It was a long drive back to Cali, but so worth it! Avril was in heaven; constant entertainment, perfect weather, the ocean waves, friends to play with, rides, it was oh sooo much fun!
My niece, Brittney, turned 13 recently so we headed down to Azusa, California to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, Jesse wasn't able to take off from work, so it was just Nana and Papa Parkinson, Avril and I. Jesse stayed home and enjoyed having a clean house for a whole week! No cutie pies to mess it up. We missed him though. He's the greatest dad/hubby in the world.
On the drive down, we stopped at a gas station in Scipio, Utah and low and behold, they had a petting zoo! The trip was starting out with fun already, and we hadn't even left Utah! Here are some pics of Avril enjoying the zoo:
While we were sitting at the picnic tables, Avril was stretching her legs and walking around. We told her not to hit her head on the table, so this is what she did:
We made it all the way to Las Vegas and decided to stay there for the night. We walked around the strip the next morning, hoping to get to show Avril the lions at the MGM Grand, but the lion exhibit wasn't open yet. Instead, we headed over to the Luxor. Jesse idolizes Criss Angel, so I took a pic of Criss and I to make him jealous (the cardboard Criss, that is).
Also, on the ride down, we met this cute little girl named Angelina at the Barstow station. She and Avril were the same age and seemed to get along quite well :)
Once we made it to Azusa, California, Avril enjoyed spending some quality time with her cousin Brittney. Avril found one of Brittney's old tutus and wanted to put it on. Pretty much the rest of the trip, she was sporting her new tutu. She loves it and still asks for us to put it on every time she sees it. She will start dancing around in circles as soon as its on. So cute!
Blowing bubbles :)
Avril thinks about taking off her tutu... nope, she's gotta have it back on!
Of course we couldn't go all the way to California without hitting the beach. That was our next adventure. I don't know if I have ever seen Avril so excited. She was squealing with delight at the waves. We had to hold her back from running in to catch a wave. It was just perfect California beach weather. Sunny, cool breeze, not too hot. What a fantastic day!
On the Santa Monica pier
We had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp, on the pier. Brittney was thoroughly embarrassed when they sang Happy Birthday to her :)
Avril has the fry-dipping down to an art. She daintily dips her fry in the sauce, getting just a tiny dab on the tip before taking a nice, big bite!
My mom and I thought the waiter there looked like Shelby (Jesse's little bro) so we inconspicuously snuck a photo of him to prove it. So weird.
I sent this pic to Jesse via pic-text and this was the response I got: "Why is avril holding beer in her hand dear?" Haha, I didn't even notice that!
Father and son, filling Forrest Gump's shoes...
While in Santa Monica, we also visited the famous 3rd Street Promenade and had a blast shopping at H&M. Grandma bought Brittney a cute new outfit for her birthday... Brittney was pleased as punch!
Driving the firetruck and riding the carousel were some of Avril's favorites!
The fun never ends!
The next day we went to church at our old Saugus 3rd Ward and visited with old friends. It was so good to be back and see everyone.
We tried to curl Avril's hair in a flip-up do for church. So cute!
After church we went to eat and visit with some friendly, familiar faces, the Larges. Here are Kevin and Nancee Large with my mom and dad. Good friends reuniting :)
Yay! More BFF's reuniting :) Avril and Cali are only about a week apart. Kristy and I got to be pregnant together, or sick together I should say. But look how cute they turned out! They had a blast playing with each other. I just wish we could live closer so they could play together like Kristy and I did growing up...
The Larges have an incredible backyard. Its an enormous dreamland for little kids. In fact, Jesse helped to make it that way :) He used to work for Kevin when we lived in Saugus. The cutest thing ever was when Avril started pushing Cali around in her little stroller. I'm not so sure Cali liked it as much as we did. She seemed a little unsure of Avril's stroller-pushing skills.
Since the whole Large family happened to be in town that day, we decided to take a family pic for them. What a good-looking group :) We even got to have Nathan's company on our ride home. He hitched a ride with us to St. George so that he could go to Lake Powell with some friends up there. Sound like fun!
Of course, I could not leave without seeing my other wonderful friend, Karen and her two kids! That was where Avril's next fun adventure began. She loved playing with all the toys at the Lightner's house!
Sharon made some delicious cookies while we were there. Avril helped herself to three of them! Eva and Liam made her feel very welcome and were delighted to show off all their toys. Liam even put some cool Batman shades on Avril! :)
I just love this girl! Its always a treat to get to see Karen and her family :)
Cheesy smile! I told Avril to smile for dada and I sent him this pic. We are on our way home!
...and so this brings our fun-filled journey to an end... and also the world's longest blog post to an end. I am exhausted! Time for nigh nigh, as Avril would say :)
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