Family Weekend

We got an unexpected message Friday that Shawn's Grandma Nell (Great Grandma to Tyler & Gavin) was in L.A. with Aunt Jan and they'd like to see us. They live in Indiana, a place Shawn has little to no desire to visit since he associates living there with some dark times from his youth. We could not pass up the opportunity to introduce Tyler & Gavin to their lovely and kind Great Grandmother who sends the sweetest Christmas gifts each year. Plus, I really wanted to meet them so we whisked off to southern California for a quick trip. Dana, Kari, Jordan, Nell, Jan and us plus Papa Neb & Uncle Tom met up at the beach in Santa Barbara. What a blast that town is to be a tourist in! We rented surreys and rode all over the boardwalk. We showed them the building we got married in, rode up to the harbor, stopped for a ride on the carousel (Gavin fell asleep on the ride!), Papa and Tom took Tyler to see a train and they put two pennies on the track so it would flatten them. Tyler was so excited to show us and then he and Jordan promptly threw the barely recognizable pennies into the fountain. Then we went to Neb & Wan's for a seafood feast Uncle Tom style, featuring tuna, sashimi (Grandma tried it!) and two kinds of swordfish. What a treat. After dinner we went back to the beach for a sunset swim (too cold to everyone but Tyler & Jordan). Then all the cousins took a bath together. So cute! How lucky we are to be blessed with such great family. It was great meeting, visiting and seeing everyone on our whirlwind trip. On the way home, we figured we only spent 26 hours in S.B. but did so much in that short time.