Monday, April 27, 2015

California Dreaming: Part 2

Break in the action!  This is the second part to our big March California trip.
 The remainder of our trip was spent at Grandma's House.

 
Grandma opening a present. 

 
 Cousins and best friends.  Sadly, we didn't get to see all of them this time around.  :(  One day we will have that big cousin reunion...  :)





 Grandma's pool is glorious!  I grew up swimming there with my siblings and cousins, and it was so special to do it again together.

 Crazy things happen!  We ended up with this cool car thanks to a mistake from the rental company.

 We took a couple days to head over to Anaheim Ballet where we all danced while growing up.  Mommy got to visit with her special friend Carolyn, and we all met a new friend, Madison.
Dynamite comes in small packages.

 A beautiful sunset over the school.

Auntie Kaggy (my mom's best friend) and Uncle Ted came over for a very special visit.

They went on a double take, complete with taking the Mustang for a spin!

 Girl picture!
 Uncle Ted playing trains with the boys.

 Bible Bee friends, the C. boys came over for a fun visit.  We had a blast swimming and playing basketball!

My dad taught me how to do the Swan Dive.

 No, it did not end up as a belly-flop.  ;)

Success!

A highlight was taking an evening trip to Downtown Disney with cousin Hope.
 Catching the tail end of the fireworks.

 Judah in front of the Rainforest Cafe.

 Finding Nemo.  Or something.

 Hope explaining some interesting facts about fish.  Or something.

 You'd think we were movie stars! 

 Ben coming face to face with a snake!

 Conquering the Disney Vault with as much brawn as we could muster.

 Beauty (who looked kind of like a beast) and the Beast.

The Disney Hotel.

 Those smiles though.  :) 

 Hope and I are just so cute...  ;)

Jordan, Eden, and Mark hanging out on the couch together.

Shiloh and Uncle Rob.

Cousin craziness goes from one thing...

To the next!
 Best uncle ever!

 The families that photobomb together...

 Stay together! 

 Aunt Laurie, Grandma, and Mommy.

 Aw, I miss everyone so much!

That was long post, but there is no possible way to put such a glorious trip into one little post.  I am so thankful to the Lord for all His bountiful blessings!

Posted By:
~Bethany 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

California Dreaming: Part 1

We ended up taking a rather spur-of-the-moment trip to California.  It was one of those trips that we needed to take, but only had a certain amount of time to squeeze in.  So when we had the opportunity, we jumped on it!

 This is the whole crew waking up (except the driver because the driver does not sleep while driving) after the first night on the road.

 Shiloh driving the Big Rig.


Those of us who were restrained from driving by regulations had the job of keeping the driver awake, alert, and happy while on the road.  And sometimes that means taking selfies... because selfies keep people awake, alert, and happy (as long as they turn out right).


Right around the corner from hitting our destination!

This is how the late nights looked from my bunk...

And this is how the late nights looked in my bunk... (Um, yeah, actually, this is the subdued picture.  Believe me, there was a lot of giggling that went on up there, and we were often told that we were being too loud.)
And yes, Eden insisted I sleep on the outside just in case she fell off.  

After a church service, we visited our old house!  So many special memories of growing up in the best place ever.

Home.

It was such a special treat to visit with the C. family... next-door neighbors and great friends!

 We spent a wonderful few days with my grandparents on my dad's side.

 The look on Eden's face should tell you that we actually didn't end up making the Olympic Team for ping-pong.  Grandma impressed us all with her ping-pong skills!

I just love this shirt on Judah!

 Judah and I hanging out on the beanbag seat.  
This is the coveted seat at my grandparent's house!

It's complicated.  Really.

We couldn't resist a picture with such an amusing sign!

Our final evening was spent dancing together, sharing stories, looking through photo albums, and even some techy iPhone stuff.

And we did our traditional game of hiding Love Notes all over the house for Grandpa and Grandma to find over the next couple of days... or weeks... or maybe months.  It all depends on how tricky the hiding place is!

 Aw!  I just love this family picture!

 This is how we roll.

 And one of us can catch wind.  ;)

Okay, Part 2 is coming when it comes (which will be as soon as I can)!

Posted By:
~Bethany