California Fun

Jay and I have been in the States for the last little while visiting family and we've been having so much fun! First we went to Lake Tahoe and stayed in Harrah's casino with Great Grandma Erica. It is so beautiful there! Cory came down for our trip too and we had a great time being together as a family. I love my brother so much! He's such a wonderful brother and now he's a wondreful Uncle as well. Jay loves being with him. Grandma's comped room was so pretty and our buffet dinners were excellent as usual, especially the strawberry crepes. We also had fun swimming in the indoor pool - Jay's favorite part. He wasn't too excited about the arcade, but I'm sure he will be someday. Tahoe is such a beautiful area. We love visiting.

The Nevada County Fair happened a few weeks ago. I was so excited to be home for it! I haven't had a homemade corn dog in way too long. Why is it always about the food with me? We also visited the animals. Jay really liked the goats because they got up close and personal.


We also saw a baby camel. It was soooo cute! Mom tried to convince me to put Jay in 4-H someday because it builds character. She's probably right. Maybe we'll have our own little goat or maybe a potbelly pig someday. We had so much fun with my cousins Kristin and Elizabeth at the fair. They are such fun, beautiful, smart, talented girls! I've missed them. Kristin and I even went on a ride together. I was especially excited that they played some Ace of Base on it. It felt like I was back in high school. We enjoyed looking at all of the displays too. I reminisced entering my own vegetables and flowers in years past... okay, so they were my grandma's vegetables and flowers. I think one year I may have entered my troll collection though, so that's something. I really liked the quilt and art displays. There are so many talented people in this world. It's so fun to see so many beautiful creations. We also saw the train museum, but Jay wasn't as interested as we had hoped he would be. We'll have to wait a few more years. We played one round of Bingo and lost but no carnival games. Maybe next time. Kristin and I lost my mom and Jay at one point when they wandered into the enchanted forest while we weren't looking. We finally found them sitting and talking to friends, not even concerned that we were nowhere to be found! :) I guess they figured we'd catch up. One day we were there Kristin, my mom and I stayed at a Vita-Mix presentation for about an hour testing all of their creations. It was so yummy! We especially loved the peanut-butter chocolate shake (okay, not the most healthy of drinks they offered). Zina came to town for the weekend as well. It was so nice to see her! I miss my dear Russian sister. We had a great time chowing down on corn dogs, fresh corn and homemade ice cream together. We saw many good friends while we were there too. I know I'm a nerd, but I do love the fair.

Another fun thing was that my cousin Amy came for a visit. Twice actually. Once alone, then once with her hubby Matt and a few friends. On her first trip out we all went to Asian Gardens (grandma's favorite Chinese restaurant). I loved looking around the table and seeing so many people that I love surrounding me. If only Mike could have been here with us too! He's such a good husband for letting us come. Jay showed off at dinner clapping his hands and recieved an enthusiastic round of applause from around the table. It's fun to have a baby in the family again. He's certainly well loved. He's enjoyed the company so much.

After spending a few weeks in California we went on to Utah. Unfortunately I don't have the pictures of our time there yet, so I'll postpone that blog for a few days. We did get to see Mike for a few weeks while we were there though and we had a wonderful time visiting the the Connellys. I love my in-laws so much. They were so good to us... more on that trip soon. We've now been back in Nevada City for a few days and since then we've seen Cory and Amy again along with Amy's husband Matt. We had another huge family dinner at Asian Gardens with grandma, and this time we saw another part of my family too. We saw my Great Uncle Gino and my Great Aunt Soila and their children Gina and Mark. Mark's wife was there and Gina's daughter with her two children, Logan and Jessica. Logan is 2. He and Jay had a great time playing together. He's such a happy, friendly little guy. It's always fun to meet new family.

Other than all of that we've been watching movies, shopping for Jay and eating, eating, eating. Grandma made an awesome dinner with homemade gnocchi and spaghetti sauce along with prime rib. It was amazing. Grandma is such a great cook. My mom helped a lot too and Amy and I watched carefully while they prepared the gnocchi. We really want to be able to carry on the family tradition. Well, that's all for now. I'm sure there's more to report, but this post is long enough. We've definitely had a great time in Cali