Fun in the California Sun!

We went to Folsom, California for three nights! We left on Friday morning (Nov. 5) and got back late Monday night (Nov. 8). We have been wanting to make this trip for several months and we were inspired by hearing how our friends all went to Yosemite for a two-night camping trip with their babies. We figured if they can take their little ones camping (one friend did it solo because her husband got sick) then we can get on a plane and fly to California to finally introduce Colin to our friends and to meet their babies. Turns out our fears were unfounded. He did great!

We woke him up at 5:15 AM Friday to catch a 7:45 AM flight. We flew Southwest and had just a 45 minute layover at Midway in Chicago. We were a little worried about making such a short connection with a car seat, baby, and stroller in tow but we made it no problems. No delays. The first flight was only an hour and Colin's eyes were just starting to close as the plane touched down in Chicago. We had just enough time to get to our next gate and go to the bathroom before they started boarding the A group. Southwest no longer boards families first. Rather families get to board after the A group and before the B group. Bummer! But we had no issues finding 3 seats together. Colin only slept for 30 minutes on the 4 hour flight from Chicago to Sacramento. We were definitely hoping for more sleep. But he stayed pretty happy eating snacks and playing with toys and books. He fussed a little bit but nothing major at all. Daddy changed his poopy diaper on the tiny changing table in the lavatory. Thanks Dad! When we got to Sacramento we got our rental car and headed to Dos Coyotes for a little Mexican lunch. After that it was time to go to Intel to see our old coworkers and cubicles.

Colin enjoys flying (still in his jammies)!

Not a lot has changed at Intel. It was grayer than I remembered and both of us thought the cubicle walls seemed really high. Colin was in a great mood - smiling at everyone, giving high-fives, letting strangers pick him up, and playing with dry erase markers. We saw quite a few of our old coworkers even though many that we would have liked to have seen were working from home (it was a Friday afternoon after all).

In front of our old building

We stayed with our good friends Chris and Stephanie and their one-year-old Charlotte. She is less than 3 months older than Colin. We tried to get Colin to take a nap after Intel when we got to Chris and Stephanie's house. But he wasn't having any of it. So we decided to give up and just let him have fun with Charlotte. For more on their relationship, check out Stephanie's blog. After some playing and a delicious dinner that they made for us, it was time for a bath and bed. We were worried about Colin's sleeping since there is a 3 hour time difference and since he had been up from 5:15 AM Ohio time to about 11 PM Ohio time with only a 30 minute snooze all day . He went down without a peep. He woke up at 3:30 AM (which would be 6:30 AM at home) and we thought, "Uh Oh, here we go!" But he wasn't ready to get up for the day. In fact I think it was just the opposite. He was so tired and couldn't really get comfortable. I brought him into our bed and Keith moved onto the couch. It took him until about 4:30 AM to finally fall asleep again but after that he slept until almost 8! Yea!

The twins, Colin and Charlotte

Having fun in the tub

We had a great day on Saturday. It was beautiful, sunny CA weather. We went to the park in the morning. We decided to put Colin on Charlotte's one-nap-a-day schedule while we were there, just to make things easier. He seemed to do OK with this, at least for a couple of days. After his nap, we did a drive-by our old house. It still looks the same! In the afternoon it was time to get ready for the BBQ. Chris and Stephanie hosted all of our old friends over in the evening for a little food and fun. There were seven babies there in all. Well six babies under 1.5 and one 3 year old. It was so great to see everyone and to meet their little ones and introduce them to Colin. We had a wonderful time!

Six of the seven kids at the party (getting them to all sit there was a challenge!)

All of our friends at the BBQ (minus Amelie who was sleeping)

Saturday night Colin slept straight through the night with no issues. He got up at 6:30 AM which would have been 7:30 if it wasn't time-change weekend. Sunday morning we all went over to see our friends Kris and Amber and their two little ones Owen and Tucker. We had a great time in their gorgeous house. The highlight for the kids was definitely sliding down the cardboard slide in the playroom. It was so nice to get to spend some quality time with them!

Tucker's turn down the slide!

Sunday afternoon we went to the Hacienda restaurant in Folsom to meet up with some old Intel coworkers. Not as many people could make it as we had hoped but we were so glad to see the friends who did make it. Colin enjoyed meeting some new people too!

Randy and Colin

Sunday was another night of good, normal sleep for Colin. Monday was our day to fly home but before we left we had time for a quick visit to see our friends Ryan and Kirsten and their babies Ashlyn (almost 2) and Grady (4 weeks). I can't believe how many babies have been born in the three years since we left Folsom!

The flight home was pretty good. We were on United on the way back. United has no family boarding whatsoever. And just to add insult to injury, there was no changing table in any of the bathrooms on the plane. Colin had pooped right before boarding so I had to change his diaper before take-off on the toilet seat in that tiny bathroom. My back was killing me when I was done! He had his own seat (both on the way out there and on the way home). He sat in his car seat in his seat. His little legs were just at the right height and distance from the seat in front of him to make it a really appealing target. He was kicking the seat in front of him a lot. On the way to CA it wasn't an issue because a 12 year old girl was sitting in front of him and she didn't seem to notice or care. But on the way to OH it was an elderly woman sitting in front of him and she did mind. A lot. So we ended up taking him out of his car seat and holding him. He was tired and cranky and wanted to fall asleep but couldn't get comfy while we held him. So he cried hard and loud for about 5 minutes before passing out asleep in my arms. Luckily everyone was watching a movie with their headphones on so I don't think anyone really noticed. Not that I really cared! He slept for an hour and then was much better. We had another layover in Chicago (O'Hare this time) and had plenty of time to eat dinner and run around the airport. We found some empty gates and let Colin run to his heart's content. He slept on the flight from Columbus to Chicago and there was no one sitting in front of him.

We didn't get home until almost 1 AM on Monday night. Luckily we took Tuesday off. Colin was up at 8 AM on Tuesday but napped a whole lot during the day. Krystal came in to work so Keith and I had a chance to unpack, do laundry, rake leaves, and run errands before starting our work week.

All in all it was a fabulous trip with only a few very minor hiccups. If we knew it would be so easy, we would have done it a long time ago! We are so glad we made the trip and got to see all of our good friends. You are all welcome to visit us in Ohio any time you might be in this area! We can't wait to see you all again...hopefully sooner next time!