California, Day 6: Avila Beach

The girls woke up around 730am so I enjoyed coffee while Sofia drew in Becky's art book and Olivia played with her Tar Pit animals. Pancho was up next and needed to run to the bank (and got me a much-needed Starbucks) and decided to take Olivia who couldn't wait to go with her Uncle Pancho. She was so excited! After we were all up and had pancakes, we decided to go to Avila Beach. The original idea was to hike three miles on the Bob Jones Trail stopping for lunch at Woodstone Marketplace before making our way to Avila Beach. Becky offered to drive so we wouldn't have to them walk back three miles to the car, which with two wet and tired kids would be pretty close to impossible. We finally got organized and drove to the Avila Valley Barn, which is a cute farmers market-type barn with goats, horses, cows, donkeys, turkeys, and many other animals that can be fed and pet. All the vegetables and fruit for sale in the barn are grown in the fields on both sides of the barn and it also sells other local treats, including an almond brittle that was incredible! We bought food for the animals and walked around feeding the animals and petting those who would let us get near them. Uncle Pancho bought the girls ice cream while we explored inside the barn. I wanted to buy apples, but they aren't in season yet. Megan wasn't feeling well so we changed our plans and decided to drive to Woodstone Marketplace and have lunch and then drive to Avila and play at the beach.

Woodstone is a cute little store/market with a deli where we ordered sandwiches and salad. It was delicious! Becky showed the girls the Bob Jones Trail and took them to a little kid playground nearby after we finished our meal. Megan felt really terrible, so Becky drove her home in our rental car while the girls and I went with Uncle Pancho to Avila Beach. It was a little overcast and breezy but the beach was full. We changed the girls into their swimsuits and I realized I'd left Olivia's bottoms at Becky's, so she had to wear her swimsuit top and shorts, which took a little convincing but finally she put them on and we headed for the beach! Of course, Sofia ran straight for the ocean and jumped right in, even though the water was freezing! She said it was cold when she first got in, but she was soon completely swimming in the ocean. Crazy girl! Olivia, meanwhile, was not necessarily afraid of the ocean but also wasn't overjoyed to go into the water. She did go into the water with me and clung to my leg so she wouldn't have to go in any further. Soon after we arrived, Sofia came across a little boy with a sand pale and he showed her all the sand crabs he'd caught! Sofia was amazed and immediately set to work finding her own. Luckily, Pancho and I had gotten coffees before we left Woodstone and we cleaned out our cups and gave them to Sofia so they could be makeshift sand pales/sand crab homes. Uncle Pancho and I showed her what to look for to find sand crabs and she went to work! She actually found several sand crabs that were bigger than I thought possible!

Pancho took Olivia over to the swing set and pushed her on the swings for at least an hour! She loved it and as much as I wanted to walk over and take a picture of them together, I didn't want to break the spell and have Olivia "need" me. So, I enjoyed sitting on our towels trying to stay warm and walking to the ocean to watch Sofia hunt for sand crabs and swim. It was fun but not necessarily a warm and sunny beach day and just as I was getting ready to get warm, Sofia ran up from playing in the water and said "Mommy, it's cold! Can we go?" Perfect timing! We loaded up and headed toward Aunt Becky's house where we had dinner and relaxed. Uncle Pancho read stories to the girls after I'd given them baths and they loved hanging out with him. Once again, Olivia was a bit of a pest going to bed so I brought her out to snuggle with me while Pancho, Becky and I stayed up and talked. Sofia was out while Pancho read stories to her, which she needed after such a fun day. We finally said good night and Olivia was asleep in no time.

Olivia and Uncle Pancho take off!

Sofia playing dress-up in Megan's clothes

Megan and Sofia feeding the goat

Petting the horse

The delicious vegetables grown in the field right next to the barns

Sofia posing by the flowers

The gang before lunch

For anyone who doesn't know my brother Pancho, this pretty much sums him up - he is one fun and funny guy! Love this picture!

Sofia LOVES the beach!!

Olivia is not so sure about the sand and water that keeps coming toward her

Future seaweed model!

Sand crabs!

An extra big one!

Bedtime stories by Uncle Pancho

California, Day 5: Aunt Becky and Family

On Monday we planned to head up to Becky's house in Santa Maria, and I was nervous for the drive and possible traffic. I really wanted to visit Mimi and my Dad's gravesite with the girls and Grandpa Joe cut a dozen of Mom's favorite roses from the yard. We packed our things into our trusty car, gave hugs and kisses to Grandpa Joe and headed down the road. It was a great visit and the girls loved spending time with him, playing with Max and Maggie, who finally warmed up to me and Sofia, feeding Hootie the turtle and visiting with so many people.

We headed out around 930am, arrived at Memory Gardens in Brea and parked near where my Mom and Dad are buried together. Sofia immediately went to setting up the vase on their headstone and we added the water we brought and the girls added the roses. The girls were pretty interested in why people are buried in different ways and I finally got them to stand still near my Dad and Mimi's grave so I could tell them stories of both. I told them about my Dad's personality and how much he encouraged me to follow what I love and I told the girls about Mom's creativity and how she loved to make things. I also reminded Sofia of stories of times she shared with Mimi which she remembers and I want her to keep as memories. I'm not sure if the girls got much out of it, but I did and it made me miss them even more.

We left Memory Gardens and drove into Los Angeles to go to the La Brea Tar Pits. I remember visiting the tar pits when I was around 12 or 13 and loved it! I figured it would break up the trip and the girls could get some wiggles out before we headed up to Becky's house. I haven't driven in Los Angeles in such a long time and the traffic was terrible, but we made it. First we visited the large tar pit with the replica woolly mammoth family getting stuck into the tar. It was pretty amazing to look at and looked like water mixed with mud, although there was a strong asphalt smell that we caught from time to time. We headed into the Page Museum and watched the film about the discovery of the tar pits and all the various skeletons they have found over the years including woolly mammoths, large ground sloths, dire wolfs, prehistoric camels, sabertooth cats, prehistoric horses, bison and many smaller mammals. Excavation started in 1912 and continues today. Apparently the tar (it's actually natural asphalt) preserves the animals perfectly. After the movie, we walked around the museum and the girls were able to see how difficult it is to escape the tar by pulling metal tubes that were immersed in tar. Sofia could actually do it a little while I couldn't at all! We read about all the different animals found and saw all the skeletons and the woolly mammoth was huge! One exhibit they had was a huge wall covered with dire wolf skulls - there must have been thousands and one of the workers explaining the exhibit said that was a tiny portion of the skulls found! The museum took about an hour to walk through and was fascinating. We went to the gift shop after and I let the girls each pick one thing. Sofia picked out a lion necklace and Olivia picked out a pack of four animals including the sabertooth cat, woolly mammoth, prehistoric camel and the dire wolf. It ended up being the best toys and the girls played with them for the rest of our trip, including in the car.

We walked to a nearby restaurant and ate outside. LA is perfect for people-watching and the food was good. We headed back to our car and started on the long drive to Aunt Becky's house in Santa Maria. It took us a while to make it through the city and onto the 101, but once we were on the freeway it was smooth sailing! I couldn't believe how easy the drive was. Both girls slept as soon as we hit the 101 and woke up around Santa Barbara (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours later). I originally told the girls we might stop in Summerland and go for a quick dip in the ocean, but by the time we were there both girls were still asleep and it was grey and a little drizzly out. We headed over San Marcos Pass and stopped at Lake Cachuma which is incredibly low due to the drought California is experiencing right now. We got out and stretched our legs and I talked to CK while we looked at the dam and the small amount of water. The girls played in the dirt and were perfectly happy to get a break. We continued on and drove through Los Alamos, where I grew up and which is now a cute destination wine town! In fact the fields before and after Los Alamos which were full of livestock are now vineyards. The entire area looks so different than when I lived there.

We drove through Los Alamos and a few miles down the road I realized that our car's gas light was on! It's only 10 miles to my sister's house from Los Alamos but it still made me nervous especially knowing my phone died after talking to CK. Sofia was very concerned and kept asking if we would be alright. We were fine and made it to the gas station and then to Aunt Becky's! The drive was so smooth and easy! It was great to see Aunt Becky and Cousin Megan and Uncle Mike and we were excited to spend a few days with them. The girls loved seeing their dog, Jack too and we'd spend the last few miles trying to remember Jack's name. Sofia thought it was Oreo and I thought it was Fred, but knew it wasn't. We settled into Michael's room and Sofia hung out with Megan in her room while Becky and I caught up over making dinner. We all ate dinner together and Pancho arrived soon after. He planned to stay for two days with Becky, longer than I'd seen him in many years. It was so fun to be together and catch up.

With Grandpa Joe

Happy girls after a fun visit with Grandpa Joe! Love this picture!

Sofia arranges the roses for Mimi

Olivia helps out

Beautiful.....

Girls

At La Brea Tar Pits

Sofia tries to pull out of the tar

Wholly Mammoth

Dire Wolf Skulls

The girls in front of a prehistoric horse

After a fun and interesting visit to the Page Museum

Lunch with our new prehistoric animals

Lake Cachuma

Sofia (wearing Becky's wig) and Megan

Silly girl

California, Day 4: Relaxing and More Fun

On Sunday morning Uncle Roger came over on his way to ride his bike at the beach and we all went to brunch at Rockwell's. It was so great to see Uncle Roger and he looks the best he's ever looked. He recently bought a cute little house in Redlands and rides his bike as much as he can, in Redlands and also down at the beach. Rockwell's had a great outdoor sitting area where we enjoyed a delicious brunch. The girls were starving, so their pancakes went down fast. After our meal, we returned to the house where we hung out for a bit longer before Uncle Roger headed on his way.

A short time after he left, Mom's best friend Kris came over to visit. It was great to see her and she's as busy and crafty as usual. She always reminds me so much of Mom in her creativity. She gave me an awesome bracelet she made using paper beads made in Uganda for Bead For Life. It's beautiful and a real work of art! She also gave the girls each a miniature bear wearing a fancy hat that Mom had given to Kris years ago and she felt the girls should have them. They are very delicate so we took very good care of them with limited touching from the girls. I plan to put them on the girls' shelves in their bedrooms. Kris also brought pomegranate jelly that she made - it was incredible! We had a great visit and I always love seeing Kris.

Around 5pm I dressed the girls for a BBQ at Bonnie's house, Grandpa Joe's sweetheart. Bonnie is a lovely lady and a very gracious host. Her BBQ included her daughter, son-in-law, and their two kids as well as her sister, brother and their kids and their kids. Rebecca, Ben and Gavin were also there, so it was a full house. I loved meeting everyone and the girls were immediately upstairs playing, with Belle and Ruby. Olivia loved being carried by both girls and Sofia had fun drawing and playing with all the older kids and Gavin. Bonnie also has a small hot tub that she keeps warm in her small backyard and Olivia spent a lot of time splashing around in it. After dinner all the girls got into it and had a great time together.

Dinner was incredible, with ribs, grilled tri-tip, salad, potato salad, cole slaw and just about everything else. It was all delicious and a fun evening. The girls had fun playing with all the other kids and it was fun meeting all of Bonnie's family. They were all friendly and it was a fun evening.

Brunch with Uncle Roger

Olivia with one of her favorites - a black koi from the backyard

Sofia with Mom's teddy bear

Uncle Roger and the gang

All of us!

With Kris! So great to see her!

Sofia shows off her new Kris-made masterpiece!

California, Day 3: Friends and Fun

Since it was Saturday, I took the girls to the local donut shop and picked up a half dozens that we took home and enjoyed (not all of them!). Grandpa Joe was out on a walk while we were gone so we had to guess at what he liked (I think we guessed right!). By late morning both girls were in their swimsuits splashing in the hot tub and streams and welcome Gavin into their game when he and Rebecca arrived by late morning. It was great to see Rebecca and catch up with her and Gavin is growing up so quickly. He and Sofia had a great time exploring the backyard and he's just as daring as Sofia. We bought tacos from Mariscos and they were delicious, as was the fresh chips and guacamole. Yum! Just as we were finishing up lunch, Sian, Danielle and Holland showed up. Rebecca and Gavin headed home so Gavin could sleep and so we could visit with Sian and the girls. Danielle had stayed up late the night before and ended up sleeping on the outside couch while Holland changed into her swimsuit and jumped into the fishpond with Sofia and Olivia. They loved it and Holland swam around carrying Olivia for hours! I don't know how she did it. The three of them went from the fish pond to the hot tub and back only about fifty times! The fish mainly stayed under the deck and tried to swim as far away from the girls as possible. Sofia wore her goggles and loved watching the koi swim around. They had a ball but were also exhausted and hungry.

We headed to Watson's Pharmacy for dinner. Even though Holland spent the entire afternoon playing with Sofia and Olivia, Sofia only wanted to be with Danielle. She wanted to sit next to her at dinner and played with her the entire time. Thankfully, Olivia wanted to sit next to Holland and played with her. Sofia has always been drawn to Danielle, which is funny because Holland is usually always the one who plays with the girls. It was all delicious and the onion rings and milkshakes were incredible! After dinner we said our goodbyes to Sian and girls and headed back to Grandpa Joe's. It was a fun, although too-short, visit with my old friend.

The girls finally fell asleep around 10pm and I soon joined them after hanging out with Grandpa Joe. The weather has been so nice and it's absolutely lovely to be able to sit outside in the evening and enjoy the backyard.

Swimming with the koi

Sofia and Gavin!

Holland playing water taxi to the girls

Holland carried Olivia through the water for hours

Holland - a big favorite of the girls!

Sian with Olivia

Dinner together

Grandpa Joe and the elephant

Love this picture!

California, Day 2: Visiting Grandpa Joe

We woke up, the girls ate Cheerios and watched cartoons and played with Bryson and his toys while Chris, Jackie and I just hung out. It was so fun to see them in their own environment and their house is so cozy. While Bryson took his morning nap, the girls and I swam in their pool which was surprisingly warm. After playing and splashing around for a while, we got dressed and said our goodbyes as we headed toward Mimi and Grandpa Joe's house. We decided to stop for an early lunch and made our way to In N Out in Torrance. I planned to drive thru and order, but the line of cars was so long that we parked and ate inside instead. I've never seen an In N Out so packed! The food was good, of course, and we were soon on our way.

Olivia had a nice nap along the way to Grandpa Joe's and we arrived around 2pm. We unloaded the car and got settled into the guest bedroom before the girls were in their swimsuits and helping Grandpa Joe clean the fish pond streams. They loved it! They used the hose to spray algae off the rocks then tried to move it down the river so it would fall into the fish pond. Of course Sofia told an intricate story while working. The girls also visited Hootie, my Mom's turtle who has grown a lot since we saw him last summer. The house looks great and Grandpa Joe seems to be doing well and is looking great too. He and I sat out overlooking the koi pond and caught up while the girls splashed and had fun in the streams. They also liked to walk along the rocks surrounding the koi pond which made me a bit nervous, but luckily no one fell in. After the girls were done cleaning off the rocks, they moved into the 'hot' tub (which is cold) and swam and played. Grandpa Joe and the girls fed the koi, which the girls loved! They asked Grandpa Joe if it was time to feed the koi just about every hour after that! It was great fun to catch up with Joseph and let the girls just play. That evening we ordered pizza, ate, played in the water, watched the koi swim around and hung out.

Olivia and Bryson playing together

Olivia supervising Bryson's snack

Saying goodbye to Aunt Jackie and Bryson after a short, but fun visit

Nap time!

Visiting Hootie, who has grown a lot since last summer!

Sofia feeding Hootie a piece of lettuce

Sofia helping Grandpa Joe clean out the streams

Love this. Sofia at nearly 3 and nearly 7!

The girls riding the hippo!

Olivia, Grandpa Joe and Max

Telling Grandpa Joe a story

Feeding the koi

Happy koi!

California, Day 1: We arrived!

The day to start our two week trip to California was finally here! We were packed and ready and headed out the door around 3pm to make it to the airport for our 5pm flight (I like to arrive early with kids so it isn't crazy). My friend Thelma took us to the airport since CK was in the middle of a meeting. We said goodbye to Thelma and made our way to the Spirit Airlines counter where where left our two suitcases and then headed through security. Walking to our gate we passed by a kiosk and both girls immediately wanted stuffed animals and toys. I convinced them we didn't need another thing to carry, but we did buy two blankets for our trip. We usually travel with blankets and it helps both girls sleep on the plane. Sofia chose dark blue and Olivia picked out pink and then we waited. Our flight was actually delayed by 45 minutes so it felt like we were at the airport forever. They both found a spot by the window where they played and pretended they were horses, enlisting another boy their age to play (he was the only other kid there not glued to an iPhone or iPad). By the time we were ready to load onto the plane, we'd eaten all the snacks we packed for the plane and I was still a bit hungry, although the girls said they weren't.

Finally we were on, our three backpacks were stowed under our seats, girls were strapped in and blankets were covering them. Olivia actually fell asleep first before take-off. I noticed she was leaning toward the aisle and when I looked at her, she was completely sleep, so I pulled her toward me and she settled in for a long nap. Just after take-off Sofia put her head on my leg and also fell asleep. The nice part of flying Spirit Airlines is that they charge for everything so they end up walking down the aisle asking if you want to purchase food or a drink rather than pushing that food cart down the aisle. Olivia's feet stuck into the aisle a bit and they didn't bother her about it, which was nice.

It was a smooth flight and before we knew it we landed in LAX. We picked up our bags with Sofia pulling the smaller black suitcase and me pulling the larger red suitcase and off we went to find the Dollar Car Rental Shuttle. On the shuttle, Olivia kept saying "WEEEE, Weeeeee." I think she thought it was a ride or something. We got off the shuttle just at sunset and it was a breezy 75 degrees out which made Olivia say "Mommy, I need a sweater. I'm cold." Yep, we are raising a true Texan! We loaded into our Jeep Compass and drove the 35 minutes to Chris and Jackie's cute house in Palos Verdes. Bryson was already asleep but their dog Tatter was happy to see us and the girls were so excited to see him. It was already around 8pm (10pm TX time) and the girls were wired! We enjoyed some pizza Chris and Jackie ordered for us and the girls played with all of Bryson's toys. I tried to get them settled and in bed but finally gave up around 10pm and just went to bed with them. It's an absolute miracle they didn't wake Bryson up! Once asleep in Chris and Jackie's guest bed, we all slept well.

All set to go!

All settled on the plane and ready to fly to California

The girls about 15 minutes after take-off!