Macy's dream comes true!

California Trip- Part 6 (Finally the end!)

Jan 23- We hung out at my parents house. Macy and Anna played with dolls. Anna found Volcom's pajamas and was able to communicate to me that she wanted her doll to wear them. Then Macy wanted her doll to wear a shirt. My mom bought these dolls for the girls a couple days ago and they were instantly loved.

Anna the pirate

 Macy helped my dad move a long board to the side yard and helped him paint it white.

I think this is the girls eating breakfast. My mom has a bench at her table and they both loved sitting at it. 

We washed Granny Dot's car again. After driving to Fresno, a couple of beach trips, Disneyland, and frankly everyday food messes, it needed a good scrubbing. My dad thought it was hilarious Macy wore her Minnie hat while washing the car.

Kenny and Elle got back from their honeymoon today so we had a fun time catching up with them.

Jan 24- Tonight was Kenny and Elle's open house at the Youngberg's house. Before that we decided to go to Downtown Disney to eat beignets. They are delicious and surprisingly better than I remembered! We left during Anna's nap so the three of us got to walk around and eat while she stayed with Grandma. Macy really wanted Stacie to come in our car so Kenny and Elle took Volcom with them. It was cute to see them walking up to us with a baby stroller :)

The open house was a lot of fun and again we were able to see more ward members and family members. This was beneficial because we were leaving the next day back to Virginia. What a fun night to leave on! Unfortunately I have no pictures of the open house :( Just know that it was decorated beautifully with purple flowers and a chocolate fountain. Actually, I found one picture. It doesn't show the decorations but it's a cute one of Anna with Great Grandpa Seymour.

We left the open house around 9 to drive up to La Canada since Dorothy was taking us to LAX the next morning. We had to leave at 6 a.m. so it was going to be an early start. To make matters worse Anna was up for 2 hours in the night! I thought I would at least get 6 hours of sleep but instead got 4! Crazy little girl!

January 25- We packed the car the night before so we could wake up the girls and put them directly in the car. We drove to the airport, paid for our bag, made it through security, and walked to our gate in one hour! That's some sort of record!

The girls did great on the plane, taking into consideration they got woken up early, Anna only slept 5 hours the night before, and got no nap. Macy was wonderful and watched movies most of the time. We did have to walk Anna up and down the aisles a few times because she was antsy but it wasn't as bad as Macy used to be on the plane. The flight actually seemed to be short. I thought it would be the longest flight of my life.

As soon as we got into Trevor's van I started feeling sick. I had the chills and headache. What a great welcome home present. 

Anna was so exhausted she feel asleep on Ja's lap while I was reading books to Macy. Since the girls were so tired they went to sleep at normal bed time! There was no trouble getting used to the time change. Wonderful!

Now it's back to real life in a cold winter climate. Good-bye sun! Good-bye California!

California Trip- Part 5

Jan 21- We went to the beach with Stacie and Volcom. It was much cooler today- what you'd expect at the beach in January. I had the girls coats in the car so they were fine. Although Macy didn't wear it and didn't seem to mind the cold. 

We quite accidentally fed the seagulls and they immediately surrounded us. It was a very familiar scene... This is Macy chasing after them yelling, "Shoot! Shoot bird!" It got them to leave us alone :)

This is Anna fulfilling my prophecy of her standing in front of Volcom saying baby, baby over and over. I also said she would try to poke his eye which is happening in this picture.

running from the waves

 We took the ferry over to Balboa island. Macy's face is showing her disappointment because I think she was expecting a fairy.

Again Anna sat in one spot and shoveled sand.

Macy had so much fun with Stacie. She is a very fun aunt after all!

I'm not sure what Anna had in her mouth... hopefully food.

Jan 22- We went to the happiest place on earth today- Disneyland! For Macy the day was about seeing her favorite characters and princesses. The rides are a bonus. Two seconds after being in the park Macy saw Mickey and we waited for a picture.

There seemed to be a lot people at Disneyland so we were bummed. There seemed to be no good time to go! However, as the day went on we realized the lines weren't long. They were only 5-10 minute waits! Even Indiana Jones was 15 minutes! You know that's a good day! For some reason people like to go to Disneyland to walk around and make it look crowded.

Minnie

Goofy

Mary Poppins and Bert! I think they were there because of the movie Saving Mr. Banks. Macy liked her a lot and Bert told Anna not to eat her thumb off otherwise she'll have hands like the penguin (no fingers).

Macy and I rode the teacup ride since it makes Ja sick. He went to find the Frozen characters since that was Macy's one wish.

It was a two hour wait for the Frozen girls so Ja very kindly stood in line while I took the girls on:

Dumbo

The carousel 

The Casey Junior train. I don't think I'd ever been on this!

Macy was also thrilled to see Olaf the snowman on the roof. He would periodically say funny things and she wanted to stand the whole two hours and listen to him. I was able to talk her out of it though.

We were thrilled to see both Queen Elsa and Princess Anna! It was a dream come true for Macy. Ja hadn't seen the movie yet so he didn't know how great it was to see them. 

After lunch I walked Anna out to Downtown Disney so my dad could take her home for the rest of the day. That's the great thing about living so close to Disneyland! She was exhausted and feel asleep in the stroller on the walk over. 

Granny Dot gave Macy some spending money and she bought this great hat. She was very proud of it and wore it the rest of the day and night!

trying to pull the sword out of the stone

still has the guns in Frontierland

We had a great day at Disneyland! I love that place so much but sadly we might be done with it for a while. It's crazy expensive to get in! $92 for one day at one park! Ouch! How can people afford it?!

California Trip- Part 4

Jan 16- Macy and I took Dorothy's car into the Lexus dealer to get the oil changed since we would be driving it up to Fresno for Kenny's wedding. It ended up taking 3 hours because other work got done too. Ja could tell I was tired of children so he and my dad took them to Chuck e Cheese's again after dinner. Later that night I picked up Stacie, Randy, and Volcom from the airport.

Jan 17- We drove up to Visalia for Kenny's wedding! *Reason #76 for not moving back to CA: Expensive Parking tickets! Ja got pulled over in Bakersfield and the ticket is for $353! Agh!

Elle's mom had a groom's dinner for Kenny which was fun. We ate good food then played bingo. Surprisingly, neither of our girls slept on the 3 1/2 hour drive that day so they were pooped. We left the party early and went to bed at the hotel. I stayed up talking with Kenny, Stacie, mom, dad, Elle, and kenny's friend Jeremy. We gave Kenny wedding advice and told stories. I eventually went to bed at 11 p.m.- only to be woken up by Anna at 1 a.m.! She was wide awake and not interested in sleeping! I drove her in the car for 1 hour, stopped at Denny's, and let her walk around the room but she still cried when her finally put her back in bed at 4 a.m.! I was exhausted and so grateful Macy slept through it all. The girls slept in until 8 which was so nice.

Volcom and I at the Groom's dinner. He is such a cutie and always smiles.

This is Anna and I at Denny's at 3 a.m. There was a surprising number of people there.

Jan 18- Kenny and Elle got married! Anna was a wreck since she went to bed late and was awake for three hours in the night. The babysitter said she cried most of the time we were in the temple. Shock of the year was that Macy didn't cry at all! And she didn't know the babysitters! It was a beautiful sealing in the Fresno temple. From our side of the family there was: Grandparents- Francis and Seymour, Aunt Linda, Mike and Gina, Martha and Brian, Us, Stacie, and Randy.

I had not met Elle before this weekend. We had only talked on Skype before so I was very glad we could be at the wedding. She's a great girl and they are perfect for each other! I can't believe my wittle brudder Kenny is married!

 Volcom is a little outnumbered here. Someone needs to have another boy!

I thought it would be fun to get a nieces and nephew shot but Macy wouldn't let me put her down and Anna was still a wreck. 

Anna zonked out immediately after we left the temple. 

Macy too. They slept for 1 1/2 hours like this.

The reception was very small and intimate in Elle's living room. We had dinner together before the reception. Elle's dad said some words and shared stories. He asked for wedding advice for Kenny and Elle from the people in attendance. I loved how low-key everything was. I felt like everything was more about Kenny and Elle rather than about a big show. Macy played a lot with Elle's niece in the playroom which was amazing and made the night doable.

Elle's mom made the wedding cake and it was the most delicious wedding cake I've ever had! It was actually good! Homemade wedding cakes are the way to go!

This is a much better attempt at the nieces and nephew picture. Macy is actually smiling. Unfortunately Volcom pooped through his wedding outfit but he's still cute.

Macy loved Volcom and holding him. He's not too sure about things though.

He probably sensed cousin Anna coming to attack his feet. 

It was a beautiful wedding day full of joy and happiness. I'm glad we were all able to be there together. It felt a little odd with Jill missing but we knew that's how it needed to be. I love weddings- especially this one! I really am happy for Kenny and Elle and all their new adventures together!

Jan 19- We drove home to La Canada and ate dinner with Nathan, Kiersten, Henry, and Charlie. Again it was wonderful having playmates for Macy. Dorothy insisted on watching the girls for me so I could get a break so I left for YL after they went to bed.

Ja had the kids going on a treasure hunt as pirates.

Jan 20-  I got to sleep in without any kids waking me up! My dad, Stacie, Volcom and I went on a walk to buy things to send Jill in a package. I watched two Downton Abbey episodes. That afternoon my dad, Stacie and I saw Saratov Approach. It's a movie about two missionaries who got kidnapped in Russia in 1998. It was an incredible movie and a wonderful story of faith. That night I talked everyone into going out to eat at Cheesecake Factory because I didn't have any kids I had to deal with :) It was a great relaxing meal.

I got to hang out with this smiley guy all day

When Dorothy sent me this picture I knew the girls were doing just fine!

Dorothy and Ja took the girls out to dinner too. Here is Anna checking her email.