Oh yes we did...

Since Ben is starting school this year and we will have to be more "responsible", I decided I would take the kids for one last visit to California. I have to admit driving alone for 9 hours with 3 kids was a little intimating, but well worth it! Not only do I now know I can do it, but I know I can handle a kid throwing up while keeping my eyes and car on the road. Yes I have become that talented! I also learned NEVER leave home without throw-up bags (and more than one for that matter!)

Since I took over 500 pictures I will just share a few (you're welcome) that show some new things we learned while in California.

Andrew learned that the dog bowl is a much better place to get a drink of water. Not only is it his height and at his disposal 24-7, he normally never had to get a drink alone. Libby was always close by to share in that bonding experience. Libby was very kind and didn't even try once to kick him out of her bowl!
Alysa and I learned it is sooooo much funner to walk thru another person's throw-up to stand in line for the tram at Raging Water, then take the 5 minute drive to the car stuffed on the tram with people you don't know (or care to get to know), then to drive home with mom who parked in the one hour only parking right outside the front gate. They only beat us home by 45 minutes...but then how would we have gotten this cute tram picture of us? See, good trade off right?

Christopher said he already knew this one....Libby is alittle confused as to who she is. She is a 4 year old Rotweiller who not only loves to play dress up with the kids (see below), but loves to jump on the trampoline, be a life guard to the kids while they are in the pool, makes sure they fall off their bikes, and pretty much would rather be the kids mother. She would get mad at me when I would put Andrew in the side of the pool and take him out again quickly to make him laugh. She got so mad at me when I wouldn't stop she finally pushed us away from the pool and stood in front of us.

Oh yes, and she also loves this bride veil. She will run around the house with it all day and not chew it up (this is a big thing since EVERYTHING..shoes, clothes, helmets, anything plastic, or wood, or metal, or fabric..yep, EVERYTHING) must be kept high at all times. Case in point, one night we left yummy Costco lemon cakes on the kitchen counter only to come down in the morning to only a plastic container with not even a crumb in it. She also loves to have people hold her hand and she loves to give hugs.

Andrew learned the only one sure fire way to get Aunties Alysa's coke all to himself was to leave her little floaties in her drink. He is now addicted to soda (I'm sure it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Alysa would fill his sippy cup up with Coke). Whenever we opened the fridge he would dive for the coke Alysa had left at our house. Chris finally had to drink it...and I think Andrew still looks for it in the fridge.

I learned the best way to shop is just like my mom shops. She gets all the sales people to pick out the clothes in the right sizes and bring them to her for a yes or a no. She sits on the floor and pretty much just takes over the whole entire store. The kids felt like they were movie stars having a sales person all to themselves...and constantly having a sales person ask if they liked this or that.

Ben learned to only shop in stores that had tv's for kids. He didn't complain ONCE about being in the store. He loved trying on his clothes and would even get distracted by what was on the tv. I think every store that wants mom's to spend money in them should get a little tv center for kids!

Andrew is just adorable..wait...we already knew that!

I learned we are not allowed to do ANYTHING without Libby right by our side. Shel was giving the kids a bath and feeding Ava dinner and Libby was there supervising the whole time. I have to admit, I feel very safe leaving Andrew in Shel's care...as long as Lib is there to make sure everything is shipshape. Lib even went as far as jumping in Andrew's bath one night to make sure he was ok. You can't ask for a better baby sitter than that!

I learned my Dad skips out on too many pictures! This is the only real one I got of him. I'm gonna get you next trip Dad!

It really isn't safe to let my kids help my mom feed the dogs. They get so confused. They are not used to feeding dogs their food with spoons. Poor Dandy, she has had so many spoons shoved in her mouth by Andrew since we have been home!

See what I mean!

Andrew learned it is so much more fun to drink Kool-Aid without a sippy cup! Right after his bath my mom decides to share her drink with him, which ended with Andrew just taking the whole thing for himself. Andrew was so happy and giggling like he was getting away with something. The only problem is, now if it has a lid on it at home he rejects it. Well, I figure he will get thirsty enough to take it. I'm not cleaning a baby that looks like this more than once! His legs and tummy were red for 3 days!

But he was in pure Heaven!

Ahma and Ahba's house is a land of wonderment. The kids love to go over there and pick fruit, then make them into juice. It was so cute to watch them follow Ahma from tree to tree filling up their bags. I was having Halloween flashbacks! They would get so excited with each one that was placed in their bags!

I'm hoping my kids learned I do know what I'm talking about...most times. The kids have been to the beach before, but it has been a very long time. They were fascinated with the waves, and kind of enchanted by them. Kallie was the first to fall victim. She would chase the wave back into the ocean. I told her to stay where she was and the wave would come back. That wasn't quick enough for her so she kept following it. Well, it caught up to her and tried to take her back with it! She was very scared and didn't like it one bit! She also didn't even touch the water after that!

So, you think after Ben watched all this unfold he would listen? Are you kidding me?!?! No way! A big wave was coming in and I was standing there telling him to get back it was going to be a big one...but what do I know..I'm only the mom...

Kallie learned baby powder has magical powers. You put it on, the sand falls off...AMAZING! She proceded to become whiter and whiter until I had to take the bottle away for fear that other people would think she was a ghost.

Andrew learned to stick with Auntie Joy. You stay with her and she will take you places...normally fun ones with shakes and games and prizes.

I learned these guys are as crazy as I remembered them being. You can't have a get together and not laugh! I miss living so close to them! Ahba has also taught my kids new words. You can't tell them we don't say damn since they just say "well, Ahba says it". How can you disagree with that when his favorite songs to sing are the ones with "damn" in it?

And finally, when all is said and done we learned there really is no place like home. The kids were glued to Chris from the second we got home! They really missed him, as did I. We had an amazing trip and loved every second of it! I love being able to live close enough to just head home for a week or two. I have to admit, there is nothing so exciting as turning back onto your street and seeing home again after being away for almost 2 weeks and to open the front door to a perfectly clean house, with my husband cooking us dinner. I love my life!