For starters, no trip to California is complete without a lunch at the In-n-Out, followed by a dinner or two, and possibly another lunch (from a guy’s point of view the menu has such variety it’s hard to get burned out at In-n-Out). If we gave Coleson the option he’d be cool with In-n-Out for lunch and hotdogs for dinner everyday (personally I could live a long happy life with only Chipotle and In-n-Out). On this particular visit Ammon insisted on trying Summer’s strawberry shake. After one sip he was hooked, and any attempts by Summer to drink her own shake were met by immediate yelps of disapproval. He ended up with a minor tummy ache later that night, but I bet he would gladly endure the discomfort again for another sip of the sweet blessed strawberry shake.
We stayed at Jenna and Steve's house in Irvine for several days and had a wonderful time. We made a quick day trip to Ventura to visit the grandparents. When we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Grabau in Ventura we had the opportunity to see Grandma Lou at her new home (the Grabau’s are Summer’s grandparents and Grandma Lou is her great grandmother). Grandma Lou was so excited to see us, especially Coleson and Ammon. Ammon loves the sound of Grandma Lou’s voice, he’ll just contently listen and stare at her whenever she talks. She’s called us in the past just to talk to Ammon, and he just loves it. Gerald (Grandma Lou’s son) came to visit as well while we were there and it was good to see him. Gerald told us that he recently went with his group home on a trip to Las Vegas (he said it was alright, but not much gambling). Gerald noticed that Ammon kept taking his glasses off, so he started telling Ammon that he can’t see when he takes them off. Gerald then proceeded to demonstrate for Ammon by taking off his own glasses and then saying, “See, it’s all blurry, you can’t see.” (for those of you that know Gerald imagine him saying this in his voice). It was cool to see Gerald talking to Ammon like he should understand exactly what he’s telling him. Ammon listened intently, but unfortunately the lesson hasn’t sunk in yet.
Grandma Lou has five other “roommates” that live at the same home. Vern is the only guy and well aware of this advantageous fact (it pays to have longevity in the genes). I loved the curlers in Grace's hair, simply classic. We had a great time visiting with everyone, and Coleson and Summer even sang a fun pumpkin song that was met with resounding applause. It was touching to see Gerald express his love and kiss his Mom several times before leaving. Grandma Lou got a little emotional when Gerald and the rest of us were leaving and we were all sad to go. The trip to her home was well worth the travel and I hope we can do it again soon.
We made it down to Kristen's home near Oceanside for the latter half of the week and had a wonderful time there. Coleson loves hanging out with his "cousins" especially Dallas. Thanksgiving dinner was one of the best spreads that I've ever had the chance to feast upon. There was even an authentic smoked turkey made by John. The term gluttony and my overall approach to consuming the smoked turkey is probably an accurate description for some. However, what others perceive as gluttony and extravagance in this instance I only consider light nibbling. Dallas said the Thanksgiving prayer and we all smiled at this line in his prayer, “We are thankful that the Pilgrims and Indians could get together and have a good time.” It’s all about the good times.
We made it to the beach and had a wonderful time tide pooling and running through the freezing water (I'm a pansy when it comes to cold water, who isn't).
We missed the birth of Kayla (by one day), but at least we got to see Seth and Amanda. On our way home Coleson graciously offerred to clean the windows at each gas station. You'll notice he has the tongue in cheek just like his Dad does.
On a side note, I took this amazing picture of Ammon. Now I don't want everyone to get too excited, for clarification Ammon is not crawling yet and a few seconds later he did fall over, but this is a huge step for Ammon. You'll notice that he is holding himself up all on his own and we are all so happy for him. He continues to make great progress!
Go Cougs! (that's another story)
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