Road Trip!

I had my first big trip to California to visit family.  It took Mommy and Daddy three days to get laundry done, bags packed, and get the car loaded down.  Mommy, Daddy, the two dogs and I loaded up and left before the sun came up on Friday, January 15th.   I wish Daddy had thought to take my picture in the car because I was completely surrounded with stuff.  But unfortunately the camera had to go into the backpack which had to go under the diaper bag in order for everything to fit securely.  I slept really good in my car seat and woke up every three hours to be changed and fed.  I started to get uncomfortable after about 9 hours so Mommy moved all the stuff from the back seat into the front seat and sat with me for the last hour.  After 10 hours in the car we finally made it to Visalia.  Everybody there was glad to see us and we were all glad to be out of the car.

 

On Saturday Mom got me all dolled up and we went to Michelle's baby shower while Daddy went golfing with Papa Delbert.  Aunt Michelle got lots of gifts while I got passed around and met all my Visalia relatives.  It was a fun day and I was really good at the shower.  I hardly even made a peep.   Here I am with Aunt Michelle and notice I am sitting on Peyton.  I can't wait to meet my new cousin in a few weeks.

On Sunday morning we hung out watching football in the morning with everybody. 

Then Daddy packed up the car and we headed to Modesto to Grandpa Browder's house.  We were met there by Gram and Gramps, Megan and Danny, Grandpa, two more dogs.  I got to spend time playing with Gram and everybody worked on crossword puzzle together.

 

We spent a nice relaxing day in Modesto on Monday.  We went for a long walk along Dry Creek with the dogs and then after dinner Gram and Auntie Meg thought it would be fun to make smores in the fireplace.  Grandpa was happy to sample the efforts.

Tuesday came and we all packed up and headed out.  After all the commotion I am sure the house was really quiet for Grandpa that night.  Once again Daddy loaded up the car and we headed up to Megan's house with a brief stop in Stockton.  Daddy drove us around Stockton, past their first house, and over to UOP.  The campus was busy on a Tuesday afternoon and we got out and went and explored the new student center.  Daddy was hoping to buy some Pacific gear at the bookstore, but as soon as we walked in the door I started crying so they hurried me out and back to the car so I could eat.  Then we took dinner over to Daddy's friends Robert and Tiffany.  They have two sons and a baby girl Julieanne, who was born four days after me.  After a quick and noisy visit with them (boys are loud!) we headed up to Ione to the ranch that Megan and Danny live on.  The next two days were spent holed up in the house as the biggest storm in 15 years hit California.  It was very windy and rainy so we napped and stayed inside.  Well, except for poor Danny who had to be out in it with the cows and came home very wet on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  On Thursday Daddy decided he was too close to the snow and even though it was still stormy he headed up to Kirkwood.  Mommy, Auntie Meg, and I spent another quiet day inside.  Daddy came home tired but excited that it was some of the best snow he had ever snowboarded on. 

Friday morning we left to head back down to Visalia for a quick stop.  Grandma Miaja and Grandma Jeri were happy to spend more time with me and Cousin Rylee was a big help in taking care of me for the night.

Saturday morning we once again loaded up the car and headed back to Arizona.  We arrived home at 8 PM after 10 and a half hours in the car.  We were glad to see the house weathered the big storm just fine while were away.  It was a busy week with lots of time in the car but besides a few cranky moments I really didn't mind all the traveling.  I even slept 6 to 7 hours every night we were gone.  Now I am home again with no one but Mommy to entertain me.  It sure is quiet here.