Trip To California

Recently, my Mom, Chelsey, and I spent a long weekend in California for my niece's wedding. The wedding was in Berkeley, we stayed in Oakland, and we visited San Francisco.

The last time I was in CA (Monterey for 6 months), was a little over 20 years ago! I don't think I appreciated the beauty of it then.

We arrived in SF late Friday afternoon. The first adventure was finding the car rental place at the airport...I wasn't expecting it to be so far away!

Next came the driving. The van was in my name, so I was the only driver. And what was one of the first things I had to do?? Cross a very long bridge! I've never been a fan of going over bridges, but I do much better when I'm the driver. And after going over a few very long bridges several times, I kind of like them now! I was actually sort of fascinated by them. Yeah, sounds kind of corny, but let's remember, I've lived in the middle of the corn fields for 18 years now!

After a quick stop at the hotel, Chelsey and I went to Sarah, Zachary, and Quinn's

house...which was only minutes from our hotel! And to top that off, we were met there by Vicki, Joel, and Holly!

Unfortunately, due to how long it took to make our way out of the airport, the visit was kind of late, so the kids were a bit tired...one more than the other. ;-)

But wow, how awesome it was to meet them! I started this blog because my daughter had one...that was it. I had never thought I would get the opportunity to meet some incredible people who happen to have a flaw in a gene in common with our family.

Anyway, the visit was great, yummy pizza and wonderful people to visit with! It was a long day, with the Dramamine making it a little longer for me (even the less drowsy version knocks me out a bit).

On Saturday, we hung out with my brother (father of the bride), saw some sites, and just enjoyed being there.

That evening was the wedding....so beautiful. The reception was unlike no other I've seen; I loved the change.

Sunday was more sight seeing, SF and Berkeley. The weather was a bit uncooperative (rainy and chilly), but it was still a good time.

Of course, how could we go to SF without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge!?

This bridge is so long! And there were cars above us; that's a bit freaky for one who has a little fear of bridges....

Yeah, we don't have hills like that in Indiana...didn't take much to entertain me.

My brother and Chelsey

Great time, would love to go back!

Recent Stuff

I really want to get my blog going again because I want to print this stuff out for a "journal"...here's another attempt at it!

So I guess I'll start with Evan updates. Last weekend, I went to California with Chelsey and my Mom for a four day weekend (for a wedding--that can be another post!). Before I left, his version of his name was "E--en" or "E--e" (short "e" sound).

John and the boys picked us up from the airport, and on the ride home, I asked him what his name was--just because he loves to say it and he's so cute when he does. To my surprise, when he answered, he said "Evan".......VERY CLEARLY! Yay!

Sleep: he's been doing much better with sleep the past couple of months. He's usually sleeping through, isn't taking as long to fall asleep...an hour maybe, sometimes less...and he's getting better at keeping the jammies and diaper on! He is also becoming more aware when his brothers go to bed (9), and will ask (in his way) to go too....much better than 10 or so.

Interests: Still loving his alphabet toys and animal books. He can't get enough of his animal pictures! They have to be real pictures of animals, with a preference for safari type animals, whales, sharks, and dolphins. Some of them he can say fairly clearly: cheetah, whale, shark, "jraff" (giraffe), eagle, wolf, seal, deer, zebra, roar (lion ;-), and even elephant is sounding pretty good, while others are getting there. :-)

And just as he's getting to the age where I really shouldn't be carrying him anymore, he can say "Care-cue" (carry you), melts my heart and often gets him in my arms.

A couple of days before I left for California, Evan had a fall at school. Yeah, fell off a platform on the playground and ended up with a good old bump on his head with a bit of a cut. I brought him home and he immediately fell asleep on my lap. Didn't like that. So, I brought him to the hospital to have him checked out. I'm usually not one to rush to the doctor's office with my kids, but this one made me nervous. SO, after 3 HOURS in the ER (probably worse than the fall for him), I got the reassurance from the CT scan that everything was alright. The black and blue is starting to fade, and he has a small scab.

On the topic of playgrounds, he's been loving the playground recently! He no longer sits on a platform to watch the kids run around him; he's all over the place! It's hard keeping up with him, ya know, to make sure he doesn't fall off the platform (he kind of loses awareness of where he is in space when he gets all excited), but it's worth it! I get a good workout, and he has a great time.

As I type, John is outside putting up a swing set we just bought today. I was out there helping, drill and all, until Evan woke up from his nap. Evan and I are on our way out to check the progress. :-)