Dennis the Menace Park

I know I've only lived in the bay area for two years now, but I've been able to do some pretty amazing things.  Mostly due to the fact that I have incredible friends that like to come visit.  I have literally become the official tour guide who can tell you exactly what and when to see pretty much everything in San Francisco and the neighboring areas...

And I absolutely LOVE it!

I'm constantly looking for new and exciting things to show future guests.

My sister in law, Heather, told me about a neat park down in Monterey, so we decided to make a day of it. Dallas and Erik had work off so we packed up all the kids and brought a picnic.

We ended up having a blast!

The Dennis the Menace park is located just south of El Estero Park in Monterey.

It has a huge suspension bridge, historical train, tons of slides and other playground equipment, a climbing wall, a groomed maze, and paddle boats.  Obviously it's probably not a place I would take my single friends who come to visit, but it is perfect for those with children.

My nephews and niece loved running around and I loved taking the pictures :)

They have some pretty amazing kids and since we are over there ALL the time, they are very comfortable with both Dallas and I.  I have a little confession though...I am absolutely in love with their youngest, Will.

Maybe it's because I've been around his entire 15months, or maybe he just loves the "puffy", but whatever the case, his smile lights up whenever he sees me and you can't help but love him because of it!

I can't even begin to express how much it means to me to see Dallas love my family.  From previous posts you can tell that Ellis loves her uncle Dallas, but what I love is seeing Dallas want to hang out with Erik and his family.

He is such a good uncle!

After playing a picnic lunch and playtime at the park, we decided to take everyone on the paddle boats.  Pretty brave of Erik and Heather with Will, but we all did it and there were no losses in the lake.

Dallas and I paddled with Rulon as our wiggly rider, while Erik and Heather kept a tight hold on Will and Ellis.  

It was the first time Dallas and I have ever been on a paddle boat together, since he swears he hates them so much.  I'm not sure if I believe him though, because he was laughing almost the entire time out on the lake.

But by far my favorite part of the day, the ride home with Will...