California!

The boys and I are in California visiting my parents.  But I better write some things now instead of waiting till I get home, or else I will forget.
We drove this year instead of flying since Southwest failed me and didn't offer any good summer deals to LAX.  But it was kind of fun driving, so it's OK.  I meant to leave Wednesday morning.  But Tuesday I didn't finish getting laundry done until way too late, and I figured getting a few hours of sleep before driving 1400 miles across the country was a good idea, so we didn't even start packing until Wednesday morning, and didn't get on the road until about 1:30 PM.  But, it was a very nice drive across Texas.  Really!  The rain we had this past month resulted in very pretty scenery, even in the desert.  And we drove through some pretty spectacular rainstorms which helped keep me awake.  :-)
In Ft. Stockton we stopped at the most incompetent Taco Bell ever.  First of all, they were sloooow.  I've NEVER waited so long in a drive-through.  Then, when we got our order, we realized they gave us 2 soft tacos instead of the 3 we ordered.  So I sent Joseph in to get the third, and after another long wait he came out with it.  Then, as we got on the road again, Mosey said, "Where's my food?"  And I realized they completely missed his order as well.  So back we drove, and I sent the boys in again (with the receipt) to get our last item.  They came back a few minutes later an said that the guy wouldn't give it to them.  He said, "Sorry, you should have asked for it the first time you came in.  We can't give it to you now."  So, I was very mad.  I sent the boys in because it was raining like crazy, and there were no rugs inside the store and the tile was very slippery.  But I got myself out of the car, made it into the restaurant without breaking my neck, and gave the manager a piece of my mind.  It was kind of fun.  I'm not sure my kids have ever seen me tell someone off before (in a polite, but firm way, of course).  And we did get our item, and the manager came to open the door for us to make sure I didn't break my neck (I made sure to tell him I hadn't come in myself because the floor inside the restaurant was hazardous).  All-in-all we ended up wasting almost an hour there. Grrr.
Anyway, we made it to El Paso by 11:00 PM, which wasn't too bad.
The next day we drove all the way to Los Angeles-- about 12 or 13 hours.  It was a good drive, no issues.  The boys were good.  We listened to one whole audio book and started another one.  I blasted U2 when I got tired.  My boys call it "Rock star music."  :-)
We got into La Canada at around 10:00 PM, and I got to see my new baby nephew Jacob!  He was all of 10 days old and soooooo cute.  Oh man, I love little babies.  And big babies (this kiddo was 10 pounds when he was born!)  And I also saw 3 of my sisters, 3 nieces, and my mom and dad, but they weren't quite as cute as the 10-day-old.  :-)
The last couple of days have been good.  The boys have gone swimming and reacquainted themselves with all their favorite places in Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I've gotten to talk with my sisters and hold babies.  Last night my other sister and her four kids flew in, and my brother and his wife and their four kids drove in, so now there is a really full house.
Today it was so fun to see all the cousins interact.  My brother and his family have been in Boston for the past 6 years, and I haven't seen my sister-in-law or any of their kids in four years, so it was a good reunion.  I have the best family.  We went to church in the old La Canada building and we took up 2 1/2 rows!
This evening my mom officially kicked off cousins camp.  She has so much energy, and the kids are all going to have a blast.  Tomorrow my sisters and I and the little kids are going to stay in another house for a "sisters reunion," and let my mom do her thing with the big kids.  It's gonna be a great week.