Santa Barbara

My mom turned 60 this year, so my sisters (Jenna and Ally) and I took her to Santa Barbara for a few days. We have never done anything like this before, and it was so much fun. We rented a two bedroom house.

Jenna, mom, and Ally outside the rental house.
The back deck.
View from the deck.
View of downstairs from the back door. Yes, I did play the piano. (Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber)
The living room fireplace.
The kitchen. Not the last photo of Ally on the phone.
The hide-a-bed where I slept.



They murphy bed where my sisters slept.
The master bedroom where my mom stayed.

Here are some highlights of our 3 days.Took a bus tour of the city. Here is our guide, Peter.
The Santa Barbara Mission
Took crazy pictures
Found the largest and most pinkalicious jewelry store I've ever seen
Rode along the beach in a quad bike. My legs don't look like theirs.
Watched Ally deal with work; a lot
Saw the very first Motel 6
Stood in a long line to eat fantastic mexican food
Ate a ton of delicious seafood
Got manicures and pedicures. There you see Ally, Jenna and Jabba the Hutt
Laughed a little too hard at my mom slaying the ice maker. She's gotta have her ice.
Loved our drive up and down Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) It doesn't get much better than that in July.

I don't have a picture, but we also did a 90 minute Bikram Yoga class. That's where you do yoga (which I had never done before) in a room that is heated to 105 degrees. I could have stayed home and done it on my porch. My sister Jenna said it made her feel great and cleansed. I almost cleansed myself all over her shoes.

We have got to do this again. We had a wonderful time. I love you guys!

Summer vacation day 3

Today we headed to Griffith Park Observatory. I used to go here as a teenager and see the laser show. (Great date!) It was closed several years ago for a huge remodel, and then reopened, but you had to have an appointment. Finally, it is back to normal and you can go any time. The kids absolutely loved it.

It has a great view of the Hollywood sign. And downtown Los Angeles. Love that smog.
The giant telescope is housed in the dome.
I love these kids.
They each have their own personality.




Pretty cool periodic table.
Our view walking back to the car.

Summer vacation day 2

Today we headed to Universal Studios. We had an annual pass again this year. It is so close to my parents and you don't have to spend the whole day there.


My favorite thing to do is to take the tram ride. It never gets old. They are always filming something new. Here's Anna and Megan with our guide.


The kids love playing in the ball room. Even the teenagers.
The little girls brought their swimsuits to cool off during the hot afternoon.

Nathan and I cooled off on the Jurassic Park water ride.
Anna got to help with the special effects show. She was controlling the monster.
Of course the day always ends at the souvenir shop.
This is Nathan's favorite place to eat at the Universal City Walk.
It looks delicious.
The next two pictures can speak for themselves.

Summer vacation day 1

We were able to go to California for a few days. Orson had to stay behind to pay for the trip. We missed him. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Webber (my parents).
Here is what you will find my dad doing every Wednesday and Saturday.

We played a little of this
and this
But we mainly did this

Happy day

I would imagine that having your child go through the temple is one of the happiest days of a parents life. Well, my sister in law, Trudy, was blessed to have two of her children take out their endowments. Deanna has been working on this goal for quite a while, and we are so proud of her. Jonathan is preparing to leave on his mission and start a very exciting phase of life. Afterwards, we gathered at Cafe Rio for dinner. Her are some family pics.

Deanna, Jonathan and Trudy

Five of the seven kids (Sorry I missed Denise and Brandon)
Wyndon, Jonathan, Sharla, Trudy, Brien and Deanna.

Sharla, Jonathan, Denise, and Brett(Deanna's son)

My other fantastic sister in law, Vyla, is always taking pictures.

These four grew up together and have remained great friends, even though they are related.
Orson, nephew Brien, nephew Wyndon, cousin Tim