They also loved the swing on the deck (especially Jada), drawing with chalk on the cement, and getting over their fear of dogs by spending time with these friendly fellas.
My sister tried to teach Elle "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" when she came, and the girls all loved the piano.
We went to the pool down the street from my parent's house a ton. Mya took swim lessons for one day and now can swim like a little fishy (I only trust her where she can touch. She's crazy and would drown if we didn't watch her.)
Jake came in town the night before the 4th, so he was lucky enough to get to go to his favorite small town 4th of July parade. It was fun to see so many people I knew. Here's a picture of Heidi who was one of my best friends all growing up (literally- we were neighbors when we were babies) and who is still one of my best friends today. It was so fun to spend so much time with her and her cute kids on this trip.
I also got to see my friend Paige who was my neighbor from the time I was four.
After the parade we went to the pool where Jake launched some of my children into the air.
That night, we went to a traditional BBQ at my Aunt Wendy's house (who is so fun and my girls just loved her). I got to see lots of family, including my almost-sister-like cousin Tiffany.
Duncan the dog has got some hops. And below is my Grams (my mom's mom).
Saturday we went to Huntington Beach, which is always super great. I love the beach.
Elle was doing gymnastics all over the place for a lot of this trip and Jada loved to roll in the sand.
After a day at the beach, we rode the ferry over to Balboa Island for a yummy Balboa bar.
I was so happy to have Jake with us for a little bit in California. Trips are just more fun if he's there!
Part II: Come to Zion
Sunday night we hopped in the Tahoe with my mom and headed up to the Beehive state. We stopped Sunday night in Mesquite and stayed with my cousin Amy and her husband Kai and their cute family. It was so fun to hang out a little that night and talk with them and reminisce about Hawaii.
On Monday we got to my parent's house in Utah (Thanksgiving Point area). One of the first things we did is eat some yummy Cafe Rio. You know you want some. We had it three times.
My parents house is so awesome and beautiful and overlooks a river and golf course.
Here's a little game for you if you're bored of reading. It's like hidden pictures. See if you can find something I fear in the picture below...
On Tuesday we went to BYU and bought some delicious cinnamon bears (love those things). I made Jake take a picture by his old place of employment. He looked so good in his denim shirt and tan apron back in the day.
We of course bought some fun BYU paraphernalia. Elle just had to have this funky, too big trucker hat.
Here's a fun little number by a cougar with our BYU baby.
I was so glad to get to see my brother who I hardly ever see. He loves the girls and is so great with kids. Jake and him got to go fishing early one morning and he got to come and hang out at the house some. I also got to meet his girlfriend Kari who is so so nice and has one of those great laughs that you just like to hear. 
On Wednesday, Jake wanted to be brave and hike to Timpanogos caves with the girls. At first he thought of doing it alone with them, but we decided to join him.
Those tough hiker girls are Jake's three sisters, in case you didn't know.
Wednesday night started some exciting family reunion events for Jake's extended family on his dad's side. We got to wear awesome green shirts. You know you want one. And I know you are all impressed that Jake's mom can still bust out the splits.
During the day on Thursday we went to Bridal Veil falls and drove the Alpine loop. Gotta enjoy that beautiful scenery since it's pretty hard to find around Houston.
Oh yeah- Thursday also had some big news in the form of a pretty engagement ring. Come September we will be out in Utah for Eliza's wedding. I love weddings!
Of course I had to pose by my favorite animals in Cabella's.
That night the girls had a sleepover with their aunts where they were the last ones asleep.
On Friday we had some passes to Thanksgiving Point, so we enjoyed going to the gardens and the dinosaur museum.
It must be hard waking up so early to golf...
(That picture was Jake's idea.)
The girls met a fun friend at some of the reunion events (Jake's cousin's daughter). We also got a lot of shakes while we were there. Below is Eliza's fiance on one of our shake runs. He is super nice and I'm so glad we got to meet him.
Saturday was farm country day and of course Mya picked the biggest horse she could to ride.
Above is the stage of an exciting play called "The Great Ideas" written and performed by Elle and Mya (with a little help). And below is the pantyliner bandaid. Mya had slammed her chin into a table at the park, and on our drive from Utah it started to bleed. With no bandaids on hand, I got a little creative.
Overall, Utah was so great. I got to see my aunt and uncle who fed us so many Sundays while in college and also got to meet my cousin-in-law Leah who is so cute and fun. I'm so excited to go back in a little over a month.
Part III: A Little Sisterly Time in California
Part III of our vacation did not include Jake, but did include some fun sister bonding time at Mom and Dad's house. My younger sister Kirstie continued in her nomadic ways as we picked her up from Vegas on our way back to California. My older sister Kellie and her two boys came down the next day.
Jada apparently got a little hungry during naptime and rummaged in a nearby drawer for a little treat.
With the lack of responsibility that accompanies vacation comes some free time to get creative and play a little dress-up. Above is a bridal pic in my old wedding dress (squeezed into that one) and below is just plain beautiful. Love that old choir dress.
Monday night was a very bloody affair as Elle decided to keep things entertaining and jump into the open medicine cabinet. It was bloody as ever, it was traumatic, but we all survived. Luckily my aunt is a nurse and came to our rescue. We had to shave a little of Elle's hair to get the bandage to stay. She was a champ and somehow didn't freak out (or really realize) how much blood there was. She hates blood. It could have been really bad.
Wednesday was a fun little trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific to check out some marine life.
We were lucky enough to be able to help celebrate my grandma's 40th (he he) birthday with the family and a delicious cake picked out by Elle from Costco.
Jada loved the sprinklers down the street and we loved that nice California weather. Below is a picture of Heidi again and Allison, who was another best friend all growing up, and all of our cute baby girls. And yes, Jada fake bakes if you were wondering.
I also got to see some good friends from high school. Jenny and I played soccer together for lots of years. And while we're talking about old friends, I got to see a dentist while there (small dental emergency) who also happens to be my 8th grade ex-boyfriend's dad (you know, one of those really deep long lasting- less than 4 weeks- relationships). He was so nice and happy to see me and even showed me his son's wedding slideshow while my mouth was getting numbed up. Love all that personal attention from the dentist!
Kellie's husband came in town Thursday night, so Friday was a fun kind of cloudy trip to Newport.
(Yes, that is me on the slip-n-slide.)
Kellie was originally going to leave on Sunday, so we had the cousins get together for a picture. I'm so glad my kids got to spend so much time with their fun and only cousins.
Sunday was also another fun fashion show in old dance/bridesmaid/choir dresses. My favorite is still my super short red dress. I will never live that one down. I think it looks rather cute on Elle, and in my defense, when I tried it on again it didn't seem as short as everyone made it out to be.Part IV: The Extension (we were just having too much fun to come home)
For several reasons (one being a husband gone on business) the girls and I decided to stay a little longer. And because of that, Kellie decided to stay a little longer, too.
One day we took a fun trip to Victoria Gardens with Heidi where Jada got a little too close to the water. We then got to see Heidi's fun new house up in the hills with the high rollers (just kidding, Heid). It is really an awesome house and I can't wait to come and visit.
Another day we learned a little about nature at the Nature Center and then had fun spinning on a toy at the park. It got going so fast that Mya really could have flown off.
We got to go to a fun lunch at BJ's with aunts, grandma, and cousins to celebrate my cousin Julie's birthday. Mya looks good with crayons in her ears, don't you think??
Of course we had to hit the beach again. We like the beach. We just can't help it. And Jada really likes the sand, although she was a bit fussy this day.
Before Kellie went home we threw her a rockin birthday celebration equipped with balloon animals (Kirstie is so talented), a Baskin Robbin's cake, silly string, and a late night side french braid. I know you wish you were all invited.
On Friday my grandparents (dad's parents) came in town and stayed for two nights. This was another good reason to prolong the trip. We hadn't seen them in so long and really wanted to get the chance to spend some time with them. My mom and gma went to "Wicked" (so jealous- I was trying to convince my mom to give up her tickets but no luck!) and said it was great.
Kirs was nice enough to take some time out of her busy dating life (keep him around Kirs, he's great fun) and help the girls make some really super crafts. It was a good warm-up for her days as Craft Specialist at upcoming Girls Camp. Below is the only picture I have of my dad from the whole trip so I had to post it. My dad is great and had so much fun with his little granddaughters on the swing, making crow noises, and fixing Jada her morning breakfast (thanks dad!).
Above is the grandparents and below is the girls experiencing Pop Rocks on the front porch. That porch really makes a great place to sit.
On Sunday I got to visit with my good friend Lisa and her cute little boy Ryan with the greatest hair ever and her nice husband.
We decided to spend my anniversary (the day before we left) at Raging Waters which turned out to be so fun. Kirs and Tiff came along and my mom watched Jada. Elle was so brave and would have tried just about anything if she wasn't so small for the tubes. The girls loved the lazy river and Thunder Rapids (Mya did the second time) and I had fun with Elle on the racing slide and kiddie slide. It turned out to be a great day. And Jake didn't miss me too much that night as he spent it in the 18th row at the Astros game with friends.
The last night there was spent packing and celebrating Tiff's birthday a little early. Aunt Wendy pulled together a last minute party with games and party hats and poppers and all.
Part V: We are so close to being done I can almost taste it!Really, if anyone is still reading I am in shock. Either you are really bored or your "Breaking Dawn" hasn't arrived yet. Anyways, we survived the plane ride home and even experienced the earthquake on the runway (I think- I didn't feel it). We struggled a little more on this ride home and got a case of the annoying giggles towards the end but we made it. Jake missed us severely and had the table set up with homemade cards (my favorite kind) flowers and presents. He wanted us to be happy to be home. It was funny to see Jada check Jake out at first almost like she didn't remember him. By the time we got to the car she gave him a big hug and all was good.
And because Jake let a lot of my grass die while I was gone, I gave him an awesome haircut. Love that rat tail.
So there you have it. I'm almost all the way unpacked, ready to get my reading in the mail, and engaging in "Project Grass Revitilization". Thanks for hanging around this long if you actually did. Up next, blog world book club returns to discuss a little about vampires. I can hardly wait!
