Sunny California

I know I've been really self-focused this week.

I've probably lost 10 of my 20 readers.

Aw, who am I kidding?

I know you are all still reading.

The only people who read this here blog

in the first place

are the people who love reading about me and my family.

Well, don't say that I haven't given you your fill this week.

And please say a prayer for me that something funny

will happen very soon

so I can quit posting so many family photos.

I'm having a great giveaway tomorrow so stay tuned.

Sorry though, for now, all I've got are more photos from our trip in July to Cali.

When LG and I came up on this we scarfed down both a peach and a plum each,
only to be told by guy in the booth
that he didn't need our pits
because any fruit sold in our Utah County was fine to pass the border.

I have fond memories from Calico ghost town as a kid.

If you've never been, I highly recommend it

the next time your are driving through San Bernadino.

Back in the day, my dad built this bridge.

Can you even imagine?

He doesn't even like heights.

The things a man will do to provide for his family.

I love this bridge along I-15.

It's how all the members of our family know we are getting close to our former home.

The Bird of Paradise can only mean one thing.

I am home!

It's the official flower of Carlsbad, CA.

And being in California means there is plenty of Grease Pockets.

This one is for you Barrick family.

Whenever I visit Carlsbad,

I cannot miss a trip to the old Thrifty's.

It's now Rite-Aid,

but they still have the same great ice-cream

that we always got on our way home from the beach.

They aren't as cheap as they were once.

I can remember when a scoop was 20 cents.

Talk about inflation.

Still worth every penny though.

Here's the magical scooper 

that makes it taste better than any other ice-cream in the world.

Here is LG enjoying his single scoop.

He always says he doesn't understand the hype,

but everyone knows that Tennessean's aren't experts on ice-cream,

unless it's fried.

I resisted the three-scooper.

With six siblings, any time we went over single cones,

we always multiplied the chance of a scoop

dropping in the parking lot by about 100%. 

It was pretty funny when I almost lost 

my second scoop in the store

right after this photo.

I guess one is never too old for a little nostalgia.

And I am glad that I had been trained

by all those other losses.

I wouldn't have been so smiley

if I had actually lost any

of  my beloved chocolate malted crunch.

This is what we called ice-plant.

I am including this photo

for all my brothers and sisters

who don't read my blog.

Wow the memories of this stuff could go on forever.

It covered the hill behind our house

and was great to use as a hopscotch marker

or a soft landing after jumping off the roof

onto the trampoline 

and over the back fence.

Aw. Heaven.

We loved our time alone

even if we did miss our kiddos.