Day 3 and Pismo Beach here we come!

By the time everyone got ready and out the door it was about 11:00.  The Maxfield girls and Jamie couldn’t go because they had an all day rehearsal for their dance recital.  They were a sad when we all waved goodbye.  It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get there.  The interesting thing that we noticed was how the temperature dropped from 90 degrees to 65 as we neared Pismo Beach.  As usual, it was cloud covered, breezy and 65 degrees.  When we got there, we couldn’t believe all the people.  We realized that Pismo Beach was hosting an ‘old’ car show for the weekend.  Finding a place to park, we realized, was going to be a challenge.  Neal told Tucker to pull into a paid parking at the tune of $30.00 a car.  Yes Neal paid $60.00 to park both the cars.

After we parked we went right over to Splash for some clam chowder, fish and chips and hamburgers.  We hauled the food down to the beach and lunched in the sand.

After lunch came fun in the sand and the water.  Abby and Hayley along with Tucker were the only ones who went completely in the ocean.  Tucker helped them catch some waves on the Boogie Board.  We had a good laugh when Jeff took off his shoes and socks.  I couldn’t get a picture, but if you look closely you can see how white his feet are.  Tucker nicknamed him Two Socks. Hayley and Andrew tried to bury themselves in the sand, but weren’t very successful.

California Trip Day Two

Thursday was a day of hanging around Tucker’s and sight seeing the Raisin Factory and the downtown area of Kingsburg.  We went to Trinkets and Treasures (Jamie’s little shop) and all the kids found some wonderful treasures to buy and keep.  I found an owl necklace that I loved but decided to wait to buy it.  I didn’t want Jamie to buy it so while we were all in a store next door, I slipped out and went back to Trinkets.  I got the necklace and went to pay for it and the clerk said that it was all taken care of.  I told her I needed to pay for it and she wouldn’t let me.  Jamie apparently had seen me leave and called the lady and told her I was coming or talked to the lady before we left in anticipation that I might go back.

Lots of pictures were taken as we wandered through the town.

Tucker, Jeff, Neal and Emmi went golfing while we scouted out the town.

Our last stop was the ice cream shop where we all enjoyed a cone or cup of our favorite flavor.  Lynda Ann was the only one who didn’t indulge.  Her eye was acting up again and really hurting her.  She called in and got a RX from Dr. Barker and was feeling much better the next morning.  Thank goodness for modern medication and doctors.

Day one of our California trip.

Jeff, Annie, Emmi, Hayley and Andrew left on Tuesday morning to head for Mesquite.  Neal was teaching a class on Tuesday night so the rest of us had to wait and leave Wednesday morning early and catch up with the Gertons in Mesquite.  Neal, myself, Abby and Mallory piled in the car at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.  Everything went very smoothly on the packing and leaving except for one little incident when Mallory was standing by the trunk of the car in our driveway and realized she had ants crawling all over her feet.  There was a huge ant nest that for some unknown reason decided to surface.  I ran in the house and got some raid and sprayed the little beasts until not one was moving.  Mallory and I both got stung by the little buggers!

We were finally on the road with Neal doing his usually thing after about 10 minutes.  We made one stop on the way at UVU for Neal to get his sun glasses and then non stop to Mesquite.  We met up with Jeff and Lynda and headed to Las Vegas for our first stop. 

M & M World was first on the list. The parking lot – Great place for a family snap shot!

Andrew would not pose with Spider Man, but he was reluctantly willing to shake his hand.  Good thing I had my camera ready because it was the quickest handshake in history.

We all went into the 3D M&M movie that lasted about 10 minutes.  We all decided we might as well take in the whole adventure.  Neal was there taking the picture.  If you notice the whole row in front of us is empty.  Neal was standing at the head of the row taking our picture and no one could get in.  We tried to get him to hurry but he is always looking for the perfect Kodak picture.  Seriously, with this group?

From M & M World we continued on down to World of Coke.  We met many strange people on the way!  Andrew finally warmed up to Elmo.

We left Las Vegas making one more stop in Primm so that Neal could check out the Tommy Bahama outlet store.  Sadly, he didn’t find much.  I think he bought a couple of belts and one shirt.  The Gertons found a few good deals and then we were in the car again with one more stop at In and Out Burger and then began the last half of the journey to Tucker and Jamie’s.  We arrived at their home about 9:30 and were all glad to be there and out of the car!  We all visited until about midnight and then an exhausted group settle in for the night sleeping in every corner of the house.

It was literally wall to wall beds in every space available.  Tucker and Jamie did a GREAT job of housing 9 more people in their home.  We all slept very comfortably and peacefully!

The new member of the Gertson Family and another baby hamster caught!!

I cannot believe that they have caught another hamster.  I got a text this morning as I was leaving for my meetings that another baby was found in the trap.  That makes 5 babies so far.  Let’s hope that is the last of them.  Annie said that Andrew and Hayley have decided they want one of them so Lynda Ann is letting them keep one of the last two caught and the other has been delivered to the pet store today!

The family has also chosen a new puppy to join the Gertson ranks.  Her name is Magnolia shortened to Maggie.  They will pick her up a on the 17th of this month.

And the hamster nightmare continues!

Neal and I were invited to Ron and Judy’s for dinner and games last night.  It was a beautiful evening so we ate out on the patio.  They have the most gorgeous view of the city.  I took a couple of pictures but my little camera just doesn’t do it justice.  We had a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes.  Yummm

After dinner we cleaned things up and went inside to play some hands of bridge.  It was about 11:30 p.m. when my phone whistled at me.  I look down to see a text from Lynda Ann that said, “Hamster number 4 has been caught!”  I asked her if she thought that was the last of the babies and she thought it was but they are going to reset the trap just to make sure.  For those tender hearted people reading this blog, the trap doesn’t hurt them.  It is a little square shaped plastic box that you put food in and when the varmints go in to get the food, a little door closes behind them locking them in.  It doesn’t hurt them or kill them.  All of the hamsters previously caught and this one have been transported to the pet shop for the next lucky buyer!