The week after Christmas we traveled to So. Cali to visit Grandma and Grandpa Jones in Canoga Park. It was a very fun visit especially for Elise who hadn't seen her G & G or her Cali friends in over 6 months. As usual, Grandma Jones had some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup ready for us when we arrived at their house at about 7 pm on Sat. Dec. 26th! YUMMY!
On Sunday we went to church with G & G and Elise connected with a few of her church friends and Natalie and Weston got to meet them. Later that evening we got to visit with Warren and Lynn, Brad, Lindsay and Sam when they came over to have dinner with us.
Monday we took a drive through Topanga Canyon to the ocean. Elise wanted to take some senior pictures in a natural setting, so we brought the camera. It was wonderful to smell the ocean breezes again. I decided that I need a yearly vacation to the ocean/beach to get rejuvinated! Here are some pictures from the beach.
Elise and the beautiful pacific ocean.
Natalie enjoying the sand and surf!
3 Joneseys lovin' life. Who is the tallest now??!!
Kelli wasn't feeling her best, but she enjoyed being at the beach from the car!
On Tuesday we went to California Adventure and spent a whole day there. The first ride we went on was the whitewater rafting one and we all got wet, but Kelli and Elise got the wettest--yuck! It took us all day to totally dry out! Later that night, Natalie and Kelli even rode the Tower of Terror and lived!! (yes, they thought they were gonna die and were surprised when they didn't!!) Weston, Elise and Craig went on the fast roller coaster that shoots the riders out at 5o mph. They said it was "no big deal"! Weston and Elise rode the Maliboomer and came back with green around the gills but they wouldn't admit it!! All in all we had lots of fun and don't need to go back for another 5 years!
Wednesday found us helping G & G get their Christmas decorations down and put away. While we were doing that, Elise and Natalie went with Elise's friends Raul and Jason to "hang." It was a rainy day but they went to a park and hiked a hill to see the view from the top anyway. Both girls came home with muddy shoes and pants and lots of fun stories to tell!
New Years Eve was spent playing card games with Brad, Vicky, and Sam. Elise and Natty went to a dance in Arcadia with some Young Women friends and had a blast. We all stayed up till midnight and then listened to all the gunshots going off in SoCali! We didn't dare venture outside, but enjoyed the "festivities" from grandma and grandpa's warm, cozy home!
Friday, we drove back t AZ to get ready for the groundbreaking of the new St. David chapel and then work and school--the vacation's over!!
