More tripping in California

Friday brought a day that we were mostly on our own... Debbie had to go to work and Alan had Jury Duty for the day. So after the girls were up and fed, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.. It was a nice walk... we saw Eucalyptus trees and lemon trees. We also saw quite a few rose bushes on our walk. The walk took us approximately an hour to complete. We had some lunch (Alan came home and ate with us) and then headed over to the Venturan to see Grandma Ringen. The girls had a nice visit with her. Lily got rather attached to a statue in the foyer of a puppy dog holding a shoe and of a tricycle with two children on it (a boy and a girl). She also rather enjoyed watching the digital picture frame in Grandma's room. Thankfully I knew who a majority of the people on it are so I was able to help her name them. While Daddy and Anna visited with Grandma outside, Lily had fun walking the halls of the Venturan. She really liked getting a chance to play Balloon Toss with some of the residents and batting at a very large balloon with a pool noodle. At the end of the game she was even given the balloon to play with on her own. Anna also enjoyed walking the halls but liked listening to the music that was being played and eventually she convinced Daddy, Lily and Grandma to join us in listening for a while.

Saturday brought a trip to a Farmer's Market ,while Alan went on a 60 mile bike ride, with Aunt Debbie. We had a great time looking over the fresh produce and getting all sorts of fruits and veggies for dinner. Debbie bought a whole bunch of peaches for a pie that she made for our dessert. Later in the day while Daddy and Alan went to visit Shirley and then to the storage unit to go through some boxes from their parents, Debbie and I brought the girls to Ventura Harbor to have some Beach time and to ride the Carousel. Once again Anna was all over the water and had no problem being in it... Lily was not happy about the sand and trying to walk on it and didn't want anything to do with the water and was happiest in Mommy's arms while we walked. Both girls though were really happy with the Carousel and wanted more than one ride but we had to get back to the house for dinner. We promised them another ride for the next day if possible.

Sunday brought church and it turned out to be quite the adventure since one of the gentlemen in the Choir got hurt during rehearsal before the service began. The girls were great about going into and staying in the Nursery room without Mommy or Daddy being with them. After service we went back to the house and had some lunch before Lee and I went to go visit Shirley without the girls in tow. It was an emotional visit for Lee since his mom talked to us quite a few times and when we left she gave him a hug that made him cry. Meanwhile Debbie and Alan took care of Anna and Lily for us and got them to nap. Dinner was Italian out at Ventura Harbor and the girls got their promised ride on the Carousel with Daddy and Uncle Alan. We also finally got some shopping time in for souvenirs of our trip (t-shirts and a magnet).

Monday brought a last trip to see Shirley till whomever knows when.. so we made sure to take lots of pictures of the girls with Grandma Ringen and of Daddy and his girls with Grandma. We also made time to go to a park and played at 2 play areas before heading home for dinner and a quick nap for the girls. Later that evening we made our way back to the airport and eventually home to Boston.

I'm so glad that we are home and back to our lives here but there is a part of me that wishes that we lived closer so that we could be closer to Shirley and to Al and Debbie especially at the moment. Hopefully should anything happen to Shirley it won't be for a long time so that the girls and I can go also but I totally understand if the girls and I get left behind for that trip.