Eli's little polka-dotted stuffed animal is named "Dot Table"

...after the "dot table" at McDonald's, of course. :)  I took Vanessa and Eli out for breakfast at McDonald's before preschool Tuesday morning for FUN!!!   (because older sis and bro were at camp, ya know, so we had to go do something special!) 

You should have seen those kids get dressed, sprint for the van, and get buckled in.  I was in the hallway in a towel brushing my teeth about 8:00am when I suggested the idea.  I think they were buckled in at 8:04.  I had to scramble to keep up with `em!  Both got "hotcakes" and sausage.  

The tree is pink!

I love it when this happens!! The tree blooms for about 3 days...that's it.  

Most fun day for preschool - being the leader!!

The most anticipated day of preschool!!  Bringing the snack, and being the leader of the day! So much excitement.  He brought cheese penguin crackers, strawberry/banana fruit twists, and berry juice.

He also donned his new shirt from Venice Beach, which he thinks is "too long".

Violet and Calvin went to Willowbrook Homeschool Camp (April 24-27, 2016)

These pics are taken when I picked them up on Wednesday the 27th.  Gina Gartin and Tony Myers transported Violet and Calvin, respectively, to camp on Sunday the 24th (since we were on our way home from CA).

Calvin was the only one I was a little concerned about since he had thought hard about whether to go or not, but I'm glad he made the choice.  He was goofing around with his buddies when I saw him the first time. 

Both kids exclaimed how fun it was and how they can't WAIT for summer camp!

Vanessa and Eli got to play around with everyone and have lunch with their older sibs before watching the photo slideshow. The spiritual lessons were constructed around the eagle, and how God tenderly card for the children of Israel and He cares for us.  We can't stay in the nest however, and need to equip ourselves to take the next step spiritually.

We transported Daisy home with us.

classic carpetball

Violet talked about a new friend she made, Erica Gamerdinger (sp?) who is only 8. 

Trip to CA to celebrate Dave's 40th birthday (Apr 20-24, 2016)

on the first flight from CR to MN - he still had no idea where we were going

We discussed LA on this flight from MN to CA.  This view is Las Vegas out the window.

what a rental car! 

all that traveling definitely called for In-n-Out Burger at...midnight 

inner of Embassy Suites the next a.m.

FISHIES! on the way to breakfast

we had to see the beach!!  This one is Venice Beach

after a couple hours lazing around on the beach we got movin' with some rental bikes on "The Strand".....miles of paved bike path right in the middle of the beach sand. We went a few miles north and came back, about 2 hrs of lazy biking.  

Oh yes I did.  Selfie...while riding a bike...is that dangerous or cool?

Griffith Observatory

LA in lights!

the line to view Jupiter through a telescope

do you see the tiny white dot at the top of the photo? That's Jupiter.  We got a 3 second peek at it through that huge telescope and saw the familiar lines it has, as well as 2 of its moons.

dinner at Pip's on La Brea and heard some great jazz music!

breakast the morning of Dave's birthday

....and it's official! You're forty, babe.

Can't really get enough of this view. Oh hey! Let's navigate to a coffee shop near the ocean.  Dave used Google and found this right ON the ocean...at the end of the pier sticking out into the water there were shots of espresso to be had and a cool little aquarium

Chillax = Chill + Relax

Orca whale skull

Bottle nose dolphin skulls

hello, starfish - pressed up against the aquarium glass

sunset and LOTS of wind!

my hair appears to be in a bun...no...it was down..the wind just went bonkers.

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after walking away towards our car in the streets after when the sun went down, we noticed the sky turning pink and purple, so we turned back to the beach to get a better look. So glad we did!  Beautiful colors with the palm trees - just like a postcard!

Bandera's for dinner that night

Sat morning we headed for the racetrack for Dave's driving experiences!

this pretty Lamborghini Gallardo greeted us at the door

check in...

take a class on how to make smooth turns which enhances speed!

we had full access to sit in the cars and take as many pics as we wanted

this Corvette was giving rides to people who'd purchased them and after 2 laps, it stopped and wet down the wheels with water to cool them off

Dave drove this Lamborghini Gallardo

not this one, just posed

and he drove this Ferraro 430

if you zoom in you can see his profile in the driver's seat!

the pics don't do the mountains justice.  They were a beautiful backdrop to the driving experience!

checked out a local Mexican place - bar seating only and the door behind us 2 feet! Small space, but a delicious spread of food!

last evening before going home...gotta see one more sunset!  I've never taken so many selfie photos before...haha

the Pacific

to the farms in IA

we were happily greeted with two smiling kids, happy caretakers, and a cake for Dave!

Violet and Calvin were at homeschool camp at Willowbrook, I went to pick them up Wednesday night.

What a fantastic trip...can't really put into words how relaxing it was. More than relaxing, Dave and I got some real quality time to bond, enjoy being with each other (I'm a quality time girl so no other love language speaks so me like this one!), improve our communication, and count our blessings.  It was more than a birthday party, even though the goal was to honor Dave, that definitely happened, but the whole experience felt like more than that.