A week with Mimi and Papa.

My parents came out for a week at the end of August.  I checked the weather a couple days before they were coming.  It was supposed to be 81 the day they arrived and 82 every single day after that.  Turns out there may be something wrong with my weather app, because I don't think we saw anything below 95, and several days we broke 100.  And it was humid.  And it was in the upper 80's when it was dark outside.  But it didn't stop us from doing anything we had planned.  We just found a lot of sprinklers and fountains along the way.  

The came in on a Friday night, and Saturday I had two parties I'd committed to help with so that day was full.

In the afternoon it was a Minnie Mouse themed birthday for a one year old.

Then the kids went home for naps and I went on to help set up the next party.  My friend Kim, (who was friends with Paul in college, and then friends with my brother, Taylor, through BIOLA/WSU Mormon/Evangelical dialog conferences and missions trips, and then I finally got to meet her a couple years after that) had an American Citizenship party from her British husband who recently became a US citizen.  She did a great job and it was so much fun.  Paul had a Lion's Club party that night, so he went to that and my parents brought the kids to this party (because they knew Kim before I did, too).

 Jonny's in the middle and two of his brothers were here from England to help him celebrate.

Monday we went to the circle of Orange and wandered around.  Played in the fountain there.  Then went to the train station for lunch and played in that fountain too.  It was too hot that day, and it was kind of a bust.  But the kids seemed to have fun.

 They met a friend at the train station and had fun playing with him.  Until I told Garrett we had to go home for naps.  He went over to his friend and calmly explained that he had to go home now for a nap.  The boy DID NOT want him to go, and it turned into a back and forth 'arguement'.  "Don't go take a nap!"  Yes!  I'm going home to take a nap!"  "No!" "Yes!" "NO!" "YES!" "NOOO!"  "YEEEES!"  For a minute I thought I should step in and break it up, but Garrett was holding his own and they were cracking each other up.  When Addie saw that their friend wasn't getting it, she took over the YES/NO battle.  But she couldn't stop laughing.

My mom and I went and got Pedicures while the kids napped.

We went to Newport Beach. 

 Garrett looks so old here I think.

 Addie was being a sea monster.

 So hot and so tired, but not wanting to leave.

That night we went to the Street Market in Huntington Beach.  I was riding in the back of the van and Addie wanted to hold hands.  I couldn't reach, so she settled for a toe.

We went to Knott's Berry Farm.

 Addie wasn't tall enough for the log ride, so we watched from the side.

 We went on the old train ride and some cowboy 'bandits' came in the car and instructed us all to put our hands up.  Addie was very obedient and didn't cause any trouble during the 'robbery'.  

 Garrett was a lot more brave this time.  Tried new rides and went on more kid ones by himself.

 It was so hot that day, so hot.  We splashed a lot in the fountains, and soaked these bandanas every chance we got.  Still really fun though!

And of course we ended the day with Dots at Knott's.

We went to see Planes.  Garrett was glued to the screen the whole time and loved it.  Addie ate snacks and was facing the back of the theater just about the whole time.

We went to the Parnell Park zoo, but spent most of the time looking for shade and water to play in.

We're hoping the next visit is a little cooler!

Visitors, birthdays...Playing catch-up.

When I get discouraged about not making scrapbooks, or falling so behind on blogs, or all my unorganized photos, I try and remind myself that at least I'm doing something to document our sometimes busy, sometimes boring, sometimes challenging, sometimes exciting lives.  Probably more than most people.  And even doing a little is enough right now.  I just flipped through my phone pictures (BTW, it still bugs me that I never take real camera pictures) and there was something like 700 pictures from events from that past two weeks that haven't been blogged about yet. Don't worry, although all my posts are photo heavy, I won't bore you with all 700 pictures, just trying to hurry and catch up on the fun things!

My father in law turned 50 on August 16th.  I know, he's a young one.  We planned a surprise party for him and it went off without a hitch.  We ordered the main dish and dessert and I did all the side dishes and decorations.  We had a "One foot in the grave/Older than dirt" party, so it was fitting that we had the celebration at our friend's cemetery.  50 of Phil's closest friends and family members were there to surprise him with us.  His brother from Colorado, his best friend from Seattle, and my brother from St. George, just to name a few.  Taylor and Samira and baby Will showing up was even a surprise to me!

 I never get sick of sleeping baby pictures.  And this party wiped Addie out!

The next day, (Saturday) we went to Downtown Disney.  We got over half the way there when Taylor and Samira realized they forgot to move Williams back up oxygen from one car to the other so we had to go back home.  It was just one little moment where I saw how hard they work to care for their son.  There's so much to remember, pack up, pull, carry, all. the. time.  They're so good with him.  We were talking about them coming down for Thanksgiving and the determining factor for how long they'll stay was how many oxygen tanks they can fit in their car.  It's just overwhelming what some parents (and children) do everyday that I don't even think about with my own kids.  Feeling blessed, and thankful that William has the great parents he does.

 The Lego store and remote control cars.

 "Up" is William's favorite movie, and the artist went above and beyond to include so many details.  Taylor mentioned here how great it is to finally be doing things that 'normal' families do.  Again, something I never think about.

That night we went swimming at the in-laws and had dinner.  William entertained us all with his oxygen tube tricks.

  Addie and Garrett could not get enough of their cousin.  They'd even follow him when he was going to get his diaper changed.  When it was quiet or I couldn't find them, it was safe to say they were in the guest room checking on William.

It was a busy weekend and went by too fast, but it was so great to have them here.  Looking forward to a longer visit soon.