Todd gets to come back! There was a question because he had important meetings but they were pushed back to mid-July. Yesssssssss.
Monday the Brooke and Brigham worked on school from morning til night. We took a lunch break and dinner break. I woke up at 3:45am and Brooke was at the hotel desk working on Algebra II, trying to finish. Brigham is doing essays on Anne Frank and reading The Hobbit.
Met Angela and our cousins at Gecko Grill. The cousins went the Mill street for ice cream sandwiches and photo shoots. Angela and I went shopping then Sophie and I vacuumed the car. We met the kids and got dinner at three different places. At the hotel we packed as much as we could for our California trip with my family tomorrow and fell fast asleep.
Wed. Put on my compression socks (neon green and lovely!)and off we went to California. Brynn got a package from Aunt Jane, evidently we left a swimming suit in Nebraska. Brynn read the note out loud and a smile gradually appeared on her face as she read it...something like this.."has someone been swimming in the nude?" Brooke, Avery and Georgia rode with Grama and Grandpa (always a treat!). Sophie finally had her chance in the front seat with most of the older kids away. Brigham was kind to let her sit where she wanted for once. Liz and Ryan and boys caravaned with us also. Melissa, Pete's wife, and I walked down the beach, trailing our kiddos who are having the greatest time. We saw two men exercising. One would do boxing moves at the base of a hill while the other sprinted up the hill and jogged back down. Our boys joined them for a few rounds, sans shirts just like the guys, before we headed to dairy queen. We also walked the pier a ways. Now the teen cousins + Brynn are playing spoons down in the hotel lobby.
Beach day! My favorite weather for the beach, sunny, warm with a cool breeze so you could stay out forever. Mid day we took a lunch break and alternated with the pool at our hotel. Ran into the Perkinson clan in Oceanside. Played catch with a football with my daughter and two teen aged nieces. A few minutes into playing catch, I had the ball ready to throw and they were doing handstands and cartwheels and forgot we were even playing catch so I went back and sat down. Everybody helped bring all of our our beach stuff back to the hotel and we went to the night market. Brigham and Tammy's family arrived tonight. Brynn and Sophie stopped at the second restaurant booth we saw because they had green papaya salad. The man made it fresh, just like Pon with a large mortar and pestle. Brynn requested spicy and then with Sophie agreed on medium.Our lips were on fire. Pon's tastes better so we will have to get back to China to enjoy the dish we've been accustomed to having. We purchased a skim board for Brigham. Brigham and Tammy, Mom and Dad came to the hotel lobby and with all the cousins we made up a new game...coin pitching. Thirteen of us, on a slick 16 foot table, took turns shuffle board style, sliding our coins down the table, trying to get the closest to the edge. Winner of each round kept the coins. Very fun. Some tears from those who didn't win any rounds, and fist bumps for Grandpa from all the kids and grandkids when he finally won a round. I'm sure we will play that again! Todd is on a plane.
Friday: Todd arrives tonight. I haven't seen him since I dropped him at the SLC airport June 2nd. It's the longest we've been apart in our 22 years. To the beach for a bit and then I drove to LAX to pick him up. He's feeling sick darn it! Kids stayed at the beach and most cousins were sunburned by the time Todd and I got back and walked down to the beach.(Note to self: target sunscreen spray in the white can with orange lid spf 30 didn't do the trick, they applied multiple times and still got burned, buy lotion.) Family dinner and singing "Happy Birthday" to Melissa at Old Spaghetti Factory. While we were eating, Jake sent photos of the new baby. Congrats to Jake, Kelly, Ross, Jane, Sam, Joey & Tommy on your new baby/brother! The cousins painted "happy birthday" cards for Melissa and had lots of hot chocolate before bed.
Saturday: Todd was up around 4 am, went running and worked while we slept. V G donuts in Cardiff and then to Kobey's Swap Meet. Purchases included: baseball gloves and balls, sunglasses, sno cones, rings, cherry lemonade, mini-donuts, paint brushes and a hat. Phil's bbq for lunch, See's chocolates, Carlsbad outlets, beach and then a big family game night (23 of us) in our lobby...speed and coin pitching again. Ironing our clothes for church and getting ready for an early church meeting...8:30am at Camp Pendleton with Costellos and Allens and Beesons. Todd took a long nap, catching up with jet lag.
Sunday: Church at Camp Pendleton was at 8:30am. There were approximately 20 marines and my friend Lori's brother was in charge of the sacrament meeting program. They had several musical numbers that her sister-in-law wrote and their children sang and we were lucky to hear Michael Costello speak once again. They did a nice job making the servicemen feel appreciated and loved and thanked them a lot. One of the men was going to be baptized after the meeting. During the announcements, they told the men that there was to be no letter writing or sleeping during the service. If they felt sleepy, they could stand up by the wall. It was especially great to be there the Sunday before the 4th of July. One of the Elders there was a missionary from our Mesa stake, Elder Day, so Todd sent a text/photo to his parents. It happened to be his mom's birthday and she appreciated seeing a photo of her son serving. We said a quick goodbye to my brother's family and my parents as they headed back to AZ. We visited the Costellos for dinner at their Carlsbad condo to end the night.
Safe travels to everyone this week! So thankful to be in USA for the 4th of July, one of my personal favorite holidays before we lived in China, and even more so since living away for a year.
Be safe!
Love from China & California,
Todd Taylor Family
"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." John F. Kennedy
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