Keeping Cool

We've been home from our vacation for only a day and we're miserably hot. We hibernated all day with the blinds closed tight, the air conditioner running, watching movies all day long. Staying in, out of the heat.

After getting haircuts, we went for an ice cream cone, in attempts to cool off. As always, Rachel loves her ice cream.

A Haircut for Rachel

We took Hannah to get her hair cut this evening, not planning at all to get Rachel's hair cut. However, when the woman asked if I wanted Rachel's hair cut and I said I didn't think she'd sit still, she was confident that she could get Rachel to sit still. So I went ahead and had her cut Rachel's hair. It needed it. Bad. I was amazed at how still Rachel sat to get her hair cut. She always wiggles and squirms when my mom cuts her hair. She did such a wonderful job and got a sucker in the end.

Part of the "Club"

Rachel is officially a member of the Madonna Inn goblet owning club.

For over 15 years, my mom has been collecting Madonna Inn goblets. When I got married, my mom started my collection, as she did with my sister in law, Grace. So now, every time were are in Central California, we almost always make a trip to get goblets to add to our collection.

This trip, Gramma bought Rachel and Haylee their own goblet. Hannah and McKenzie got their goblets a couple years ago for Christmas. Today, after some of the unpacking, Hannah insisted that Rachel open her present. Rachel loved it and wanted water in it right away!

Pismo Vacation: Day 5 - The End

Rachel slept in again this morning until 7:30am. It's a shame you have to keep her up past 11:30pm in order for her to sleep in. LOL.

Our vacation at Pismo comes to an end today. Gramma and Papa and Uncle Robbie and Auntie all left early to avoid Friday and holiday weekend traffic. However, we milked our time and didn't check out until 11:50am, with a noon check out time!

We went to the beach one last time to explore and then came back to our room to pack up. Hannah wanted to go swimming one last time, so we ended our stay in the pool, one last time.
Rachel wasn't happy at all to be strapped into her car seat again. But it didn't take long, once on the road that she fell asleep and took almost a 2 hour nap! Once again I say...silence is golden. Even more golden when both are sleeping. LOL. We stopped at the fish hatchery again on our way home. It's the half way point and makes for a nice stop to get out and stretch and left Rachel out of her car seat. Overall, she did a lot better on the drive home than she did on the way up. Only fussed a little bit here and there. Course keeping her happy with M&M's does wonders! We arrived home and unpacked the car, gave baths, and put the girls to bed at decent bedtimes. Rachel fussed a bit, but soon she was sound asleep in her own crib.

Pismo Vacation: Day 4

Both girls woke up rather grumpy this morning. I think being off their normal schedules as far as meal times and bed times, not to mention all the playing in the clean crisp air is really affecting them.

Today was rather a slow start, but that's what's nice about vacations. The four of us went down to the beach and explored some tide pools that were exposed due to it being low tide. That was fun! We saw quite a few starfish and sea aneomne, as well as a lot of crabs. About mid morning, we finally found the rest of the family. Gramma and Papa were suppose to go home today, but they extended their stay as well. So we'll all be together for another day. While the maid cleaned the "Party Suite", we went to the sun deck and played cards and had lunch.

After lunch, it was nap time. Rachel really, really needed a nap. She is used to getting a nap everyday, and so far this week, her naps have been in the car while driving. It was determined that all the little girls would nap, and the mommies would go on a shopping field trip. The girls did nap, as did the daddies, and all the girls woke up in such better moods! Following naps, it was down to the beach in attempts to fly a kite. Unfortunately there wasn't enough wind. But the girls had fun, playing and chasing one another. I took a really cute picture of the girls' feet covered in sand (posted on Hannah's blog), however, Rachel's little feet aren't represented. She hates to have her hands and feet dirty for some reason. She is constantly wanting her hands washed when they get sandy. The girls all went to Gramma and Papa's room for dinner with them this evening. Gramma and Papa offered to watch the girls so we could go to a peaceful dinner. After sharing the same living quarters and sleeping in the same room as the girls for the last 4 days and 3 nights, it was sooooo much appreciated!!! (Thanks again Mom and Dad). After a long day of playing, etc, Rachel found her second wind and didn't finally turn off until after 11:30pm. I'm hoping that once we are home tomorrow, she'll slip right back into her normal bed time routine. Even we're not used to being up so late. LOL.

Pismo Vacation: Day 3

We got a slow start today. Rachel actually slept in until 7:30am!!! Which was nice, considering how late we were up last night playing games.

After hanging out in our room for a while and then gathering with the rest of the family for some yummy cinnamon rolls, we decided to go to the Pismo Pier and walk around, etc. The dads and the little girls all walked to the pier, while me, mom, and Grace drove to the pier and then walked some of the beach and met them. Rachel had a good time chasing the birds. Following our adventure on the pier, we came back to our hotel and gathered up our sandtoys and headed down to the beach to make a sand castle. Rachel did okay on the beach, she has this thing about her hands being dirty, so all the sand was rather annoying. Next, we changed and gathered in the pool. Once again, the girls had a great time splashing about and playing with one another. Since we're on vacation, we've not been on our normal schedule, so meal times are off. Rachel was extremely fussy this evening, part in due to not eating on time, and part due to not getting a nap today. After the pool we gave the girls baths and then gathered on the sun deck for dinner, finishing our day in Gramma and Papa's room.
We returned to our room a while ago, Hannah having fallen asleep in Gramma and Papa's room, while Rachel wide awake, having gotten a second or perhaps her third wind. She was laying on the bed watching television, when all of a sudden she got off the bed, laid down on the floor, and finally called it a day. We were suppose to go home tomorrow, but we checked into availability and we're staying another day. So we have another full day of fun and adventures ahead of us.

Pismo Vacation: Day 2

The first thing on the agenda this morning was to go down to the beach and collect sea shells. Both the girls had a good time and collected some pretty shells. Rachel got a little grumpy when she couldn't get the sand off her hands. LOL.
After having breakfast and lounging around for a bit, we headed up the coast to see the elephant seals. That was a fun outing, again another drive in the car which didn't make Rachel happy. She fussed most of the way there and back.

This afternoon, the girls blew bubbles with their new bubble guns on the sun deck. And then later joinged thier cousins on the patio with their riding toys. Gramma had a few more suprises for the girls today. One in which were these sunglasses. Rachel loves sunglasses! We partied in Gramma and Papa's room this evening and into the night, playing games, ordering pizza. It was quite a challenge to get all the girls asleep so that we adults could continue to play cards. We eventually succeeded and had great laughs!

Pismo Vacation: Day 1

We left for a family vacation today. We are at a hotel that sits on the cliffs, overlooking the beach on the central California Coast. This hotel is a family favorite that we've been coming to for over 15 years. We are on vacation with Gramma and Papa, Uncle Robbie, Auntie, McKenzie, and Haylee.

The drive was a long one, it took over 5 hours to get here. And needless to say, Rachel doesn't enjoy long car rides. For the first 4 hours, she cried and fussed and whined until she finally fell asleep. Ahhh, silence is golden.

We stopped at a Fish Hatchery along the way. It was a nice diversion, and Rachel appreciated being able to get out and run for a bit. She loved seeing all the fish! However, when it was time to get back on the road, she wasn't happy about it. We arrived safely at our hotel and found Uncle Robbie and Auntie in their room. Rachel was sooo excited to see her cousins. Frankly, I think she was relieved to be out of her confining car seat. LOL. Our room is on the 4th floor. I'm sure the people below us think there is a heard of elephants above them. For someone being so small, Rachel has a heavy walk, or should I say run. LOL. The girl never slows down. After unpacking and settling in our room, we went to dinner at a favorite restaurant and then came back to our hotel to swim. Rachel did sooooo great in the pool. Despite going completely under within the first five minutes of being in the pool, she stayed in the pool and had a great time. After the pool, we hung out in Gramma and Papa's room for a while. Playing with some toys, having a snack, enjoying being together. When it was time to come back to our room for bed, Hannah had no problem at all going right to sleep, she was worn out. Rachel on the other hand, fussed for a while. It was late for our girls to be going to bed, close to, if not after 10:00pm. I was suprised Rachel didn't go down more willingly. Hopefully after a full day of playing and being out in the fresh air, she'll go down a little bit easier tomorrow night.

Outside and Thirsty??

What do you do if you're outside and need a drink??? ...
Drink from the leaky faucet of course.

Mouse in the Kitchen!

I discovered a mouse in the kitchen this afternoon, a rather large mouse.

I had gathered some things out of the refridgerator for dinner and left the room for something. Upon returning, I found Rachel atop the kitchen counters, eating the block of cheese.

The Stages of an Ice Cream Cone

The excitement of having her own cone.
The result of having eaten ice cream too fast.
The look of pure enjoyment.

Grumpy Face

I normally post cute, happy pictures of Ray Ray (her nickname), but this grumpy picture was just too cute not to share. The poor girlie has been cutting some teeth over the last two weeks. This morning I noticed one of her eye teeth have broken through, which means she's cut four teeth just the last two weeks, two in which are molars! I suppose if that's the case, she's entitled to be a little grumpy. LOL.

An Outing to Hollywood

We went into Hollywood today and saw Cars at the El Capitan. We did lunch and then went to Griffith Park. It was a fun day. Here are the cuties...

A Day at Disneyland

We went to Disneyland with some friends yesterday. It had been a long time since they had been, and the first time for lil Gracie. It was a lot of fun acting as their tour guides and sharing some of the magic we experience on a regular basis.

Rachel was stretching her legs from sitting in the stroller,
when up came Wendy to give Rachel some attention,
and soon Peter Pan came to join in too!
We were at the park for close to 15 hours, Rachel did great at being subject to a long day at Disneyland, she must get it from her mother.

Going for a Bike Ride

A couple of years ago, Steven got a bike trailer to pull Hannah in for Father's Day. Tonight after dinner, he pulled his bike out of the shed, dusted it off, pumped up the tires, and hooked up the trailer.

It was the first time that Hannah and Rachel went for a ride in the trailer together. Rachel wasn't too sure of it at first, but we gather it was due to her bigger sister taking up the majority of the room in the trailer. LOL. But once they got going, Rachel loved it. Daddy biked to the park and the girls got to play for a while. It wasn't until they loaded back into the trailer to come home that Rachel got upset.