Carly's visit and Ellsworths

 When Katy went to the hospital early Sunday morning for emergency gall bladder surgery, I went to Yucaipa to stay with the kids and help out so Paul could be with her. When I arrived, the older kids were in the process of getting the younger ones ready for church. They planned to go, even if I wasn't there. They would have managed on their own!

Addy put on this strange get-up, but when I laughed, she told me ,"It's not funny, Granny"! It really was funny though.

 These cute little girls have their own beds, but choose to sleep together on the big bottom bunk.

 Hunter and Skylee spent the night at our house when Carly and the kids came to visit. Their mom and just come home from the hospital that night.

 Carly took the kids to visit Grandpa at his work.

 Hunter and Evan love to get together.

I reserved the same room at Travelodge in Laguna Beach so I could share the Laguna Beach experience with Carly and the kids. They loved it too!

 Audra found a sea urchin and knew exactly what it was.

 Photo bomb!

 This is the same spot where I took my favorite picture.

 We rode the bus from the hotel into town for dinner.

Laguna Beach

 Charles had a conference in Dana Point for work, so I got to go on a trip with him. Our hotel was directly across the street from a beautiful beach.

 I didn't know I loved the ocean so much until we visited this beach. It's magnificently beautiful! The tide was extra high too, so the waves were pretty spectacular in the mornings. They calmed down a bit in the afternoon. The first day we got there and went to the beach, I didn't wear a swimsuit, so missed out on a chance to go in the water. I thought I'd go in the morning when Charles went to his conference, but the waves were too intimidating. So we went again on the last afternoon we were there, and I swam out in the waves with another woman who was more experienced than me.It was really fun. Charles went out too on the beach around the bend where it was very calm. The water was very clear and blue. I loved it.

 We stayed at the Travelodge. It's an older hotel, but suited our needs and we liked it. 

We found a nice little Mexican restaurant in town, Taco Loco.

 This is my favorite picture. You can see the beach where we swam. I wanted to buy a picture of the beach to hang in our house, so I went on line and found this exact same one! I ordered it, had it framed, and now it's hanging in our bedroom to remind us of this wonderful trip.

Utah 9-14

In September, I got to go stay with Jackson and Daniel for a week while Katie and Joey went on a cruise to the Bahamas. The boys were well-prepped, because Jackson said good-bye to his parents and seemed happy to be with me until they returned. This is him with his dad the night before they left.

 

 We went to Pioneer Park for an outing, and Jackson spotted his best friend, Jack, and his mom as we passed by the playground, so they got to play together until Daniel was ready to go home.

 Abby and Kevin went to church with me Sunday, so we could manage the kids together, and stayed to visit afterward.

 I got to take Jackson to his first day of preschool at a most amazing, fun place. There are animals, a fun playground, and a fun teacher. He loved it.

 We went on an outing up Hobble Creek Canyon where Jackson enjoyed throwing rocks in the water.

 On the way to the airport, Joey and I stopped by to see Kevin and Abby in their new apartment in American Fork.

It looks pretty homey!