I know you guys think all I did in California was...

...to go to the beach. But that isn't true at all.
I actually worked while I was there. It was a labor of love. Laura's best friend Pamela and I redecorated the kid's living room (which they hadn't been using at all) and their dining room which they were using as a living room.
We painted, got a new rug for the living room, moved furniture in, accessorized and here is the finished results. Laura and Greg Loved it. They are going to work on the floor in the living room over the next few weeks and it will be wonderful. The rooms have a very nice feel to them and it has provided twice the living space for them.

I'm home

Hi All, I got home Wednesday afternoon. I had a wonderful trip and I look forward to going again real soon. Here are some pictures of the last day I was in California. they are all of the baby of course. Just she and I walked from Laura and Greg's home down to the beach. We stopped on Main Street at the chocolate store, the Truflehound. They have the BEST homemade chocolate peanul butter cups in the world. Elsa and I just couldn't resist. Oh yea and we had to get two haystacks too.
Enjoy the pictures of Elsa at the beach. I loved it!

Fun at the beach on Friday afternoon

Good Morning

everyone is up and playing this morning. We are getting ready to paint Laura & Greg's livingroom. Pam and Lexi spent the night last night and Pam is going to trim our the room and I am going to roll. Hopefully we'll have pictures of the finished product later this evening. In the meantime enjoy the pictures from our second trip to the beach late yesterday afternoon. After the beach we went to a Chinese resturant for dinner. It was a great day.

It's another beautiful day in Sunny CA.

Hi Gang,
We just got back from another great walk at the beach. It was a short one this morning because Laura's best friend, Pam and her little girl Lexi (3) are on there way down for a visit. They live in Santa Maria. Elsa has just finished her lunch and is going down for a nap. After the nap, and after the friends arrive, we plan to go back to the beach and play in the sand and at the play area. I hope to have more pictures later. Enjoy our Elsa. Love Vic
Oh the picture of the baby when she wants to give you kisses, she gets what her daddy calls her Jolie Lips and puckers up. It is too cute for words.

Hey gang. Sorry about all the typo's in the following two blogs. I must be tired.

I was concerned about having room for my clothes in my suitcases...

...on this trip because I had so many things I need to bring out to Elsa. On of the items (which I,m sure caused me to have my bag inspected) was a full set of stainless steel pot and pans and utensils (baby-sized) for Elsa from Nick and Aubrey. She loves them. I also brought a collection of children's praise and worship CD's from Nick and Aub and 2 sets of jamies and a cellphone (recordable) from Aunt Vic and Uncle Jeff. Anyway, here are some of the pictures from last night with Elsa and the pots and pans. Tomorrow Laura's friend Pam is coming to visit and she is bringing Elsa a full kitchen. Elsa will LOVE it!!! Enjoy. Love ya, Vic

I arrived in Los Angeles last night...

...and my flight was actually 35 minutes early. Laura was already there waiting. It was perfect. We had a nice drive back to Laura and Greg's. I traffic really wasn't too bad. Elsa was in her Daddy's arms when I arrived and smiling from ear to ear. Is is SOOO beautiful. What a delight she is. It didn't take long at all for her to warm up to me. I got to siit by her at dinner and I fed her. I got to feed her her breakfast this morning too. Now we are tight! We got ready late morning and went to the boardwalk at the beach and walked about 6 miles. We had lunch along a side street just up from the ocean. Great burgers and calamari. we lost Elsa on teh walk back to the car. She has been in her bed for about an hour and a half and she is still sleeping. the weather is absolutley gorgeous. It is sunny anbd warm, around 70 degrees. I walked with just a tank top and walking pants. Here are a couple of shots from our walk.

Noah and Ashley at our house after Noah's Birthday Dinner at Yen ching's

Noah and Ashley at our house for Noah's 26th birthday celebration.

Jeff and I joined Noah and Ashley for a delicious dinner at Yen Ching's Resturant here in Peoria. We had a wonderful time. Ashley is a beautiful woman inside and out. We all came back to the house where Grandma and Grandpa Eubank and Seth joined us for Ice Cream and Cake. So Heui and Olive have been down with the flu all day, so they stayed in their rooms away from the festivities. I saved them some cake for another day.

Noah & Ashley with Grandma and Grandpa Eubank for Noah's 26th

Grandma and Grandpa Eubank with Noah and Ashley for Noah's birthday

Noah checking out his birthday cake and stunned by my singing!

Another Beautiful Day

We have just been having some glorious weather her lately. I got to go out walking on Friday (6 miles) and Jeff & I went on Saturday (6 miles) and I went out again today (4 miles). The weather and the views were fabulous...but my body is saying a big "ouch"! I am ready for the days to get longer and the weather to stay nice. I can't take having 4 nice days and then going right back into winter.
I am fortunate in that I am leaving next week for 7 days in CA. I pray it is sunny and warm. Jeff and I bought our new little niece a Jogging stroller. I plan to walk the wheels off of it. I really hope Elsa likes to walk. They live only a couple of miles from the beach. You know from my profile that the beach is one of my favorite places to be, so Elsa and I will definitely be hanging out. This will be our first time to meet. I hope she likes me... otherwise it could be disastrous. Maybe my little sis and her husband can get out for an evening and leave us girls to "bonding".
Meanwhile back at the home front Jeff will have his hands full with getting the 3 teenagers to school everyday and the girls to their tutoring sessions 4 days a week. Meals will be the real challenge since none of the 4 of them can cook. Jeff can do Spaghetti and Manwich with Tator Tots. Hum it should be interesting.
I'm sure they will make it just fine. Thank goodness for cell phones! That's all for tonight. I hope you all have a great Valentines Day. Love Ya, Vic