This was my first trip solo with two kids. We were headed back to California for a few fun events. Along the way we got to spend time with family and friends. Tommy joined us later in the trip. I took some time to unplug a little and spend time with the people we were visiting. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but oh so fun! 
Lucky for us we had an open seat next to us! These two did great! We took a little snooze, listened to some stories, ate some snacks. 
Zoe was so excited to be sitting in between her babies. We spent the first couple of days running errands for Avery and Grey’s birthday party and grabbing a few things for Lauren Babb’s bridal shower. 
Zoe snapped this picture of my sister and I chatting on our drive to Murrieta for the bridal shower. I love seeing things from her perspective.
After the shower we picked up our car and spent the evening at Sami and Michael’s. We swam, order The Mill, and enjoyed talking about nothing and something at the same time. Then Sunday morning we headed to church. Zoe misses her Sunday school, so I thought she would enjoy catching up with her friends and teachers. She loves learning about Jesus. After church we met with Grandma and Grandpa at Eat Market Place. We enjoyed spending time with them getting in some much needed hugs and kisses and bacon maple doughnuts. Yum!
One of Zoe’s highlights of the trip was watering Nona’s plants. She loves to help, and she also likes to play with water. She has been playing with that watering can for over three years now. 
We got a chance to hang out with my class while we were visiting. It was fun to catch up with everyone at the blueberry farm. We didn’t actually pick any berries, but we did buy some that my students picked. Zoe was so happy to see her friends (my support staff) and Grey got a few cuddles in from them as well. Then to Zoe’s surprise she got to see her friend Harper! They played Batman and Ironman. 
We headed back down to San Diego to spend the day with Ashley and Avery. We planned on having lunch with Chelsea and then Tommy would fly in that evening. BUT to our surprise G-Pop knocked on the door just after I got in and Chelsea had stopped by. I thought he was the gardener. It was such a good surprise. He was here to celebrate Avery and Grey’s first birthday. While G-Pop caught a few Zzzz’s we painted his Father’s Day gift. The babies got a little paint on them so I gave them a bath in the sink, while Ashley and Zoe finished painting. 
It was so much fun to watch these two play. They really started interacting with each other.
We had story time before we left to pick up Tommy and it was about the cutest scene ever. The girls were cuddled up listening to Uncle Brady read. Grey cozied up with G-Pop and just about fell asleep. 
I partially came back to also participate in one last graduation. I had two seniors graduating. They were the sweetest boys and their parents were so happy to see them walk across that stage in the cap and gown. I am so proud of them!
After the party we spent the rest of our time cleaning up our house and getting things into storage so the house was ready to be sold. Zoe spent some time with her Grandma and cousins. Then Sunday we went to church. My dad helped us with the house and we were finally ready to walk away from our first house. So once we were done Nona surprised Zoe with water balloons. She had got one of those As Seen On Tv Bunch O Balloons, where you could fill up 50 balloons up at once. It was AWESOME! We all enjoyed tossing, throwing and breaking the water balloons. Tommy was trying to hang back and not get wet, but Zoe girl took care of that! Grey loved picking up the pieces and trying to break the balloons. Everyone had a good laugh.
We ended the day with warm chocolate chip cookies and shots of milk. The next day we headed to San Diego to catch our flight back to Minneapolis. 
Peace out California! See you on the flipside!
It is well with my Soul 