going back to cali

we spent last weekend down in No Cal visiting my family (the May's), and though it was whirlwind and we wish we could have stayed much longer, we had a fabulous time! and once again i am amazed at what a wonderful little person molly is. she handled long plane rides (we had "maintenance issues" and were stuck on the plane for quite a while on our way down), multiple car rides, meeting all sorts of new people, having various dogs lick her face...all with a great big smile! she is so freakin' awesome!!

speaking of dogs, the puppies were definitely her favorite. my mom has two small dogs (matsi and guapo) and every time molly saw one or the other she would let out a squeal of delight. they were the first things she looked for in the morning. at times, my mom and i were a bit envious of all the attention the puppies were getting. :)

on friday, molly and i went and visited my good friend from high school, Sandra, who, along with her husband Jason, is raising two fantastic kids, Aidan and Zoey. we had a lovely time hanging out in their beautiful home, from which we walked to Aidan's kindergarten to pick him up (i can't believe he's in kindergarten already!!) and Zoey was very sweet and shared all her toys with molly. molly immediately hit it off with Sands and even sat with her while she read most of Lyle the Crocodile. with us, a page or two in and she's bored and off exploring.

on saturday we met up with my friend Jen who i haven't seen in years but who is the friend i've known the longest - since we were five! we lost track of each other for a while, but after molly was born i got to thinking about being a young girl and how important my friends were - especially Jen, who was my very best friend growing up - and i decided to find her again. thankfully her mom kept her old telephone number so i was able to get in touch with her and we've vowed to never lose track again. she looks exactly the same, as gorgeous as ever! (i can't believe i didn't get a picture) and she's is also still as kind and funny as i remember. so Jen, along with Molly, my mom and i, all headed off to the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk (just like the good ol' days!), where my mom's company was having a picnic. it was wild with all the people and sounds...molly was fascinated with it all! and we got to meet Angela, who works with my mom, and her son Anthony. Angela has been so sweet to molly and i, sending presents and good wishes, though she had never met us. and i know my mom loves working with her. so it was great to finally meet her, and her son, who was awesome! molly played with them and had a good ol' time.



after the beach we went to my Papa's house and visited with the family. we had a great time catching up, playing with dogs, and eating delicious food. oh, and playing with mirrors. molly LOVED their closet in the spare bedroom which is basically one big mirror. here are some pictures from her time playing at the mirror (and i have a great video i hope to get up soon). she would talk to herself, and give herself smooches. it was kind of weird to watch, it was like i suddenly had twins! she also got a new teddy bear from her aunt Ritsu that she loves very much!


the next day we visited some more friends and went and hung out with uncle John and Laurie before heading to the airport. again, the dogs stole the show. molly just loves 'em! this picture is actually from the night before, but it is of molly's feet and mo's feet (mo being my uncle John's lab Matomo). so cute!

thankfully, my mom came back up to Portland with us and is helping zero, molly and i get done some of the projects that have been on our list since we bought the house last October. she is amazing to have around and i can't thank her enough for all her love and support. what she doesn't know is that i'm planning on holding her hostage here and never letting her go!