We headed to the West Coast in July to enjoy some fun family time.
 |
| Early am flight |
 |
| Somebody was pretty excited to be on the plane... he didn't mind one bit that it was 5am. |
We had a layover in Chicago.. they had a fun playground in the airport for the kids to burn some energy.
We landed in LAX and Nonna picked us up in her new ride, a Durango with purple (only in the sunlight) paint. The girls thought it was the coolest! As soon as we arrived in Bakersfield, these kids were ready to get in the pool. They had been waiting all year for this moment!
 |
| We were so happy that Cousin Kat came to swim and play! |
 |
| Unfortunately right after this picture was taken J told us he wasn't feeling well. |
Poor J was so sick for the next 48 hours after we arrived. He puked, ran a fever and was in out of sleep all day. We think he must have gotten sick while on the plane? Maybe his body finally rested once he was on vacation, who knows? He missed the 4th of July and celebration, and the arrival of Uncle Peter, Aunt Sarah and Cousins Nate & Mia. While poor J recovered, I was so grateful to have Nonna and Grandpa wrangling the kids for me while I brought him the gatoraide, crackers and sanitized the bathroom. .
 |
| Boys stick together...Nate 9 years, Andrew 2 years |
Uncle P and Aunt Sarah brought their cornhole game, and everyone had fun playing.
On the 4th there was tons of swimming, homemade ice cream and fireworks!
 |
| Ms. Bathing Beauty posing |
Poor Nate had stitches on his ear the week before, and wasn't able to get his head in the pool for the first few days of their stay. It didn't stop him from swimming, and Lindsay loved her cousin-powered raft!
Little Buddy was just loving all the attention, yummy food and tried his best to keep up with the big kids this year.
 |
| He was pretty excited for the fireworks...until they actually began. Then he wasn't much of a fan of them. LOL. |
A huge thank you to Uncle Walker and Aunt Katie for being the firework experts and putting on a fun show for the kids.
 |
| I think this might have been the third round of ice cream that day, and that is totally fine with me! |
Nothing like a Bakersfield 4th of July... making memories ;)
Aunt Katie and Kat brought glow in the dark necklaces and the kids loved them! We felt like we should play some rave music instead of patriotic tunes. LOL.
 |
| Getting some snuggles from Nonna... "I no like fireworks!" |
Our Maddie Grace was moving as fast as lightning this trip, and I could barely snap pictures of her. She finally slowed down a bit so I could get a couple with her sparklers..
 |
| Sweet cousins Sidney (12), Madison (6), Mia (6), Lindsay (8) |
 |
| Mia and Mads eating their ice cream and swinging. |
While we waited for it to get dark enough for fireworks, the kids swam in the pool and waited for the lights to come on.
 |
| Madison is a party animal |
Oh what a fun day we had! The kids finally got to bed around 10 pm, the latest my kids have ever been awake. They fell asleep exhausted, but with the sweetest memories to last until next year.
