Monroeplanet: California

I liked waking up in the mornings to the peace and quiet. The windows were open and I could hear the birds chirping. I enjoyed having a couple of minutes to myself. Shortly after those minutes I would begin to hear the wonderful muted tones of the kids outside in the tent. They weren't quite sure if it was okay to come in the house and they didn't want to wake everyone up, but they were excited to wake up and start the day with their cousins! It made me glad that we were all staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house together :). The kids loved being outside in the tent together (except the teenagers who insisted on sleeping inside the house!).

One of the things Devon and Austin were excited to do on this trip was help Grandma with her curlers! Whenever Grandma visits our house she always lets the boys help her take her curlers out as she gets ready. Last time she was at our house the boys didn't get a chance to help, so Grandma promised them they could help while we were in California. Their chance came on the second morning! They were so excited. I had to document the moment because the boys get so excited and they are so cute about the whole experience! I took some shots and Shannon did as well. Between the two of us, we were able to capture some fun pictures!

(Shannon Monroe Photography - Two above)

Once everyone was up and ready for the day, Chad took the big kids on a bike ride in Briones (where he rode when he was a kid). The kids were all excited to go and Chad was excited to take them! They had a great time up in the hills. They came back dirty and hot, but happy!

While the big kids were pedaling all over the hills, Grandma and I took the younger kids to the park. Grandma suggested a great park not too far from their home. The playground was very nice and there were beautiful shade trees all over! The kids loved being able to run all over the place. They didn't stay in one place too long, but they had a blast playing with each other!

At one point the kids wanted to try out the baby swings, but they were too high to reach. I was impressed with the determination of Trevon. First, he built up the mulch under the swing, to make a step. That kind of worked, but then he resorted to jumping up on the swing and maneuvering his legs around to pull himself up and inside. He made a great effort and was rewarded in the end with success!!

Later on that evening we had a family dinner in the backyard. It was a beautiful California night! We were treated us to a Monroe family favorite for dinner - Porcupine Balls, mashed potatoes and corn! Grandma is such a good cook! The dinner was delicious!

Since we knew we were coming for a visit this summer, we waited to give Grandpa his Father's Day gift. After dinner, the kids all got together and sang "Happy Father's Day" to Grandpa and we gave him his gift. It was fun to be there with him!

This evening was one of my favorite evenings of the week. We enjoyed talking and catching up with each other as the sun went down. We enjoyed watching the cousins interact with each other on back lawn and later in the front. We weren't rushing to be somewhere, we were just enjoying each other's company.

I enjoyed it so much, that I didn't rush to get my camera. I did wish that I could just blink my eyes and capture the moment forever, but unfortunately my eyes don't work that way. Luckily for me, Shannon took some really great pictures.

I did eventually get my camera out and I captured some more treasured moments. Some of those came when we went looking for some old slides to show our kids. Grandpa is an amazing organizer. His garage is packed full of stuff, but it is neatly organized. Here is where they stash all the Christmas/birthday presents!

Unfortunately, even with all that organization, we were unable to find the slides. We did, however, stumble into some other old pictures. Shannon found an old photo album of Grandpa's family. The pictures were very old, but in excellent condition. It was fun to look through them and try to figure out who the people in the pictures were. I wish we knew their stories - one day we will!

Oddly enough, the kids weren't too keen on searching the garage, so they got out the bikes and rode around in the street. We all ended up in the front.

While the big kids were riding bikes, Ashlyn kept the rest of us entertained. She sat in her stroller and said, "Ahhhh," over and over again. Everyone thought it was really funny and cute. It's funny how babies can do that!

After it got dark, we headed back inside. Madeleine quickly became Ashlyn's best friend as Madeleine let Ashlyn play with her DS. Ashlyn already likes electronics!