The girls and I flew back to California for a visit and to attend the Guenther Family reunion. My Grandma or "Gigi" as the girls call her, came from a brood of 9 children, born to German/Swedish parents who lived in Shafter, CA. It was so much fun getting to see all the cousins, and catch up on what has been going on. Living so far away from family make us appreciate the precious time we do get to spend together!
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Maddie Grace taking a walk in the backyard
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It was the second time I flew by myself with the girls, and they did fantastic! This time of year is Jarrett's busiest, and this year was especially crazy for him because he was heading up a committee for the new university president's inauguration. Poor guy had only 2 days off the entire month of September :(
We had a wonderful dinner with Papa, Grammie and Uncle Matt. Papa made an apple crisp and it was delicious!
We took a visit to Grammie's work to visit her co-workers and say hello! The girls couldn't wait to throw pennies in the fountain outside. We went to Chuck E' Cheese for lunch and went shopping for cold-weather clothes for the girls!
We had a nice visit with Papa and he made us breakfast one morning: Pancakes and Bacon!
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| Lindsay photo bomb! |
On Saturday we went to the family reunion at our cousins home downtown. There were around 60 people, and there was tons of stuff for the kids and yummy food! Here are a few pictures:
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| Balloons! |
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| Our family Matriarch, Grandma Rosie |
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| Lindsay playing with her cousin Bella, whom she just met. |
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| Hello family! Chatting it up... |
Madison loved it when Uncle Matt held her! She didn't seem to mind being up high, he is over 6 feet after all! I think she felt pretty safe with her big strong uncle. He didn't seem to mind lugging around his tiny little buddy too much :)
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| Maddie and Uncle Matt |
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| Hula Hoopin' |
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| Giant backyard bouncy house |
There was a huge playhouse in the backyard that all the little cousins had a blast playing in. It was pretty fancy- electricity, built-in china cabinet, real kitchen and chandelier! Adorable!
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| Perfect weather, and lovely chats! |
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| Madison (19 mo.) and Ellis (15 mo.) |
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| Tiny Tots... preferred to watch safely on the outside! |
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| Me, Cousin Pam & Cousin Teresa |
On Sunday we spent the day with Nonna, Grandpa, Aunt Katie & Walker and cousin Katarina! Nonna made us breakfast in the morning, and the girls had so much fun playing together outside on the swing set. We also had a surprise visit from cousins Anna & Cassidy who were in town from Nor Cal, and loved catching up on their adventures.
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| Nonna and Maddie Grace |
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| OLIVE-YOU! Sweet cousins Lindsay & Katarina |
We had such a lovely visit, with perfect fall weather (for Bakersfield at least) it made leaving on Monday even harder! But it was probably a good thing because seriously, I think I gained like 5 lbs. There was a LOT of good eating. Love you family, and thank you for such a wonderful visit!! Can't wait to see you again soon! xo
