Wednesday 31st-
Our flight was a little delayed. I guess when our plane was taxing in it didn't make a turn right and its wing got clipped. Thankfully they had an extra plane parked in a hanger so the flight wasn't cancelled, but it did end up being about an hour later by the time we took off. The boys were decent on the plane. Derrick is a much better traveler then Collin has ever been. But I still don't feel ready to take a solo trip with both boys yet. We rented a car at the airport and then drove to Camarillo. Within a few minutes of arriving at my parents Collin was off and running with cousins- the Jenkins cousins were there waiting for us. I "lost" Collin for a few minutes and found him riding bikes in the front yard with older cousins. We had to quickly set some ground rules like staying in the backyard. ;) We were all pretty exhausted with the time change and our day had started really early! So we just relaxed and visited the rest of the afternoon/evening. Spencer stopped by after work and the Terry clan around the same time. It was so nice to just enjoy sitting outside on the patio and talking. I love being with my family
Thanks to the time change and everyone sleeping in the same room our day started pretty early. Mom worked in the morning. But since my Dad isn't working these days the boys all went for a ride in the Scout while Derrick napped. Then we headed to some outlet stores- we were all in need of some new shoes. We didn't last too long since Collin threw a royal tantrum. Later that afternoon Michael and I went to a couple stores with Mom while the boys were napping (yay for having Dad and Corinne home). We finally found shoes (they were a bit of a necessity considering I had only brought sandals and those would not have been suitable for our special activity on Tuesday) After some naps everyone was feeling much happier. We went to Olas for dinner then headed up to Lindsay and Shaun's new finished home. It is beautiful and perfect for entertaining! We spent many evenings up there.
Calvin didn't have preschool so we wanted to do something fun with him. We met Anie and the boys at the little Channel Islands museum at the harbor. We got to watch them feed the fish and then had a picnic lunch out on the grass. It was perfect! The weather was gorgeous. The boys played so well together. And it made me a little sad that we don't live closer. Someday hopefully! And Anie was able to take the perfect family picture for us. I was amazed that we got both boys looking and smiling- well I guess I should say Collin. Derrick loves the camera and always smiles when we pull it out.
Since it was Friday Mom and Dad had to go to the Temple for their weekly shift. Spencer and Anie and the gang all came over for pizza and to hang out that night. We bought pizza and the kids all had a blast jumping and running around the back yard together. Parenting was so easy this trip since Collin always had someone to play with- having Bailey living at the house was especially nice! We finished off the fun by roasting some marshmallows on the fire pit. Collin was so excited for that.
This day tested my patience a little. The hardest part of visiting family and having so many people living in the same town is coordinating schedules. When we come to visit we are always up earlier because of the time change. Saturday we did not get the early start that I was hoping for, and sadly missed out on seeing Anie and the kids (Spencer was in AZ for the BYU game). But it all worked out and we had a fun day. Michael went on an early bike ride with Shaun and his Dad. Mom and Dad whipped up a delicious Jenkins breakfast/lunch feast for us (we finally ate around 11)- waffles, eggs, hash browns and of course liquid gold (aka fresh squeezed orange juice from their tree). After we ate we all quickly got ready and headed out for our favorite Overlook hike along the PCH. This was the same hike that Michael proposed to me on 6 years ago. The Terry clan met us there. After the hike we walked over to the beach for a mid day picnic. It was getting cooler so we didn't stay too long. Plus we had to get home for the BYU game. But of course in the short time Collin managed to get himself completely wet. At least he was having fun.
Collin sings the Bear Hunt song every week in nursery. The whole hike he kept saying we were going on a bear hunt. We were excited to finally find one at the end!
We ended the night with the BYU game at the Terry's house out on their back porch. We put Derrick to bed in one of their rooms and enjoyed the evening with everyone. It was a late night and we were all pretty exhausted.
Sunday 4th-
We went to my parent's ward. The ward boundaries have changed within the last year so there were many people that I didn't recognize and lots that I wish I could have seen. After church we went home for a quick lunch and then headed back for cousin Eric to be ordained a deacon and receive the Aaronic priesthood. By this point in the day/trip Collin was so exhausted and in dire need of a nap. He was already having a rough time and then Michael went up to stand in the circle and he threw a royal fit! I felt so bad/frustrated/embarrassed that he cried the entire time. Leave it to our kid to make it memorable! Oh well, the Spirit was still there and we are all very proud of Eric. I am grateful my boys have such great cousins to look up to and emulate. While the boys napped I went with my parents to visit our good friends the Goodmans. They have always been like grandparents to me and were on my list of people I had to see while in town. After that it was up to Lindsay and Shaun's for dinner and cake. Michael made a chocolate cake for Eric while I was at the Goodman's (side note- Michael is such a keeper! He first made this cake for me on Mother's Day. He doesn't eat chocolate because of his acid reflux. Then he was the one who suggested we make it for Eric. He is a good and selfless man!). And then I frosted and decorated it up at the house. Everyone loved it! A favorite dinner table conversation of the night was funny engagement, asking for Dad's permission, dating, meeting the in-laws stories. Lots of good laughs and memories!!
Monday 5th Labor Day-
We decided on a Beach Day for our last day in Camarillo. It was great to have everyone together since it was the holiday. Early that morning Michael, Shaun, Spencer and Shaun's dad went on a 40 mile bike ride. They drove up to the beach we were going to later in the day and then rode their bikes home. Then when they got home we got ready to head up to the beach. The Goodman's stopped by to see Michael and the boys since they missed them on Sunday. And then poor Derrick was extremely constipated this trip and so we had to deal with that a little before we could get on the road. We made it to the beach around lunch and picked up subway. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with everyone. Again Collin spent the whole time playing with cousins and Derrick just crawled around and miraculously didn't eat the sand. Collin didn't mind the colder water, but Derrick wasn't too thrilled when we dipped our toes in. We stayed for a few hours and then headed home- the boys needed naps and we needed to get some things for our special surprise the next day. Corinne had invited the missionaries to dinner that night so we finished off the night with delicious tri-tip. Spencer and Anie joined us for dinner so it was nice to spend a little more time with them.
The rest of the evening was spent packing up our suitcases and getting things organized for the morning. Of course we did everything we could to get the boys down at a decent time and they slept terribly! Collin was up till probably 10 and kept waking Derrick up. I was so stressed and frustrated and the next morning was rough getting up!
Tuesday 6th DISNEYLAND-
Really this could deserve its own post, but we are lucky I am getting this one written so here we go. Several months before our trip Michael and I were talking and jokingly said something about going to Disneyland. And then we did a little more research into it and when we realized that Collin would be free since he didn't turn 3 for another month we decided we had to do it! We got my parents, and Corinne and Morgan on board. And then my best friend Chloe decided to meet us there too. And the morning of Lindsay and Shaun surprised Kaitlyn and let her skip school to come too!
In the months leading up to our trip I made a point of introducing Collin to as many Disney movies as possible. We would borrow them from the library, added one to our collection whenever Costco had a coupon for them, and watched sing-a-longs and clips on YouTube. . He was so excited!
Of course we got a little later start then planned, hit some traffic and then had to wait in line to buy tickets (we totally forgot and by the time we remembered we were too late to do it online), so Collin was throwing a tantrum before we even made it into the park. But the magic of Disney seemed to make them easier to handle (well until the epic one on the tram ride back to the car that night...that one was a doozy!) Anyway I could write a novel about the day. But these were my favorite memories 1) one of the first rides we went on was Tea cups aka my Dad's favorite ride! Kaitlyn, Dad, Michael and Collin went in the "fast" cup. My mom, Chloe, Derrick and I went in the "slow" cup. My favorite memory was watching Collin laugh and smile as he spun around and around. It was in that moment that I thought this is why we came. I have so many memories of Disneyland growing up, especially on that ride, and I was so excited to share it with the boys!
2) My focus for the day was to do whatever rides Collin wanted to do and then pick one or two big ones to do ride swaps for. Michael, and I went on Thunder Mountain together. Which is one of my favorites! It felt like a mini date walking through the line together and then walking across the park to meet up with the rest of the group. Michael hadn't been since he was about 8 so it was fun to show him all my favorite things about Disneyland too.
3) I loved hearing Collin talk about Pirates of the Caribbean. He kept saying it was a little scary, but then he would talk about wanting to go on it again. You could tell that he was trying so hard to be brave.
4) Derrick was such a trooper the whole day! He is really such a great baby and much better at going with the flow then Collin. He spent the majority of the day in the Beco carrier- except for the parade and when I went on a couple big rides. It was perfect! He napped in it and went on all the rides in it. Which was great- I was never nervous about him trying to escape my arms. Although when Michael tried wearing him in it he just cried. So my back hurt by the end of the night and I was really sweaty. But it was worth it.
5)The Parade was another highlight of the day. We all met up to watch it together (We would split up throughout the day- Michael, Chloe, the boys and me/Corinne and Morgan and their girls/Mom, Dad and Kaitlyn- and meet up at rides if the timing would work out) Collin and Derrick were in awe the entire parade! A princess even waved at and blew Collin a kiss. A favorite for Collin was seeing Mary Poppins, Bert and the step in time chimney sweeps. I was so glad I thought to take a couple videos on my phone- those are still some of his favorite "family videos" to watch.
4) Our last ride before the park closed at 8 was Peter Pan. We squished our little family into one boat and sailed over London and Neverland together. It was the perfect ride to end our fun filled day with.
My only regret of the day was not making it on Mr Toads Wild ride, one of my other favorite rides. Oh well, next time ;) We ended the night with a little souvenir shopping on Main Street. I found an ornament for our Christmas tree. Collin picked out some Peter Pan toys and we got a Mickey Mouse toy for Derrick. I was especially excited about Derrick's find. I have a very similar Minnie Mouse toy from when I was little. My mom had written September '92 on the bottom, which was probably my 1st Disneyland trip too and I was just a year older then Derrick. We were all exhausted and Collin was literally running in circles on a nearly deserted Main Street. He was so slap happy! That all ended though when we got on the tram back to the parking garage. Michael went on a different row with the stroller (which Collin didn't like) and the tip of the iceberg was when he couldn't sit on the edge by the door. He screamed the loudest screams the entire ride and was crying all the way to the car. Slowest ride of my life! I was so embarrassed and frustrated, already had a headache and did not handle it very well. Normally I would have just ignored it, but with so many people around, and many of them giving me looks, it wasn't exactly something I could ignore. Oh well. We said our goodbyes in the parking garage, walked to the car and headed to our hotel that was literally 2 minutes away. Collin was asleep before we even made it out of the garage.
This was the best picture we got the whole day of Collin "looking" at the camera. There was just so much to look at the whole day he was constantly in awe and looking all around.
So fun to go to Disneyland with Chloe again. We went a couple times in high school together.
Our best attempt at a group picture.
Making their best pirate impersonations while in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.
We of course had to get a picture that Chloe could send to Bryan. We were sad he couldn't skip out of work to join us.
This picture makes me laugh every time...clearly there were people around that could have taken her picture ;)
Recommendation from Spencer- macaroon from the Mary Poppins cafe on Main Street. Boy did it not disappoint!! The whole raspberries on the inside were delicious! My mouth is seriously watering thinking about it.
Running around Main Street
This boy was so tired!! He slept in his clothes that night.
Our California trip had come to an end and it was time to head home. We were very happy that we had gotten the hotel down by Disney. Although perhaps it would have been better to get something closer to the airport. We were running a little late that morning and cut it pretty close getting to the airport. After we made it through security Derrick and I ran to grab the first food we could find for lunch on the plane- I literally spent like $35 on two sandwiches, a muffin and a fruit cup. Gotta love airport food! Michael and Collin headed to our gate to board with family boarding and save us seats. Thankfully our gate was literally the first one and Derrick and I still were able to make the family boarding and were just a few people behind Michael. The flight home was a little tougher- you could tell the boys were exhausted.
Waving goodbye to CA
Boppi sent us home with a fun little toy to help entertain Collin.
I am finally getting to document this trip nearly 3 months later. This trip made such a lasting impression on Collin! Some memory from it comes up nearly everyday in his conversations. He talks about his cousins, riding in the Scout, Disneyland, eating Grandpa Al's eggs, and the most random one recently was about when Calvin got burned. It took me a few minutes to figure out what he was talking about, but then I remembered that when the kids were roasting marshmallows Calvin touched the end of one of the sticks and burned his finger. I was amazed that Collin remembered that! And on his Thanksgiving library craft he wrote told me to write "I am thankful for California". Someday I hope that we can live closer to our family!
