Summer Trip

We went on a long trip for the first half of July that I still haven't gotten around to writing about! (Mostly because almost as soon as we got home, we all got super sick one after another and MAN that sure wasn't fun! But that's a different post.) Anyway, several months ago Michael decided he wanted to compete in his first jiu jitsu tournament in Vegas this summer. We decided that the whole family should go so we could see our family there. Michael then proposed that he use a good chunk of his time off work and we go to LA first to make sure we got in a beach vacation/Grandma and Papa time this summer as well. We could then go from there to Vegas. I was, of course, super excited about that idea. Finally July came and off we went!

Don't let this picture fool you too much. Overall, Joshua was a champ for most of the trip... but when he was mad, (mostly when he was sick of the car) boy could that kid scream! Ha.

By the way, putting a DVD player in our van was the smartest move ever. I have zero problem with just putting on movies the whole time during road trips because it keeps Matthew and Kate totally content. They were so good!

We got to LA at night (we'd left after Michael had worked until about 2pm) and the kids wanted to stay up and play with Grandma and Papa but we eventually got them down with promises of going to the beach the next day.

THE BEACH! Seriously heaven for this Arizona family. We were in LA a full week and I still didn't feel like I got enough beach time. If you live somewhere with tolerable weather in the summer, don't take it for granted. (I do NOT take for granted our beautiful winters!) Matthew was my little beach bum this year. Last summer he was beyond terrified to even put his toes in the water, but this year he did it without any problems. However, his very favorite thing was digging holes and just playing in the sand. It made my California roots so happy to see him enjoying the beach so much. Kate had fun when she wasn't throwing a fit (she decided to enter the terrible two's full-blown during this trip, eek) but was slightly more scared of the water. Whatever, she'll come around eventually. :-) Joshua was pretty much too young to enjoy the beach much, though it WAS nice to be able to take him outside again. As a newborn, I would put him in the Baby Bjorn and take the kids to the park and Joshua would sleep SO well that way... I had really missed being able to get that kid some fresh air.

 

We ended up being in CA for the Fourth of July, which I was excited about because I got to take my family to do a few of my old Fourth of July traditions. First we went to the annual Fourth of July breakfast put on by the Manhattan Beach Ward. Not only was the food actually DELICIOUS, (and there was tons of it) but they also had lots of entertainment for the kids. Kate participated in the three-legged race with Grandma (Grandma is a great sport!) and Matthew did the potato sack race. (So funny.) PLUS my friend Krista (who I grew up with) was also there visiting her family so it was super great to be able to catch up with her.

We then went to a friend's pool, BBQ'd some yummy burgers, and then we were off to the fireworks! We went early to get a good spot and to just hang out for a bit and have snacks and play games.

Goin on a lion hunt!  :-)

When the fireworks started, Matthew loved every second. He basically burst out into applause after every firework. Kate was beyond terrified. The second the lights went out, she completely flipped her lid, ran to Papa, and cried on his lap the.whole.time. Sheesh. Poor Papa. ;-) Maybe next year Kate will actually see a firework or two? Ha. Joshua did fine. Too young to care (or be scared) I guess. 

On Sunday we took the older two kids to the LA temple to show them where our family started. (Joshua stayed with Grandma and Papa.) The Visitors Center there is super cool but we didn't stay there long because the kids were being a little less than reverent. :-)

Our last few days there were spent at the beach, (duh!) including the Roundhouse on the end of the Manhattan Beach pier so the kids could check out the aquarium, the park, (too hot for that in Phoenix) and just hanging out.

Anderson Park. I grew up going here, though they've redone it recently and it is now way cooler than it was when I was a kid. Haha.

Outside of the Roundhouse Aquarium

I love this pic of Joshua and my dad. He looks like such a funny goober! (Joshua, not my dad.) ;-)

It was hard to go but we were excited for Vegas and to see more family. We stayed with my Winder grandparents and they are such great hosts. We visited my aunt Kami and she let us swim in her pool. It was also great to see Gary and Michelle as well as my Hales grandparents. I am so fortunate that all of my grandparents are still alive. I wish I had gotten more pictures of my kids with them, though I love this one of Joshua and my grandma-

Matthew actually started acting really sick and lethargic while we were in Vegas and it continued for a few weeks AFTER we got home. Yeah, not good. But he was a huge trooper and was still pretty happy most of the time since he was surrounded by so many fun people and activities.

And then! Finally - the whole reason we'd gone on this whole trip in the first place - Michael's jiu jitsu tournament! It was at the Sans Expo. A huge downside of having the tournament at the end of our trip was that Michael had to be a certain weight in order to compete and he wasn't able to eat the way most people prefer to eat on vacation. ;-) He had to lose about 10 pounds before his match and KEEP IT OFF so as not to be disqualified. Luckily he came in a pound or two under so there were no problems there. I left Kate with my Grandma because I knew it would be long and that she wouldn't be interested anyway, but Joshua and Matthew came. Grandma Kathy and Don also came and she helped out a lot with watching Matthew. Michael would have his first match and then if he won that one, he'd roll again for the title. Well, it was SO MUCH harder to watch that I thought. I think my heart was pounding out of my chest the whole five minutes of the first match! Michael and his competitor were pretty evenly matched and a couple of times it looked like Michael might lose. But he pulled though and WON! Woohoo! His second match was actually a little easier for him and therefore, easier to watch as well. ;-) He won that too and took Gold for his division. I was so proud!

Our last day in Vegas was spent mostly with Grandma Kathy. We visited the Bellagio Garden and got to see it decked out in one of the coolest themes I've ever seen there - Under The Sea! There were treasure chests (which Matthew loved) and mermaids (which Kate loved) and it was just really well done.

We also went to lunch and spent some time at Kathy's house. It was fun to get to be with her in Vegas, since most of the time we see her, it's in Phoenix.

And that was our trip! So much fun!!!