California Family

As I mentioned in the previous post this past week we traveled two places for one vacation. Our second stop was L.A., my mom has family that live there and since its been 9 years since we have been out we thought it was time to go visit again.

From the airport my Aunt Alice, Aunt Susie, and cousin Christie came to get us. They took us to our hotel to drop off our luggage then we went over to see my Grandma Lucy. We were welcomed by family in the sweetest way, family all throughout the night would show up as they got off work. Grandma made us a wonderful meal, my favorite being her homemade mac and cheese! While we were at Grandma Lucy's house one of our family members blessed us with a SUV to drive around while we were there. They had told us before that it was a van, but it was anything but that! I am honestly still amazed at the hospitality shown towards us during our stay. Before everyone went home we were all talking in the front lawn about a 5 month old baby named Noah who would have surgery the next day on his heart. After hearing the story, my cousin suggested that we gather hands to pray, we went around the circle praying for baby Noah and my grandfathers healing. I opened my eyes to look around the circle, seeing everyone in agreement brought me to tears... I am so thankful for a family that doesn't just say "we will be praying", but prays right there on the spot. After the evening was over we went back to the hotel to get a good nights rest for our next day.

Day two in California we went to a neat place called The Grove. It has an outdoor mall and a Farmers Market attached to it, with lots of places to eat. While we were there Mario Lopez was filming for a show called Extra, myself and Madeline got to be in the crowd behind him... very cool! After looking around at all the neat places we headed to Hollywood! My favorite thing on Hollywood Blvd. was seeing the handprints and names of all the stars that are present and ones that have past. When we left there we took a drive through Beverly Hills. It was absolutely beautiful... the houses were out of this world! Rodeo Dr. was next on the agenda, we were all looking around for someone that looked familiar. :) That night we went to my Grandma's to eat a true Mexican meal! Lets just say I was very full when we left there that night! :P

Day three we went to breakfast with Aunt Susie then ventured out to the mall to look around. After we finished up there we went to visit with my grandfathers Uncle Frank and Aunt Helen. All the other family I have seen throughout the years, but I have not seen them in 9 whole years! They showed us pictures and talked about old times. That night we went to The Amadors house to have a barbecue, almost everyone that was there came out to our wedding!! We had a great evening spent eating, hanging out, and dancing!! We had a lovely night spent with family and friends!

Day four we went to DISNEYLAND!!!! Kyle and I were so happy to be able to go with everyone! My Aunt got us one free ticket which meant we only had to pay for one... such a blessing! We had a wonderful day riding every ride we wanted to, eating, and watching shows. No time was wasted, we wanted to get in as much as we could because you never know when we will be back. That night got pretty cold and when I say cold I only mean like 50 degrees. A show called World of Color was playing at California Adventure and man did it blow us away!! It is amazing how talented the people are that put that 30 minute show together. We all said at the end we wanted to go and watch all the old Disney movies again. :) The park closed at 11:00 and that is when we left... we were all very sleepy, I fell asleep on the way home.

Day five was a chill day, we spent it with Grandma Lucy and Aunt Alice. We ate at every ones favorite burger place called In & Out and OH was it good! I never order burgers out so this was a real treat! We spent most of our day at Grandma's house talking about everything and looking at her garden. They have the most beautiful plants in California. Grandma Lucy has her very own Poinsettia Tree in her back yard... I had never seen one before. That evening we went to Aunt Susie's house for yet another great meal. We had a nice night, but was not looking forward to the end. When we left the tears flowed as we all walked out in silence. What a sweet night this was for everyone.

Our last day we went to be with Grandma soaking up every minute because we knew we only had about an hour with her before we needed to leave. She showed us all the jewelry that she has made over all the years, some of which we own. After leaving we went to drop off the car so my aunt and uncle could take us to the airport. We had one last visit and prayed for a safe trip home then it was time to head home.

We truly had a wonderful trip. I have already said that we can not make it as long next time before heading out to L.A.. It's sad to think that we have such a sweet family so far away, we wish we were all closer! I can not thank everyone enough for all the love you showed my family, we will forever be grateful of everything and may you be blessed for blessing us! WE LOVE YOU!!! :)