Adventures with Grandma and Papa

We were so blessed to have Jason's parents here in the US for the last six months. They were on furlough since they are missionaries in Portugal, staying in Dinuba. We have had so many great times with them over the past months. We spent Christmas and New Years with them and went to a beach house at the coast with the whole family. They came down for different visits and were here for 3 weeks when little Ally was born. They had a zoo pass and we went to the zoo as often as we could and just enjoyed being together. They truly spoiled us while they were here; taking us out to meals, paying for groceries, gas, making us yummy meals (everyday after I had Ally), encouraging us, watching the kiddos for us, and being the best grandparents that any kid can ask for. God is so good for allowing me to marry into such a warm, loving, sweet family. I do feel like they are my parents and I am so thankful that we get along so well.

Here are some pics from when they were with us and we took them to the Hash House with one of their co-workers from Portugal. Everyone was amazed by the size and taste of the food. It was so fun!

smiles! 

some Papa love 

entertaining a hungry 2 year old while we wait :) 

They were with us for the last weekend before they left back to Portugal. We squeezed in as much of them that we could and had some fun adventures. :) The first day we had a big breakfast, and heard about their fun time that they had in Hawaii. Mom brought back some fun gifts for us, and cute outfits for the kiddos. I had been wanting to go try on some clothes, so mom watched Ally for me while Ryan slept. She had a little Hawaiian photo shoot, and got some great pics. Here are some of Ally in her little outfit:

so smiley! 

Hawaiian Princess

This one kills me! <3

After naps, we went to downtown San Diego. We picked up some delicious Lolita's and had a picnic in the Padre's stadium. It's great, since there is a tot lot there where Ryan loves to run around. 

the excitement of spinny things! :) 

cute shirt from Hawaii!

slide!

in front of the stadium :) 

Then, we decided to take the trolley to Little Italy to go have some gelato. Ryan LOVES trains right now....Grandma got him into Thomas the Train while she was here. :) It was so fun to see his expression as we rode the train...he kept asking for more choo choo. This was something we have been wanting to do with him for a while, it was fun to share the experience with mom and dad. :)

He was SO excited to see the train! (Gotta love a man who carries a diaper bag!)

taking it in...his eyes were so big when the train started!

little Ally is as content as could be traveling around in the Ergo 

having gelato...it was so good!

Ryan especially liked the strawberry..he lit up every time he took a bite. 

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Papa telling Ryan all about trains. :) 

The next day was the zoo in the morning. We LOVE the zoo. This time we saw the big cats, polar bears and the elephants. The San Diego zoo is so big, its hard to see everything in one day, so we usually just pick a section to see. :) This time they had 2 month old leopards...they were super cute. Here are some photos from the day: 

Ryan being cool with his sunglasses :) 

 being a polar bear! :)

he was stoked to sit in the helicopter and play with all the buttons. 

future pilot?!?

cutest little leopards!

taking a break :) 

sweet Grandma and cute grand daughter

We took the gondola ride to save some time...so much fun! Ryan loves it! 

That evening we also went to the concert in the Park at Coronado, but I didn't get any pictures from that. :( The next day we were able to spend the day helping them get ready with their 7 suitcases to travel across the world. It truly was a gift to have them here for those 6 months. I am so glad that we were able to spend as much time with them and that they did make us a priority while they were here. We are going to miss being able to see them in person for a few months, but are thankful for skype. :) Ryan definitely loves his grandparents so much already and I know that Ally will too. Our kids are so blessed to have them and I am excited to see the role that they will have in their lives as they grow. We look forward to October when we will see them again for Omi's 100th birthday party. Thank you both for being such an example in our lives and our children's. We love you so much and are so glad that we have some great memories with you!