Sunday, July 20, 2014

California- Part 3

I feel like this blog post is one long promotion for San Diego. In my unbiased opinion, I would recommend that everyone have Grandparents in San Diego. It is a great place for a vacation! We have had a fabulous last 2 weeks including "surf" time with Uncle Matt and Aunt Karina. . .




. . . a patriotic 4th of July



 . . . a seaplane ride taking off and landing in the harbor (thanks Aunt Christy and Grandpa!)





  . . .  Padres game


  . . . .San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park



  . . . . lots of Mexican food
  . . . .a visit from our friends Billy and Katherine (and little Talia)

  . . . .  VBS at Grandma and Grandpa's church. This is "Crazy Hair Day"
 . . .  and bike riding with Uncle Mikey

Reflecting on our time I'm so thankful for the quality time we got to spend with so many loved ones during our time down here. We love you! Thanks for everything!

Friday, July 11, 2014

California Part II- Idyllwild with the Paine Family

After the climax of Angela's wedding people slowly started leaving Arroyo Grande. We went from 30 people in the house, to a quiet 16 people, down to 11, until we knew it was time to hop on a train and move on. We rode the train from Grover Beach to Fullerton and enjoyed following the coast most of the way. The kids were free to move around which was great for Josiah and Annette, but challenging with Annabelle. 




 We even took some trips to the front to keep the Engineer company. He was very patient with Josiah's endless curiosity.
 From Fullerton Grandma drove us up to a cabin in Idyllwild where we enjoyed 5 days of sweet smelling pine air with all of Jason's family. It was a great house with lots of fun things to do and conducive for spending quality time together.


 Brothers watching the world cup


 The fish weren't biting but the kids still made great memories with Grandpa






 We loved getting to meet our new nephew Sawyer Elijah. The dads even played one- armed Ladder Ball while balancing their babies



It amazes me how naturally our kids transition between the Chinese and American cultures. The world must really be getting smaller. They have been been awed by some "new" novelties such as 

- garages and garage door openers
- self service gas stations
- dish washers
- different toilet flushes, light switches and paper towel dispensers
- gum ball machines
- drive throughs
-ice cream trucks
- garage sales
- milk in gallon jugs