For me it's always a struggle coming back from vacation and trying to reenter the monotony of real life. Right now the crushing sadness of missing family, and the disaster of a house that I need to get cleaned up have made me stress out to the point where I will end up painting my living room before I get to the mounds of laundry, just to defy my to-do list. Anyways, I will get around to posting about how much fun we had on the trip but for now I want to share two not-so-quick stories before I forget the particulars.
1. The Muffin:
We (the kids and I) went to the park one morning with my Mom, my nephew, Ebby, and my niece, Autumn. We had brought some bread and a very old muffin to feed the ducks, but about half way into our excursion Ebby and Livi found the bag of bread and started on it like a pack of rabid dogs. Ebby, who is not allowed snacks because then he wont eat at meal times, was especially...
vigorous in his eating of the contraband.
After a few minutes the bread was all gone and I remarked "Well at least we still have the muffin!" Next thing I know Ebby has pulled out the extremely stale muffin and is trying to take a giant bite out of the marble-like top. We decide we need to start feeding the ducks ASAP if we want to, in fact, feed the ducks and head over to the pond. Soon all 5 kids are throwing pieces of week old muffin at the delighted ducks.
Unfortunately one muffin, even a giant Costco muffin, does not go very far with 5 kids and soon we were getting to the last crumbs. My mom remarked to Ebby as she handed him his final piece "Last one Ebby, then the muffin is all gone," trying to prepare him for the end of the duck feeding frenzy. Ebby looked down at the muffin in his hand and promptly shoved the piece in his mouth.
The kid may have loved feeding the ducks, but he wasn't fool enough to feed them his last chance for an illicit snack!
2. The Cave Of Wonder
My Dad either needs a 12,000 sqft shed in the backyard, or he needs the
Hoarders tv crew to come out and help him wade through my parents "garage." I say "garage" in quotes because in all the time they have owned the house (23.5 years) I can remember a car being parked in there all of 1 time. True, houses in Southern California do not have basements, and most houses do not have adequate storage, but really, it is a daunting hold-all (and I have to say 99.9% is my dad's stuff).
I get my love of hobbies (ohhhhh, I have to write about my newest one soon, it is AWESOME!!!) from him, but the difference is he can afford to go all out on them. Having a lot of hobbies means having a l0t of hobby specific equipment. Having lots of equipment means that the garage is turned into an apocalyptic wasteland where you are afraid you are going to run into a band of scrounging survivors every time you round a corner. And there are many corners. Walking into the garage is like entering a labyrinth. Down one aisle is 19th century clothes and street corner light (for a youth dance), another has a replica guillotine and electric chair from the spook alley he does every year, and the edges have various cabinets for wood turning, ammo making, house repair, and probably even his secret lunar exploration module that we will all get to ride in next Christmas. I would post pictures as it truly defies words, but that would embarrass my poor mother too much, so I wont.
whew, where was I...oh, so Ella was following my mom around as Mom picked up the house after our holiday madness, as children do, prattling on about dancing, music, princesses, or probably all three. Mom opens the door to the garage to put out a cardboard box and I hear from my spot on the couch Ella stop mid-stream of speech. Then in a tone part wonder, part fear
"Grandma...what IS this place?" Ella, we've been asking ourselves the same thing for years!
Amazing. Thrilling even. We went to the farm and ranch museum and it had a display of all the different types. I didn't even know there were 2 types, let alone several types that would necessitate a display. The wonders you can learn in western Nebraska!
and the boys seemed happy to let her.
because boy did they sure love running, 
My sister Julia wrote a whole thing about hiking with Jes and I would suggest reading that description. For the record I only thought I was going to die for half the hike (the up hill part). Jes is amazing! She is the energizer bunny of hiking. She is so athletic and fit and I am....not. At one point I thought I was having a stroke when my face went numb, but Jes is really a good sport and was willing to take stops for me. The hike was beautiful and the snow bank at the bottom of the falls, IN JUNE, was something I have never seen before.
Not normal face paint. Face paint that takes nuclear clean up formulas to remove. I don't even remember how long it took to get Ethan's Darth Vader mask off, but it was a while, and involved two types of makeup remover and some tears.
but no.
She had fun but slept a lot more than normal. She also wanted to be held all day long, which was killer on my back, but she's not a real cuddler so I'll take it. 
Ethan and Ella both got to drive cars on Autopia with very brave Grandma and Grandpa.
Why is this next picture so important? 
Did you notice how skinny my face looks? Enough said.
The new thing I noticed? Doesn't this look like a scene from Nebraska in "It's a Small World"? Nebraska rocks! (yes, I may have used flash photography, which normally I abhor on these rides, but it's Nebraska, at Disneyland)
When we first got there everyone was happy. 
Then Ebby started squinting because he has photosynthesis, or photo-whatever like Andrew (okay, it's photo-phobia and it is real). 
Then I took Livi down to the water and dangled her legs in the water. BIG MISTAKE. Livi hated it. 
Livi opens mouth wide and cries.
After that she didn't even want to sit on the sand. 
Finally she started playing in the sand again, but wouldn't let anything but her feet touch it (notice the squat rather than sit).
The sun went down and we started to get cold, so we headed back to the hotel and warm baths. Ahhh, baths... I think I hear one calling now.
Yes, my 4 year old was walking around wearing Coach sunglasses. If we didn't blend in with the So-Cal crowd then, we never will.
Even Livi got in on the act.
The kids only have one cousin. Yep, only one. Ebby was the light of their existence when we were in California. Livi loved having a perma-friend and was so excited to hug Ebby and pull on him every chance she got. I love how Ebby looks so boyish and Livi looks so feminine, even though they are so little.
Ethan was so sweet and loved to play and run around with him. I think he liked having another boy around.
Yes, this is Ebby, Livi and Ella in a dog bed. I don't even know what to say about this.
This picture is for Andrew as an homage to the iconic picture of him holding James. 
As for the title, it has nothing to do with the pictures, it is just a statement of fact.
Ebby is a cute little mix of Joy and Andrew, and one of my favorite things was seeing him stick out his tongue like Andrew always has.
