Tuesday & Wednesday in CA!

On TUESDAY, I was finally able to see my friend Torie! Torie, Kim and I used to have regular "Coffee Talk" (CT for short) before work. We had a traditional CT, with the addition of Lilly & Zac. It was just like old times (with a few child related distractions). I love my girls so much, and miss seeing them regularly!
After CT, Kim and I took the kids to the mall, then we headed home for lunch and nap. Before nap, Lilly got in some great playtime with grandpa in the backyard!
After nap, the kids and I headed out for a BBQ with my friends. It was SO nice that everyone was able to be there! It was great to see everyone that I used to hang out with so regularly! There were many more children there now, but lots of jokes and good times... some things never change!
The BBQ was at Dan and Allison's house (Allison of the gorgeous cakes, for those of you who pay attention). Here is Ryan (Dan and Allison's youngest) with Zac.
For some reason, I like this picture. Brett is on the left, looking a little lost. Dan is in the middle and Brandon is on the right, and they are making eyes at each other. Pretty much typical stuff! Brandon's daughter, Brooklyn, is the cutie on the right!
Here is the Blom family! Brandon, Liz and Brooklyn, plus little baby Blom who is due in December! Congrats to them!
Brett, Kim and I used to carpool to work each day. Boy do I miss carpool!!! Brett, as a result, got to know Lilly pretty well from drop-offs. He has always been kinda enamored with her. Not in a wierd, creepy way, but in a "Brett needs to get off his butt and find a girl so he can have a baby of his own" way. Regardless, they had a great reunion!
The boys! There is Dan again, on the left. Chad is in the middle, who is married to Jamee, and Matt is Kim's hubby, on the right. Chad and Matt are BFF's for sure, and it was so great to see them both!
Here is Allison with Emma, their oldest. Emma and Ryan were both so good with both Lilly and Zac. Such neat kids!
Kim and Matt!
Here's Jamee! She had baby boy CJ about 6 weeks after Zac was born. Doesn't she look great for having such a young baby?
Emma and Lilly got to frost the cake that Mary made for us to bring (thanks again!!). Emma got a little freaked out that Lilly kept trying to lick her fingers, then touch the cake. But, we kept germs at bay.
The funniest thing was that, after the cake was frosted and decorated with fresh strawberries, Lilly started up her own rendition of "Happy Birthday." I used it as an opportunity to point out that we don't have cake usually unless it's someones birthday! We all joined in and sang "Happy Birthday" with an audible awkwardness during the "Happy Birthday Dear ____________" part.
And, finally, here I am with Dan. Dan and I have a great and pretty unique friendship, built at least in part on the mutual love of FOOD. Ahhh for the days when we would have contests to see who could eat the most pizza at lunch. Taking turns racing to Arby's during impossibly short lunch breaks. Excitement over seeing bacon in a box. Ahhh.... good times!! Fat times, but good times!! And, I will never forget Dan bringing Beer (Ok, Odouls) for breakfast when it was his turn to cater morning the staff meeting on Wednesdays.

That was our BBQ - good times for sure!

On WEDNESDAY, we laid low during the morning. We had been out late Tuesday night, and I was just pretty beat. Lilly got yet another present from her grandparents - this large floor puzzle of her favorite Yurtle Turtle. Grandpa helped her put it together!

That afternoon, after nap, we headed out the The Fountains area in Folsom. Sadly, the big fountains kinda freaked Lilly out, and the ones that are set up for kids to play in were turned off for a concert. But, Lilly had fun playing with both grandma and grandpa in the play area.

Then, we got to take a train ride! Here are Lilly, Mary and Dave looking back at me and Zac.

After our fun at The Fountains, we went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Yum!! Then, it was time to head back to get a good nights sleep before Thursday's travel day.

I have no pictures of Thursday, but we were able to have some play time in the morning before heading to the airport. Dave drove us to the airport and made sure we got to security safely. The airplane ride home was as uneventful as the ride to California. Lilly had her Dora the Explorer DVD, plus made friends with a girl who sat in front of her. Zac and I had our new baby carrier from Mary, so we were even more comfortable and I had the use of both arms. A very nice lady sat next to us and, while I didn't need nor did she offer to help as much as our friend from the first flight, she talked to the kids and was more than understanding about the fact that I was traveling with two young kids. Lilly even offered her a only slightly licked gummy bear. She politely declined, but complimented Lilly on her manners. My mom picked us up at the Phoenix airport and, after finally finding her car in the garage (seriously mom!!), we got back home safe and sound.

What a great trip! I cannot express how thankful I am to Mary and Dave for everything. About an hour into our visit it looked like "childhood" had vomited all over their home, and yet they didn't bat an eye. They gave me full use of Dave's Explorer, so they basically shared Mary's car the whole time. They spoiled the heck out of Lilly and Zac with presents and love. They also spoiled me, which was so thoughtful and completely unnecessary, but very very much appreciated. Not to mention constantly cooking and cleaning and doing our laundry... I'm sure I'm forgetting so much, but the bottom line is that they did everything possible to make our trip comfortable and easy and, most of all, fun! They are such wonderful grandparents, as well as in-laws!

Also big thanks go out to Aunt Jenn, who lined up carseats for both kids, port-a-cribs, a swing and booster, and too many toys and books to count. This made traveling so much easier, as I didn't have to worry about any of these important items! Plus Mary had diapers and wipes ready at the house, so I didn't have to pack more than I needed for the flight.... really, I could go on and on.

We're already looking forward to another visit, here or there, soon!