Category: Travel

This is the girls in front of the Nugget.

We started day 3 of our trip with breakfast at the hotel with Michelle and Jared. Then we headed back to the rooms and the girls went to their room for some serious playtime while Mike and I got everything packed up for the move to Anaheim later that night. Once we were all packed and checked out we went to The Nugget for a birthday brunch for Grandpa Brian. We had a great big group and it was really nice time. My Grandma and I split the beef stroganaff and it was SO GOOD. I love that dish and have rarely tastes homemade at a restaurant, but Brian made the perfect suggestion.

The girls liked all the wild decorations at this place and Nadia really wanted a photo with this dude on the patio. After lunch we headed back to Nonnie’s for Amelie to have a nap. Later in the afternoon my cousin Matt, his wife Miyoung and their son Byoungju for a visit. I was so happy they made it by so the kids could play with more second cousins.

Is that a 1,000 watt smile or what? Wow, such a cutie pie!

It was photo city before we started all our goodbyes. We had such a nice time seeing everyone and catching up during our visit. We left for Anaheim at about 4 and made great time until we hit Hollywood. Once arriving at the hotel we got a pizza so we could get the girls to bed, because we were headed to Disneyland the next morning!

Mike, Grandpa Brian, Grandpa Petlow, Grandma Petlow, Laura Leigh, Ashley, Nadia, me, Amelie, Paula, Michelle, Nonnie and Jared.

We got up Saturday morning and had breakfast with Michelle and Jared at our hotel. They offer a cooked to order breakfast and the highlight for me were the pumpkin pancakes. YUM! After that we went over to Nonnie’s house to open Christmas presents and have play time.

 

After that it was nap time for all to recover from the travel and parade the night before. Then we headed over to Zodo’s to bowl with my friends from high school, Matt and Staci and their kids. Amelie was not sure what to think of the bowling at the beginning, but Nadia was all in from the start!

Look at these beautiful kids!

After bowling we headed back to Nonnie and Grandpa Brian’s for a family party. Grandma and Grandpa Petlow, my aunt Paula, Ashley and her daughter Laura Leigh all came over for dinner. Laura Leigh is one of the girls 2nd cousins and when she came in and had been playing for a little while she said, “OH I am SO excited that there are girls here to play with this time!!” They colored and played with playdough and giggled for ages. It was really precious.

Dinner was delicious and visiting with everyone was a lot of fun. The day was so busy, but it was fun to see so many people that we love.

 

Here are the girls on the flight. Amelie was so excited and told me at least a dozen times, “This so fun! On plane so fun!” They did great and were complimented by a couple of fellow travelers for being such good travelers.

At the end of November we left for a trip to California to visit my family and introduce Amelie to everyone. We flew into LA and rented a car to head up to Santa Barbara where we checked into our hotel and connected with my sister and her boyfriend Jared. We got settled and then headed over to my mom’s place for pizza. During dinner she asked Nadia and Amelie if they wanted to go to a parade. YES they said! Then she asked them if they wanted to be in the parade. Amelie yelled out “YES!” and Nadia hesitated and said no. Then we made it clear to her that Mike and I would be joining them and she said yes. So we finished our pizza and headed downtown. My mom is a big part of putting on the Old Spanish Days each year and they had a float, so we joined some of her friends and their kids.

In the staging area the girls took a photo with these lovely ladies.

Waiting for the parade to start.

I love this shot of Nadia’s hands. She said, “It’s hard to wave for a long time.” Over and over we yelled, “Viva La Fiesta!” which made people in the crowd laugh and smile because that event takes place in August each year.

It was a late night for the girls after a full day of travel, but they had a great time. My mom saved the front page of the paper the next day for the girls and it said that approximately 50,000 people attended the parade. It was a really cool thing for the girls. Thanks Mom!