trip for the 4th

independence day has always been one of my favorite holidays.  i was thrown a little off this time around because i was overly emotional.  i was able to get out of town - which was great and got to spend time with my sister and her little family which made it all pretty fun.  my sister and i got on our best 4th outfits (bandanas and all!) and hit the town.  kind of.  something about my sister and her friends is that they are all so hospitable.  we spend the 4th day at a bbq at her and her husband's friends house and they were just the nicest people.  even though i was down in the dumps - lame, i know - their friends were so welcoming and jorel had a great time, too.  we also hit up the fireworks just a block away from my sister's later that night.  we went to the l.a zoo while we were there.  jorel was actually into it this time so that was pretty fun.  we also hit up the griffith park train - one both stephen and jorel enjoyed a lot!  my sister is the greatest and she has the best husband and kid ever.  :)  thanks sissy for being the coolest!

sac town

this was a last minute trip for me.  my sister and mom were planning to take some time to go visit my aunt in sacramento.  i wasn't going to go, but i couldn't bare the thoughts, so the day before they left i decided i needed to go.  she has cancer and has been battling it for a while.  we felt like it had been long enough since we had seen her anyway and didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend some time with her.  she was in really good spirits and my cousin said that she was just so excited for us to come.  there were some tears shed when we saw her, but it was such a much needed time.   she has always been one of the most loving and fun aunts there is around.  i still have a raggedy anne doll that she made me when i was 8 sitting on my bed.  during family reunions she always came up with the best ideas for the kids.  it's sad to know that she has to fight this battle.  she is an amazing woman.  

while we were there for the quick trip - mom and i spent 26 hours in the car driving back and forth - we did get to see old sac town and spend quality time together.  i'm sad it went by so fast, but it made us want to do it again.  we need a family reunion!

ahhhhhh vacation!

the last vacation i took was back in february, but i really only took a couple of days off of work - or would've been just a couple of days if i didn't get so sick!  anyway.  i needed a real vacation where i took a significant time off of work, so i took a week and a half and headed out to california to spend time with my sister and then with a bunch of family in a beach house that we rented out.  it was SO much fun.  we got to bum around at the beach and go to disneyland and the aquarium of the pacific.  ate a lot of food and just enjoyed everyone's company.
my nephew from missouri flew out for the week also and seemed to have a great time.  first time in california!  jorel got to experience a few firsts himself when he was able to actually play in the ocean and get tossed around by the waves - and i mean smoked by them!  him and grandpa both got knocked down by the waves.  hey, i even scored a lifeguard's phone number.  :)  anyway.  so fun.
we also did disneyland twice.  one for my sister, jorel, and i and then another time with the whole family.  talk about a good time.
there was also a weekend trip to san francisco for a dave matthews band concert.
i can't tell you how great this vacation was.  great time with my family, friends, and strangers alike.
Yeah!  let's do it again! (ready for picture overload?!)

@the aquarium of the pacific

@ redondo beach 

@ san francisco 

@disneyland x2 - i only had my iphone with me, but my sister has some awesome pics on her site!