We are back!

We were only gone for a week, but when you are living out of a small car and a small suitcase, it feels like much longer. California was so much fun and we all survived the road trip--barely. Here's a quick list of trip related events: 

-Jack did not sleep the entire ride to Vegas

-a piece of our car fell off in the deserts of Nevada resulting in a high pitch whistle the rest of the road trip and then a lengthy stop at the mini dealer in Calabasas to replace it

-the entire Hamilton family (minus Petey) and the entire Skinner family (Caton's cousins) enjoyed a 4th of July BBQ followed by a fireworks display at the local mall. The fireworks were okay...the real entertainment was when the hill behind the fireworks caught on fire. Fireworks in July? What genius came up with that one?

-pedicures and shopping with all the girls, including Miss Layla

-swimming, swimming, and more swimming in my parents new pool

-smores and marshmallows by the fire at night

-a visit to Irvine to see Matt and Belize's darling apartment (good job Belize). Then over to the Crab Cooker for some great seafood topped off with a ferry ride to Balboa for a famous Balboa Bar (ice cream dipped in chocolate and whatever else you want)

-relaxing at the beach with Layla, who couldn't get enough of the sand and and ice cold water, and Jack, who would not step foot off the beach blanket for fear of the unstable sand

-girls shopping trip to H&M where we spent hours trying on clothes

-a date with Caton to the beach to watch him surf and to catch up with a few good friends, followed by a steak dinner at Woodranch where I savored the sweet smashed potatoes that I crave constantly

-another stellar car ride home: the trip is about 9-10 hours...we made it in about 14. We knew we were going to take our time, but we ended up stopping a lot. We hit a mall and did a little shopping, stopped to go to the bathroom and get drinks a couple of zillion times, met some friends at In-n-Out in Vegas for dinner, changed an 81 year-old couple's tire in the In-n-Out parking lot (well, that was more Caton than me), and stopped at a Wal-Mart for pillows and blankets for the kids and ended up helping a lost little boy find his sister...and then finally pulling up to our house at 2 am

We really enjoy visiting California. And a special thank you to my family for putting up with my vacation-like attitude. I'll admit I take advantage of having the only grandkids ("Brooke, Jack wants you to change his diaper" "Heather, Layla wants you to take her swimming...and while you are at it, can you wash her hair and get her dressed when you are done?" "Mom, will you do everything for me so I can relax?") but just so you know...I appreciate it!

Most of my pictures are on Caton's computer, but here are a few I took at the beach.