In the beginning if June we flew down to Visalia so that Ezekiel could meet everyone i the family he had yet to meet. At first I think he was overwhelmed by all the new faces but he eventually warmed up to everyone had we all had a great time! The only problem was that the time flew by. So, we cannot wait for our next visit!
We celebrated Ezekiel’s first birthday while we were in California and we had a fantastic time. I think his favorite part was the cupcake!
While we were in Visalia the family got together for my grandparents 60th Wedding anniversary. All 33 of us (including 9 great grandchildren) took a huge family photo. It was so amazing that all of us could be together at once. What a fun tie we had celebrating the happy couple!
While I was in Visalia the family got together to celebrate birthdays! It was so nice to be able to see everyone! When the Anaya baby is born my grandparents will have 9 great grandchildren! Needless to say we had a huge party!
My family put together a beautiful baby shower for me last weekend while I was visiting them in Visalia. My youngest niece had never been to a baby shower before and she asked, “What do you do at a baby shower? Take a shower with the baby?” Bryan and I are looking forward to all the funny little things that our children will say. My friend, Tawni, took some awesome photos for me during the shower so I added them below. A very special thank you to all the women who worked SO hard putting together a wonderful shower!
While we were visiting my grandparents in Visalia the Crawford clan came by and we had a chance to visit. Blake had Bryan read to him and I couldn’t resist taking a picture!
Recently I went to Visalia to visit my family. We always have so much fun together and this time was no exception. My dad recently got a Wii fit and we enjoyed endless hours of fun from that one game. I was so pleased with myself for keeping the high score on the hula hoop game until my 10 year old niece figured out how to play the game and blew my score out of the water. I still can’t figure out how she got so many spins in 60 seconds because my sister dad and I stayed up till midnight one night trying to beat the score. I came within three spins and had to call it quits.
One morning my grandparents took me out to a wonderful breakfast. It was so nice to relax and visit with my grandparents. I thought it was funny when I ordered and my grandma was still looking at the menu then she ordered the same exact thing I did. Good taste must run in the family.
On Sunday, we had a family party and I was able to visit with a lot of my family that I don’t get to see that often. It was nice to visit and enjoy some good food. My sister helped me make a fruit tray and a vegetable platter . . . she did an absolutely amazing job.
We also had lots of fun swimming in the pool. Believe it or not it was almost too cold some days to swim. On the last day I was there my mom and I took my two nieces and my cousin’s son swimming and we had tons of fun.
On Friday, my sister, her family, her in-laws, and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We had a spectacular a time! At one of the touch pools an aquarium employee told us how a decorated crab cuts plants with his claws, then throw them on his back where they proceed to grow onto his shell and the crab becomes covered in plants. The crab obviously does this to hide from predators and I can tell you that it works because we were looking right at one and didn’t even see it until it was pointed it out. The crab was very hard to spot when surrounded by seaweed and other ocean creatures. My favorite exhibit was the seahorse house, followed closely by the otter exhibit.
While I was in California I hung out with my brother a couple of days. First we went miniature golfing. We had lots of fun until I added up the scores and I found out he beat me by 2 strokes. Some of the holes were crazy difficult so I was pleased at how well I did overall. After we were done we met up with our dad and had a fun lunch together.
Another day we went bowling with one of my brother’s friends. I have no idea where I picked it up but when I bowl I do this strange lunge move before I throw the ball down the lane. Well, last time I went bowling it helped me tremendously because I beat everyone and that hardly ever happens. This time the move failed me because I barely broke 100 on the first game, and I got 90 something the second game. We all did pretty horribly, but had tons of fun.
My brother’s friend owns a doughnut shop . . . when I found this out and heard that the doughnuts are actually good I had to try one. I had been telling him to take me in to the shop since the day I arrived but we never found the time to go in. So, on Saturday morning I woke up to a box of doughnuts. My brother stayed up until 4:00 AM making me doughnuts at his friend’s shop. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened the box and saw 12 different delicious looking doughnuts. I had two right then and they were super delicious. Yes I did say I ate two, and yes I did have a huge tummy ache a little while later, but I felt so pleased that my brother made the doughnuts just for me! Thank Bruce for the doughnuts; I won’t ever forget your kindness, or my tummy ache. Next time I will only eat one.
It is a tradition that every year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving to have a Christmas Party with family and friends. The tradition started over 30 years ago with a few couples and it has now grown to three generations and about 30 people. The married couples and families pass out photo pages of what has happened with their families over the past year; and the younger non-married kids exchange gifts. Since Bryan and I live so far away we aren’t able to attend most years, but this year we were lucky enough to be in California for the party. We had lots of fun seeing everyone and getting to catch up!
