Trip to So Cal--Day 9 Water, Water and more Water!

This time it was swimming first, then sprinklers second. Vicky and Lenore came over most evenings so the girls could play and we could chat. It was so hot during the days that it was nice to be outside in the evenings with a cool breeze blowing.


This is the aftermath of all the water antics.


It's all fun and games til someone looses some knee skin.

Trip to So Cal--Day 8 Swim, Swim, Swim & the Lemon Project

Our favorite pass time on this trip was swimming. Melia swam almost everywhere we went! Here, we're visiting my good friends from High School, Darlene & Jose. Melia had a lot of fun with their 2 boys, Nick and Andy.



Here's Nick taking Melia out for a spin in his nifty jeep. It was so cute. It looked like they were on a date. It was funny because afterwards, we went out to lunch and, instead of holding my hand while we walked through the parking lot, Melia ran over to Nick and held his hand. When we went in the restaurant, she stood by him and rubbed his back. Not so fast Melia! We've got a good 10 to 15 years before I want to deal with boys!

In the evening, Vicky and Lenore came over to--surprise, surprise--swim! After swimming, the girls decided to take on the lemon project. Lenore and Melia started to pick lemons off the tree and bring them over to us. After a while, there were 2 huge piles.


They took each one over to the pool to wash them off. Then they put them in bags so Vicky could take them home. Good little workers! Good reason to have kids. :)

Trip to So Cal--Day 9 Visiting GG

On Thursday, we went to visit GG (also known as my Grandma Emily). It's always fun to see her and catch up with her. :) This is my Aunt Becky and Uncle Randy's new dog, Sierra. She has got to be the most calm submissive dog I've ever met!


She kept Melia entertained for almost the whole visit!

Trip to So Cal--Day 6 & 7 Lots of Good Eating and Good Friends

Tuesday we had lunch with 2 of our good friends, James and Alisha, at my favorite restaurant, Red Robin. The closest Red Robin to us now is an hour and a half away, so it was a treat for me! It was fun catching up with them--we miss them! They need to take a road trip up here to see us soon!


So that night, Vicky and I went out and ended up in Uptown Whittier at Rocky Cola Cafe. Man, that place brought back some memories! I haven't been there in years! Anyway, I couldn't decide between the apple pie and the oreo shake, so I got them both. Vicky bet me a dollar that I couldn't finish them both. Silly, Vicky. Always underestimating me. :)


Here is angelic Vicky with her huge salad. I bet her a dollar that she couldn't finish it.


Yes, I finished it all. Not something I should be particularly proud of, but it is a good source of income on the side. Actually that dollar is from our waiter. Just as I finished, he came by and Vicky says, "She just finished all of both desserts! You should give her a dollar." He then tossed a dollar on the table for me. :)


Needless to say, Vicky did not finish her whole salad and turned to french fries to console herself. She owes me $2. :)

Trip to So Cal--Day 5 Sunday Dinner at the Waldvogel's

On Sunday, we went to church at my mom's ward. It was fun to see lots of old friends there. That night, we went to have dinner at the Waldvogel's new house. At least it was new to us--they've been there for a while now. They raised 3 kids in a little 2 bedroom apartment with no yard for as long as we had known them and they finally got into a nice big house with a nice big backyard when their 4th little one arrived. I've always said that no one deserves it more than them! They paid their dues!


Our friend Matt came over with his brother for dinner too. It was so good to see everybody again and catch up!


The kids picked up right where they left off and had a great time playing together. They're actually old enough now that they all sat down and played a board game by themselves!


Here's the whole gang! On our way out, Jim Weissinger and Danny Hunsaker were on their way in for a meeting with Jeff, so that was an added bonus for me. I loved seeing all of them again--it was like we never moved away. :)

Trip to So Cal--Days 3 & 4 "The Wife"

Friday we were pretty tired, so we just laid low and hung out with my mom at the house mostly. We did make a trip out to target to buy an air mattress for me to sleep on because the fold out couch in the living room is super hard and doesn't fold out all the way, so you have to sleep diagonally on it. I tried it for the first night and pretty much got no sleep because of the bed combined with the fact that it's in the living room which is on the side that the street is on. I forgot how loud it is at night--sirens, motorcycles, trucks, alarms, trains...you name it and you can hear it from that room. Oh, did I mention that the weather was super hot and humid and my mom's house is pretty much like a sauna except for in the one room that has a little air conditioner? And no, that one room is not the living room. Anyway, I ended up sleeping on the air mattress in the den, which is not on the side that the street is on, with my mom. It worked much better that way. I've never been so grateful to have an air mattress before!

The next day was my cousin, Mitch's, wedding. It was in Long Beach outside next to the Queen Mary overlooking the bay. Very pretty, but very hot and very little shade. I stood in the back under a little potted tree/plant for most of the ceremony because I didn't want Naiya to get sunburned. The reception was really nice and it was fun to see everybody in my family.


Melia was a little dancing machine, like usual. Here's Melia dancing with GG (her Great Grandma). What you don't see is GG almost going down as Melia spun her around and around!


My cute girlies with Grandma Sue!


Here's Aunt Kitty looking jolly and Naiya looking not so jolly. It was a long day for Naiya with no real naps, but she was a little trooper. :)

Melia had been looking forward to 2 things about this wedding--"the wife", as Melia likes to call her, wearing the pretty white dress and the cake. Although we didn't really know Dianne, Melia pretty much attached herself to her side in complete awe through most of the reception. Here she is holding the wife's hand in their cake cutting pictures.


Here she is dancing with the wife during the mother son dance. I had to hold her back so that Mitch and Dianne could have their first dance without Melia in between them. Melia also refused to leave the wife's side during the bouquet toss. I had to physically take her to stand with the other single ladies. At one point, after most of the festivities had already taken place, Melia went and sat down with the wife and said, "So what should we do now?" I think Melia fully embraced this as her and the wife's reception. Mitch was a mere bystander.



Groovin with Uncle Ron.


Aww, so cute. Too bad my arm felt like it was about to fall off from holding this chunky monkey for so long!


Here's Melia living it up on the craps table! The dealer had come over to me and asked if Melia could help pick some cards to give prizes to each table. I said sure and the next thing I knew, she was up on there on the table gambling and drinking and having a good old time! :)

Funny side note: That night, as I was putting Melia to bed, I went to give her kisses and she said, "No Mommy. Like this." She then proceeds to hold my face with her hands, tilt her head to the side and stick her tongue out as she leans in to kiss me! Aaahhhh! Well, needless to say, I had to explain to her the difference between "wedding" kisses and our kisses.

Trip to So Cal--Day 2 Where Else Would We Possibly Go?

So just about everyone knows that my favorite place in the world to be is at the beach. Since we live like 4 hours from the beach now, the first destination on our trip was obvious.


We went with my friends, Vicky & Vero, and Melia's friend, Lenore (Vicky's daughter) while Grandma Sue watched Naiya. Thanks mom. And a big shout out to Vicky for not only going, but driving us all considering she hates the beach! :)


We had a fun time and Melia and Lenore LOVED playing in the water! So did I. :)

That night, Vicky, Vero & I had a girls' night out in a part of LA called Little Tokyo. There's one little Japanese restaurant that we like to go to and chat about what's in the mindless magazines they have there to read and talk about life while we eat delicious food.

I am addicted to gyoza, so I get that every time. Vero is always undecided on what she wants to get, but definitely always plays it safe. Vicky usually gets something that either smells or looks funny and always tries unsuccessfully to get us to try it.
I was kind of bummed because Vero was leaving on a trip to Utah the next day so we only had one day together--but it was a good day. :) I have to say that, although none of the three of us are very sappy toward each other in person, we have an unspoken appreciation for each other and I don't think there is doubt in any of our minds that we are there for each other through the good and the bad. I'm deeply grateful to have friends like them in my life. Ok, no more sappy stuff. :)