Our California Family Adventure

It's time to brag about my amazing husband again!

Colt received an International Insurance Award in SanDiego California.  All Insurance companies (only one Agent in our company - American National - has ever been honored with this award) around the world have an annual meeting that rotates locations.  This year it happened to be in SanDiego, and we accompanied him to for his award and for a vacation!

Colt had to rent a tux for the occasion.  I teased him if the tux was considered "fine twined linen" and "costly apparel"

Colt and I at the $175/plate award banquet dinner.  Thankfully the company paid for the dinner :)  and our hotel room.  We are with Ken Gallacher and his wife Marcia.  Ken is Colt's Regional Director.  He is an amazing man who I'm glad Colt gets to work with.  Colt's work environment is very good with a very strong helping attitude among the agents - Ken has created a great Region with good work ethic and teamwork to learn and grow together.

River is really good at looking out for her younger sisters.  She could run and just have fun by herself but she always includes Silver and especially Summer - here she helped Summer climb up where she couldn't on her own.  

Silver, Mommy, Summer and River

Getting to California was half the adventure.  Here we are visiting another ward in Nevada for church.

Wherever you go, church always feels like Home!

Hotel Rooms!

I thought this was an especially sweet picture.  Daddy cuddling Summer.  She had a hard time falling asleep without her crib and Daddy cuddled her up until she fell asleep.  Too sweet!

Summer sleeping in the van with her hand blankie

River's back seat cove complete with CTR scripture bag.  She always brings it along if we going overnight so she can read scriptures.  

Silver's cheetah shoes.  This picture sums up "Road Trip" to me

Lights of Vegas - the girls enjoyed seeing so many lights out of nowhere in the desert.

Daddy went to meetings while we went to a park by our hotel waiting for our room to be ready.  

I was proud of Silver for being so brave to hold a parrot.  This parrot also sat on Mommy's head!

It was really windy and there were tons of kites.  This kite would raise and lower with the air currents and River and Silver would try to run under it - sometimes crawl under it. 

Silver in the Wind

Silver's Amazing Speed!

Silver LOVES to run and this was perfect after being cooped up in the van.

Interesting tree

Interesting Pose 

There were tons of little flowers mixed in the grass that the girls loved to pick. 

Balancing Rocks!  "Was an amazement to see" -River

There is a man who comes to build these up every day!  They make him take it down every night.  Colt and I both tried balancing rocks - he made it look so easy, like building a tower out of bricks instead of round stones! 

The view from our Hotel Room was wonderful!

We were on the tenth floor and the girls loved looking out the window.  They would watch for the train to pass.  

Silver brushing her teeth 

So many new experiences

VIDEO:  Silver brushing her teeth

New Parks to Explore!

A Swimming Pool!  AND a hot tub that wasn't too hot, just like a "BIG bathtub!!"

We also went to the beach!  We usually go to Coronado Island Beach by SanDiego and find Sand Dollars and "butterfly" shells.

This time we went to a different beach farther north and found a different kind of shells - spiral shells and iridescent ones.  Shiny and fun!

The girls love to make "nests" on the ground with their blankies.  

Restraunts!

It was a LONG day, and sometimes our smilers get tired.

But we managed to tickle out a smile!

...To Be continued