I went home to central California the evening after I worked my last graveyard shift, needless to say it was one of my easier shifts to get through. ;)
The reason for the trip was because my Goon was graduating from high school! For those of you who don't know what that means, which is pretty much everyone, let me explain. My mom's best friend is Louetta, her son is Ryan. Ryan as been like a little brother/cousin/nephew all in one for me and about 6 years ago due to some crazy texting the term Goon became a term of endearment for us. Ryan is the only one I use this term with, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one he calls Goon too. :) So when your Goon graduates you wanna be there to witness it. When I lived in Fresno I was a regular at his baseball, basketball, soccer, and football games, as well as recitals and Spanish Immersion camp presentations. I've spent a lot of time listening to Disney Radio and hearing about school projects while acting as a substitute chauffeur. I wanted to be there when this chapter of his life was coming to a close and I'm so glad I was! I monkey you, Goon!!
While I was there, I got to see most, but unfortunately not all of my "family." The reason for the quotation marks is that my family has a habit of adopting other families into ours and they become just as important to us as those we're related to through blood. I was able to get some pretty good pics of the kids that I call my nieces and nephews and am SO honored have blessed me with the title of Auntie/Tia! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My first real stop was to visit my sister Debbie, and my brother-in-law Ric at their beautiful home in Arroyo Grande, on the central coast with my mom and niece Baby Bear (Claire). The nice thing about visiting with Deb and Ric is all the laughs and good times that are had unintentionally, oh yeah, and the beach. I promise, in that order! :)
We went to the beach a few times, and I got some cool shells. My mom has collected shells for as long as I can remember, so it's become a family tradition to look for them.
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| Oceano Beach, one of the last in California cars can still drive on |
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| Half a sand dollar |
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| We kept seeing them with these barnacle things. :) |
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| It was still alive, I could feel it moving in my hand. SOOOOO strange! |
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| Bear and Banjo, Deb's dog |
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| Mom and Louie, Deb's other dog. |
We also went to Avila Barn and fed some animals, which was fun, my favorite part was when my mom saw the llamas. Apparently, my mom has wanted a pet llama for years, so I was excited to see her with one.
Before we left Deb and Ric's we went out to lunch at a FABULOUS place, and we got a little silly.
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| Me, Bear, Debbie |
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| Ric doing his best Pop Eye impression |
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| Silly Bear |
The next morning I got to spend some quality time with Kylee (Ky Ky) and Nikolai (Niko). Ky is so much fun, but hard to keep up with because of all her energy. Oh and she's soooo smart too! There's no fooling her by trying to distract her! I also went out for ice cream with my friend Chrissy and her two little cuties, Isaiah and Aubrey. I didn't take any pictures of them though. :/
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| This is her, "Um I'm trying to play here" face |
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| Happy Ky! |
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| Niko and his rice cracker. |
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| Playing on the iPad |
Louetta's family came to town all the way from Duncan, Oklahoma and she had asked my mom to help her with a few errands. I tagged along and my reward was a pedicure and lots of kisses from these two!
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| Bruce and Brownie |
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| So hard to resist that face of Bruce! |
The graduation went well, it was really a pretty nice ceremony. You could tell that they had practiced to make sure it was quick and efficient.
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| Goon and Goon |
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| I'm soooooo proud of you, Ryan! |
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| Chani and Ryan |
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| Louetta and Ryan |
The next day was filled with lots of love and laughs! I got to spend the morning with Leo (Bubba, or Bubba Leo) and Miguel (Giguel). My sister Chani and I played with them all morning, which included a trip to the park, I don't know what we were thinking though, it was soooo hot! We tuckered the boys out good though, they both fell asleep on the way to Ky Ky's house.
I took note of some of the things Leo said that morning that made me laugh.
Me to Chani : I love his hair!
Leo: My mom grew it for me.
Chani to Leo : So what do you think of the price of tea in China?
Leo: Ummmmm dragons?
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| Leo and Chani's teddy bear |
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| Wrestling |
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| Love that smile |
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| Giguel really likes trains |
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| Big brother's shouldn't grin like that. ;) |
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| Having fun at the park Leo calls "Chani's Park" |
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| You know the park was good when you fall asleep |
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| Sleeping Giguel |
That afternoon I spent some time with Leo and Miguel's sister Adriana (Azalina). Chani and I picked her up from her last day of school and then she and I watched a movie (well, she watched I napped) and just hung out until Baby Bear came for a sleep over and I went to have dinner with my friend Janice. I'm ashamed to say it had been WAAAAAY too long since I'd seen her, but it was really nice to catch up. :)
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| Azalina and me, isn't she beautiful!? |
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| She has a great smile. |
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| I love this girl! |
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| Funny faces |
Then it was up early to drive back up to Oakland and catch my flight back to Salt Lake City. It was a good trip, I got to see a lot of people and recharge my batteries a bit. I've decided though, it's rarely ever long enough. There's always more I want to do or people to see. I guess, that's kind of how life is though. :)
