Home again

We had such a wonderful vacation that we ended up staying gone two nights longer then we planned. This was an extra special Thanksgiving this year because we got to spend it with my family and Jim's! I have so much to share but we just got home and I'm ready to chill so I'll just share a summary and add more later:

Tuesday 11/20- Left for our road trip and made it to the Santa Cruz KOA (I'll share pictures soon it was beautiful). We made it in time to have dinner with my parents, Grandparents, and my brother and his family-- Very cool!

Wed. 11/21- Early morning I sat on a picnic table while having my phone appointment with the DMV officer. Let's just say it not only did NOT go well but was worse then what I could have imagined. My poor Mom, Grandma, and Sister-In-Law ended up having to put up with my self pity tears and anger for the next 15 minutes or so. They were sweet about it and reminded me that there must be a reason for it all. We spent the rest of the day very restful playing on the many amenities at this very cool KOA. If it were not for the camping part it would have been GREAT. I still do not love camping and if we meet up with my family again for this new tradition next year we have already picked out the hotel we will stay in. ;)

Thanksgiving day- This day went by so fast but was wonderful. We did need to pack up and clear out of our cabin (we were happy to say goodbye to it). We got to spend the first half of the day with my family and then headed to San Jose to have the traditional meal with Jim's family. Almost all of his family was there and it was so great to see them all! We spent that night just hanging out with family, playing games, and enjoying each other. Kyle and Johnny spent the night with their cousins and we headed to our hotel suite! The hotel was WONDERFUL!!! After staying in the cabin I was giddy about climbing in to the super cozy bed and sleeping soundly followed by a very long hot shower the next morning.

Fri. 11/24- My FAVORITE day by far of the vacation: We had breakfast with Jim's family and then headed to one of my favorite places in the world- Capitola. It's the cutest beach town and we've been going there for years. First it was just Jim, me, and the boys and we took them to a restaurant on the beach we used to go to long before we had kids. It was such a trip to be there almost 10 years later with kids around the table. Then my parents met up with us at the beach and the fun really began! Because my Mom and I married two of the greatest guys ever they stayed on the beach and watched the kids while me and my Mom got to go in to every cute and unique boutique in Capitola. Afterwards we said our goodbyes to my parents and headed back to Jim's sister's house. She's so good to us that she kept all 3 of our boys ALL NIGHT and long in to the next day so that we could have our first date of our 10 dates plan. We had a total blast and I'll share more about it later. It was so much fun to go back to the very same places where we had our first dates...so many memories!

Sat. 11/25- Original plan was to meet up with some friends Jim had not seen in a long time and then head home. Instead we did lunch with his friends and decided to hang out another couple nights with Jim's sister and family, and parents. Saturday night was so relaxing with pizza, games, and spending time with Jim's family.

Sun. 11/26- I was SO spoiled on the last day of our vacation. Jim had some work he needed to do so got some done while our boys played with their cousins. Meanwhile I got to go shopping with Jim's sister and Mom. When they had to leave for other things I asked them to go ahead without me and got to spend hours alone at the mall. Something I have not done in a very long time. It was so much fun! While back at the house Jim not only worked, but also watched the kids, AND washed and folded all our laundry so I would not have to do it when we got home. How great is that??!!!

A really wonderful time and so much to be thankful for!