Rainy Day in Ventura County

I suppose the title of this blog post just about covers it, but we spent the day up in Ventura County yesterday! You may recall that I am a member of an online mommy group. I have made some really great friends through this group, and those of us in So Cal get together every now and then (especially the handful of us who live fairly close to one another). Yesterday, though, my friend Adrienne hosted a HUGE get-together for all of the ladies in Southern California and their kiddos. A handful of people couldn't make it, but it was still a fantastic turnout! I really do enjoy these ladies and all their adorable kiddos. I'm looking forward to our next (mommies-only) gathering, which is still in the works... Here are a few pics from the madness! (note that I am not in the group shot, and neither are the kids... Nikos was in shy mode, and Maya was in cling-to-mommy-because-she's-tired mode-- and I was behind the camera).



Once it became clear that Maya was in desperate need of a nap, we left Adrienne's house and drove the whopping eight minutes to my brother's house. Grant was on parenting duty all day, since Melissa had to work, so I am pretty sure he was relieved to have us there. Especially since Colton was absolutely intrigued by his crazy cousins! Oh, and wouldn't you know it-- as soon as we got there, Maya caught a second wind and absolutely refused to take a nap! She was too interested in her baby cousin. Here are a few pics I snapped from our visit.




After dinner, I got the kids into their PJs, loaded them up in the car, and made the three-hour drive back home through the TERRIBLE weather. It rained so hard that I couldn't see a thing, even with my wipers on at full speed. The freeway slowed to a crawl I don't know how many times. It was so stressful! There were a few points where the rain let up completely, but it absolutely poured most of the way. Ugh! We made it home safely, thank goodness, but I was literally sore from craning my neck to see and just feeling really stressed about the whole thing. Long distance driving + pouring rain + nighttime = not a good thing.

On that note, though, the skies are pretty clear and blue today, and my parents are coming over for a visit in a few hours. I plan to enjoy the last day of my vacation, because it's back to work tomorrow!