Still Vacating...

...and loving every minute of it! Keep reading to see what else we've been up to.

Corona del Mar

Saturday (6/28, my birthday)... My mom took Max and Cassidy to see an awesome exhibit of the Chinese Tera Cotta Warriors and then we met up for lunch. Then it was off to the beach. No trip to So Cal is complete without a day at the beach... especially in my family... we practically lived at the beach growing up. We went to Corona del Mar, which I think of as "my beach" because it is literally down the street from where I grew up. It was a beautiful summer day... causing the beach to be very crowded! The kids had so much fun. Max and Cass spent most of their time in the water and Max is much braver than I would like (towards the end of the slide show there is a picture of a big wave and a little head... that's him!). Abby and Afton mostly enjoyed playing in the sand... although they are both little fish as well and would take advantage of every opporunity they had to get in the water. It really was perfect. After that Cassidy volunteered to babysit so Chris could take me on a birthday date (thanks Cass), so we went to the Irvine Spectrum for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then saw "Get Smart". It was a great day and a fun birthday!

A day of rest (and no pictures)
Sunday (6/29)... can you believe no pics? What's wrong with me? It was a fun day though. First we went to church in our old ward. It was great to see old friends and catch up. It was one of our favorite wards ever and it was so fun to be back... it felt like we had never left! After lunch and naps back at Grammy and Grandpa's we drove to Long Beach to hang out with my mom for a little bit. We went for a walk along the beach and played at the park. It didn't last long because Afton was pretty grumpy (too many days with crazy vacation schedule caught up to her... and me too quite honestly), but it was nice to hang out for the afternoon without any big plans, just resting and visiting.

Friends

Monday (6/30)... we went to breakfast with our good friends, the Bakers. We met the 2nd day of School when Max started kindergarten. Adam was in Max's class and I noticed that he had a little sister about Abby's age so I introduced myself to his mom. The 2 of us ended up having a lot in common and we became fast friends... so did the kids. We started having weekly play dates with the little girls so we could take turns helping in the classroom, and even did after school and holiday activities together. We really did almost everything together. Amanda was Abby's first "best friend"... they started playing together when Abby was 15 months old and we moved away when she was 4... that means they were younger than Afton is when they became friends... that is so weird to me! Adam and Max are perfect together...same interests, similar personalities, pretty cool guys! They are an awesome family and we have really missed them. The kids picked up right where they left off and loved seeing each other again and it was great to visit with Lisa again. I'll need to finally learn how to use my scanner so I can post some then and now pics of them together. There were a few other friends we had hoped to get together with and hope we can pull it off next time we're in town. Now we're jumping in the car to make the trek North. We're headed to Northern California to spend some time with family up there. Keep checking back... we're sure to have some awesome adventures up there!
Grammy and Grandpa: Thanks for letting us crash at your house, invade you peaceful home and eat your food. Of all the fun things we do when we visit Southern California visiting you is definitely our favorite. You mean the world to all of us and I am so grateful that my kids are able to know and love their great grandparents. Saying goodbye to you is always the hardest part of leaving! We love you!!