Lots of girlfriend time

Today I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Nicole. We met for lunch, during her lunch break, at my favorite place to eat: Acapulco's. They have the most yummy lunch buffet. I love their chips and salsa and their enchiladas.

Then this evening we met for our first Yoga/Pilate's class. Neither one of us has taken a class so we both didn't know what to expect. We were surprised by the amount of elderly people in our class. Since today was our first class we learned a lot of basic moves and practiced them a few times each. We surprised when we both started sweating just from stretching and holding positions. There was one exercise we did that gave us both the giggles and I couldn't look at Nicole without laughing. We were both happy at how well we did and we agreed that we liked it. We have it every Friday for 10 weeks.

After the class we drove to Yogiyo to have some frozen yogurt. I had never been there before so Nicole showed me the ropes. You pick your flavor and fill your bowl with as much as you want and then put whatever toppings you want on it. When you take it to the check out they weigh it and then tell you the price. It was very good.

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids for me and giving me a bit of alone time!

Mt. Baldy Hike

Today we went on a hike on the Mt. Baldy trail. My parents house is in the foothills so it only took us about 20 minutes to drive to the head of the trail. The weather was nice and cool and we loved the scent of pine in the air.

The hike was all uphill so I brought an exercise stroller for Naomi but she wanted to walk and she hiked the whole thing!

We also found some big dandelions so she was able to blow one for the first time!

Everything was going along fine until we got to a part of the forest that was swarming with ladybugs. There had to be millions of them. They were flying in the air, landing on us and all over the trees and bushes. From where we were standing we could see a fallen tree below that was covered with ladybugs. So I thought it would be a great idea to go down there and get a better picture. It was pretty steep and I slipped and slid but made it down. The trouble came on the way up. I was almost there and the dirt under my foot gave way and I slid backwards getting scraped by rocks and covered with dirt. Jacob and Naomi started crying and my Dad had to come down and help me. My right leg was really scraped up, bleeding, bruised and starting to swell. We decided to turn back and head to the car.

We ate our lunch while I propped up my leg and we were entertained by some very cute squirrels.

As I write this my leg is elevated with ice on it. I can walk but it is sore and tender, but the pictures were worth it!

So much good food!

The kids are having so much fun being with Nana and Papa. They like to follow them around and see what they are doing. Yesterday evening the boys started helping my Dad pull weeds out of the grass. They were having so much fun they did not even realize they were doing work.


When my mom came home after spending time with her mom she brought me a beautiful rose that my Grandma wanted me to have from her garden. It smells amazing and it called Double Delight.

In the evening we had one of my favorite desserts from my childhood: Vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries.

Today we went with my mom to Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilts house. They were very excited to meet Naomi and see me and boys again. We also went to help them take care of trimming branches and putting them in the green waste bins. The boys were a great help and really got in there to help their Great Grandpa and Grandma. I was so proud of them.

By the time we left we were all hot and hungry. My mom treated us to lunch at one of our favorite places: Wienerschnitzel. We all had a corn dog and they were so good!

Then tonight we met one of my best friends, Nicole and her daughter Kaitlyn for dinner at Chick-fil-A. I miss her so much when we are apart and it is always so good to be together again.

Catching up

The last couple of weeks have been busy and we have been without our internet. The kids and I have moved from Hawaii and are now living in California until the end of September with my parents.

So here is what has been going on with the Hays family:

Our mini church threw us a surprise going away potluck. We have been meeting weekly with this group for years and it was hard to say goodbye. They gave us a beautiful clock and frame with a picture of all of us that were both made out of Koa wood.

My best girlfriends in Hawaii took me out for a special goodbye dinner to Mariposa. The food was delicious and the view was spectacular. They made a scrapbook for me with a picture of each one and a special note. They took turns during the dinner reading their note to me and talking about our friendship.

The boys had end of the year celebrations at school. Micah's class celebrated with food and the kindergarten had a waterplay day.

Micah ended the year with receiving his 2nd Super GLO Star award. In order to receive this award and trophy he had to be a GLO star all year. Darrick was able to attend the assembly for the first time and Micah was so glad to have him there.

One weekend Darrick took Micah and Jacob on the cub scout campout. Micah entered as a wolf but left as a bear. They made cool sculptures in the sand and had fun just hanging out together.

Before we knew it the movers were coming and packing up all our stuff. We stayed in our place a few days sleeping on air mattresses.

After our inspection and we handed back the keys, Darrick took 2 days of leave and we went to the Pacific Beach Hotel. After we checked in, we walked downtown and the got some dinner to go and ate it at the park. The hotel has a cool aquarium and we were able to watch the diver go in the tank and feed the fish. In the morning we ate at the buffet and got to sit right by the fish.

The Thursday morning Bible Study that I attend threw a mexican food potluck on the day that was my last time there. Everyone brought their best dish and it was great!

After all our tear filled goodbyes the kids and I boarded a plane a flew to Los Angeles. My parents, brother Dave, his wife Laura and their kids Elijah and Natalie picked us up at the airport. It was so great to see my family. From the airport we drove to Dave and Laura's, since they live in LA. They loved getting to meet Naomi and she had a blast playing with her cousins. After a yummy dinner we left and then drove to my parents house.

There is nothing like California strawberries and my parents surprised us with 3 baskets of beautiful field ripe berries.

Yesterday we got to hang out with my Dad's side of the family-the Gutierrez family. We got together to celebrate my cousin Amber graduating from college. When we got there she surprised us by telling us all that she is engaged! It was awesome to see my extended family and they all loved meeting Naomi!