Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Summer Vacation in California!

Wow, time sure has flown by.  Presley is almost 3 months old and is growing up SO quickly.  We are fortunate she is a happy baby and greets us with enthusiastic smiles.




At the end of June I went to the dentist to have some work done on my teeth, and everyone was waiting with cameras ready to get a video of me with laughing gas...


too bad for the paparazzi, because Macie turned out to be the silliest one in the room.  It didn't phase me AT all.


I was so well behaved during my visit to the dentist that we got to drive thru McDonalds and get milk shakes!  We spent the rest of the day at home playing and swimming, in fact, that was all we ended up doing thru the end of June. 

The family spent lots of time entertaining Presley.  Macie likes to dance and sing for her, while I like to dress up...


 she must think we are a crazy family full of energy!


At the beginning of July our family packed up for our annual 4th of July trip to San Diego.  Mom was concerned about Presley on the long drive, but she was a champ!  We only had to stop one time to feed her, and made it to San Diego an hour and a half before our estimated arrival time!



We shopped around the outlets at Viejas before Pa, Grandma Jean, and Michelle met us for a big buffet dinner- I couldn't wait!!!!



We all enjoyed a special birthday dinner with Pa, and loved the buffet!!!  Presley enjoyed meeting more of her family, and dazzled them with her pleasant demeanor.


After dinner we drove down to the beach where we stayed the night with Grandma Judy.  In the morning we dressed in our 4th of July outfits, and went out to Jamul to spend time at the Umbargers.





When we got there we were SO excited to see our family!  Everyone came out to meet Presley for the first time, and Mom couldn't wait to see her and Avery together!



Presley was a little uninterested, but Avery kept reaching out to touch her- it was SO cute to see them together!








We enjoyed our day with the family; eating, playing, and catching up.  

 
Before long, Presley had an accident in her 4th of July outfit.  Mom had been so worried about having all the food, diapers, wipes, etc. that she totally forgot to bring a change of clothes.  Good thing we can always count on Aunt Connie.  Check out the fancy outfit she has bought for Presley!!!



Before Ryan and Liz took Avery home we tried to get some pictures of everyone together...



After they left Grandma Jean gave me my birthday present, and boy was I excited to put them on and give them a try...


Everyone sat outside to cheer me on as I attempted my first skate...





After a few lessons from Dad and Pa I finally got the hang of it!!!



 Macie and I had a great time seeing our family and playing in Jamul.  Mom got a kick out of Macie closing herself in the dog kennel.  Too bad child services wouldn't find it amusing if we purchased one for the house...


We left shortly before dark, and barely made it to the end of the driveway before Macie and I fell asleep.




At Grandma's house Macie insisted she go straight to bed, while I asked if I could stay up to watch the fireworks.  Dressed in Grandma's warm hoodie, I climbed up to the roof with Grandma, Paul, and Dad, and got to watch the big show!!!

 
 That next morning our family packed up the car and drove up to Huntington Beach.  Mom had planned out our entire trip since we only had 3 days to see everyone.

Our first stop was Miss Nathalie's house where we visited with her family; Lyla, 4 and Riley, 2.  We had a great time playing with the girls.



After Nathalie's, we walked two streets over and visited with Jeff and Susan.  It was SO great to see them both, and although our time together was quick, we were really glad they took the time out of their day to see us!!!


Presley was overwhelmed with the experience; new people and new places, but she sure was well behaved!





The next morning after having breakfast with some friends, we drove to Chuck E Cheese and met up with my friend Leo from Chaparral.



Macie and I had tons of fun running around with Leo, and Presely, once again, played the role of the well behaved baby...






 We left Chuck E Cheese in the early afternoon and met up with Mommies friend Jenny.  I hadn't seen her son Logan in over a year, but quickly remembered how much fun we used to have.




While Mom, Jenny, and Presley caught up on life, Logan, Macie and I ran around the playground chasing one another.


That night we met everyone (Dad had lots of work friends in Laguna checking out the location for his new club) at the Hotel for an evening swim and some dinner.




By the time we made it back to the room both Macie and I were beyond exhausted and passed out quickly...




That night we passed out from our long day of fun.  In the morning we woke up in the hotel full of energy and ready for another day of action and adventure.


After Mom dressed us for the day she gave Presley a bath and did her hair- she LOVES the blow dryer!!!




Macie and I were in charge of caring for Presley while Mom got herself dressed.  Mom couldn't help but laugh when she came out of the bathroom to find Presley tucked into bed with Macie's blanket and snow leopard.


After breakfast at the hotel with some old friends, we packed up the car, gave Dad big hugs (he flew back home to AZ), and drove up to Anaheim to see some of Mommy's friends from high school.  We met Miss Kristin and her daughter Amanda at the Science Center and couldn't wait to start the fun!


 The Science Center was different from the one back home- this one had a lego exhibit and it was really cool!


While we were playing, Miss Janelle showed up with her twin boys, and all of us ran around together while the mom's caught up.

 

 Mom kept trying to get Presely to interact, but she didn't seem too interested...



She flashed a few smiles here and there, but slept most of the time.


 Before heading back down to San Diego we met Wendy at Del Taco and introduced her to Presley.  It was really nice to see her, and Mom was grateful that she met up with us! 

We made it to Grandma's late on Sunday and went straight to bed.  In the morning we woke up and ran into Grandma's room!  Macie, Grandma, and I all sat in bed and read stories together!




We were all glad to be at the beach!  After breakfast we drove down to the shore and stayed there for hours.


Mom was excited to bring Presley to the beach, but she stayed in her stroller most of the time to sleep and avoid the sun.


Abby, Lily, and Daniel, joined us for our day at the beach.  Macie and Daniel spent lots of time in the water, and Macie wowed Grandma with her swimming skills.  The two of them swam all the way out to the buoys and impressed everyone!




By the early afternoon we were all exhausted from a day in the sun and went back to the house for dinner.  While the older kids were playing in the yard Mom found Lily's doll and placed it next to Presley- it was creepy to say the least...



After dinner the whole crew walked to 7/11 and got ice cream!  Mom thought it was pretty cute watching us all together!


 

We spent the last 2 days in California seeing friends and family.  It was pretty busy going place to place, but everyone was excited to see Presley, so Mom made it work.  




After meeting Grandma Jean at a baseball game of Pa's, we stopped by Uncle Ryan and Aunt Liz's house to see Avery one more time.  Their house looked AMAZING- they had been building last time we visited, and Mom was SO impressed by what they had done!  After touring the house we went to the park to ride the tire swing.  I was bummed Uncle Ryan was at work and couldn't push me, but Mom did a decent job...

 



After stopping by Miss Paula's house (Miss Kristin's Mom's house) and saying Hi to her family, we picked up pizza and went to Miss Alyssa's for dinner.  Mom was thrilled to see Addie (2) and Elle (1); they had both gotten so big!!!  


That night we arrived at Grandma's exhausted and ready for bed.  In the morning we had a tough time saying goodbye to Grandma and California. 


 There were lots of tears on our way out of town, but we got some laughs when Mom dressed Presley...


 We stopped at Pa's to give him some hugs before leaving, and our smiles came back for the short term.  The drive back to Arizona was uneventful; we got to watch a movie while Presley slept.  We arrived back home around 4pm that afternoon and from there life got crazy.

Check back soon to hear what's been going on...