California '09

We just got back from California and I need a vacation! What a busy trip.

First of all, to all my friends who I didn't get to see while I was out there, I'm sorry I missed seeing you. I know you all know how crazy busy it is when we are out there and I hope to get to see you next time! :)

Our trip started at In N Out (duh, where else should a CA trip start?). We stayed and visited Grandma and Grampa and their kitty....who gets the most exercise when Anisa is around. :) It was nice to be able to enjoy that "dry heat". Even tho is was pretty cool in California standards, it was in the 80s, but it wasn't humid, so it was a nice change for us coming from VA.

A few days later, we headed to my dad's house. But first, we headed to the mall to meet with my friend from high school who I hadn't seen in about 20ish years. We had lunch and our nails done. I got my first pedicure (my toes are the little squishy toes on the bottom). It was fun catching up and meeting some of her family. The funny thing is, they live only about 3 hours away from us here. I hope to get to see her and her family while we live here.




Travis combined work with pleasure. He had to make a trip to LA/Long Beach, Santa Barbara and San Diego. The day he went to Santa Barbara, we decided to take the trip with him. We made the 3 hour drive up, had a quick brunch with Anisa's kindergarten teacher and her beautiful daughter, walked on the pier and went quickly through the aquarium, then made the 3 hour drive back. It was worth it, tho. Seeing Jennifer and Joslyn was fun and we got all caught up on life. Anisa was in Jennifer's first Kindergarten class. And, yes, that's Karalee at the aquarium with us. She flew down to CA for one last hurrah before school starts and for the two big girls, LIFE in college. oy.

Even tho our California trips are for visiting family, we try to make a trip to Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. This year, we went to Knott's. We actually like it better because it's cheaper and not as crowded. My sis, Wendy and her daughter Kels went with us. Karalee is terribly afraid of heights but went on Supreme Scream and actually liked it. She shook like a leaf for a while afterward, but had a good time anyway. :)




The girls and I also wanted to go to Newport Beach/Balboa Island while we were in CA and get frozen bananas and the teenagers wanted to lay on the beach. It turned out, they actually went in the water. My mom and baby neice, Chloe, went with us and it was really fun. Great weather. The thing that sent us packing, tho, was a big wave that took everyone by surprise. The girls were out playing, mom and I were sitting on the beach and all of a sudden the wave hit and the water came up almost to our blanket where we had all our cameras, purses, phones and baby! The scary part was that the wave hit the girls who weren't watching the water and it took them under, flipped them around in the sand then started dragging them back out. That was it, they were done, so we packed up and made the trip back to mom's house.

One of the biggest reasons we were in California this year was to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. The only thing she wanted for her birthday is to have ALL her kids around her. Well, she got her wish. Even Travis came out! :) We took family pictures before Travis came out since my brother had a trip planned, but I cut and pasted Travis into the picture later for a frame for mom. tee hee This is my mom with her 4 kids, kids-in-law (minus my honey) and her 7 grandkids.



Here are some highlights from mom's birthday party....
Mom and her cake. (thanks Wen, for picking it out. The cake was cute AND yummy) and mom on the trampoline. She's been alive for 60 years, but she's only 29 in her head! :)

The Food (Thanks Bee for making the DELICIOUS carnitas and everything else..even margaritas..you're the margarita queen!)











The Partay (thanks Jean for the decorations. You did a fabulous job!)












We had to drive Travis into LAX on Monday morning, so we dropped him off and headed into Hollywood, LA, and Beverly Hills. The girls wanted to go to the Ed Hardy store, and we found one (there are 5, I think, in the LA area). Turned out that the designer, Christian Audigier was there. So, we got to shop AND see someone famous. :) The girls got shirts, and we headed out. We drove around town, saw lots of glittery, sparkly, fancy things...cars, building, people. It was fun, then we headed back to visit the grandparents a little, then off the my dad's to spend the night since we were leaving the next morning. We got up, ready and headed to the airport for another 8 hour travel day....It's good to be home now.

The girls are in Wisconsin for 2 weeks, so Travis and I are on a "honeymoon" at home right now. I'm hoping to get him to go somewhere fun, we'll see. I'll keep you all posted! :)