Our California Trip!

**Note Not only is this blog for Lauren's birth families but it is also a family journal. Some of this might bore you but I wanted to make sure that I noted the memories. The pictures are fun though.**

Our San Jose trip was so fun!! The last 4 times I have gone home I have been without Brian and once without Lauren. It was so nice to have them with me this time.

Lauren was GREAT on the drive. We were so worried about her because 12 hours in a car is not fun. But with technology she was able to watch Cinderella (a current favorite) and of course Curious George.

Here's our trip.

We left on Tuesday, May 18th and drove 3/4 of the way to Reno. We spent the night there at the Atlantis Casino. We played that night on the "kid floor" at the arcade. A kid was there and offered to let us play some of his credits on a game if we bought him a $2.00 soda. So we used 100 credits and it took us about 45 minute. We got a TON of tickets. Lauren was able to get a lot of toys. Later that evening we also went swimming. Lauren loves to swim!! She laughed the whole time.

The next morning we packed all of our stuff up- which was a lot! We tend to over pack a bit. And we headed for Monterey to stay with some friends out there. We got in, dropped our stuff off and went straight to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Lauren was in heaven seeing all of the fish. She did not want to touch anything though.

She even saw Nemo and Dory. That made her so happy. We also watched Finding Nemo on the way there. She is a big fan.

She was very interactive as long as she didn't have to touch anything real.

They had a toddler area that she spent a lot of time at.

She even made a friend while she was there. She is VERY friendly!

In the gift shop we found a Curious George book that talks about Penguins. They are interestingly cute little things.

After the aquarium we walked up and down Cannery row. Brian has memories of doing the same thing as a kid so it was fun to hear him tell stories about when he was little.

That night we got back to Sam & Michelle's and had dinner then headed to the beach (which was like 3 miles away from where they live) to watch the sun set. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Lauren and I danced on the beach (and played a little airplane). I've missed the sand between my toes. I was so happy to feel that again.

Look how cute those little feet are!

Then daddy had to have a turn. I love this picture.

We saw a ton of pelicans. They would just glide along until they saw a fish then they would dive straight down to catch it. It was pretty cool to see. We also saw sea lions or otters or something. I don't remember which one but that was fun too.

On Thursday we left Monterey and drove down to Apple Computers Inc. (where I used to work) and had lunch with Sam. It was fun to be on campus again. I had always told Brian about so it was really fun to show him.

After that we headed over to see my grandma. She lives in an assisted living center so I was a little worried about Lauren being scared of the facility. But she walked right in and played peek-a-boo with my grandma. It was really sweet to see. And of course Brian is a total charmer so my grandma loves him.

After we left my grandma's we went to a few of my favorite places. The "blanket place" (where we get the softest blankets), King Eggroll (for Brian), and drove by my old schools and house. It's crazy to see how much things have changed in the 10 years since I lived there .

Then we went to drop our stuff off at Brian's Aunt's house. His uncle is the missionary president of the San Jose mission. Cool huh? It was fun to talk about the people he knew that I had grown up my whole life with. We stayed in a little guest house in the back. It was nice to have our own little room and bathroom to ourselves where we could come and go as we pleased without disrupting the family.

That night we had dinner with my Uncle Manny and his family. He always makes a killer BBQ. It was so good. And about 5 years ago when Brian and I were there we convinced my uncle to let my mom have an old stool that my grandma used to sit on as a kid. My mom and uncle used to fight over it as kids too. It was a tough sell but my uncle- with much hesitation let us take it back to Utah with us. Since then, Brian took my mom's apart, fixed it, and repainted it. While he was doing that he made a replica for my uncle. It looked identical! When Brian gave it to my uncle he and his family got teary and LOVED it more than anything. They were so shocked. My aunt said it was the best gift that they had ever received. It was a special moment. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Brian! Seriously. They love him.

Friday we went to Kristy's Donuts on Berryessa. They have the best donuts! They are seriously so dang good. My family was so jealous so we decided that before we left to go home, we would stop by and pick up a couple dozen to share with them. We smelled donuts the whole way home. I think I got fatter just from the smell. Oh well. It was worth it.

We also hit the flea market. We got Lauren a "bike" that she had to have- which is actually a scooter. We also got her a pair of pink flatts. They are her favorite shoes ever! If I would have known I would have bought 10 pairs in different sizes and colors. I guess that saves us something to do when we go back to show Elisabeth around.

That night we had dinner with some great friends of mine. It's always fun to see the Aceves.

Saturday we went to Breakfast with my Cousin, Jeffrey. Then headed to the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk.

The carousel there is a must!

We put Lauren on all the little kiddy rides. I'm not sure who had more fun. Her riding the rides or us watching her ride the rides.

Look at that face!

Ah... I miss the beach!

It was my turn to ride carousel with Lauren. She giggled the whole time.
They let Brian ride the dragon with Lauren.

Saturday night we said goodbye to my grandma. It was fun to see her. Below- the two LaVergne's and little Lauren.

On Sunday we packed up and headed to the Alum Rock ward (where I grew up) to go to church at the White and Patt building. It is an OLD building. It was fun to see a lot of familiar faces. After church we drove home.

I forgot to mention the whole reason we even went out there. When I was a kid, I used to play my grandma's piano for hours. One day when I was about 10 or so she told me that when she died the piano was going to be mine. Since she went to an assisted living center I was lucky enough to get it early without her dying. I've waited 19 years for it and I am so happy to have it in my house. I play all the time (not very good anymore, but I play).

It was a great trip with fun memories.