I woke up early on Friday morning eager for Aunt Hayley's arrival. She was supposed to come into LA at 3:30 in the afternoon, but a hurricane caused her flight to get cancelled. Boy, was I mad! Luckily Aunt Hayley managed to get another flight out of St.Kitts (thanks to a friend of hers who was too hungover from the night before to fly). She called us when she made it to the states and we were glad she was back in the US in one piece. Some of her friends weren't so lucky; some were stuck in Puerto Rico for the whole weekend.
We had left the whole day open for Aunt Hayley, but with all the cancellations and delays we had an free day. Mom and I spent the morning playing in the yard together and in the afternoon she took me Hyatt to go for a swim. Mom's friend Julie was there and they hung out while I traipsed around the pool area. To mom's surprise I enjoyed the water and loved seeing all the big kids splashing around.
When we got home she let me sit and eat grapes form a big girl bowl all by myself. I did well for a while, but when I got full I tipped over the bowl and ran away laughing as they rolled all over the floor.
By night time Aunt Hayley still hadn't arrived and Mom said I had to wait one more whole day to see her because her flight wasn't arriving into LA until 2am. After I went to sleep Dad left to pick her up from the airport. When they got back to the house they woke me up to say hi but I was really sleepy and wasn't too playful.
The next morning was filled with fun! I woke Aunt Hayley up first thing so that I could give her a big hug! I was really happy to see Hollywood and I gave her hugs all morning. Although Holly was very submissive, Mom and Aunt Hayley could tell that she was very annoyed with me.
Aunt Hayley and Dad palyed with me all morning and swung me up and down. When I was upside down everyone got to see my mouthfull of teeth, including my 2 new mollars.
Later that morning we took the dogs on a walk to the beach and I fell asleep. As Mom and Aunt Hayley were heading back home they decided to stop at a garage sale and see if there were any baby stuff. To their surprise, and Mom's utter disbelief, they had the playhouse mom had been searching for. On Ebay she had found some for upwards of $200 plus shipping, and here was one right down the street!!! Without a second thought, she bought it and am I sure glad she did!
Hello Everyone!
Aunt Hayley and I had a great time playing in my house, and I know that I will have years of fun in it. It is a LOT more durable than the cardboard fort mom built me.
I sat and played in my new house for what seemed like hours, and even showed off some of my talents to Aunt Hayley by pointing out all the body parts on my toys. (Nose is my favorite, I love to show EVERYONE where their nose is- even strangers)
Later that night we drove down to San Diego to see the rest of the family. Aunt Hayley was craving sushi since there aren't many places to get good sushi on the island, so we went to a restaurant for dinner. As you already know I LOVE sushi, and did not complain about the choice of fare. This time Mom ordered me a Rainbow roll to go with my normal order, and boy did I enjoy the fish!! Hayley laughed at the mess I made...
She was really impressed when I showed her how I could use a straw
After dinner we went to Pa's house and fell asleep watching the Olympics. I love watching the gymnasts and can't wait to be able to do those things when I am real big! In the morning I woke up with a BIG smile and walked out into the living room to play with Pa.
I love being at Pa's house because there are so many fun things to play with. One of my favorites is Lil' Bush. When you push his buttons he says all sorts of "republicanisms". We have become good buddies and Rush would be proud!
After breakfast the whole family went down to see the horses. Aunt Hayley really missed Bugs a whole lot while she was away, and was eager to see him. She introduced me to him and he kept sniffing me. Each time he did he would blow air at my face and I would laugh.
Nay! (sp?)
After we became acquainted Aunt Hayley let me ride him. It was really neat being on the horse, and Bugs was really well behaved.
I was so excited to be on the horse like a big girl that I had to show everyone just how big I really am.
After we played with bugs we went and met all the other horses. I liked the one next to bugs the best. He was only 3 months old, and really liked giving me kisses.
Later that day we hung out at Pa's and spent time with the family. Lots of people came over to see Aunt Hayley, and I enjoyed spending time with everyone.
Dad helped me jump up and down on the trampoline like the gymnasts at the Olympics and I had a fun time. I have a lot of work to do if I want to compete one day...
Aunt Hayley's friend Andrea (Big A) came by to say Hi to Hayley and as Mom was taking pictures of them, she noticed something funny.
See if you can tell the difference between the two pictures...
Did you figure it out yet?
Look again and you will notice that when Andrea is standing she is over 3 inches taller than Aunt Hayley, yet when they are sitting Hayley is well over 3 inches taller than Andrea! (Andrea has long legs and a small torso while Hayley has short legs and a loooong torso)
We all laughed about that for hours, and began calling Aunt Hayley "girl with the abnormally LOOOONG torso." By the end of the night we were teasing her that if she married Micheal Phelps (the Olympic swimmer) that their kids would be torso's with feet.
Some of you may be thinking, what a weird family, and you are right; we find humor in everything!!
When we weren't laughing about Aunt Hayley's torso I played ball with Jackson (yes he got to come out for the weekend as well.) I am strong enough to hold the chuck-it now and love that he follows me around when I have it!
All the action and heat were getting to us so we took a dip in the pool. Dad and I had fun swimming around, and I started to become more comfortable in the water.
Life was good. We were enjoying a nice Sunday in the pool when Mom decided it was time for me to go under the water. I guess Mom was to chicken to do it herself so she had Debbie dunk me.
As you can see I was a little shocked and scared, but after a while calmed down and realized that it isn't so bad going under the water. I am grateful that Debbie helped me learn how to hold my breath! When we got out of the water Aunt Hayley gave me lots of hugs and told me that she was proud of me for being such a brave girl!
I had a BIG day and was a little cranky as night approached. Mom made Aunt Liz and Uncle Ryan take a picture with me, but I didn't put forth my best smile. Mom says that I need to practice my "million dollar smile" before their wedding next year. I am so excited that Liz will become an "official" member of the family, cause I love her and Ryan lots.
Next I took a picture with my Uncle Brandon. He sure is a nice guy, and we get along well. Mom keeps telling me what a great cook he is, so I am waiting for him to come make me food because, as everyone knows, I LOVE to eat!!!
Before the Umbarger Family left we all got together for a great picture. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family.
The next day Aunt Hayley, Mom, and Grandma Schafer took me to the San Diego Zoo and since Hollywood is a service dog she got to come too!
The first thing we saw were the the flamingos. They were a really pretty pink color, but they weren't too exciting.
Aunt Hayley thought that I might have more fun in the Itty Bitty City, and boy was she right!
The first thing we did was pose for a picture- isn't it funny, I am a caterpillar, and Aunt Hayley is a butterfly!
The best part of Itty Bitty City was the petting zoo. There were lots of goats roaming round and I got to pet them. This one was my favorite, he just stood there and ate while I petted him.
Not only did I get to pet the animals, but I got to sit and pose on a hippo.
Mom and Aunt Hayley and I all sat on a turtle and took a picture. Grandma says that she has a picture of Mom and Aunt Hayley on that exact turtle from over 20 years ago.
On the way out of Itty Bitty City Aunt Hayley and I stopped and took another silly picture. This time I was an ant and Aunt Hayley was a fly!
Mom was eager to see the really BIG animals, so we started the trek across the Zoo. On the way we saw lots of neat things. Grandma and I watched all the fish swim around in the aquarium, and I was so enthralled I could have stayed there all day!
When we made it to the Pandas there was a 2 hour line that Mom did NOT want to wait in, so instead Aunt Hayley took me by the wall of painted pandas. This one in particular was quite odd; a little misshapen and created by someone whose art only a mother could love.
I quickly forgot about the pandas when I got to pose with a polar bear. Grandma and I thought he was really silly, and I even got to give him a hug.
We finally made it across the Zoo to the big animals and Mom got to see the Big Kitties (Tigers), and I thought they were really scary.
Mom dressed me up as a Big Kitty (we miss our Big Kitty) in one of the shops,
and I showed her my Big Kitty face: Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
After the tigers we went to see the Giraffes.
They were really interested in Hollywood and came really close to us. I got a good look at them and was even close enough to see the spit that hung out of their mouth's. It was kinda yucky...
The last animals I got to see were the elephants. They were really big and dirty, but I was getting tired, and was quickly losing interest.
Mom put me in the stroller to take a nap as we made the long trek back to the exit, but I had a hard time falling asleep because there was lots to look at.
Hollywood was a trooper as she got more exercise walking through the zoo in one day than she had in the last 6 months on the island.
After the long day at the Zoo we went back to Grandma Schafer's house to rest up for dinner at Great Grandma Jensen's.
That night I got to see my Great Grandma, and my cousins Jesselyn and Vaughn. Everyone was impressed with my walking "skills" and we had a fun time together. Mom insisted on taking some pictures of me with my family, but I wasn't in much of a "picture taking mood" after my long day.
I managed to crack a small smile for my picture with cousin vaughn,
but poor Jess had to deal with my whining...
It was great to see Grandma Jensen and play with all her stuffed toys!
So far Aunt Hayley and I have had LOTS of fun, and I am looking forward to another fun-filled week with her before she heads back to the Island.
