Going back to Cali

What a week! On Friday Sean gave me a late mothers day present & we went to California for the weekend. We also wanted to celebrate Sean's semester being over.


Friday I made some cupcakes to take to our friend Josh Duffy's graduation party. We are lucky enough to have found such amazing friends as the Duffy's... & unlucky enough that they moved back to California this weekend :( So we got to hang out one last time with them. Seriously, they have the nicest families in the entire world!!! We had a ton of fun with them!!! and everyone just LOVED Sammy & I pretty much didn't get to hold him all night.


Everyone was getting in the pool & so I had Sean take Sam in too....

you can see by his reaction just how much he loved it! The water was just a little bit on the cool side.

We are just so sad to see good friends leave us... once again. It seems like every time we make friends, they leave AZ :(!!!!

So Saturday VERY early morning we headed out to California. We ended up beach bumming around that day cause we were sooo tired. Sean's younger brother Justin came with us on our trip.

We went to Crystal Cove State park & just relaxed for awhile. It was a little overcast, but just right . I LOVED just laying on the jean blanket & watching the waves- & Sammy! He absolutely loved the beach! He played in the sand & was just amazed with it. He did not like how cold the ocean was!

We got these super cute board shorts for him at Target

Sammy & mommy :)

Justin & Sean out with the boogy boards

the beach took its toll on Sam & he layed down for a minute.

Sand in the face... yuck!

Sean burying Sam in the sand.

What California trip would be complete without Disneyland??!! & California Adventure? We had tons of fun.. even though it was a tad crowded. Thank goodness for switch passes!! Two of us would go on a ride & get a switch pass for the third person who was watching the baby. Then we'd switch & two of us would go back on the ride through the fast pass line... fabulous for people with babies!!! Sam did enjoy Disneyland though!! He met Winnie the Pooh & grabbed his nose & also met Mickey.

Here we are waiting for Sean & Justin to get off Splash Mountain so I could enjoy it too :)

the Jungle Cruise... a classic!

I love this picture so much!! Sean looks so happy. He was showing Sam the pirhannas that were tryin to attack our jungle boat

It was a fun day. We switched between Cali Adventure & Disneyland alot. Sean's brother Justin really liked the roller coasters, & wanted to stay on all the fast rides. I forgot how much I loved Soaring Over California & California Screamin. Sam got to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride, It's a Small world, the Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates & the Tikki Room. He did really well all day long.

& we even got to be part of an earthquake!!! There was a 4.7 in L.A. & we felt it while we were siting in a restaurant talking to my sister & brother in law who happened to be in Disneyland too. At first I was thinking it was a rumble from a ride or something & then realized there wasn't a ride underneath the restaurant. Crazy! It didn't last long, but all the rides closed after that to make sure they were fit to ride. It happened right before the fireworks, so we just left after that. What a day!!!!!!


We did catch Mickey on our way out thought :)

We stopped in one last store before we left & Sam was getting a little restless. I put him in front of the window display where Sleeping Beauty & Prince Philip were moving back & forth like they were dancing & he was mesmorized by it. He even started talking to them.

So the next day we made on more trip to the beach. My friend Meredith grew up in the OC & knows of all the good beaches & great places to be, so she so nicely agreed to come hang out with us for awhile. She took us to the Thousand Steps Beach near Laguna Beach. WOW!!! SOOOOO beautiful! One of the prettiest beaches I've been on! The sand is almost like powder, it was so nice. & the water was a little clearer & it was just so nice :)

They call it the thousand steps beach cause it takes that to get there....

that picture dosn't even show all the steep steps it takes to get there. There were alot more after you get to the bottom of this. It wasn't too bad going down...but coming back up!!!!!! with a 20lb baby!!!!!! Sean asked me if I wanted him to take him when we were going up & I said I could carry him. Yeah, about half way up we switched. My legs felt like jello!! & my calves were a tad sore the next day. If I did that every day a couple of times I'd be so in shape!!! Now I know why we only saw pretty thin people on the beach down there- cause those steps would definitely deter any out of shaper!! I've even been excercising more the past month & a half & I had a hard time towards the end!! It was definitely worth it though!!!



Sean & Sam

Sam being cute

the Johnsons on thousand steps beach

Meredith & me.

meredith was nice enough to come let us rinse off at her house before we headed back... which made for a much more comfortable ride home!
Meredith was such a prepared beach goer- we were lucky to have her with us! She brought waters & sadwhiches. She, and I walked with Sam along the beach while Sean & Justin caught some waves. There was a n awesome cave along the beach & I'm sad I didn't have my camera to take some more pictures. Hopefully we can go back next time we're there.

We did not get a last glimpse of the other half of the Duffy couple, cause Josh had started his bar exam class. Good luck Josh :)

Great trip! Much needed!! Glad to be home!!!!