Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th! everyone and hello from Templeton, CA. We are barely a week into our vacation, but it feels like we have been away for a long time. We started our vacation on a low note after leaving BWI and flying to LAX. Andrew fell asleep on the plane and he woke up shortly before we landed. On top of the fact that Andrew and I were both on antibiotics and our ears were plugged, Andrew threw up all over his blanket, socks, shoes, my purse, his backpack, and the floor of the airplane within 5 minutes of landing at LAX. Thank goodness I had a pack of wipes with me because I used them all just getting him cleaned up enough to get off the plane. He proceeded through the airport and to the hotel in a pair of Matthew's socks. This all occurred at 11:30 pm west coast time, 2:30 am east coast time.

Moving on to the following morning, we drove from LAX to Grandma's house in Glendale (did a load of laundry, thanks Grandma!). Then we moved into our home away from home in Altadena (the house behind where we used to live) with Miss Christy Joy. We were very disappointed to see that our old house had deteriorated and the awning had recently blown off the deck in high winds. We had a fabulous time with Christy Joy and Ron, catching up on all of the changes since we left and enjoying some great dinners on the patio.

On Friday, we went to visit my previous co-workers at City of Hope and spent the afternoon with the Burkhart boys in La Canada playing ball in the park. We spent Saturday at Universal Studios and had a great time. Sunday we had lunch and dinner with cousin Brenan who came up from San Diego to Grandma's house in Glendale.

Monday we had planned to go to Disneyland, but Matthew wasn't feeling well. We stayed in and did a load of laundry, watched movies, and then in the afternoon, took Matthew to the hospital in Pasadena where he was born.

Tuesday we went to Disneyland and took Grandma along. We arrived at 10:30 am and left at 8:30 pm - long day but it was really fun and the boys had a great time. Their favorite ride was Space Mountain which we saved for the end (roller coaster in the dark). Andrew asked me to hold his hand, but after the first few turns, he was holding onto the lap bar and now claims he wasn't scared at all.

Wednesday we piled all our stuff in the car, picked up Grandma, made our second run to In n Out Burger (YUM!!!!!) and headed to Debbie's house in Atascadero. The ride was beautiful along the coast, except for the blazing brush fire in Santa Barbara. We arrived at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Caleb's house just in time for dinner and their home is absolutely beautiful. It sits on a hillside above the coast and the sunsets are gorgeous. They have 4 goats on the property to help keep the grass in check on 2.5 acres. So far the boys have picked peaches off the trees, fed cantelope rind to the goats, played baseball in the yard, and eaten plums fresh off the trees.

We are staying in a very new Marriott hotel in Paso Robles and the boys are enjoying the breakfast buffet. We stayed in at Debbie's house yesterday and today as the boys are having a great time playing with toys that Debbie got for them and playing baseball in the yard. It's good to have a break from the running around. Last night, cousin Tiana and her boyfriend Jon arrived just in time to join us for a game of wiffle ball.

Tonight we are going to the Meridian Winery where Aunt Debbie works to enjoy the fireworks. Tomorrow we are going to a barbeque at Uncle Caleb's family's house in San Louis Obispo. Suffice it to say, there is no shortage of good food when you spend time with Debbie and Caleb!

Sunday we will pack up again and head back to LA to drop off Grandma and drive to the airport. Off to Oahu on Monday around 11:30 am. We are having a great trip and I am in the process of uploading photos to the Picasa site (click the link on the right side) so you can all see the sights of Southern CA.

I am hoping to update again from Hawaii, but if not, I will update when we get home to Maryland, sometime after 7/18.