From the previous posts, you can see that the family has been MIA.  Well, not really. They went on vacation to the US to visit family.  It has been one busy summer!

After leaving Hong Kong at the end of June (yes, just in time to miss the move!), the girls made a quick home town stop in California where they caught up with Mimi, Papa, the Aunts and all the Cousins.  They enjoy finding all the new/old toys in the house.

Sit & Spin for TWO

Elle & Happy Birthday Baby

They also celebrated 4th of July in Los Gatos. There was face painting, a bounce slide, food and the best balloon artist ever!

After enjoying the band at the highschool, the girls flew out to Nebraska to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa always gets down the battery cars. He has a pink car and a yellow dump truck. Grandpa found both of them at garage sales for about $25. This pink car is an older car, therefore, it doesn’t have the same “safety” standards…it goes really fast. Grandpa gave it to Emmy when she was 2. The first thing she did was drive into the garage which explains the damaged “headlight”. The girls had fun this summer driving the car to the Dollar Store with Grandma – only in Nebraska!

The family went of a road trip to South Dakota!  It was off to Bear Country USA. 

Andy’s knows the family that owns Bear Country, therefore, we were given special privileges to feed the baby bears.

We finished the day off with a colorful ice cream cone.

The next day, we took the girls to Flintstone Village (yes, those Flintstones). It is one of those places I remember as a kid being really cool. Well, as an adult, it is really cheesy! But, the girls loved it just like Terri and I did when we were kids.

Elle found a few things to buy in the gift shop!!

Story Book Park rounded out the excitement. The girls had fun with all the characters at the park

The water park is always a favorite of Emmy’s. We climbed that hill all afternoon for a full day of fun. Eleri hung out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Upon returning to Nebraska for some much needed rest.  But Grandpa wouldn’t hear of it.  He immediately put the kids to work mowing the South 40 to earn their keep. 

And, washing the truck is always a favorite of the girls.

Finally, some rest time!

Grandpa bought a new light for the dinning area. Emmy told Grandpa, “don’t throw away the box, we can make something”. Grandpa was a little unsure. Well, one afternoon, Emmy and Grandpa disappeared in Grandpa’s garage to make a red fire engine. Who knew Grandpa could be so creative with a little help from his granddaughter!

Nebraska Cowgirls at heart.

The girls returned to California just in time to experience the sweltering heat wave that rolled through.  Temperatures reached 110F and we have no air conditioning.  The only way to keep cool was to play in the town plaza fountain.

On Sunday mornings, the girls went to the Farmers Market to pick up the fresh California summer fruits – and haul it home!

Elle had fun riding THE tricycle. This tricycle was new for Kathy, Jim sister. Now, all the grandchildren have taken their turn on this tricycle.

Jim returned to California just in time for a family vacation to Lake Tahoe. We all enjoyed biking, the beach and the beautiful scenery and weather.

Emmy also proved that she was a super swimmer – she endured cold Tahoe water to swim out to the “rafts” stationed off the beach, where she proceeded to dive and “cannon ball” into the lake repeatedly.

We enjoyed riding our bikes to River Ranch and back from Tahoe City – Emmy made it the entire way! 

Terri and Andy took the girls on one last adventure to Monterey before we ended the summer fun with family.