Life with Three: California Trip- Part One

We left for California on January 1st and didn't return to Virginia until January 25th! It was wonderful to be able to stay for 25 days and enjoy the warm sunny weather for 25 days. It was record cold in Virginia and I was very happy we missed it. It was also great to visit with so many ward members and family members. We even had time to have relaxing days where we didn't go anywhere. The girls loved playing at their grandparents homes with all new toys and having a backyard was amazing.

Since we were there for so long I'm going to break up our trip into parts. I'll do it in journal entry fashion.

January 1st- The girls were amazing on the flight! I couldn't believe how well behaved they were. Macy watched movies on the iPad, watched the TV, or played with her princess dolls the whole time. Anna ate Pirate booty and switched between seats a lot. I can't remember any crying! We had Jacob with us so he could visit Granny Dot's house for his birthday. He was anxious to get there and asked many times if he could have inn-n-out fries and a strawberry shake when we landed. We had six seats so share between us which was great. We didn't get to CA until 11 p.m. east coast time so the girls were tired but stayed up late to play with toys.

Jan 2- We stayed the night in La Canada because my dad was sick. The girls slept in until 7 a.m.! I was expecting a 5 a.m. wake up call so I was throughly impressed! I drove the girls down to Yorba Linda to spend time with Jill before she left for her mission. The girls had zero warming-up period with Jill and my parents since they saw them only a few months ago. This was a nice surprise. We walked to the park by my parents and played outside in the warm sun. After Anna's nap we went to the Discovery Science Center with Jill. We went to Inn-n-out for dinner and discovered that Anna loves dipping french fries in ketchup.

Playing with light and vibrations at the museum

Anna was kind and shared her fries with papa

I love this face!

loves her fries!

Jan 3- We drove down to YL again this time to spend the night there. Macy and Anna hung out in the morning with Jill. Macy was excited to wear her bathing suit and run through the sprinklers. The girls loved being able to walk directly outside into the backyard. It's so convenient! Macy, my dad, and I washed two cars. My dad was so impressed with Macy's car washing skills. She was great little helper. Tonight was Jill's farewell party. We saw a lot of ward members and family members. It was a fun night and meant Jill left in only 3 days!

Jan 4th- Ja, Macy, and I went to the Pantages theatre to see The Lion King musical. It was Macy's first experience at the theatre and she did really well. She was a little confused at intermission as to why we weren't leaving. In the second half she asked to leave when ever a song was over but forgot about leaving when another one started.

Jan 5- We went to church at the YL 3rd ward with my parents. Ja had to take Anna out during sacrament meeting because she was loud. My dad took Anna into nursery since there aren't many kids in there. It was nice of him since he's in the bishopric and busy! I sat with Macy in her CTR 4 class but was able to leave her and go to RS during the 3rd hour. She was ok leaving me when she saw that their primary is just like hers at home! My mom took Anna back to nursery during RS which was also nice. That afternoon my grandma and grandpa Seymour came to visit with the girls. Grandpa won over Macy's heart by reading her a book.

decorating the doll house

Great Grandpa reading a story and Macy being shy

Macy loved watering grandma's plants

Oh, and Anna fit in a bucket

That night Jill was set apart as a sister missionary! Lori Sharp came over to stay with the sleeping girls so both Ja and I could go. I can't believe my baby sister is a missionary!

We stayed up really late telling stories together. Jill was leaving the next day and I didn't want to waste any time with her.

Jan 6- Jill left for Utah today! My parents drove her up a few days early so she could say good-bye to Kenny and Elle. We drove to La Canada to stay there for the week.

our last picture with Jill for 18 months!

Macy discovered the Jeep at Granny Dot's house. She drove Anna around for awhile then had me pretend I need help so the rescue truck could help me. My cat got stuck on the roof, I got trapped in the hose, and I needed rescuing from the top of the stairs. She did great driving forward and did well most of the time backing up. The best was one time she was backing up and ran into the wall by the pool. She looked at me and said, "This is a parking spot!" as if she meant to run into the wall.

watercolor time

Jan 7- We spent most of the day playing around the house. There are so many toys to play with the girls kept busy all day. Anna loved walking all around the house and wandered everywhere. Amazingly she taught herself how to go down the stairs sliding down on her tummy. This was a lifesaver, literally. I was so happy I didn't have to follow her around to make sure she didn't fall down the stairs! Anna found a baby doll that was almost her size that she insisted on carrying around. She pointed to it every minute and told whoever was around that it was a baby. She loved that doll so much and I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her carrying it.

the organ is entertaining

We eventually made it to the Griffith park train museum after Anna's nap. However, it closed 10 minutes after we got there so we couldn't do much.

Jan 8- Jill reported to the MTC today! It's very exciting for her! Granny Dot took us to KidSpace today. We love that place! I love that half of the museum is outside since the weather is usually warm and nice. We played for 3 hours then had lunch. We went home, put Anna down for a nap, then Macy and I went back for more! We played at KidSpace for at total of 5 hours and it was so much fun!

Macy was able to take Anna for a ride on the double tricycle. Anna was happy and any time Macy stopped she rocked back and forward as if she could push herself forward for more.

This was my favorite! Macy riding with Anna in the chariot looking trike. Anna stood up halfway through but held on tight! Seeing Anna in a helmet is hilarious.