After two days of rest, the family was once again full-throttle, packing and preparing for our trip to California. With our friend Bella in tow, Mom, Macie, and I drove out to California for a girls trip!!!
Here we are at Mom's FAVORITE gas station (from when she was a little kid).
We LOVED getting out of the car and hanging out with the snake and Mom's FAVORITE dinosaur!!!
We arrived at Pa's house in California around 2 am and were so tired that we passed out. Bella, Macie, and I all woke bright and early ready to have some fun!!!
After breakfast we ran out the door and didn't slow down till lunch.
Pa's new house was amazing, and we all enjoyed walking around and taking it all in.
Macie loved the Koi pond, but had a hard time following the pond rules (she kept throwing rocks in, and trying to poke the fish with sticks).
Pa showed her the picnic spot he made for her, and that kept her occupied for a bit...
After lunch and quiet time we hosted a party at Pa's house to celebrate his birthday. I was so excited that my friends joined us for the fun!!!
We spent the whole afternoon playing, swimming, and spending time with family and friends.
After dinner we sang to Pa and ate cake!!!!!!!!!!!!
Macie had a blast playing with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Liz. She loved using Uncle Ryan as a jungle gym:
After cleaning up and putting on our jammies, we watched the sun set over the mountains.
Macie refused to get dressed, so she snuggled with Pa to stay warm.
It was great seeing Ryan, Liz, Grandma Jean, Aunt Connie, Uncle Randy, and Jeanie!!!!
In the morning we went down to the beach area to visit Grandma Judy and Grandma Jensen. When we got to Grandma's house we toured her new back yard and had a blast climbing the avocado trees.
Around noon we took Bella to the beach- it was her first time going to the Ocean and we were all so excited!!!!
It felt great to be back at the beach!
With Grandma Judy's help we showed Bella how to jump the waves, and we all loved it.
Bella was fascinated by the sea weed that had washed up on shore and was adamant that she bring it home to show her Mom and Dad.
That afternoon we spent some time with Grandma Jensen and both Macie and I sang her some silly songs to try and make her feel better. We ate a late dinner at Pa's house and fell fast asleep, exhausted from the day.
In the morning we went to Pa's baseball game. We cheered his team on for a few innings, but lost interest and spent the remainder of the game playing on the miniature ballpark.
Back at Pa's house we spent the day in the pool and then played in his cool spa bathtub!!!!
We woke early the next morning, eager to celebrate the 4th of July at the community parade!!! Mom dressed us all in patriotic outfits and boy did we look festive!!!
Even Pa sported some cool shades.
The parade was fun, and lots of candy was thrown into the crowds!
One of our favorite parts of the event was when we got to sit inside a fire truck-Bella wants to be a fireman when she grows up, so it was super special for her.
We celebrated the afternoon of the fourth with Pa, running around his property and playing. The following morning we had to pack up our stuff and head down to Grandma Judy's. It was hard leaving Pa's house, and saying goodbye was no fun at all...
After unloading our car at Grandma's house we were off to Sea World where Bella got to meet Shamu for the first time!
It was fun showing her all the great exhibits, and Mom was grateful that Grandma Judy went along to help out!
After seeing all the animals, we ended our day at Elmo's world where we rode rides and ran around.
Tuckered out from a long day at Sea World we made a quick stop at Grandma Jensen's to tell her all about the fun we had. She enjoyed our stories about the day, but we weren't able to stay long since all three of us girls we exhausted!
The next morning we woke early eager to get back to the beach!!!!!!!!!
We had a great morning laughing, playing, posing, etc. while Grandma Judy and Paul surfed.
When they were done we brought out the body board and took turns riding the waves.
We stayed at the bay until dusk when we had to clean up and hug Danny goodbye...
In the morning Mom once again packed up our car as we left Grandma's house to head up north. We stopped in Rancho Bernardo for a Jensen Family Reunion and got to see lots of Grandma Judy's extended family.
It was nice to see family and meet others.
Macie and I both enjoyed putting on a show for all of our family to see.
One of Grandma's cousins brought a face paint kit for the kids, and she painted all of our faces!!!
Macie sat SO still, and was fascinated by her reflection in the mirror...
I loved showing off my face paint art for the camera.
After the reunion we said our goodbyes to Grandma Judy and headed up North to Huntington Beach. It was great to arrive at Jeff and Susan's to warm welcomes and a fridge full of nuggets. We ate until our tummies were bursting, and then passed out in our comfty beds.
In the morning we met Miss Nathalie, Lyla, and Baby Riley and the beach. Mom was SO excited to be back in Huntington Beach where our family began!
We spent the day in the sand, and couldn't have been happier!
The following morning we spent time at the Jacklin's while Mom cleaned up our room and packed the car. Once our chores were done we went to the beach for a few hours to catch some sun before hitting the road.
That afternoon we ate dinner while watching Peter Pan (A FAVORITE at the Jacklin's),
and then had a birthday party to celebrate everyone's birthday's at one time. We sang the birthday song to everyone at the table, and each of us got to blowout the candles and make a wish when our song was done.
The cake was amazing, and all of us stuffed our faces.
Macie REALLY got into it...
While Mom loaded some last minute items I snuggled with Susan on the couch. Though our trip was short, we were able to spend some good quality time with together!
It was hard saying goodbye; all of us wanted to stay longer, but all of us knew it was time to get back to Arizona. Bella was eager to see her parents, and Mom, Macie and I were eager to get back to Dad. Mom has promised me that the next month should be very low key, but based on past experiences, I doubt that will be the case...
