Happiness

An hour North of here, lies Hearst Castle- a castle built by a very rich man who loved Paso Robles and felt that it was the perfect place and Heaven on Earth (which I can see!). He bought zebras and made perfect pools at his Castle. Across from the Hearst Castle, is Hearst Beach and the Elephant Seal beach. The Elephant seals are so funny to watch! These were teenagers and they would bump chests to fight. Hearst beach is my kids favorite because it's not as crowded as other beaches and the waves are a pretty good size! We spent the afternoon here boogie boarding and having a blast! We showed Chloe the beach and she enjoyed getting a tan. Great beach visit!

For Memorial Day we decided to take a trip to the beach. We live in sunny California and feel that we pay for the good weather, so we like to get out and enjoy it. Plus, we love going to the beach!  We arrived around 3:30, played in the sand and a little in the water (it was super cold) and then started a fire pit an hour later. You dig a hole in the sand, build your fire inside the hole and you've got a lovely place to keep you warm and cook your dinner. Good thing too because it's chilly!  It was a lot of fun! We found a perfect spot for our fire pit and had some great hot dogs and roasted corn. To roast it, we just wrapped the ears of corn in tinfoil and placed them near the hot coals for ten minutes. Perfection! So warm and yummy! The kids were impressed!

  My Grandmother Betty and I   This past weekend, my family held a big SURPRISE birthday party for my Grandma's 90th Birthday! We had been planning it since December, so we were all looking forward to it! Luckily it was during Spring Break (and I was 35 weeks along- not 36 so my Dr. gave me the ok to travel), and we were able to attend! Josh had one of his big yearly conferences during Spring Break, so my sweet Mom flew out to Arizona and drove with me to California. It helped a ton! Everyone was coming for the birthday party, so we stayed with my Grandma. She already knew we were planning a party (but she didn't know how big it was) so it was okay that we stayed with her. About 50 people were there- all 4 of her living cousins, two of her children, most of her grandchildren and almost all of her great grandchildren. We played Grandma Betty BINGO and learned more about her life. I read a poem and Grandma herself read a poem about her life (so sweet!). We presented her...

We recently returned from a 10 day trip to California. We went for the purpose of an Abbott Family Reunion but we also saw some of my side of the family as well.  On the way there, up to Paso Robles, we stopped at my Parents house in Victorville on Friday and stayed Friday and Saturday night. We went to the Mojave River (mostly a large stream, walked down it and caught some crawdads. The kids had a blast! On Sunday we stopped by Larissa's, went to Church with them and had a yummy lunch. We drove down to Uncle Doug's and Aunt Sheelah's and went out to Giovanni's for pizza. We spent Sunday there and then went to the beach Monday. The kids loved it and they loved boogie boarding. By the time we got to Paso on Tuesday we were so excited to see everyone although a bit worn out from staying up late chatting with family. Maybe next time we won't try to do so much at once. But, it was worth it. Part 2- Abbott Reunion- coming up! Coco, Jonah and Cash playing a game...