Summer Vacation ~ The Kelly's

We all needed a break, especially Doug since he has working full time AND going to school full time...oh did he ever need a vacation! So, Doug took a week off of work and we headed to CALIFORNIA! Yes, we really do LOVE going there, but this trip was a little different and a lot more special because we spent half of our trip with Doug's sister and her wonderful family!

I made the mistake of telling Noah the Monday before we left that we were going to see Aunt Suzi...BIG mistake. For 4 whole days, day in and day out, all I heard was"Are we going to Aunt Suzi's house now?". When the day finally came to go, he was beyond thrilled, although he had no idea how l--o--n--g of a drive it was going to be. I don't think that was prepared for all of the driving that this trip entailed. Yes, I brought a lot of toys, and books, and movies, AND treats, but the kiddos still got bored of it all. Thank goodness Noah is a good sleeper and can sleep anywhere, BUT Leah is a whole other story. That girl is so dang stubborn and only slept about one hour on the drive to Suzi's house! Oh my...it was a hard drive. BUT, we did it, and we were so happy to make it to their house. The kids crashed as soon as we got there, and the next day we had to wait for the kids to come home from school...then the fun really began.

We spent most of our time relaxing and hanging out at their house, which was fine by me. We had so much fun swimming, playing soccer, sitting in the front yard relaxing, riding bikes... And we ate TONS of food...Suzi is a fabulous cook and she made us tons of yummy homemade meals AND loads of yummy treats. Oh my...I ate so much at their house, but it was so dang good and so worth it! Leah had a bit of a cold while we were there, so she wasn't the most delightful child, but we got through it. Hannah and Georgia were so patient with her and I know that Leah really did enjoy playing with them. Noah just loved being with Sam and Patrick and being one of the guys. He still talks about them and wants to see them again soon {thank goodness for webcams!}. Not only did we play at their house, but we also went to the beach at Santa Cruz, but I will make a separate post for that and ALL of those pictures :).

I really can't put into words how wonderful of a time that we had with Suzi and her family. We love you all so much and miss you already. Thank you for having us!

Leah watching her crazy brother sing songs {I love the light in this picture}.
Noah singing...love it!
Leah loved counting and sorting the rocks of this centerpiece. Seriously, why play with toys when you can sort rocks?
Georgia and Leah...I love how little girls just LOVE being around the babies. Very cute!

I don't know what we would have done without the bottle on this trip. It was a lifesaver!

My gorgeous nieces...

Doug swimming in the pool...it was a bit too cold for me.

It was too cold for Noah too, but he had a grand ol' time playing with the hose. Go figure.

They are all so gorgeous!

Studs!

I had to throw this one in...I don't know what to say except that I couldn't stop laughing.

Georgia getting ready to go on a bike ride.

Noah and Luke...he was beyond thrilled when he saw that the Kelly Klan had a DOG! Noah was sure to give Luke lots of attention while we were there.

Noah loved playing soccer with everyone. Let me just say...Georgia is AMAZING when it comes to kicking the ball around. I wouldn't want to go up against her in a game...she's pretty dang good!
This is my attempt at getting a picture of the kids...ya...this is the best one. It has a lot of character :).

Next up...Santa Cruz.