California: The End

We left Ninny and Papa's at 4:16am... one minute behind schedule already. It was a long drive back to LAX and I didn't get a wink of sleep. Poor Zack and Sheena... it's such a pain to get people back to that airport. Long drive, traffic, the crazy Grapevine! As we drove out of the Grapevine, Zack fell asleep and Sheena realized she had no idea where we were! Uh oh. We stopped at a gas station because I had to pee. That was pretty disgusting. Then she turned on the GPS... finally, we'll get back on track now! Nope. There were a few more wrong turns and by now I was pretty car sick. My nerves were starting to take over and I felt the chunks of puke in the back of my throat. We made it to the airport 51 minutes before my plane's departure. I gave Zack and Sheena a hug and told them I loved them. Zack showed me the time and said, "You need to run." I didn't think I was going to make it and tears started to roll down my cheeks. Once I made it to the front of the line to check my bags, it was 44 minutes to take off. The kind lady (note my sarcasm) informed me that my bags might not make it on the plane because technically the need to be checked 45 minutes prior to departure. Really lady?! One minute?? So I told her thank you and hauled to the security line. Thank the Lord, it was not too long... but I was sweating. After taking off my shoes (definitely the worst part of security), we literally ran to our gate. Poor Kennedy... she kept crying, "Mommy, I can't ruuuuun!" I felt horrible :( But I knew if we didn't run, we may not make it on that plane! And of course our gate was at the very end of the ALL of the gates. We made it, with minutes to spare. Once we got on the plane and her car seat was installed, I literally wiped the sweat from my face in relief.

She didn't fall asleep until one hour before landing. Albeit, in my arms. Poor kid, she was exhausted. Jon met us at security and escorted us to our carousel. We missed him a ton! After 10 minutes went by, I started to doubt that our bags made it. But then five minutes later, they popped up. Thank God! I thought to myself, "Would I still be praising God if they didn't come?" Something we all need to work on at times. God is good, no matter the circumstance! Needless to say, I was relieved they made it.

Our trip in a nutshell: amazing. I would definitely consider moving to California. But it would take some MAJOR prayer. God would have to make it VERY clear that this would be our next place of dwelling. I mean literally, He would have to write it on the wall for me. It would be pretty amazing if it did happen, though. I miss the Searcys a lot. And It would be nice to be closer to the Eichlers. They are ALWAYS a lot of fun to be with! I think about how much fun Kennedy would have too. She bonded with Ethan, Grace and Taylor like no other the past week. To be constantly entertained... who wouldn't want that?! When Jon asked her what her favorite part of California was, she responded, "Taylor." Awwwwwwww, my heart just melted when I heard that!! Don't get me wrong, we broke up a lot of fights, but overall they were all so good.

Thank you Zack, Sheena, Pastor David and Cindy, for making our trip a really fantastic one. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. We'll be back to visit... hopefully sooner than later! This time Jon will be with me :) We love you guys!!!!

Day EIGHT: Family Fun!

Today was our last full day of vacation. After I packed everything at Zack and Sheena's, we all left for Bakersfield to hang out with Ninny and Papa. As soon as we got there, we put our suits on and headed for their pool. I needed to come back with SOME color... otherwise people would never believe I was in California! After all the kids were done swimming, Sheena and I stayed in the pool to continue working on our tan. We had some nice, quiet adult time. That was few and far between this week!

After an amazing dinner of tri tip (an Eichler specialty), Cindy drove me to their church to show me around. It's a pretty big church that also includes a Christian school (PK3-8th grade). As soon as I heard Pastor David rehearsing with his worship team I was overcome with emotion. You can see God moving in the Eichler's lives and I'm so happy for them!! This is the place God has called them to be and I was fortunate enough to see it firsthand.

When the guys returned from practice, we played Golf (a fun card game). I had a BLAST. There was great conversation filled with a ton of laughter. And even though I came in second-to-last, I still beat Papa! That alone made my night :)

Around midnight, I said my goodbyes to Ninny and Papa. They both offered encouraging words and lots of love! They are so amazing. Then I dragged my butt to bed... 3:30am would come fast!

Day SEVEN: Cake!

We had to pick out a day where we had nothing planned. "Doing this cake will take hours!" Sheena said. I didn't believe her.

I told her before I came to visit that I wanted to make a really cool cake with her. She let me pick out the cake flavor, filling, colors and design. Karly came over and we started it around two o'clock. We made the cake and froze it a few days earlier, but still had a lot of work ahead of us. They both made the fondant and frosting. I stuck to the easy stuff! I helped ice, fill and stack the cake, color the fondant and put it together. We made vanilla cake with buttercream frosting and filled it with fresh strawberries. It turned out BEAUTIFUL and delicious!!! I was pretty excited about it. And I was glad it turned out good enough for the girls to use on their 'We Do Cakes' Facebook page!

Sheena made cavatinni for dinner (a Searcy specialty) and we ate the cake for dessert. The kids LOVED it!! Kennedy practically licked her plate clean! It was another awesome day of our vacation! :)

Day SIX: Family

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Jon and all the daddies out there! Dads are such an important part of a child's life, especially little girls. Jon, you make our daughter feel secure, important, and above all LOVED. She adores you. Thank you for being such a wonderful, hands on daddy! I'm sorry we didn't get to spend your day together, but we'll make it up to you when we get home... promise! :) We love you!!!!

The kids sat with us in church service today. Kennedy has never done that, so I was a little concerned it would be too long for her. After Pastor Bill said his final prayer, Kennedy asked me if it was done. I said yes and she said, "Mommy!!! I be patient!!!" She's ADORABLE! Kennedy was such a good girl -- I was proud! :) After church, we headed out for lunch. And where else do you go have lunch while in California?! IN-N-OUT, OF COURSE! It was delicious and as a result of that, I feel like a big fatty. Oh well. I'm on vacation... I'll get back on track with eating healthy and working out when I get home.

After lunch, the Eichlers came over to spend Father's Day with the family. While the kiddos were napping, we played a card game called Golf. Pastor won, OF COURSE! haha Sooo much fun. Then we ate an awesome meal... thanks Sheen, your tacos were fabulous! Dinner was followed by great conversation. I knew I missed Pastor David and Cindy, but I had no idea how much until I was able to spend all this time with them. I miss their love for the lost, their ministry together, and their passion for God! They were a HUGE part of Changing Lives and literally changing lives in the past six years. So many people came to Christ while they were serving at our church. Personally, they discipled me and treated us like their own family. I am eternally thankful for them. Thanks for making our vacation this week even better! I loved spending every minute with you! We love you both soooo much :)

After a great day like that, who wouldn't think about moving here?? It's a great place to raise a family and we already have amazing friends here to share our live with! So far my sister Sarah, the Browns, Joneses and us are all in! Hmm, who else wants to move with us??? ;)

Day FIVE: Cupcakes!

It was another relaxing day with the Searcys! After Disney, we spent the night with the Eichlers (again, because it's closer than going all the way home). We had to leave in the early morning so Zack could make it to a worship practice. Sheena and I hung out at home with the kids until 2pm, when we headed to the church to make Sesame Street cupcakes. I didn't think Sheena was going to let me be so hands-on, but she let me do everything! I had a lot of fun decorating these... they're adorable. Now that I have the skills, I'm going to Michaels to get a few supplies so I can make them for Josie's birthday party too! :)

After dinner, we got out the water slide so the kids could have some fun! They had a BLAST and I was able to get some really cute pictures. Oh, and I never took a shower today... I'm disgusting, I know ;) Great day --- CHECK!

Disneyland!!

Day FOUR: Disneyland!!!

We exited Disneyland Drive at 8:45am and I was pretty excited! Kennedy and I have never been to Disneyland, so this was going to be quite the experience for us. Zack told us it would take about a half hour from the time you park your car until you walk through the gate. I didn't believe him until we got there and I saw just how many people were there. A tram takes you from the parking garage to the gates, where we purchased our tickets for the day. $134 later, we were in!

From the moment we walked into the park, it was beautiful everywhere you looked. Beautiful, ornate buildings, landscaping like no other, bright colors everywhere... and don't even get me started on the cleanliness of the park. It was amazingly clean! Hundreds of workers, constantly cleaning up after everyone. I felt right at home. We started off on the kiddie rides... Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Dumbo and of course the carousel. Kennedy was a little scared on Snow White and Pinocchio because of the "scary people". But she LOVED the Dumbo ride (Which she complained about not wanting to go on the entire 25 minutes of waiting.) But as soon as it started, she was ALL SMILES! The carousel was another hit! Then we moved on the meet the Princesses. Knowing that we had a wait ahead of us, we gave the kids their lunch in line. That and a few potty breaks later, we met Arial, Tiana and Mulan. Kennedy had been looking forward to meeting them for months, but as soon as we got up close, she was scared! I'll admit I was so disappointed. I wanted this to be the most amazing experience for her! She was more excited after she met them, unfortunately. So the pictures don't show it, but I know she loved meeting them. :) Next up was the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was soooo much fun!! You sit in these two-person carts that move on a track. You each have a gun that you shoot at targets with. Each target gains you individual points. The entire ride is in the dark and everything is lit up in black lights. Kennedy did pretty well and LOVED shooting Zurg. When we got off she shouted, "Mommy!! I shot ZURG!!!!!" Since this ride was such a hit with all of us, we decided to go on a few more times... each time comparing points. Papa won every time of course, except the last time. Zack took us all with 300,000 points! Too fun.

After a few adult rides and some dinner, we got ready for Fantasmic! An AMAZING water/light show that included all the live characters as well. It BLEW ME AWAY! Zack taped it but I'm sure it won't do it justice. Then there were fireworks to Disney music. Amazing... just amazing. I had tears in my eyes after all of it. Took me back to when I was a kid watching all the great classics! After that, I headed into the biggest Disney store EVER. I was overwhelmed with awesome merchandise. But I had to be good. I didn't spend much at all :)

AMAZING day spent with AMAZING people. Thanks for making mine and Kennedy's trip so spectacular. I love you all more than you know! :)

Day THREE: Baking

We got up and out the door by noon and headed to the church kitchen, where Sheena and Karly bake their cakes. They had an order of 72 graduation cupcakes due by 5pm! Thinking we had a TON of time, we put in Toy Story 2 for the kids and got started. I was pretty excited to help, even though my reputation in the kitchen isn't the greatest. I threw in the ingredients and almost started the Kitchen Aid mixer when Sheena stopped me. Of course, I put the ingredients in the wrong mixer! Oh my... I should've left the kitchen at this point. We did let the girls decorate a couple extra cupcakes we made. That was the best part of the day! Except the clean up. Thanks Sheena, haha! I made a few other minor mistakes along the way and six hours later... three or four runs of Toy Story 2 and a couple of cranky girls, WAH LAH! CUPCAKES COMPLETE. (Most of the work done by the girls. I'm such an amateur... lol.) I definitely have even more respect for what they do. Starting a business is tough and getting it off the ground takes a lot of time, money and dedication. I could never do it! Nice work Sheena, I love you :)

After that busy afternoon, it only got crazier when we got home! We had to pack for Bakersfield (where Pastor and Cindy live), make dinner/clean up, and bathe the girls all as fast as possible! A little over an hour later, we were off! They decided we'd spend the night in Bakersfield because it's an hour closer to Disney, cutting down our drive time to 2.5 hours. Because it was after nine when we arrived, we went to bed almost immediately. It didn't leave us much time with the Eichler's or any with Ethan and Grace (they were already asleep), but I knew we had all day at Disney to catch up! :) Stay tuned.

Day TWO: Relaxing

We started off our day relaxing... Zack was at work and the girls played. Sheena and I hung out on the couch for a few hours and chatted about life. I missed her a lot! We finally got ready and out the door by 4pm to run some errands. They have a SUPER Target here!!! I'm in heaven. Enough said. Then to Kohl's where I ended up buying Kennedy a lot of play clothes for super cheap (thanks to a merchandise credit and gift card). No more grass stains on her Gap capris - woo hoo! We came home for dinner and then went to bible study. Zack led the class in a discussion on Lazarus and being healed. I got really emotional as he was discussing how God always wants healing. Sometimes it doesn't happen on our time or even in our lifetime. I was reminded of Grandma. Every minute of every day, something comes to mind that reminds me of her. She was ultimately healed and I thank God for sparing her life! Although she suffered for three months, it pales in comparison to how many YEARS some suffer. Of course at the same time, I selfishly wish she were here. At one point, I had to walk out of the study because I was crying so hard. Some days are harder than others. Today was a hard day.

Kennedy and I are LOVING our time with the Searcys. Yesterday, Sheena was showing me how to relax because 'that's what you do when you're on vacation!'. I need to clean though! It makes me feel like I'm at home. Plus I love feeling useful. She's also trying very hard to get us to move out here... haha! Apparently they know everyone in Tulare. A dentist, people who work for the City of Tulare... she cracks me up.

Stay tuned for some fun stuff coming up within the next two days!!

California: Day ONE

Our flight to LAX was ok, at best. I just had a few complaints...

The seats are meant for someone who tips the scales at 95lbs. I barely had enough room to breath! The 'snack' (this weird cookie thing) was pretty gross, although Kennedy loved it. Oh! And the bathrooms were ridiculous. In order for me to get Kennedy on the potty, I had to leave the door open and stand OUTSIDE of the bathroom. I asked the flight attendant first if she'd be offended if I did that. Of course she was totally fine with it. But the worst thing of all --- we got to board the plane early because I had a young child with a car seat to install. I got back to my assigned seat, installed the car seat (which took a few minutes and a little sweat), and got us both situated. Just as everyone was seated, a very sweet flight attendant came up to me and informed me that we weren't 'allowed' to be in those seats with a car seat. Some FAA rule that states a car seat can't be installed in front of an emergency exit. So while everyone was seated, I had to switch seats with another couple and reinstall the heavy sucker WHILE EVERYONE WATCHED. When we were finally good to go, I looked over and saw a guy smiling at me. I said "Nothing like making a scene, right?!" He laughed.

On the flip side, Kennedy was sooooooo good. Although she didn't sleep, I was very impressed with her behavior. And apparently, so were a few others. As we landed, people told me how well she did and how they didn't even hear her! I wasn't sure what to expect, seeing as how the first time she flew was at 19 months old. Another nice thing... because we had to move to different seats, the flight attendant was very accommodating the entire flight, asking us how we were doing - if we needed anything. I think she felt bad for us! At one point she even gave Kennedy AirTran 'wings'. Kennedy liked that!

We landed in LAX -- a CRAZY busy airport -- around 11am. I was carrying everything, including her heavy car seat. I had no hands to hold hers, so I was very nervous and told her to stay in front of me where I could see her. Of course that didn't work... she didn't know where we were going! Eventually I stopped to move everything around to free a hand. Finally, smooth sailing. Zack, Sheena and Taylor picked us up and we were on our way to Tulare! (about a three hour drive with traffic)

From the moment we walked in the door, the girls were BEST friends. Taylor headed straight for her dress up clothes where they could be 'Cinderella and Aurora'. Decked out in their princess gear and enough lip gloss on their lips to survive the next few winters, they played the night away. Sheena and I really enjoy watching them play so well together. This morning Kennedy woke up on Milwaukee time (5am) and couldn't wait for Taylor to get up and play with her! It was adorable. Their conversations are ADORABLE. Neither of them have 'girl' friends their age, so it's very sweet watching them interact. Sheena loves it so much, she keeps telling us to 'just move out here!!'. I love the Searcys :)

My Little Love Bug

Yesterday Kennedy and I went grocery shopping and she said she had a secret to tell me. So I leaned in and she whispered with a huge smile on her face, "Mommy, I love you a whole bunch!" Of course my heart melted right there in the store... what a sweetheart!! She loves to tell me secrets. "You're my best friend!" is another heart melter. Today she told me "I want to go for a walk!" She cracks me up!

Although she has a very big heart, a little attitude came with the package deal. I noticed she was pushing my buttons more often. I used to get really frustrated with her... but then I realized her anger and frustration comes out just like Mommy's does! EEEKS! We don't need two of me in this house! haha So I knew right away I had to stay calm and discipline in a different tone. Now instead of getting worked up, I explain in a calm manner that she needs to do "so and so". I give her a warning and tell her that next time she gets to sit on her bed for a three minute time out. I found that the time out on the bed works better than the corner. Then I come back and have her tell me why she was put in the time out. She apologizes, we hug and kiss, and then we go play again! My attitude changing really helped her attitude. Don't get me wrong, she still pushes my buttons! But she's getting better. Actually, I've noticed that she is whining more! I cannot handle whining. It's the WORST THING EVER. We're working on that too...

Every age has it's ups and downs. At three (for us anyway), there are way more ups then downs and I'm thankful for that! Kennedy is a caring, sweet, loving little girl and Jon and I are soooo proud of her!! We're so blessed! :)