June 27th was the last time I wrote, and that was my last sentence. Well. I think its safe to say that those last three weeks in California AND the past two and a half months have been one crazy roller coaster ride. If anyone still follows this blog you might think I have fallen off the face of the earth. I have not fallen, I have plunged into the abyss of HOME. Home- where my husband and I have purchased a house for our family in which to live for many years. Home- where every weekend is full with birthday parties, beach trips, dinners out with old friends and dinners in with family. Home- where a lot of my "blogging" time is slowly eaten away in five minutes increments because I see a few people I know at the grocery store each time I go. Home- where new running routes must be explored, new cabinets must be lined, new shower curtains and trashcans and toilet brushes must be purchased. Home- where the security system and AT&T must be installed. Home- where there seems to be no time to blog. Surprise Surprise. The simple fact that I have not had time to write in two and a half months reminds me of why I never had a blog before our year on the west coast. As most things in life, there is a positive side and a negative side to this. The positive is this: I am home now. Back where I belong. Back where I have more things to do than time to accomplish them. Back in the swing of things. But the negative is that I really love to write and I do worry that this blog may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope that is not true. I hope that one day, sooner rather than later, I will begin a new blog (I have some really great ideas!). But this one does have to end. The nature of this particular blog was to document God's care for us over our year "abroad". And boy, did he care for us. As I look back I am encouraged and incredibly humbled but most of all, I cannot help but laugh at some of the things I never would have guessed would happen. Before I get too carried away with the beginning of the end of this blog, lets take a look over my shoulder at the past two and a half months. Here's the highlight reel:
Highlight:
Sunday, June 29th we went to Sette Bella and had the best pizza ever. I read somewhere that LA cannot do pizza. Well, for the most part, that is true. But Sette Bella is the exception to that rule. Crust-amazing due to the 900 degree oven imported from Italy. Sauce- simple and amazing. Toppings- nothing crazy, just mozz, basil and tomato. Wow. To die for.
Highlight:
Went out to eat with Maynell on a weeknight to Houston's. This was the last time we would share a meal without the distraction of the little ones and we really took advantage. Great food, great fellowship.
Highlight:
June 30th was my parents 35th wedding anniversary! Thats pretty awesome. Amazing couple.
Highlight:
South Pasadena is known for their Fourth of July celebration and this year did not disappoint. Little G and I watched a small town parade at Garfield park and then Daddy G joined us for a hotdog and a soda. We had dinner with Maynell, Owen, Cole and Lena and a few of their friends. The boys ran around the yard for almost four hours with water guns and we just LET THEM. This was a milestone. George, having fun with friends- his parents, having a full conversation with theirs. Afterwards the three of us hopped in the car to find the fireworks. We enjoyed a long, exciting, loud fireworks show and returned home pooped but happy…and most of all THANKFUL for our FREEDOM.
Highlight:
Harrison's visit!
He flew in to visit on Friday, stayed with another friend, and drove his rental car to South Pasadena on Saturday. He treated little George and I to lunch at La Grande Orange- a hotspot in Pasadena. Again, great food and great catch up session with one of my favorites. We all took naps in the afternoon and then took Harrison to Fair Oaks pharmacy for what would be our last trip there. We "split" a banana split, of which little George ate most of, and went home to watch Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs with pizza. Sunday we took Harrison to Reel Inn for the best fish tacos I have ever had. This little hole in the wall is on the PCH in Malibu. What I loved about this place was the fact that it was A. good B. popular but not touristy and C. no one acted as if we did not belong there. Really great spot. Glad we could share this experience with Harrison.
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| Fair Oaks Pharmacy's famous banana split…conquered by Georgie! |
OK, so Monday the 7th truly was a true Highlight! and one of the best days ever. First, we closed on our house! Whoa. That in itself would have made the day a highlight. Big G and I went alone and shared a celebratory coffee afterwards. It sure was a good feeling (overwhelming might be a more accurate feeling). After that, poor George had to go back to work, but I got to use my Langham Spa gift card that the Edwards' gave me for Christmas. I enjoyed a facial and the best part was that Maynell was able to join me. We sat and talked and used the sauna, steam room and hot tub as long as we possibly could. I picked George up from Monica's and went home shortly after. Big day for sure!
Another Highlight!
Thursday night, my hubby graduated from his Hand fellowship at USC. Still a few more weeks of work but we got to celebrate early with a dinner at Parkway Grill while Maynell babysat for us. I am SO proud of my man. So much went into this graduation. I could write a book on how much it meant to me to celebrate him this evening but alas, more highlights to cover.
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| The handsome Dr. George and his proud wife |
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| The kids eating Maynell's authentic Gallo Pinto- I just love this photo. It captures them all so perfectly. George loves these kiddos and feels right at home at their table. Lifelong friends... |
Yet another…..Highlight!
Friday, July 11th my baby turned FOUR (I still say he's three sometimes on accident). When he woke up, his daddy was still there and I let him have chocolate cake for breakfast plus pancakes. Once we cleaned the syrup from his sweet cheeks I took him to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday treat (Thus began a bad bad habit of a toy a day from here on out for a looooong time. We are still recovering from that). He picked out a very large helicopter thing that looks like a hornet. He received a balloon and a crown at The R US. We went to Albertson's to pick out his birthday cake design and a man in line gave him a five dollar bill just because it was his birthday. It was really nice but kind of weird to be honest. He was very sure about his birthday cake design- "I want superheroes with a rainbow around them" so after it was ordered we returned home for a little rest. When big G got home we went for a family walk and then met the Falconer's (and most importantly his friend Natalie) at Chuck E Cheeses for pizza and games. We spent way too much money on those silly games but for a four year old, this was the ultimate birthday. With his tickets we joked that he might have enough for one of those plastic spider rings and George and I got a big kick out of this. Whadayaknow- he had just enough for a plastic spider ring. So after a big laugh we paid the extra dollar and got him a very large lollipop instead. What a great great day!
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| Chuck E Cheese's guitar hero |
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| Natalie and George riding the car for the 15th time, even though I tried to tell him you don't get tickets for that ride. |
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| THE lollipop and a happy family after a successful trip to Chuck E Cheese's |
Another Highlight!
Greg and Christine Scott's wedding was Saturday the 12th. Before we had even digested our Chuck E Cheese's pizza, we woke up and drove to San Luis Obispo to enjoy a beautiful wedding of two beautiful people. The entire wedding reception sang Happy Birthday to George and the groom had a special cupcake with a candle for little George. What groom does that? This groom. Greg is a special friend of George's from college and one of those wonderful people who would worry about a four year old's birthday that he barely knows at his own wedding. What a sweet surprise. We felt very loved. George felt very shy… FYI, San Luis Obsipo is gorgeous! I wish we had more time here but alas, we have a four year old birthday party to throw tomorrow!
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| The bride and groom on the left, then Ben and George and Johnny- all Davidsonians except the bride-she 's a Californian surfer and triathlete. Greg did well, I'd say! |
Another Highlight!!
George's birthday party at Garfield Park with all his friends. When we first moved here George witnessed birthday parties in the park with pinatas. He quickly requested a piñata in the park for his birthday so thats what we did. Donkey Piñata, three mega pizzas, water balloons, three legged races, super hero Ball jars, lots of smiles, lots of good-byes. It was a real treat to have so many of his friends show up. I think we had close to 45 people there! Whoa! We made friends this year! George of course insisted that he open ALL his gifts that night before bed.
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| I think they did a pretty good job with George's request |
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| Our superhero turned FOUR |
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| I'm sorry, could he be any cuter? |
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| The family (plus Natalie, we'll claim her) |
The goodbyes continued that week. Monica and Zoe, Maynell, Cole and Lena, Stephanie, Paloma and Baz came over for a crazy dinner. We had pizza, popcorn and snacks and Monica made Moscow Mules, my new favorite cocktail! My car was picked up Tuesday, the 16th.
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| Poor Paloma broke her leg and here's the Milan Ave. clan signing her cast |
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| Baz came over for one last playdate and made "soup" |
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| George and Baz- cute little buddies |
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| Love these two together! |
Wednesday was our last time with Maynell and Cole and Lena. We went to Redondo beach and spent the day there.
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| Last Cali beach trip |
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| Look at that SKY. Perfect California weather |
Thursday I packed, cleaned the house, shipped boxes, checked into LAX and paid for my bags. We prayed together as a family for protection and blessings as we parted ways for a while.
Friday we were through security by 7:30. Our flight did not leave until noon. Yay for delays! The flight was not too bad and our friends, Christina and John, were waiting for us at baggage claim. The reunion of those two little best friends (one in his PJs, the other one jet-lagged) was adorable. I thought George would have trouble getting to sleep since it was only 6pm California time but he asked me, "Mommy- can we go to sleep now?" So I put him to bed and never heard another peep till morning. In the morning, this is how we found them:
So now, we are home. Not only are we in our home state, but we are in our old neighborhood, the very neighborhood of the first home we owned, the first home little George ever knew, with friends who feel like family ready for our new adventure to start. It feels GOOD to be HOME.
Stay tuned for pictures and experiences in our new house and the Highlight! reel for our the rest of our summer.
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