure! It’s a big roller coaster but it’s so so smooth! I would’ve ridden it again if we didn’t have any kiddos with us on the trip! Arthur even loved it, and he is usually not a huge roller coaster fan! Then we rode toystory midway mania with all the kids, it’s always a Green Family fav at Disney world. The ride itself is the same as Disney world. It’s basically like a 3D video game ride… so much fun! Then we headed over to Disney Junior Dance Party and Kian was in love with the music and characters! It is the perfect place to rest and let the kids watch an awesome interactive live show! Then we went to our fast pass at Soarin. Kian and I stayed in the gift shop because he was too little to ride! Everyone else loved it! It’s a hang glider simulator that simulates flying all over the world. Next we went to the Radiator Springs Racers and used the fastpass from earlier in the day! It was a fast blast!!! We loved it! Next we caught the Pixar parade and they shot us with water hubs lol! They kept shooting poor baby Kian in the face😳! He was just stoked to see his favorite toy life size, woody from toy story.  We were all exhausted, but had bought the park hopper so we were determined to park hop, even if it killed us lol! So we then around 6:45pm we finally made it to Disneyland! It was fabulous and a lot smaller than Disneyworld! First stop was dinner, we hadn’t stopped to eat the entire day! We had just had snacks throughout and we were all starving! I ran to get fast  asses to Matterhorn while everyone else waited in line for food. We had heard that Plaza Inn had delish fried chicken and it did not disappoint! We all enjoyed the rest and the calories! Then we went to the finding nemo submarine ride. It was incredibly cool. I remember the 20,000 leauges sub ride at disneyworld in the 80s and so I wasn’t expecting it to be awesome, but y’all it was! The kiddos were mesmerized and so was I, so much to look at under the sea while riding a submarine!! Then we went to it’s a small world, a Disney classic ride. On the way there we caught the end of the electric light parade, which is always gorgeous (they do one at Disney world too). Disneyland’s was better than Disneyworld’s version! They even put Disney dolls throughout the ride! We all loved it! It’s a beautiful ride! We walked out of the ride and they were shooting off the end of night fireworks! Disney knows how to do parades and fireworks better than anyone! Then we headed to the Matterhorn that we had fast passes to use from earlier. I was expecting something similar to expedition Everest from Disneyworld, but it was more like 1970s yeti meets space mountain but with really cool views of the park at night! I didn’t know this until I got on it, but the ride was first started in the 1960s! How cool is that?!?! I had no idea! Then my dad, Arthur and the 2 little ones were ready to call it quits, so they went to the car. My mom, Cade and I wanted to ride the Indiana jones ride. Disneyworld didn’t have that one and I love some 1980s Indiana jones, so I had to check it out! The ride didn’t disappoint it was a unique concept, a bumpy hero ride with lots of twists and turns, adventures and skulls! I liked it alot! The ride was first started in the 90s but was still really a cool ride, hence the hour wait time at 11 pm! Then we grabbed a Starbucks and some souvenirs and headed out! We definitely got our money’s worth! We closed the park down! I loved Disneyland and California Adventure Parks but next time I will spend 2-3 days doing the parks so that I don’t feel like I’m killing myself trying to do everything or that I’m missing out on seeing something awesome! I can’t wait to go back!!!! 

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Sunday sweet Sunday, we woke up and went to a small local church in Oceanside to worship our Heavenly Father! Then we came home and I made an Italian feast for the family. That day there was a music festival right on the beach. We could see the stage from our balcony! #freeconcert So from 3-10pm we heard some awesome bands! Colony House, HeyDaze, and Franz Ferdinand were a few of the bands that played!  Franz Ferdinand came out with “Take Me Out” about 12 years ago and I was obsessed with it!  So it was really cool to be apart of the fest! It was another chill day! We were planning our intense trip to Disneyland the next day, so we were resting up lol! That evening we went to the beach and hung out and the little boys played on the playground that was on Oceanside Beach. We could hear the bands playing awesomely! It was a great night!​​

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Oceanside is a great place. It’s truly a place to just be and just relax.  We woke up and walked to breakfast at Swami’s and y’all it was seriously the best food of our trip so far! Lobster Benedict and pineapple upside down pancakes were what Arty and I shared. And… they have a full coffee bar for all the coffee junkies (including me)! Lots of sweetener choices, lots of milk choices, and lots of coffee choices and you make your own concoction and get free refills! I made a hazelnut coffee with coconut milk and sugar in the raw and it was the bomb.com. Our condo has a big kitchen and dining room, so mom and I made a giant grocery list and hit up Super Target! I go to super target any chance I get! lol! I was excited to have a kitchen to cook in for a whole week! And we utilized it like crazy! That evening we walked up and down the Oceanside pier and saw lifeguards testing and lots of surfers. It’s such a cool place! There were tons of fishers on the pier and so Arthur Thomas got to see some fish in the buckets up close. Then for dinner we went to the pizza place downstairs. I think it’s called zigzag pizza. And it was Delish! They had a fun classic  rock n roll theme! We loved it! Then Arthur took Arthur Thomas to get his hair cut at a barber shop in Oceanside ! ❤️