Thanksgiving Roadtrip

You know the Ziegler Family...If we have any time off, we hit the road! We did just that for the Thanksgiving holiday. Mike had a week off of work, giving us 9 glorious days of travel! As always, we are so appreciative of all of our friends and family along the way who we got to visit and catch up with. As we made our way through the trip, we started to realize that many of our friends have kids our age, which adds to the fun. It was great seeing everyone and letting the kids get to know each other.
Our first stop was with Susana and Troy in Newman. Susana and I met our very first year of college at CSU Stanislaus and have been friends ever since. She now has two children, Javi (3 1/2) and Haley (10 months) who get along wonderfully with our boys. It was very nice to visit with them all! Also, Susana is one of the best cooks I know, so her home cooked breakfast is always a bonus when we stay!
The next morning, we hit the road and headed down to Los Osos to stay with Jeff and Daisy. Jeff and Mike met in junior high and have been friends ever since. We have had some great times with Jeff and Daisy eating, skiing, partying, hiking, and eating some more! Jeff can always eat, which is a good thing since there are so many great burrito shops we have to hit up while we are visiting. Burritos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! The first night we stayed, Paul and Alison came over with their little boy, Parker (2) for a quick meet-up. Paul is also one of Mike's friends from junior high. It was great to see them and hear about Paul's new job and all their adventures with Parker. Andrew and Parker get along great... we are hoping they have a second soon so that Caleb has a playmate! We were a little worried about Jeff not having any toys for the boys, but it turned out that he had more than enough to keep them occupied...radio controlled helicopters, Nerf guns, and a whole basket of ping pong balls! Andrew was in heaven, until he got hit in the eye with the Nerf gun. The next day, Jeff's family came over to visit, which is always a treat. Also, the Bronco game was on, so Cyndy came over to watch the game with us. We even did a little walk to get out of the house, as it had been raining all morning. The next morning, we met up with Rhiannon, another friend Mike has known since junior high, in Morro Bay and did a little kayaking. It was the first time we had taken both boys out on the ocean and they loved it! Caleb was in front of me, standing at the very front of the kayak squealing. Andrew sat in front of Mike, quietly taking everything in. We saw lots of sea lions and birds. After our kayaking adventure, we hit up the Morro Bay Aquarium to feed the seals. Andrew is an expert at throwing the anchovy parts to the seals and cracks up every time they catch them! Rhiannon was very happy to hang out and update us on her new career at a winery. Good times! That evening, we met up with Diana, Mike's second mom, and had a very nice visit with her. She was happy to see the boys and join us for dinner (you guessed it...burritos) The next morning, we were able to meet up with another good friend of Mike's, Petar, and his family at the park. We played and chatted for a little while then headed out of town. Here are a few pictures of the visit.

Paul and Andrew

Checking out the helicopter

Parker and Andrew

Jeff teaching Andrew how to fly the helicopter

Eating!

Cyndy and Mike watching the Broncos win

Visiting with Petar and his family.

Family picture in Morro Bay

Rhiannon and Andrew

Throwing food to the seals.

Our next stop was Arroyo Grande, where we met Melinda and her kiddos for lunch at the park. Zachary (3 1/2) was glad to run around the park, but Andrew fell asleep in the car and slept the whole time we ate! We went to Melinda and Bubba's new house to check that out and Zack and Andrew became friends, running around the backyard and jumping on the trampoline. We were very happy to meet their newest family member, Zoe (3 months), who is just precious! Our visit was too short!

Playing hide and seek!

After that, we headed over to Mark and Laura's beautiful new house to spend the night. Laura was also my roommate at Stanislaus and we were RA's together there in the dorms. Mark just got a job in San Luis, so they decided to move to Arroyo Grande. They have two kids, Jesse (2) and Elleanne (7 months). Our kids did great playing together and we were thrilled to have some time to catch up with them. After all the kids were asleep, we were able to have tea (just like old times) and visit with each other. A couple funny things happened while we were staying there. First, Andrew and Jesse were sitting next to each other eating during dinner. They were totally having their own conversation, talking to each other in a language we couldn't understand! We were cracking up! Then, while they were playing, Andrew was throwing the ball at Jesse and hitting him. Jesse thought it was hilarious to be hit and Andrew thought it was hilarious to hit him so it worked out pretty well!

Riding toys

Mike and Jesse playing with the dogs

The mamas and kiddos

Breakfast

Ball throwing

The next morning, we headed down to Santa Barbara and Ventura. We stopped by Birnamwood to see Billy at work. We needed a little break and it is always great to see Billy in action. All the members just adore him! Andrew and Caleb enjoyed stretching on the putting green.

Golf balls

Learning the game

No, no, no, that's MINE!

Chipping

That evening, we met Ricky, Anne, and Billy for dinner in Ventura. Ricky and Anne had just come in from a Channel Islands camping trip. We heard all about their adventures! We also got to watch the sunset and walk along the beach while we waited for their boat to come in.

Sunset

The campers

Awaiting the boat

The next day was Thanksgiving and we were ecstatic to spend it with my mom at her place. She invited us over for dinner and we were able to meet her boyfriend. We enjoyed sitting around the campfire, chatting, and picking oranges. It was really great to see where she lives and get a glimpse of her life. We feel very good about meeting up with her! She has a good friend with a little grandson, that passes many things onto Andrew. This time, he gave Andrew a little ride on tractor. Andrew learned to ride it in no time at all! Before we left, we even got to visit my mom's photography studio and the beach.

Our last stop was Santa Barbara to see Billy, Jen, Dan, and the Williams Family. They are so gracious and invited us all over for dinner and breakfast. It was a treat to see them and check out their Santa Barbara home. We were also able to walk the Santa Barbara pier in the beautiful sunshine! It was great to stay with Billy and get the latest updates from him, as he has a new woman in his life, who we will look forward to meeting at Christmas. We were so happy when he called in late to work so that he could visit with us longer!

Checking out crabs

Shrimp on the pier

Billy and his nephew

At the campfire...the fog's rolling in

Unfortunaly, we had to head back up the state as our time was running out. We stayed with Susana and Troy on the way back and even got to visit with her siblings, who we have gotten to know pretty well. Andrew kept saying, "Play with Javi and Haley."
AsS's much as we love vacation, we were happy to be home the next afternoon and sleep in our beds that night! As you can see, we were able to visit lots of friends and family during our time on the Central Coast. We wish we could see everyone just a little bit longer, and hope to see all of you at our house for a visit soon!