I'm Back!

Wow. That was a long blogging absence! We had a long trip too. It was so much fun! Be prepared for the next few posts being all about our visit to California.

We left on October 1st. It seems like forever ago. Ian was able to take half of Friday off, so we decided to just drive straight through and get there late. We left at 2pm-ish, only had to stop 3 times, and arrived at my parent's house around 11:30pm that night. It was a long drive, but the kids were great, and we really just sailed down I-15.
Saturday we watched Conference and relaxed. Mom and I went and got pedicures in between sessions, which was really fun. The Henshaw's arrived during the afternoon session too. I will have to go back and read the talks from that whole session since I was pretty distracted. During the Priesthood session we took all the kiddos to McDonald's for dinner and some play time. They loved it and we got to visit. When we got back Auntie Joy had a fun surprise for all the kids . . . new Disney PJ's! They were so excited and put them right on. It was seriously the cutest. Davin and Rachel are both really into Toy Story and Buzz, so they got Buzz jammies. :) Those two year olds sure are adorable! The boys got sushi after the session then Jim and Ian went and saw Inception. We got Golden Spoon and kept up the girl talk until way too late.
Sunday was yummy Conference breakfast: souffle, fruit, donuts, and milk. The sessions were really nice too. I enjoyed all the talks and the kids enjoyed their cousin time. Sunday evening G&G Olson, Grandma Snowball, and Aunt Joyce, Uncle Rich, and Lance came over for a birthday dinner. We celebrated Grandpa Olson and Jules' birthdays with homemade ice cream (SO good) and marble cake. It's always good to see everyone. By Sunday night the kiddos were pretty exhausted so it was an early to bed kind of night. They had a big cousin sleepover in the grandkids' room. :)
Monday morning we all got up and got dressed and drove out to the Henshaw's place in Port Hueneme. It was supposed to be beach day, but the weather was cold and rainy. The drive out was long with lots of traffic and we were feeling a little concerned for the fate of the day, but when we got to Jim and Joy's the weather was still cloudy, but not raining and not freezing cold. We decided to brave the beach after all. I'm SO glad we did. We had such a blast. The sun even came out for a little while! My boys were all about playing in the sand and collecting shells and rocks. Joy's girls wanted to play in the water. I don't think Weston even put his toes in. He's funny like that. In his defense it was pretty cold. Joy and I got to kick back on the sand and talk. I love getting to do that.

We were excited to get to see where the Henshaw's live! I had been there once before when Weston was just a few months old, but Weston thought it was cool too see his cousin's room and play with their toys. They even sat down and watched the new Tinkerbell movie with him. Later the Henshaw's took us out for pizza at this cool place right on the water. Did I mention they live about 5 minutes from the beach? We were a little jealous. I had to get my CA donut fix, so we went to Spudnuts for dessert. Mmm it was so good. I wish I could have brought a dozen home and frozen them for later, but they would not have survived the rest of the trip. :) Thanks to the Henshaw's for hosting such a fun day in their neck of the woods!
Tuesday was kind of a down day. We didn't try to do too much. After lunch we went to the nickelcade with Jules and her friend, Randy. Weston was all about getting tickets and buying little toys with them. Davin just wanted to play the games that launched balls and then he just wanted candy with his tickets. :) I got a few games of skeeball in and Ian got to play some Propcycle (his favorite!), so I would say it was a successful outing all around.

That afternoon I went to SCCC (the private children's chorus my mom directs) with Mom. Her Christmas repertoire with her choir is all the songs I grew up singing with my family, so I helped her kids with running through parts on the songs I knew. I left rehearsal a little early and went to get my hair done by a friend who is in hair school near the rehearsal. I got blonde highlights and a cut. I love it! Mom was a trooper and waited the extra couple of hours at the hair school while my hair was being done and then we went to BJ's for some potato skins and pizookie. It was a pretty late night, but I had a good time. Stay tuned for a post all about our day at Disneyland!