Monday, April 30, 2012
The Laundry Monster
Josiah and the Dinosaurs
Friday, April 20, 2012
California Road Trip
Bright and early on a Monday morning, we headed for sunny southern California. Mom, Danielle, Josiah, Faith, and I loaded up and said our goodbyes to the gang. Danielle was going to a Youth Conference at West Coast Baptist College. We decided to drive as far as Redding, California the first day. With a couple of stops for lunch and gas, we arrived at our hotel in time for Danielle to swim. It was great because we had the pool to ourselves. Josiah went swimming, also. Just keep in mind that swimming to Josiah means he put his feet in the water.
Tuesday morning we got up and went to Sundial Bridge. It has a transparent deck and you walk over the Sacramento River. Amazingly, Mom walked on the bridge with us. It was actually pretty cool. Then we headed down the highway again. Next stop was In n Out Burger. This was my first trip to In n Out Burger. We ordered burgers, fries, and a milkshake. I thought it was really good. Danielle seemed to enjoy it, too. Back on the highway, we didn't stop a lot between Sacramento and Bakersfield except for gas. Yes, I pumped gas. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. I was just worried about overflowing the tank, which I never did. We turned off CA 99 in Bakersfield and decided to go all the way to Lancaster. We arrived late but it was nice to know we didn't have to get up and pack everything up and hit the road again.
On Wednesday Josiah found Cartoon Network was having a Ninjago Marathon. He would have sat there all day if he could. We went to the college to check in for the Youth Conference. While we were waiting in line Thommy stopped by to say hi. Then it was off for some shopping for lunch stuff and to buy doughnuts. Josiah had been wanting a doughnut and there was a doughnut place next to the Albertsons. If you are ever in Lancaster, get a doughnut at Spudnuts. It was a great doughnut! Then it was back to the hotel for some more Ninjago. The Youth Conference started that evening and Mom and I stayed at the hotel for a relaxing evening of Ninjago and Food Network.
Thursday, while Danielle was at the conference with a friend, Mom and I headed into Palmdale to look around. We drove by an airport that had a lot of planes on display. Josiah thought that was really cool. We went to a Super Target. That was fun. We got more doughnuts and had coffee at Starbucks. Then we decided to go the Antelope Valley Mall. We found a jacket for Faith because it was so windy. The blanket I usually use to cover her up just wasn't working. Josiah found some rides to play on and then we went to the food court. After a trip to a candy kiosk, we were on our way back to the hotel. I took the kids down to the pool to get a picture of Faith in her swimsuit, but it really wasn't warm enough to swim. Danielle and Matthew spent the afternoon at Six Flags. They seemed to have a good time. Then they were back at the conference in the evening and Mom and I went out for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Josiah fell asleep so we saved his for him.
Friday morning I dropped the girls off for the last session, then went to the Liquid Bean for my morning latte. It was pretty good. After lunch it was off to LAX to pick up Hannah. With much prayer and Mom's Garmin, we found it with no trouble. I have never wanted to go to Los Angeles so this was quite and accomplishment for me. When we got to the airport we found out Hannah's flight had some problem so she had to turn around half an hour into her flight and go back to Denver. She ended up changing planes and eventually got to LAX, ( two and a half hours late )! Hannah didn't know we had brought Josiah on this trip, so we told him to hide and surprise her. Well, Josiah loves a surprise because it usually means a treat. So he wanted to know what the surprise was. We told him he was the surprise and he said "I'm the surprise?" He was so excited, he hid behind a large pillar and waited to jump out and yell surprise. He was so patient. When Hannah saw him, it was Priceless. She hugged him and he was so happy to be the surprise. We took Hannah back to the college, then we headed back to our hotel.
Saturday morning, we walked over to the Liquid Bean again. I told you I liked it. Then it was off to see Hannah. She and Thommy showed us around the Revels Building and we met the man who oversees the bookstore. He ended up buying us drinks in the coffee shop that is in the bookstore. Then we went into Palmdale to have lunch at Shakey's Pizza. It was really good. Then we went back to the college to hang around and play a game of Toss Up. Danielle won, of course. Thommy had to go to work and then we all went shopping at the mall, and then had dinner at In n Out Burger.
Sunday we went to church at Hannah's church. We enjoyed a great message and the kids did great in their classes. We played on the playground after church ( Thommy and Josiah, that is ) and then it was time to say goodbye to Hannah. That was really hard. We all miss her, but we are glad she is in a great place here in Lancaster. We packed up and drove to Modesto. The kids really did great on this trip. Josiah's feet "fell asleep" and had that tingly sensation one time and he cried for about five minutes. Faith only fussed a little bit considering the amount of time we were in the car. Danielle went swimming one last time and I went to In n Out Burger for one last meal there.
On Monday I was really missing the kids, so we decided to try to make it home. We stopped at The Olive Pit and shopped around then had lunch at the Safeway deli. Josiah picked out one more sugary treat and we were on our way. We made it home late, but we made it and surprised everyone by coming home a day early.
It was a great trip! It was so good to see Hannah, and Danielle really enjoyed the Youth Conference. Mom and I had a lot of fun, too. :)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
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