California--Odds and Ends

Did I mention we DROVE all the way to California?!  18+ hours in the car...and I drove the entire time (by choice--I am not a good passenger)!  

Our first stop, 7 hrs in, was In n Out:) SO GOOD!

One of the first places we stopped once we drove into Westchester was the softball fields (and our old house which we didn't get a picture of).  Being at the softball fields almost made me cry...we spent so much time there cheering Kya on!!  

The snack stand!  Tyson got Otter Pops for old time's sake:)

 The first hotel we stayed at on our drive down, was great.  Although, right after we checked into our rooms, there was a HUGE hail storm...way bigger and harder than anything I had seen before and we were trying to drive to dinner in it!  The streets were flooding and I was sure our car was going to be damaged beyond repair.  Thankfully it was short-lived and we all survived the ordeal!!

 The hotel we stayed at in LA is a story in and of itself...the room didn't have enough beds and only one bathroom, the swimming pool incident on the first night we were there (500 screaming kids), the huge breakfast every morning (including the man with a prison shirt and the lady piling up dozens of plates to take back to her screaming kids), the free snacks and drinks every night, the fish Summer named...

We managed to stop by and visit a few friends
(The Davis Family, The Stayners,  and The Jones Family)

 

We went to a few of our old favorite parks!

Polliwog Park had tons of turtles out basking in the sun...everyone was sunburned and HOT so we didn't stay too long.

 We had to go to "Teletubbie" Park!

 We even recreated a picture from 2011

 

 Mike took the big kids to Universal Studies...I was sad to miss out but didn't think it was worth an extra $300 for Summer and me to go.  From what I heard, it was also a ton of fun!!  

 What a great trip we had.  I hope we don't have to wait another 6 years before we make our way back to the Sunshine State!  I miss it already.

Disneyland 2019

My kids insisted if we go to California, we had to go to Disneyland.  I was too excited about it (the lines, the money, the rides that make me sick), but it turned out to be such a great day--that's right, I only let them do ONE DAY!  Here's some of the highlights:

We started off the day with Summer and I doing the little kid rides, while Mike went with the big kids to do the most popular rides.  I was a little nervous about how Summer would do on the rides, but she just loved every ride.  Peter Pan, Dumbo (the longest line we stood in--about 35min), and Nemo were her favorites (we did them all twice).

 

Then we stopped for a Dole Whip before meeting up with Dad.

Summer wanted to show Dad all her favorite rides and he took her on the spinny rides that make me sick (like the tea cups)

 Summer's new friend baby Bolt:)

 Finally met up with the big kids and did some family rides, the parade, and the fireworks.  Such a fun (and expensive) day.

Being tourists in California

When trying to decide where to go during our week trip to California, it was a little tricky.  There were places that we knew we wanted to go back to...like Randy's Donuts and then places that the kids couldn't remember but were great, like Hollywood, places that we frequented while living there, and then places we had never been before.  We tried to mix in a little of everything.

Santa Monica 

(SO crowded...we definitely could have skipped this one after seeing the crowds_yikes)

Oh, and everyone got sunburned...well, except me and Summer

(pat myself on the back for great sunscreen application skillz)

Randy's Donuts...just as amazing as I remembered!!

Beverly Hills

 We found the tree where we carved our names years ago.

Kya during the initial carving...

The big kids wanted to check out Rodeo drive

We hiked kind of close to the Hollywood Sign

(closer than we ever got when we lived there)

And since we were kind of nearby...Jordan wanted to check out the lamp post exhibit...didn't quite time it right since we wanted to get there at night but it was still kind of cool (and super windy)

Oh and Mike kind of got to see his precious tar pits:)

It only took SIX YEARS!!!

We FINALLY decided it was time to go back to California!!  I am not sure how it didn't happen sooner, but boy are we glad we finally made it happen.  I didn't realize until we walked out onto the sand at sunset, how much I had missed my California!  It was kind of an emotional trip for me...surreal to be back to a place where my big kids grew up and with Summer who I longed for while we lived there. 

And, of course, we had to stop at Tumby's!

 

  

Harrison Hot Springs 2019

I got to take a quick trip up to Canada to spend a night up at Harrison Hot Springs Hotel with Tina, Ginny, and Kathy.  It was fabulous!  Soaking in the hot springs, staying up all night talking and laughing, walking around the lake in the sunshine, eating a delicious buffet breakfast...relaxing and rejuvenating!  Good for the soul!  Love these amazing ladies:)

 

She's Officially an Adult!!

I can't believe the same baby I carried in my belly is now an adult.  It's a strange feeling watching your kids grow older...happy and sad....exciting and scary!   Jordan is funny, fearless, smart and beautiful.  She is ready to leave childhood behind and see what it's like to be on her own.  Now she just has to wait 'til she graduates high school:)  I'm so glad she opted to have a party this year to celebrate her 18th...it's a BIG one!  Happy Birthday, Jordan.  Love you so much.

 

Snowmageddon 2019

This year, Christmas came and went with no snow.  It was kind of sad, but at least we could travel to Canada with no problems and attend all our parties and concerts without worry.  Just as we were starting to dream about Spring coming with its warm weather and beautiful flowers...we got dumped on!!!

The first couple days of snow were exciting...no school, sledding, hot cocoa etc.  But then it started snowing more and more and the roads were icy so we were trapped and then it snowed even more.  The kids ended up missing EIGHT days of school (two whole weeks of preschool), I had to cancel my girls trip to Harrison, and I began to wonder if I was ever going to be able to leave my house.  It was crazy.