Vacation Days 11 & 12

On Monday we left Anaheim Hills and headed to Solvang. We stopped at Grandpa and Grandma's in North Hollywood on the way. Grandma took us out to lunch.

Mia likes to play "pit" with Grandpa where they try to poke each other armpits and yell, "Pit". Seriously.

We arrived in Solvang in the late afternoon and headed to Sunny Fields park. Solvang is a Danish themed town and this playground clearly fit in to that.

We had dinner at the Red Viking. Who would have known that someone could love eggs and mayonnaise, but not egg salad?

This morning we headed out to Lompoc to do some last minute shopping for a party this weekend. On the way back we stopped at a lavender farm. The lavender wasn't in bloom yet, but I got some face wash.

After that we headed to Ostrich Land. Mia got to feed the ostriches. I couldn't take pics of that because I had to help her hold onto the bowl they were trying to pull out of her hand!

We then hopped on over to Mission Santa Ynez. This mission is a special memory for me as I went here in eighth grade and chose my Confirmation name from it. That is until they told me I couldn't use Ynez because it wasn't English and I would have to use Agnes instead. Needless to say, I went for Elizabeth.

The views out the back were extraordinary.

I love reading tombstones in cemeteries.

The location of the first California college.

None of my children developed my love of California Missions, and it doesn't look good for Mia either! So we went back to the park for awhile and then to a taco place. Boy do I miss good Mexican food! I also miss this...

I got the sweetest, firmest strawberries ever. The mushy bland ones we get in Colorado can't hold a candle to these. Dan bought a whole box too not knowing I had done the same.

After a little rest back at the hotel we headed to the beach. Mia has never really been to the ocean that I can remember and she loved running away from the waves. I think she could have played in the sand all day.

Vacation Days 7 -10

Tomorrow it will be official. This will be the longest vacation we have ever been on! We were originally going to go home today, but since Dan will be here on business all next week Mia and I will stay through next weekend.

Our last two days in La Quinta were so nice and warm. We got Mia some water wings and she motored all around the pools. When we get back I'm going to start her in swimming lessons. I'm hoping she'll listen to her teacher!

Yesterday we had a big party for Becky's graduation. She has earned her BS in Biology from UCSD. We are so proud of her!

And today it was another party. This one was a surprise for our friend Deirdre's 50th. They actually live in Colorado by us now, but it just turned out her party was in California while we are out here.

Happy Birthday, Deirdre! We're glad we got to celebrate with you!

Update

We just got an update on Annie! She is doing great. They say she is outgoing and active. Uh oh. We already have one of those! :0 She has had her palate surgery, but they could not do more lip revisions as she was bleeding too much. Glad they stopped! She is doing great now.

Is it my imagination or do Mia and Annie already look like sisters?

Vacation Days 3 - 6

Sunday night we went to a fun fundraiser where we got to taste samplings of different international foods. The big winner was our friend, Bob, and his neighbor, Brig, who made a great Indian chicken dish.

The next day it was sunny and we left for La Quinta to stay at the same place we loved at Thanksgiving. Sheri and Bob and Dar and Sean joined us for the first night.

This post must sure be boring cuz all we've been doing for the last three days is sunnin' and veggin'.

VacationDays 1-3

On Friday we embarked on our Spring Vacation to California. The last few years we've gone to Mexico, but this year we decided we didn't want to miss a few parties, including Becky's college graduation one!

Our first leg was San Marcos. Before a big storm came in, we decided to hit Grape Day park. Can you guess why it's called that?

This little snicker doodle threw that handful of bark at me. And then did it again in time out! So we stayed a total of ten minutes at the park. And in our rush to leave I left that cute little sweater, my favorite. After that, Dan went to visit his mom. Then Becky came to the hotel for dinner and Dad brought home a cupcake with blue and pink sprinkles for her new baby, due in October. This year just keeps getting busier!

The next day the storm hit so we nixed our plans for Legoland and went to the children's museum. It was one big open room and Mia had the most fun playing with the giant blue forms.

No trip to California is complete without a trip to In n Out. Sorry, fruitarian friends.

Since it's going to rain all day again tomorrow we headed over to Target for some toy shopping. Of course they are a lot more fun to play with under a blue "gorilla".

We capped off the night with tacos at Maureen and Paul's and got to visit with cousin Kathy. Today we head to Anaheim for a fundraiser and then Palm Desert!

Relaxing Weekend

Dan and I took a little one night trip to Seattle this past weekend. He wanted to meet the future in-laws before the wedding. It was a short trip, but surprisingly relaxing.

Here's the happy couple.

The lobby of our boutique hotel was cute. The hotel room was a little chilly having only a space heater.

On Sunday, Beth's irresponsible parents forgot to set their clock ahead. Here is what my real hair looks like when I have to go straight from the shower to brunch! It's not so bad in Seattle with the humidity.

Bloody Marys at brunch came with their own salad.

Here is the great venue for the rehearsal dinner.