There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but if you are under the age of 2, you do get to fly free. But guess what, Reese, that's all over. You had a good run of 9 round trip flights before you turned 2. Impressive work, though it is less than your sister. So pictured here is Reese in her very first purchased seat as we prepared to head to California just a couple of days after Christmas. Unlike Callie's first paid trip, Reese's was a little bit more dramatic with a flight attendant who proved inflexible with the rules and refused to compromise with a 2-year-old who didn't understand why she couldn't sit on her Mom's lap even though she had done it three weeks earlier. Good times.
Our first stop was in sunny Pasadena where we spent a couple of days with the Leshneys. Fun was had by all, as you can see in the picture below. It's amazing how quickly kids under the age of 5 can get comfortable with each other.
They all had a great time playing together, and Callie even slept in the same room as Clare and Nora.
Reese also quickly became fond of Tyler's ability to speed her around the race course they have developed in front of their house. As Callie, Clare, and Nora sped around on their tricycles, Reese led the way with a huge smile on her face. Tyler could not push her fast enough. Amazingly, there was only one crash during the time we spent outside. It seems the car you see above might have been a bit too close to the second turn of the race course. Time just flew by as we caught up with Tyler and Stephanie and their wonderful family. Hopefully we can do it again soon.
Our next stop was Manhattan Beach at the Perrone's. Everyone was excited to see Kate, Ashlyn, Auntie Lo, and JP, but one of the real stars of our visit was the recent arrival, Bradley Branstetter. Here he is with Sarah, a big smile on his face. Honestly, he is an extremely happy and mellow baby. You might remember his parents from our blog - we went to their wedding September 2011 in Paso Robles. Alicia and Bill are handling parenthood quite well and Bradley, no surprise with Alicia as his mom, is a bit of a fashionista.
Another new addition to the southern California family is Joy, Denise's new puppy. Ironically enough, she is also a fashionista, as you can see by her matching scarf in the picture. Joy has been a blessing for Denise, especially since earlier in the year she had to say goodbye to Puma, a constant companion of hers since college. And because of that, Puma was a roommate to Sarah and many members of the clan over the years. Indeed, if Puma could have only talked, the stories she could have told.
Callie and Reese enjoyed their time with their Aunties. It's pretty impressive how much spoiling can occur in a matter of days. Although we wish we lived closer to them, it might be good for our family budget that the girls don't get too much fashionista time. In the end, it is just fun to have these get togethers where the number of kids keeps getting bigger every time.
Speaking of getting bigger, here is the whole crew, including Joy of course. You can tell from the facial expressions how much fun they had on the entire trip.
Kate, Callie, Ashlyn, and Reese are quite a handful when they are together these days. We imagine it's only going to get crazier as the years go by.
One day we took all of the girls to hang out in Auntie D's neck of the woods, Palos Verdes. Our first stop was a small maritime museum built on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The museum itself wasn't necessarily all that incredible, but you certainly couldn't beat the setting. They let you exchange your driver's license for a pair of binoculars so you can look at the ocean in case gray whales happen to be swimming by. And yes, while we were standing there, a man told us to head to the bluff because someone had spotted a couple of spouts.
We all ran to the fence to look out. And even if you did not have binoculars you could clearly see the whales when they spouted. Just another day in southern California. It's moments like these that make living in a landlocked state so difficult. Thank goodness we have friends and families on both coasts to provide us with the opportunities to meet our ocean air quota a couple of times a year.
Our visit to Manhattan Beach coincided with New Years, and in typical fashion Lauren threw an appropriate party that embraced both parents and children. There were a lot of children at this shindig. A lot. It was loud and it was fun.
Reese definitely had her party face in full effect, and Callie, as shy as she is, was well warmed up by this point and happy to be in the mix. As sad it is, the next day we had to pack up and prepare ourselves for a long drive to northern California for the next stage of our trip.
But we couldn't leave without one last visit to the ocean. If we were going to spend hours driving through the central valley of California on I-5 (and if you have done it you know what we are talking about), some quality time on the beach was necessary. Reese and Callie both loved getting their feet wet. Not surprisingly, we had to put them into new pants once we got back to the car. Wave jumping will do that to you.
It's funny how the world looks different when you have children. John lived for about two years in an apartment right along this stretch of beach. He never noticed or used the swings. Sarah, in her many visits to this beach, never noticed or used the swings. But within moments of pulling up to the beach, both of the girls shouted "Swings!" It's fun to see life through the eyes of a two-year-old and a five-year-old. You never knew how many swingsets, slides, fountains, horse statues, and so on were around until you hang out with those two.
It means a lot to us to bring the girls back to the place we met. They seem to love it so much, but they don't truly understand quite yet how important this particular area is to their own existence. One of these days we hope it will make them realize how cool their parents once were.
Fortunately for us, our road trip to northern California included a quick traffic free getaway from the Los Angeles metro area. Our next stop was Sacramento!
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