Cali has come and gone part 2

This trip, we made memories that will stay with us forever

 Reagan's first trip to the beach (out of the womb), and,

even though it was a bit chilly...

she had lots of fun.

"Low Tide" at a local beach. We looked around to find

little ocean critters in the rocks.

 cold and tuckered out

 Madi got very sick while we were there. She was excited for her cake

but wanted a little help blowing out the candles.

 Abbie makes Tres Leches cupcakes in her spare time.

no big deal

oh and side note, they were low fat and tasted fantastic.

Top eats in the country. I ate at "St. Louis Bread Co." for 7 yrs of my childhood.

Come to find out, "Panera Bread Co." is the same thing...

only with many more locations. 

I didn't even think to check for any near by when we got to Cali.

We were watching the t.v. and a commercial came on for Panera.

I got very excited and my sis in law informed me there there was one, literally around the corner.

Just about made the trip for me, getting to nibble on memories.

 

 Isaac's oldest brother, Eli, meet us in Thousand Oakes for dinner.

A good night as a family. It was especially nice for these 3 of the 5 brothers to spend 

time with each other.

and just a minor detail, I was spoiled again to go to another one of my favorite

eating spots, P.F. Changs. yum

 Matt and Abbie are now the new owners of not just this one giant

palm tree, but TWO giant palm trees.

oh...and a house!

It was fun to get to see it. It is the perfect size for them, with a little room to grow ;)

if they choose to do so....

very VERY happy for them.

 baby girl is a fairly content shopper

 for crying out loud... am I right?

Madi's "funnies"or just cute things during our stay:   (just turned 4 keep in mind)

• Her dog, Chloe, would generally come every time Madi called her name. Best dog, with kids, I have ever seen! But on one occasion, Madi was calling "Chloe, Chloe, come here Chloe.." and when she did not respond, Madi said, "Or not..."
•  While opening her birthday presents, she was having a little trouble and she said, "Um...can I get a little help here?"
• Madi, Reagan and I were hanging out in the living room, and Madi ran off in the direction of her room, but turned immediately around and hurried back to ask, "Aunt Ally, could you watch baby Reagan for me for a minute while I get something?"        Sure of course Mads!
• She absolutely loves to dance, we were able to witness this a tiny bit, even in the middle of a busy Nike outlet. Then the days after this she got too sick to feel up to dancing. Sad.
• Once she whispered to me, "Aunt Ally, could you do me a huge favor...?" I told her of course and asked what I could do for her. Her response was plainly, "Yellow cheese."    Generally the two things she will eat are, first ice (sometimes she ventures out and has "colored ice" a.k.a. a popsicle, and second, yellow (or cheddar) cheese.
• Oh and she loves singing. I got to hear her sweet spirit sing "I am a child of God" many times, and it never once got old.

 the reason we took this trip was for family, and family alone.

as an after thought, truly, we were excited for some warm weather.

when we left home the high for the day was 69... the day we arrived in Cali, the high was 58.

Believe it or not, this turned out to be a blessing.

We found out at the half way point, to California, in St. George that,

long story short, we shouldn't touch our A/C, no joke.

We left very early in the morning, coming and going, to avoid to hottest times in the desert.

after many hours with the windows rolled down going 80...I will never take the, system for controlling the humidity, ventilation, and temperature in a building or vehicle, typically to maintain a cool atmosphere in warm conditions, for granted again.

 being a mom. best job of my life.

we stopped in SLC, to see these two cuties for a day ish. Kardyn had just barely fallen on cement stairs, the day before this picture was taken. It was very traumatic for mom but Kardyn was SUCH a trooper, as you can tell in this picture. Also I couldn't resist a messy mouth shot.

We also got to see Lyss and Chris's new home too. So exciting!