the blog post with many titles

one title could be: "we drove from Fresno to San Diego, back up to Oxnard, back down to San Diego, and back up to Fresno and called it a vacation".

my Mr. was asked to lead worship for the Hume Lake Staff Retreat in Oxnard, CA and we all decided it would be a good idea to make it into a mini-vacation. we really needed some time alone and the kids had been missing their family. also, since the only people we trust to watch our children for several nights are their grandparents and they all live in San Diego. thus began a road trip totaling 1200 miles driven and 24 hours sitting in the car. 

IT. WAS. A. BLAST!

as soon as the kids found out we were going to San Diego for a visit they were chomping at the bit to pack their bags! Big A decided all he would need was pajamas, and Little A thought it best to pack all her beautiful princess gowns. as much fun as all that sounded i did have to repack their bags while they were asleep. don't worry, they didn't even care once they were there. 

we like to drive through the middle of the night so the kids sleep in the car and have less requests for potty breaks and food. it also ensures that they don't incessantly lovingly ask a gazillion couple times when we will get there during the 6 hour drive.

we left at 2am and arrived at 7am, just in time for them to wake up and eat breakfast. first stop was Denny's where we filled our tummies. the next stop, since we "happened" to be at the Denny's right down the street from their house, was to our mentor's house. oh how we miss them! it was such a sweet time. 

after a short visit we head on over to my bestie's house for an overdue play date. we have been raising our kids together and they all love each other so much and it has been 4 MONTHS since we've seen each other. so not right. 

BFF's

 we finished off the day with a lovely dinner at my Mr.'s dad's house and the cousins were there! so glad it was spring break and we got to sneak in some much needed time with family. 

grandpa trying to "break the eggs" on the trampoline

 then we spent the night at my Mr.'s mom's house and hit the road the next morning. another title could be: "how many people can we squeeze into one day".

another title could be: "my new hat", or "we love to take pictures of ourselves"....

two whole days without the bambinos. it was so nice to sleep in and eat out and have uninterrupted conversations. after our little trip was over we were on the road again to pick up our kids that we didn't miss at all totally missed. we also wanted to celebrate my little brother's 18th birthday while we were in town so we went over to my family's house for a little party. 

sisters and their mini-me's

 i can't believe he's an adult!!!! oh. crap. actually, i'm so proud of him and all he's accomplished. he will be attending UCLA next year! my boy's wicked smart!

one of the favs

after the party we drove home... through the night...trying not to fall asleep...

 this trip was totally needed. but man am i tired.