We flew into L.A. (on Monday) since it saved us a couple hundred dollars. So we decided since we were right next to the ocean, we would make the short trip and go splash for a bit. The water was cold, but the weather was so nice! The kids loved chasing the waves in and out, and I loved not having to wear a coat :) Plus, there was a *CAFE RIO* right next to the airport, so we had an awesome lunch!
Then we headed to Bakersfield to visit my dad. Unfortunately, it seemed like so was everyone else in L.A. We got stuck in traffic an extra 2 hours! And to make it even more enjoyable, Shade got car sick and puked all over himself, and we were stuck in the middle of a ton of cars, and there was NOWHERE to pull over for several miles! No exits or shoulders or anything! So poor Shade had to sit in his puke until we were able to finally get to an exit. It took almost 20 minutes! Luckily, the puke had only gotten on his clothes and booster seat, and he managed to not throw up again until we had pulled into a gas station. But that part was definitely not fun.
When we finally got to my dad's apartment (CNS), he was so excited to see us that he had cooked us dinner, even though he had already eaten :) In case you may not remember, my dad has had 2 major brain injuries in the last 7 years and he is now at the same mental maturity level of about a 12 year old. So this gesture was really sweet. Some pictures of the kids playing at dad's:
We tried to take advantage of having my dad there and tried to do at least one activity with him each day, even though we were all pretty jet-lagged with the 3 hour time difference. On Tuesday we visited him at the CNS facility where he brought us lunch :) We got to look around and talk to some of the people who work there and get a sense of what goes on. Then we went back to my dad's place and watched the new Cinderella movie we had gotten from our Curtis cousins. After that, we took my dad to In-N-Out Burger (there are 2 pretty close to his place) and went back to our hotel room to eat. I then took my dad home but on the way he suggested we drive down a certain street close by to look at Christmas lights. It was crazy! There was a huge line of cars driving really slowly down the street to see the lights. And these houses were certainly decorated! So we decided we needed to take the kids down that street before Christmas.
Eli "opening" the Cinderella movie:
Random Hotel pictures:
Hotel pictures with Grandpa Roundy:
On Wednesday, we met up with my dad again at CNS. We went to a conference room to chat with my dad for awhile and let the kids play with some things my dad got them (a Superman puzzle, a red sparkly star, and a green tupperware for babies). Then we had lunch with him and he stayed there to finish up his routines while the rest of us went to Costco to get dad some gifts. Afterward, we all drove to the main facility where they do all the rehab and the staff got to brag about their resources (although they also said my dad did not need those resources very often, if at all...). Then we stopped by a park and let the kids play, and my dad collected recyclables. We got an early dinner then decided we were going to go see the Christmas Avenue lights with the kids, only we wanted to walk so we could see everything and take our time. So we parked at the beginning of the street, wrapped the little kids up in the stroller, and walked all the way to the end and back. It was quite a trek, but we all enjoyed the fun lights.
The Park, Teaching Shade about recycling in California, The Lights:
On Thursday, Christmas Eve, we picked up my dad early so he could have a nice breakfast with us at the hotel. They had waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, biscuits and gravy, boiled eggs, muffins, danishes, breads and bagels, cereal, oatmeal, juice, hot chocolate and sometimes yogurt. Afterward, we decided to go bowling. We found one that was open not too far away and played 3 games! I won the first one :) And Kellen won the last two. Shade did not do well the first game even though we had the bumpers up. He kept curving the ball to the left side and knocking down one pin. He got upset and didn't want to play another game. But Kellen and I talked to him about how he needs to practice if he wants to get better (and Kellen bribed him with money if he got a certain score), so he reluctantly tried again. And guess what? He beat the score Kellen challenged him to beat, and he also beat my dad! He was really proud of himself :) My dad of course said he wanted to let Shade win so he would feel good about himself :) But it was a lot of fun. After that, we decided we needed a nice holiday meal with some steak. So we went to Sizzler for an early dinner. It was surprisingly good. What an awesome Christmas Eve!
On Friday, Christmas, we got my dad for our hotel breakfast again. Then we opened presents! My dad got some nice stuff, and he also got my kids the neatest glass figures he painted himself. My dad got a checkers/chess set from Cheryl's parents and we took turns playing that for awhile. Afterward we went back to dad's place, played at the nearby park, and then watched a movie until it was time for the facility's special dinner. They had ham, potatoes, mac and cheese, casseroles, pie and donuts. Then we watched one more movie together, and then went back to the hotel. Merry Christmas!
There is a small "zoo" in Bakersfield which is free for kids on the last Saturday of the month, so we were hoping to check that out. So on Saturday, we went to the California Living Museum (CALM). It was pretty fun. There was a playground for the kids, and it was cool enough that the mountain lions and bobcats were really active. They also had lots of birds, which is something my dad is really into now. He kept wanting to call his parents to tell them what birds he saw and how many. In fact, there is a small pond between the hotel we stayed in and dad's apartment and he requested to drive by it any chance he got :) CALM also had a small petting zoo where dad tried to blow on a pig's face, and a pretty cool reptile exhibit. The place also had tons of lights set up for Christmas and you could pay extra to see them when the sun went down. We didn't want to be there that late (nor did we have the warm clothes it would have required), so we didn't get to see them all lit up. It was kind of fun trying to make out what the light designs were going to be in the daylight though. One other thing we wanted to do with my dad while we were there was eat some good Chinese food. Strangely enough, we tried going to 2 different places that were shut down from health code violations. Good thing they were already closed! So my dad told us of a place in a mall near his apartment and we went there. It was actually pretty dang good, so no regrets! That night my dad got permission to go do his grocery shopping with one of us, so I went. He didn't stick to his list very well, but stayed within his budget. He also kept saying thanks for going with him so he could finally go to the store and pick out what he wanted since they don't let him do that anymore.
Eli fell asleep in the car and dad was eager to carry him for us into the restaurant:
On Sunday, we packed up and planned to meet my dad at church for the first little bit. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong church at first, so we were kind of late getting there. After the first meeting we took some pictures, and then we had to go as we had a long drive to St. George ahead of us. It was so sad when I looked back and watched my dad walking down the hall by himself. I wish we lived closer. But either way, at least we had a great visit with my dad, and he got to see and spend time with his grandkids!
Our attempt at last minute photos in nicer clothes:
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