California bound

Today is Wednesday July 30th.

We had a 7:00 a.m. flight. Jay was sweet enough to get up early and bring us to the airport by 6:00. We had no problems getting checked in and all. Our flight took off ontime, we flew a different airline than ever before called Sun Country. They even served us a breakfast sandwich. Which we all know is unheard of these days.

We slept for most of the 4 hr flight to L.A. Alexia must have been pretty tired because this kid never seems to need sleep. Before we knew it we were touching down and Erick and I were looking at each other saying "this is it". This is what we wanted, starting a new life here in beautiful California. It was kind of hard to believe it was actually happening.

Dad and Diann picked us up promptly as usual. It sure was nice of them to drive into L.A. to meet us there at 9:00 a.m. (2 hr time difference) After loading all our luggage (we had to borrow a duffle bag from Jay & Toni to fit everything on the plane) we headed off to pick up Erick's car which had come in a few days earlier. It was about 20 minutes south of L.A.

Erick's car had a slight scratch on one of the doors about 2 feet long, later we were lucky enough to have it buffed out. We went to the Corner Bakery for brunch and then off to the apartment to meet the owner and get our keys. It was strange walking into this place knowing that's where we're going to be living for the next 12months but if if we're going to live somewhere temporarily, this is THE PLACE to be!
We've taken pictures of the pool area, which we overlook. It sure cuts down on any road noise.

Erick then had to go to the DMV to get his new license and registration. It was expiring the next day. Unfortunately he needed a passport to get a new license and didn't have it with him. Guess he'll go back another day.

Diann and Dad made us a wonderful dinner and we feel so fortunate that Diann opened up her home to us for as long as we needed to stay.

Tomorrow the fun begins, coordinating the movers, teh ABF truck and the POD...Oh Joy!

Today's Jay's birthday!

Today is Tuesday July 29th.

Jay turns 37 today! I'm so happy we were here to share this day with him. What are the odds of our trip working out this way? We went to watch Alec play soccer this morning at 10:30, it was pretty hot already. He is such a great little player, very assertive. I believe he got 3 goals that day....Go Alec!!!!

We took Jay to Benihana. It's a Japanese steakhouse where they cook in front of you and put on quite a show. The kids love it and to be honest so do we. There was so much food, even the lunch sizes. We had the waiters come over and sing Happy Birthday to Jay trying to embarrass him but to no avail. They sang in English and Japanese, it was cool.

Guess what the kids did when we got back, you guessed it, the water slide. That was quite the smart investment. We couldn't have asked for better weather here, it was in the 80s and sunny everyday. It really is a nice place to visit.........in the SUMMER! Seriously, it really is very beautiful and they are known for their 15,000 lakes.

Tomorrow we're off to our new home!!!!

Mall of America

Today is Monday July 28th.

Again, a wonderful breakfast. I'm liking this place, I can't wait to get the bill.

We dropped my car off to be shipped to CA. It should be there in a little over a week. Then we headed off to the Mall of America so the kids could enjoy the new Nickelodeon Amusement Park (it used to be called Camp Snoopy) It has new rollercoasters and is much larger than it used to be. You see they had to put the themepark "inside", it's so darn cold there in MN it would be such a short season to enjoy outside. I think it's brilliant. People come from all over the world to visit this mall. It's quite amazing to see.

We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for lunch, it was delicious. Alexia ended up with a tall plastic souvenier cup that lights up on the bottom, pretty cool!

After lunch the kids headed off to the Fairly Odd Parents roller coaster. Alexia was so nervous but not Alec. At 6 1/2 he is so fearless. Once the ride was over Alexia was jumping up & down about how much she loved it! We spent a few hours there watching the kids have a blast on all the rides, it was so nice that they had each other to go on the rides with. Jay went with Alec on one ride that was a pretty intense loop rollercoaster, Alexia wanted no part in it.

For dinner Toni made these amazing tacos with all the fixins' and then some. My cousin Paul (Jay's brother) came over with his wife Sara and their 3 children. They brought these amazing homemade pies made by some old man in his 80's. He still bakes them daily in a town nearby. There was peach and apple, mmmmmm! Paul's three kids, Alesia, Noah and Drew all played on the waterslide with Alec & Alexia, they were having a blast.

Later that evening after Paul and his family left we all watched Talladega Nights, even Aunt Nancy. I wasn't so sure how she was going to like it but she watched the whole thing. The kids watched their own movie upstairs.

Another wonderful day with my family, I just love it!

Lemonade stand

Today is Sunday, July 27.

Today we awoke to Jay & Toni making pancakes and scrambled eggs, sausage and lots of fruits. This was better than any hotel we had been at so far. What a breakfast! We wanted a lazy day today, from all the traveling we'd been doing it was nice to sit back and really do nothing. We hung outside and watched the kids go up and down the waterslide. Erick and Jay took turns throwing a sponge ball (no, not sponge bob) to them as they slid down. It was cute to see how many times in a row they could catch it or not, depending on the throw :) It was nice chatting with Aunt Nancy and Toni while we watched the guys and kids play. Again they enjoyed some ice cold beers!

Later in the afternoon Alec and Alexia decided to put together a little lemonade stand in the front yard on the curb. It was .50 a cup and there were many friendly neighbors and kids that came by. Even someone in a minivan drove up like it was a drive-up window to get a cup. They each made almost $5 each. They were so proud of themselves.

Later that evening when the sun went down, around 9:30. It's amazing how late the sun stays out there. We made smores around the fire pit, they were soooo good.