The Jones Girls

I spoke to my Uncle Ned on Friday and he invited us to spend Saturday at his beach house in Manhattan Beach.      He was spending the weekend in Orange.

So Saturday after our morning visit with Uncle Ron, who brought some yummy donuts for all of the kiddos, at about 10:30am we headed out and I took all of the girls and our dog Teddy down to Manhattan Beach.  It is about a 45 minute drive.

This was the first time my girls have been to his house.  I was so scared of them going up and down the stairs and also concerned they might break something valuable.   They thought his house was so beautiful – especially Mindy.  She said it was her very first time being in a 3 story house, plus a house on the beach too!!

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The next morning, Friday, our friends, Corrie and her kiddos, and Silvia and her kiddos came over for a water slide play date.

It also happened to be Corrie’s girl, Madeline, 5th birthday that day.  So we celebrated and had lunch which were corn dogs with fishie crackers followed by cupcakes.  The kids got to decorate their own cupcakes – putting on their own frosting and sprinkles.    We put a candle on Madeline’s cake and all sang happy birthday to her.

Mindy made a really neat birthday banner for Madeline and we had it hung in the house for her.  It made Madeline so excited.    Then all 5 girls colored and made pretty birthday cards for Madeline and we gave her $5 for her birthday present.   Madeline was going to Disneyland that afternoon and we wanted Madeline to buy something special for herself at Disneyland.

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That same day, last Thursday, I took all of the girls and our dog Teddy out for a walk in the neighborhood.    I made Shepard’s Pie and it was baking in the oven while we took our walk.   We were gone for about an hour.

When we got back, I heard Daddy Cliff’s voice coming from the backyard.   He said “Hey girls, I have something for you to see”.   Everyone squealed with delight and ran to the backyard.

They all stopped screamed and jumped up and down!!   Cliff had surprised them and put up their water slide!!  Mindy had not ever seen a huge water slide before, let alone in some one’s backyard!!    They threw their bathing suits on and had some fun on the water slide while I got dinner ready.

Thank you so much for doing this for us Daddy Cliff!!

Last Thursday 7/16, I took the girls and Mindy to Coldstone Ice Cream.   It was all of the girls first time.   What makes Coldstone so special is you can choose from about 15 different flavors and then they have over 100 different toppings and you make your own creation.    So you tell them what kind of concoction to make and they mix it all together on a frozen slap right in front of you.

The girls had a blast picking out their own ice creams – especially Mindy.  She was so excited.

It has been so hot here, like 95 – 100 degrees so the ice cream outing was perfect.  Some friends of ours joined us – Corrie and her kiddos.

Molly was a sweet Golden Retriever that belonged to my sister, Rosanne and my mom.    She was their beloved dog and they truly enjoyed her company.  She was a good girl and never once had a “bathroom” mistake in the house, not once!!

Recently the past year or so Molly has been enduring lots of medical issues.    This past Saturday, July 11th, it was time for Molly to rest peacefully.    Mom, Rosanne and Jessica were by Molly’s side as she quietly drifted off to sleep forever.

Molly was 15 years old and was loved dearly.  Molly, sweetheart.  You will be missed so much!!

To Rosanne, Mom and Jessica – I am sending you lots of loving and tender hugs.    Molly will always be in your heart and memories.

Yesterday I took the girls to Carino’s Italian restaurant in Whittier.   I had coordinated with the manager for the La Habra Mom’s Club kids to make pizzas, get a tour of the kitchen, meet the chefs and watch their pizza cook in a traditional brick pizza oven.

We had a separate room set up for us.   When we walked in, the tables had every pizza topping imaginable.  We had about 10 moms and about 20 kids. 

The kids went to work on decorating their pizzas.   They had some really neat designs going on!!  Then they walked their pizzas over the 2 chefs and watch their pizzas be put on a wooden board and slid into the brick pizza oven.  They watched as their pizza cooked.   While the pizzas were cooking, the manager gave us a tour of the kitchen, prep area and the cook area.    It was amazing.  

The kids sat down and ate their pizzas and were given any beverage of their choice in cute souvenir cups.

The moms ordered lunch and we had a great time too.

What a great day it was!!

Mindy spent the night with us Sunday night and was a huge help with assisting us in cleaning the hosue and getting ready for our trip back to Los Angeles.

I did 3 loads of laundy Sunday night, packed all of the clothes in the boxes. 

Mindy was a huge help Monday morning, vacuuming the carpets and helping me get the girls ready.    We mailed out the boxes of clothes att he post office.    We headed out at noon towards Boston airport.

We arrived in Boston, dropped off our minivan rental and checked in at the airport.  They advised us the plane was running a half hour behind.  Well that was much better, tell us before we board on the plane, and let us wait in the airport not on the plane for the delay.   

The flight went well.  The airline stewardesses got together and purchased me a little bottle of wine.    Now how thoughtful was that?  They said that I deserved it watching me entetain all of our 4 girls and keeping them quiet on the plane.

Sid our neighbor drove our minivan and met us at the aiport.   Our plane was supposed to arrive at 10pm but arrived at 11:45pm instead.    Long haul for all of us.