California for Thanksgiving

We decided to come to California for Thanksgiving since Jeff is able to work from home the whole week. Jeff hasn't been here for three years and I don't think we have ever spent a holiday here as a family, so it was very fun!

Flying with Jeff was a wonderful change from flying by myself the last time I came. I had a realization I was VERY blessed when I flew by myself because I'm not quite sure how I did it when I went through the whole process this time around. The kids did great on the flight and were so excited when Granny Dot picked us up in her new Cadillac Escalade. She had a DVD waiting to be watched (Mary Poppins) so they were as happy as could be. And it was nice not worrying about how much luggage we could bring or having to rent a car to fit us all, so we definitely enjoy a bigger car! Wesley came to pick us up too since Darin and Rachel were visiting as well and were out. He was thrilled to see the kids and the kids were thrilled to see him. He kept trying to turn his head to watch the movie too, poor rear seating children :)

Max got his shirt wet from the drinking fountain and kept trying to take it off before we boarded the plane. Luckily I had a spare shirt in my bag. 

Having fun and striking poses before getting our luggage. 

We enjoyed staying up late visiting with everyone, though my dad was flying back from Texas that night and not home yet. Lily took such great care of Wesley and was so attentive to him. My mom had dinner all ready to go and it was nice homecoming. Jeff said how fun it was to be back in this house as it has many memories for us as we dated and lived here. He is in awe of how much my parents do for being in their 70's and for how generous they are to us and our kids. We feel very blessed and lucky. 

Sunday morning Lily helped my mom get dinner ready. She just loves helping with anything, and did some rolls and chicken, so that was nice of my mom to let her help. My dad got it in his mind that he wanted to put together a motorized jeep he had just bought, so Jeff helped with that. They worked hard for awhile, but they got it going. We then went and did scans at the office. Rachel had her 20 week scan, but since my dad was out of town she couldn't do it sooner. I walked around the office with Wesley for a bit and then the kids came out. They watched a little on Jeff's phone, but Max got very frustrated at Wesley who kept trying to touch it. Max can get pretty possessive of things. Then I had a scan (I'm 29 weeks) and we had the best face pictures! This was Jeff's first ultrasound for this pregnancy and the baby looks just like Ryan. For Max's ultrasound we could tell he looked just like Jeff, so it was fun to see a resemblance. He opened his mouth and put his hand by his mouth and head, crossed his legs, it was so sweet. I was grateful Jeff was present for this one, it was  special moment.

Working on the power wheels. 

Wesley loved sitting in the driver's seat. 

Baby Baer!

Happily helping make dinner.

My dad then went to a coordinating council and was back 8 hours later (I don't know how he keeps going!) and my mom, Jeff, and Lily went to church for choir. My mom told Lily she could sing if she wanted, and after practicing a bit, she whispered to my mom that she thought she could do it (my mom is the choir director). She was too shy to stand by some of the older girls (who were still primary age), but she found a seat on the front row. However, during the course of the meeting, Jeff realized that the stake presidency member was in the seat. He tried to steer Lily to stand somewhere else, but she started crying and was nervous. So he asked President Woodhouse if he and the other members of the stake presidency could move over, and they did. Lily was happy, President Woodhouse was all smiles at what had happened, and Lily was thrilled to be reading her music, turning the pages, and being part of the choir. She told my mom it was special because she doesn't get to the in the choir in our ward. It was such a neat experience for her and for it all to work out with the seating arrangements, that was a highlite for Lily, and something I never would have even asked Lily to be part of. But I'm glad for my mom and Jeff making it happen. 

Lily was nervous about primary and was going to go to Ryan's class, but in the end she met someone her age and decided to go to her class and she had a good time. 

Jeff and I were so tired and thought we'd go to bed early, but then we got up and my dad came home and we had a wonderful visit with my parents before bed. That's the beauty of staying with people is you can capture those quiet moments to visit after kids are in bed. 

Monday the kids were eager to get in the pool. It was pretty chilly outside, and though the pool was heated, it was cold. But the kids could have swam all day long, no matter how cold. They went down the slide, Lily even jumped off it, Max went in and out of the hot tub, they got on a floating mat, played with oars, and had lots of fun. I finally had to get out with Max because I was so cold and had to bribe Max with candy to get him out. I went to give him a bath and he said he had to go poopy. I put him on the toilet a few times, but in the end he went pee on the toilet and we were all so proud! Lily and Ryan took a bath in my mom's tub so they could get the jets. They were in their suits, but when it was time for Maria to bathe them, Lily said she needed to have me or Granny Dot or her dad there, since she was going to show her privates. I thought that was pretty good to recognize the boundaries we set with people and what's appropriate. When the water finally got high enough to turn the jets on, Lily said, "I can't believe we made it to the jets!" Then Ryan said (because there were bubbles from soap), "this is just like Bob's car wash! They had a great time in that bathtub. 

Then Max napped and Lily and Ryan played so well together. They played Guess Who, Candyland, Barbies and Star Wars, McDonald's, and were so creative. They also played out back on the powerwheels.  Lily was holding a "meeting" and was annoyed Ryan wasn't coming to it. Ryan was just out saving animals and didn't feel like he needed to attend the meeting because he knew were the animals were. They are just funny and fun with all they come up with.

The magical bin of Star Wars toys. 

Max has a million stuffed animals in his crib. Two huge Winnie the Pooh dolls that talk ("Pooh keeps talking about Piglet" Max told me), Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Lovey, and then the Pooh he brought from home. It's hard to even see him in there. Lily and Ryan sleep in the same bed and say that sometimes they wake up and their legs are fighting. Max just loves wandering around and talking about everything and nothing. He can keep himself busy doing blocks, puzzles, playing Star Wars or following people around. All the kids are having such a great time.

Max loved the net over the crib, but he insisted on zipping it himself. However, if he wanted us to put his blanket on him, then we could unzip it (only after he had a chance to zip it up first), put the blanket on, then zip it up. 

They somehow managed to sleep. 

Max in Pooh Bear heaven. 

We went to McDonald's and found some kids there the same age (birthdays in the same month) and the girl Lily's age even had her same name. They had so much fun together the mom even wanted to get my phone number in case they want to get together next time we are in town. We got home late and my mom is reading books to them each night, which they love since they all share a room, but they pretty much fell asleep after she read scriptures. 

Tuesday my mom and Maria took the kids to the Cube so I could have a little break, and it's so very nice! Jeff loves having a quiet office to do his work in, and such a clean house too. Although with all the toys out, my dad said he can't even walk through the house. So we are a bit spread out. But it has been so fun for us and the kids and we are happy we got to come.

The kids had a great time at Discovery Cube. There was a lego exhibit so they loved looking at everything and they even got to sit in a lego car. Max napped and Maria sat outside while Lily and Ryan swam. They of course were in heaven and played so well together. Once Max was up Jeff came with us and we all went to the mall for dinner and shave ice. We met the Woodruffs, enjoyed the shave ice from Leilani's that's just like the Leilani's in Maui, then headed to the Americana for a movie. Moana was about Hawaii and was a little scary for Ryan, but with a walking break for Max and Ryan, they did okay in the end. When we arrived there was "snow" and beautiful Christmas lights all over the trees and a huge Christmas tree. It was truly magical and we were very grateful we came to a movie there instead of another place. We got home late, but everyone stayed awake. The kids finished watching Mary Poppins in the car and moved on to Robin Hood, which they loved. It's kind of fun to hear these old classics and lines and voices that remind me so much of my childhood.

Fun Star Wars creations at the Lego Store. 

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Maryel, Lisa, Caroline, me, Jeff, Maria (she was so happy to come because she has never seen something like that at Christmas time), Mom and the kids 

The Americana 

I was talking with Maria and as we were discussing different things, it really hit me how skewed our world has become. Heavenly Father and Jesus rule this world, they created us and have power to destroy the earth, take our lives, or do any number of things they want. They don't get any more power, prestige, money, or anything else by having us believe in them. Those things are meaningless because they are all powerful. And yet they only desire to have us follow them. And if I know that they are rulers, creators, and the power of this earth and this people, for me to choose to follow them in public, or make political decisions based on what I believe they have dictated as laws and commandments they want followed in this life, then so be it. We are all free to choose and live according to our choices, but it is devastating to me that many in the world want to discount or completely remove God (who is also their creator) and say that by bringing God's laws into account, is irrelevant or  discriminatory.

We went to Festival of the Trees in Valencia and hit bad traffic. Luckily, we had a new movie, "Up," that the kids loved. Their favorite part is when Russell says, "phew, I thought you were dead!" They watched that so many times and just kept laughing. That movies saved us from having cranky kids. We saw some fun gingerbread houses and trees and the kids were happy when we found another McDonald's to eat dinner. They have never had McDonald's so much, especially in the same week, so they were in heaven.

Taking photos by the giant elf. 

For Thanksgiving we thought we'd have really simple food and a relaxing day. But even if you do a simple meal, it still seems to take all day. Lily wanted to of course help with everything, and she did. She even sliced strawberries and did a great job. Jeff made rolls and I did sweet potato casserole, but then my mom put on a wonderful meal of mashed potatoes, cranberry jello (which was so yummy!), deviled eggs, stuffing, and some other food. I was sad we wouldn't be around all week to eat the leftovers. Lily helped set the table and is so interested in making things look beautiful and festive.

Helping with rolls. 

Putting the finishing touches on the deviled eggs. 

The next day we sadly had to go home. It was the perfect trip. My dad picked up the RV to get some repairs and the kids all went out to see it. He had no intention of going anywhere, but then Max went up to his office to ask him for a ride. And I guess he couldn't say no, so we rode to the Rose Bowl, parked it, and opened it up since Jeff had never seen it. My dad was very kind since he had things to do and had to go to the office to see a family friend's daughter for an exam. We were sad to leave, but just grateful to have been able to go!

They always loved their cereal assortment each day. 

Ryan wanted so badly to put together some Star Wars transformers, but the instruction were so tricky and we thought there were some pieces missing. After several days of patiently waiting, we found the missing pieces and Jeff somehow figured it out. Ryan was SO happy! And my mom even gave them to him to take home, so he was thrilled. 

Ryan always loves to get a picture with his finished towers.