California

Actually a few of these are still from Idaho, they were on our other camera and I forgot about them.
Family hiking trip. The boys actually did pretty well and didn't complain too much at all.

Roadtrippin!

We got to California late on Saturday night and Brandon had to fly back home Sunday afternoon. The boys and I really missed him but he couldn't take much time off from his new job and he had to start his classes. Even though it sucked to be away from him for so long, it worked out for the best. It was so nice for me to be in California after my injury because I really didn't have to lift a finger. I was able to keep my foot elevated and rest it and was pretty much waited on hand and foot thanks to my Mom and sisters!

Here's Part 2 of my broken foot story: I went to the orthopedist on Monday morning fully expecting to have surgery. But after looking at my foot and the x-rays, the doctor there told me I wouldn't need surgery and that my foot would heal on its own. I kept asking her if she was sure (because I'd seen how far the bone was sticking out immediately after the accident), she consulted two other doctors and they all agreed, no surgery. They just gave me one of those hideous walking boots to wear while it healed. I was obviously excited and relieved that I wouldn't be having surgery that day, so I just said thanks and left. They told me to make a follow-up appointment with my doctor a few weeks after I got back to DC. So I headed home with my Mom and spent the next 2 weeks "recovering." Every morning when I'd take the boot off to shower, though, I felt uneasy. It was much less swollen in the mornings and I could see that the bone was still majorly jutting out of the side of my foot (between that and the fact that half of my foot was covered in huge black bruises, it was a pretty disgusting sight). I kept thinking, "there's no way that's going to heal properly," but I decided to trust what the doctors had told me. Anyways, enough about my foot for now. Here's a ton of pictures from California:

My Mom took the boys to a place called Pretend City. It's exactly what it sounds like, a pretend city just for kids. Here are the boys playing at the grocery store.

Just like Mommy :-)

Me and Vi

All the cousins cooking with Nana

On the way to the pool

This is how I spent pretty much every day in California. Relaxing in the pool, keeping my feet up and playing with the kids :-) It certainly didn't suck!

All worn out from swimming

At the park with Grandpa David

Beach time!

I love this picture of Cullen with his Uncle Jon!

Sliding with Brian at the park

She's so cute, she just kills me!

Disneyland! Jack and Cullen are patiently waiting for their turn on the carousel. We got to go through the handicap lines on most of the rides, which are much, much shorter than the regular lines. It was awesome! There aren't many perks to having a broken foot, but this was a big one!

We watched Cars earlier this summer and the boys loved it! They were very excited to find Lightning McQueen and Mater at Disneyland.

My Grandma Sue with all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren (minus baby Max who couldn't stay awake quite long enough)

The whole family on my Mom's side (again, minus baby Max)

Playing cards with my sisters

More pool time, I think we went nearly every single day!

Jack doing some poolside "baking"

Auntie Rachel with her boys, we wish she could have stayed longer!

Disneyland again, we waited in line for 20 minutes for the boys to meet Winnie the Pooh and they kept yelling "Hi" from the line. They seemed super excited to meet them... until it was actually our turn of course. Then Jack and Cullen freaked out and refused to get near any of them. We held up the line for a few minutes trying to get them to agree to take a picture. No luck. As we were walking away, though, Cullen gave Eeyore a high five.

Jack and Cullen with their Great-grandpa Dennis and Great-grandma Ann who came all the way from New Hampshire to visit all of us.

Jack went around the entire outside of the pool several times just holding onto the edge and scooting along.

Cousins at the pool, there's baby Max!

Violet can't get enough of the water, she would swim all day if she could!

So brave!

Cullen loved shooting people with his water gun

The boys and I flew home early Sunday morning. We actually had a red-eye which turned out to be very fortunate after I broke my foot. The airport allowed Renee and Jon to help me through security and wait at the gate with me and the boys. Then one of the flight attendants carried my bags and held the boys' hands while we boarded. I set up the DVD player as soon as we got our seats and the boys were asleep within 30 minutes. They slept the entire flight, never needed a diaper change (good thing, because I'm not sure I could have given them one anyways) and didn't wake up until we landed in DC. Then the flight attendants carried them off, put them in their stroller and walked us out to the gate where Brandon was waiting with a wheelchair for me. I was majorly nervous about making a cross-country flight with my toddlers while on crutches but God was kind to us and worked everything out perfectly. We loved every minute we spent with our families, but it is really nice to be home with Brandon again. We all missed him a lot!