CALIFORNIA!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, my kids went off track so I loaded up the car and drove to CA to visit Grandma and enjoy the warm, sunny weather (unfortunately spring hasn't quite kicked in yet in Utah). We had a FABULOUS time. Here's how it went:

Drive There - the kids (all 5 of them... Parker brought a friend) were soooo good in the car. Thank heavens for RedBox and McDonald's.

Day One - swam in Grandma's pool ALL DAY. We're talking from 8am til about 6pm. I could not keep the sunscreen on these kids fast enough. Luckily, only Parker and his friend Bryson got just a little sunburned on their backs. It was about 90 degrees that day and I was lovin' it! My two sisters (Kandis and Kelly) were there too with their cute kids (Wayne and Daisy, the twins - Zane and Cody - and Juniper). Talk about kid-mania! Then we ALL went to dinner, along with Paige and Chloe, at a local favorite called Knowlwood's. Papa Dick loaded the kids' pockets full of quarters to play game after game after game. AND he picked up the tab for dinner for all 17 people. He spoils us all. Thanks, Papa Dick!!!


Day Two - swam some more, went to lunch at Carls Jr. with Kandis and her kids and also with my brother Erick's girlfriend (Erick is on a mission right now in Mexico). Her name is Amy and she is a cutie. A cutie who wants to do hair... wouldn't that be convenient? We'll see what happens with that. Erick still has over a year left. By the way, Carls Jr. has a wicked good teriyaki chicken sandwich that you should try (it's actually a hamburger but I sub the beef for chicken). Way yummy! Then we went home to swim some more.


Day Three - American Girl Store, L.A. Yup, Summer, Aubrey, Grandma and I headed to LA's super fancy Grove Shopping District for a few hours of girl time. We had lunch at the American Girl Cafe - the cutest meal you will ever have! They even have little chairs for the dolls to eat with you. So fun! Summer and Aubrey each got to pick out one outfit for their dolls. They picked outfits that totally fit their personalities - Summer a skater girl outfit and Aubrey a ballerina outfit. They were in heaven and it was fun to watch them enjoy the extra attention. Then it was home for, you guessed it, more swimming!



Day Four - Newport Beach! We couldn't drive all that way and not hit the beach at least once. So we spent the afternoon on the beach by the Balboa Pier. It was so beautiful that day - perfect weather. We even saw dolphins right off the shore. So much fun! Later that night, Papa Dick offered to watch all the kids while Kandis, Grandma and I went to dinner and a movie (I told you he spoils us). We couldn't refuse the offer so we went to Chevy's and then saw the movie 21. It made me want to go to Vegas and win lots of money! And I was told that Papa Dick only had to wipe two bums - Macy's and Daisy's. It was either him or Parker and I'm pretty sure that Parker would've hurled had he done it (he has a strong gag-reflex that Steve and I like to test every now and again just for laughs - ya, we're pretty immature parents). I'm sure that was more than Papa Dick bargained for - but he was a great sport. Thanks again, Papa Dick. It was a fun day.


Day Five - I couldn't leave CA without getting a cheap pedicure (they are only $15 there!). Then my sweet husband flew in to help me make the drive back (that definitely earned him serious brownie points), so after picking him up from the airport we hit IN-N-OUT BURGER! This is my all-time favorite fast food restaurant... they need one here in Utah! Then it was home for more swimming. This time Steve and I joined them in the pool. We ordered up some Costco pizza's for dinner and rented some movies for the night. Alvin and the Chipmunks was a huge hit! Oh ya, and cousin Chloe had a sleepover. Chloe and Summer are only 6 days apart and they love to hang out!

Drive Home - the drive home was full of RedBox movies and fairly uneventful except for the fact that Aubrey starting barfing about an hour before we got home and didn't stop until the middle of the night. She was fine the next morning, so we're chalking it up to car-sickness. My motto: coulda been worse!

All in all it was a great trip and I'm so glad we went. Thanks, Mom and Papa Dick, for your hospitality and for letting us trash your house and pool for the week. We tried to clean up, but let's just say that we hope your cleaning lady is coming soon :) And thanks, Kandis, for putting off all of your moving to-do's and bringing the kids over to hang out. My kids loved it.

Well, now it's back to real life. You know, laundry, dishes, trying to entertain kids who are off-track another week, cleaning up dog messes, going to the gym to work off the spare tire I gained (seriously...why does it always go straight to the stomach? Couldn't it go to some other "useful" places?), etc. But I am sure thankful for vacations that let us forget our own realities... if only for a week :) Now, when can I go again???