Trip to California-Fourth Leg-The RIver!!

The trip to the river was a lot of fun with a lot of our family!!! I have so many pictures..too many to post, but I still feel like I posted quite a bit. Enjoy....

There's nothing like waking up at the river and walking out onto the porch to the calm site...this is what we get to see.

The first day we were at the River Jeremy's parents were able to drive up from Phoenix and visit for the day. They brought there new lab, Bayer. It was a lot of fun to see them and we were glad they were able to come.

Then a few days later Alison and Brad were able to drive up and visit as well. I was able to sneak one picture of Brad..he hates the camera.

Here is my nephew Cade smothered in sunscreen.

Behind him is his mom Jaimee and my other nephew Coby.

Our nephew Joey...we love this kid! He was loving the water. We love you Joey!!

The Otter Pops didn't last long. All the kids were eating them up! Kailyn LOVES them!

Jovie hanging out in the sun and chewing on the towel...yummy!

The two newest nephews...Raine Hoke and Merrick Hoke. They are about a months apart from each other and super cute!!! I was very excited that I got to see boh of them on this trip since Raine lives in Utah and Merrick in Nevada.

Golf Cart ride with Poppi

Nathan, Poppi (dad), Cade, Lincoln, Kailyn, Chloee

Me and Katie-River rats in heart!

One of the funniest pictures of Raine...It looks like he is raising his fist at someone and thinking "Why I outtgha.."

Trip to California- Third Leg

My mom bought some Oreo type cookies at Trader Joe's called Joe Joe's and Kailyn loved them!!! She snuck some one day and we took some pics.

My brother, Chris and his family flew in from Pittsburgh and the first day they were here we went to lunch at Rubios and then went to my brother Aaron's house to swim with everyone. It was a lot of fun.

My niece Chloee

Kailyn, Chloee, and their floaties

The group: Chris, Erica, Mom with Jovie, Shanna, Jaimee, and Kristen
Penelope and Kailyn

Kailyn and Chloee were coloring and Kailyn decided to put some red on her lips. Chloee joined in and gave me some big kissing lips for the picure.

Luckily baby wipes did the trick to clean them up.

Penelope's class at school had a Gold Rush play that we were able to go and see. They sang a lot of fun songs and Penelope did a great job!

Yeah Penelope!!

One morning I took Kailyn and Chloee to my favorite donut shop...and it is not Krispy Kreme. We brought donuts back for everyone but Kailyn and Chloee got to pick their very own, which ended up being the sprinkle donuts (of course).

Trip to California-Second Leg-Girls Night!!!!

Yes, this is part of the Second Leg of the trip but because it was so fun I decided it deserved its own post. All I have to say is that I love these girls!!! Enough said... and no matter what ups and downs we go through, we will always be there for one another!! I couldn't ask for a better group to play Rock Band with...we should have started a band back in the day!! We would have brought the house down. But first we ate at Cheesecake Factory. Yum, yum ,yummy!! And, yes Allison, I am now a huge fan of the Avocado Rolls!!!

Me and Jana Howard

Allison Arvizu, Stephanie Jensen, and soon to be Baby Jensen

possibly Lola Ann Jensen..hee hee

This is one of the best pictures of the night!! I love Jana working out onthe elliptical, the position of the drum sticks and the pregnant Stephanie leapingin the air...the best part is you can't tell that she is pregnant in this photo!! I love these girls.

Rocking out!!! Me on the guitar and Jana on the drums.

Allison rapping away and working the mic!

Awesome posing for the picture!

Jana, totally focused and concentrating on strumming the guitar.

On thing I have been teased about throughout my life is having "Finger toes"

Allison had to bring it up and compare the length of her finger to my toe.

It's kind of a tweaked picture. But we were all laughing.

We also surprised Stephanie with some baby presents! We are so excited for Stephanie and Jeff!

and I won't be in CA for the real baby shower, so we did our own.

The group shot before saying goodbye.

Say cheese!!

Trip to California-Second Leg

We had a beach day on Saturday. We met up with Grandpa Steve

and

Uncle Dennis and Aunt Joy brought their grandson, Brogan.

Here is most of the group.

Grandpa Steve

Kailyn, who once was not a fan of the sand, now could care less and was constantly laying on it and rolling around. Bathtime afterwards was fun!

Shanna created some shade for Jovie and her white skin

We buried Penelope and Kailyn.

I was kind of surprised that Kailyn was so relaxed while I buried her. Sometimes her bravery surprises me.

Back where I parked the car the kids fed the squirrels. They call this squirrel park and if you look closely you can see why. There are countless number of squirrels everywhere and they were pretty brave. The kids were having a blast feeding them.

Love the Beach and the family!! Good times!!

Trip to California-First Leg

The girls and I made it to California!!! (we miss you Jeremy) We decided awhile back that it might be beneficial to give Jeremy a few weeks of study time without distraction to prepare for the upcoming Board Exam (good luck babe). So the girls and I braved the airplane...I think some people probably thought I was crazy carrying a 9 month old, backpack, diaper bag, and trying to encourage a 2 1/2 year old to pull her Dora suitcase up the aisle to our seats. Ha ha, but we made it and the girls were pretty good. But Jovie is a wiggle worm! We sat next to a gentleman on the flight who was very nice and very helpful but I couldn't help laughing when he said "You're brave. I couldn't imagine having more than one kid." And he was serious!!!.... I wonder if I should have told him that I come from a family of 11? Ha ha..

Kailyn loves going on airplanes and watching out the window to see if we are in the sky yet. The trick was trying to get her to understand that she needs to keep her seat belt on. So we loosened it A LOT and she was able to be on her knees to see outside.

Nonni won Kailyn over with a Little Mermaid swimsuit. She has worn it in the bath, the pool-io, to the beach, and just to watch a show.

The first night here we went to Island's for dinner with my mom(Nonni), Shanna, Christian, Penelope, Oskar, and Bruce.

Bruce and Kailyn after climbing out from under the table.

He is being a tough boy and she is being sweet little Kailyn.

I love this picture

Nonni and Kailyn
Jovie ate some french fries, but especially liked chewing on the straw. I think her 2nd top tooth is on its way.

The next day we met up with Penelope's 4th grade class at Boomers (Family Fun Center).

Kailyn and Aunt Shanna

Me and Kailyn on the Balloon ride

Penelop, Bruce, Kailyn, and Popi's friend on the train ride. This is the best picture I could get of everyone...Kailyn wasn't cooperating.

The Tiger ride that Penelope and Bruce went on. They were having a lot of fun...double click on the picture to get a better view.

Bruce and Kailyn waiting for tickets to the rides.

We went to Target, which isn't that exciting but the kids got popcorn and were being cute. They even got in a teeny bit of trouble with one of the workers because they were climbing behind the strollers...is it bad that I get a little excited that Kailyn is being somewhat mischievous?

One night we were at Nonni and Poppi's house and Jovie was so smiley, so I took some pictures and this is one of my favorites. Her hair, as Kailyn says "is so crazy!"