Back to Arizona and Then Back Home

We drove back to Arizona to spend a couple more days with family before we flew back home. We had spent a lot of time in the car during this trip. The kids did great but at this point, we were all ready to be home. The kids missed the dog, the van, their beds, school, etc. 

 On Friday, the kids spent the morning on a special project for Nana's birthday. Then Derek and I got to hang out together while the kids spent the afternoon at Nana's house. 

On Saturday morning, we threw a surprise party for Nana!

Nana opened her presents -- a stepping stone from each child for her yard.

Happy Birthday Nana!

After the party, we spent some time at the park before we had to get ready for the airport.

Travel was much lighter when we left, but we still didn't get home until past midnight.

The kids were so excited the next morning when I picked up Ryder and brought him home.

California Cousins

With all the people we saw and things we did in California, the kids' favorite thing to do was to hang out with their cousins. 

They helped feed the rabbit they were watching. 

Kyle loved spending time with big boys. 

We went on a hike with Uncle Marzano, Jacob and Jessi. 

Kyle loved hanging out with Jacob. 

The girls played with Jessi all day. 

We were planning to leave on Wednesday morning so we took a picture with the kids before school. Kyle still wasn't completely over his stomach bug so we decided to stay another day. We loved having an extra day!

Disneyland

I took the girls to Disneyland on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day and it wasn't too crowded. 

The girls didn't remember going to Disneyland for Makena's 1st birthday. They didn't realize how much fun they were about to have!

We were going to go as a family, but Kyle caught a stomach bug and was throwing up the night before. He and Daddy stayed home and did this most of the day...

Our first ride was Dumbo!

And then to the tea cups!

 At this point, I couldn't tell if the girls were having any fun at all...

We rode a few more rides. The girls wanted to go on every ride they saw. They picked the smaller rides so the lines were pretty short. 

And then Julie Emo joined us and that made everything even more fun!

More rides...

Snow White's castle 

Karis loved it so much she went through it again with Julie Emo. It was a little too scary for Makena. 

A sweet treat to keep our energy up!

She insisted on going on the merry-go-around. 

We met Fawna and Tinkerbell.

We saw a hilarious Frozen show.

And then we went to It's a Small World -- my childhood favorite!

I was pretty tired that day since I was up most of the night with Kyle being sick. Thankfully Julie was there to push us to night fall because that was a lot longer than I had planned to stay. We all had a great time. Thanks to my cousin for hooking us up with tickets!

Visting California Friends

We were able to see a handful of friends during our time in California. We never can see everyone we want to because of time constraints and schedules. But we were thankful for those that we were able to meet up with. Here are pics of some of the people we visited:

Autumn and Karis have been friends since birth. She was excited to see her and they all had a great time together. 

Auntie Linda and Uncle John

Friends from our old small group. Karen helped me tremendously by coming over once a week to watch the girls for me so I could get a break. 

We had lunch with them in Irvine, our old stomping grounds.

We visited our old church and saw old friends and how much the church has grown. We had lunch with the campus pastor and his family. Here is a picture of the kids in the church lobby. 

Afterwards, we met Julie at Mocchilato so Julie could take the kids home while Derek and I continued to visit with friends. 

Derek hung out with Joe 

I went to Redondo Beach to visit my old roommates.