Irvine Regional Park

So what did we do while the girls were in camp? We hit up Irvine Regional Park with Zach (which is actually in Orange) and let me tell you, it was one of the BEST parks we've ever been to.

Although any park with a train ride is a great park to us! 🚂

This 10 minute ride takes you past 2 lakes, beautiful old Sycamore trees, and through parts the historic park.

  

Obviously, Zach couldn't get enough.

Hi, Engineer Zach!

We came for the train ride but we were so happy to learn that right inside the park, there was a zoo!

You all know how much Zach loves animals.

Look at that face!! So kissable!! 😚

Brushing goats with daddy.

And to our surprise, this wasn't just a dinky zoo comprised of goats and birds.

This zoo had lions, tigers and bears, too!

"Brown Bear, brown bear, what do you see?"

Our little cub.

Best of all, the zoo was ONLY $2/pp. It's probably the cheapest thing in Orange County! Ha!

Next, we did a little exploring around the park on wheels.

Morgan and I rode scooters while Zach biked.

We spent a couple of hours there and only covered a fraction of the park. You could literally stay all day long and still not get enough. They had pony rides (closed on Mondays), boating, fishing, wildlife, picnicking, horse trails, biking, hiking, food, and free concerts. Not to mention the zoo and railroad! All 475 acres are nestled in the foothills of historic Oak and Sycamore trees. It was gorgeous! And I can't even tell you how WONDERFUL it was to be able to play outside in 80 degree weather!
This was our first time visiting Irvine Regional Park but hopefully not our last.
Desert friends, go check it out!

Such a great family park!

Basketball Camp

First Day of Basketball Camp with their cousin, Kylie!

With being State Champions and all, Coach Yoon (a.k.a. my brother or Uncle Rich)

had a big turn out of more than 70 kids this summer.

 

Warming up.

Umm, someone else thought he was at camp, too. 😄

Cousin power!

Wrapping up day 1.

Zach was happy to be playing on the court as well.

The next day, after camp, Rich took the kids to 7-Eleven because... 7/11 = FREE slurpees!

I didn't take any pictures of day 2 or 3 but on day 4 (which was the last day), Rich and his team gave out awards. Can you spot Zach in the crowd?

Oh. my. stars. These two make quite the pair. #cutestcousinsever 💕

These girls were awarded "Best Team Players." 🏆🏆

And that's a wrap for Basketball Camp!

This was the girls' first-ever experience with basketball and who better to do a summer camp with than Uncle Rich? The camp ran for 4 days from 8:30-2:30 and even though the girls were tired, they were having a blast! In fact, Grace sprained her ankle on the second day but she didn't want to miss the 3rd or 4th day so she had it taped up by the Athletic Director and powered through. By the middle of the 3rd day, she was out there running again. #attagirl

It was great to see my brother in his element and spend some time with my family in OC. We'd typically drop off the girls in the morning and then take Zach to do some exploring around the area before picking them back up again in the afternoon. I decided to make the camp one post and then I'll do 2 other posts about our entire week. Stay tuned...

A BIG thank you to Uncle Rich for inviting the girls to camp!

Another favorite summer memory is in the books!