Wednesday, August 11, 2010

California Adventures!

Danny, the girls, and I were lucky enough to have Danny's Mom come spend the last week of July with us.  It was so fun to have time with her, and just with her!  And it's about time, too, since Papa has already been here 4 times...

I didn't get any pictures of Grandma's solo time here (totally an oversight on my part!), but luckily I can still recount the fun.  The girls woke up bright and early every morning to start their fun with Grandma.  Which was great, cause Grandma let me sleep a little longer than usual!  They spent the mornings in the girl's room, singing songs and working on their sound cards.  The girls LOVED their school-time with Grandma, and continued to bug her all day to do their sounds with them.  It was nice for me to have the extra set of hands and eyes, and it was wonderful to be able to do the grocery shopping during the day with Grandma's help (not to mention a pit stop at Rubio's and Berry Star)!  I think my personal highlight was on Friday night, when Grandma happily watched the girls so Danny and I could go on a date.  A real date!  With dinner AND a movie!  We had a scrumptious dinner at...you guessed it...Rubio's and watched "Inception", which was seriously awesome.  Thanks, Grandma!

Time flew by, and before we knew it, Papa and Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie were here too!  This just added to the sense of wonder the girls had lived in for the week with Grandma.  I don't know that they've ever been happier!  With me being so big and pregnant, and Danny having to work, we spent a decent amount of time here at the house, just enjoying each other's company.


Everyone enjoyed plenty of time to "rest".  (I don't think Julie is getting much of that...)


And of course game time.  This is the riveting game of "Go Fish" that Julie and Katie were kind enough to teach the girls.  Now every time Claire gets her hands on some cards she says, "Do you have any three's?  No?  Go Fish!" :)


Even Jack got some time with family!  Grandma and Papa brought Ellie to live with Robbie and Kris, and so she got to spend a few days at our house.  Jack absolutely LOVED the company, and pretty much didn't leave Ellie alone for a second of her time here.  I don't know how Ellie felt about it, but she took the abuse like a champ!

The day came for Ellie to relocate to San Pedro, so Papa and Grandma took the girls on their first of many adventures (and let Mama stay home and rest!)  Claire and Sophie love to play at Uncle Robbie's and Aunt Kris' house...there's just so much grass! :)


After spending plenty of time playing at the playground, everyone decided to go explore nearby Long Beach. The pictures tell it all!


Ah, but the fun didn't end there.  The harbor attractions may be fun and delightful, but nothing beats the beach!  If one were to look close, you can see at least a couple of times that Julie and Katie had to save Sophie from certain death by drowning!  You can also see how it took Claire a bit to warm up to the water.  Oh, my girls couldn't be more opposite!


Wow!  I'm just retelling the fraction of the story I remember, and I'm already tired!  Good thing Mama stayed home for this one.  :)  After their adventure on the beach, everyone went back to Robbie and Kris' and had dinner.  I'm pretty sure Grandma had to bathe the girls to get all that sand out of their bottoms!

Claire and Sophie with Aunt Kris

What a day!  But did the adventures stop there?  Of course not!  A couple of days later, Papa and Grandma took Claire and Sophie with them to visit Grandma's Aunt Belva.  It was quite the undertaking, considering Aunt Belva is 94 years old.  She's a spitfire, though!  And she's had a lifetime to collect little expensive breakables, so watching Sophie was a four person job at this visit!  But they all had a wonderful time!


After the excursion to Aunt Belva's, Papa and Grandma and all the girls stopped to pick me up so we could meet Danny on base.  Grandma, Julie, and Katie had yet to get their personal base tour.  Danny obliged, of course!  We finished off with lunch at Anthony's Pizza--a Call tradition (whenever they're on an Air Force Base, that is!)



It was hard to see our family go home, especially for the girls!  Danny and I were heartbroken as little Sophie kept getting louder as they drove away..."Goodbye, Papa!  Goodbye, Papa!"  We can't wait to see everyone again in September when we travel to Utah to bless Johnny!

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