California (and a Hunting Trip)

The girls and I headed to Cali to see my parents the week before Thanksgiving.  I did all kinds of planning, thinking, worrying about the worst for the flight by myself, but in the end my girls proved to me that they could be angels and everything went smoothly!  I was especially nervous about Aspen (not so much Harper--put the iPad in front of that girl and she doesn't move a muscle) because that little miss has been pretty fussy the last several months.  As in I can't ever just sit with her without her screaming.  So you can understand why an airplane right could be worrisome.  But on the way there she ate and slept almost the whole way and on the way back she fell asleep as we were boarding and didn't move a muscle the whole flight.  BLESSINGS!

Harper was so excited about taking an airplane right...as evidenced by her fake smile.
But really, she was excited.

After landing in Sacramento, we were waiting for Papi to bring the car around and Harper saw this lovely piece of art hanging in the foyer and shouted to my mom and me, "Look at the humongous bunny!"  I didn't even know she knew the word humongous!  Made us laugh.

Day 1 (day of our arrival) we went to lunch with Dad and then just played with Grammy's toys at her house.  It was so great to be there...we were spoiled the whole week.

Day 2 we went to a place about an hour away called Apple Hill.  We had just missed the peak season so a lot of the stuff was closed (all the stuff for kids, etc.) but that also meant that we missed all the crowds.  For us it was a fine trade.  Navigating with a toddler and a baby is the worst!  It was a gorgeous day and we walked around a bunch of different orchards and shops and fields and around ponds, etc.  Apple Hill is a big area of a variety of orchards, wineries, etc.  You can drive through this windy road that takes you past each one and just stop at whatever orchard/area you want to, depending on what you're looking for.  We just perused the fruit stands, tried some delicious apples and apple products and enjoyed the lovely drive and weather.

Day 3 was an "off" day where we just played again at Grammy's, had delicious lunch, napped (the main reason for an "off" day), and watched movies.

She loves Papi!

Day 4 we went to Fairytale Town.  For anyone with little kids, this is a MUST if you go to Sacramento.  It's just a big play park with fairytale-themed slides, playhouses, etc.  We were there for at least 2 hours and could have stayed longer, but we were hungry.  :)  Harper was in heaven and I couldn't stop snapping pictures.

A little Wizard of Oz (which she doesn't even know about yet...)

Cinderella's Carriage

 

The old woman who lived in a shoe...apparently I'm the old woman.

Aspen was there too.

haha

We sure do love each other!

Day 5 was another relax (and nap for Harper) day.  I needed these to not feel run ragged and Harper needed them to not be overloaded and grumpy.  Grammy played LOTS of Candyland with Harper, we played with the goats and the dog, Mom introduced me to the series The Men Who Built America (I must find it and watch the whole thing), and of course we ate some yummy food.

Day 6 we went home.  boo.  But not before we had another fun day.  It was Saturday so Papi came and played with us, too.  We went to The Children's Museum in Sacramento on our way to the airport.  Another really cool place for kids.  I was worried it might be too advanced for Harper, but it wasn't at all.  She had a BLAST!  (Sorry the pictures are fuzzy...she wouldn't/couldn't stay still!)

On the flight home

While we were in California, Chase was hunting with his brother, Bridger, in northern Idaho.  They were going for deer, but after 4 long days of hunting, this is the picture I got from Chase on his last day out there.

2 Grouse.  Nice, but not really worth the 8+ hour drive.

I was bummed for both of them because they were looking forward to their hunting trip so much.

Then...a couple hours later, literally 20 minutes before the sun went down, I got this picture message...

I couldn't believe it!  Chase got his deer at, quite literally, the last second.  Bridger was still skunked, but there's always next year.

Such fun trips!  Can't wait until next year's separate but equal vacations!