Oden Adventures

The last week of March, we had our first house guest at the new house, our dear friend Mindy!  All the way from Germany...via Pennsylvania...we had the great pleasure of four days of her three-month furlow shared with us out here on the Left Coast.

I don't have nearly enough photos to portray the bliss, but here are just a few glimpses...

Mindy arrived late on Monday night, so the first full day, Tuesday, we had a ladies day at Newport Beach.  Mindy introduced Vianne & I to the world of geocaching (which Vianne called "finding treasures" :-) ).  Our very first one was a few hundred yards from where we parked...

 It was a perfect neither-too-hot-nor-too-cold day at the beach.  Vianne got right to business with her beach toys...

 ...while Mindy greeted the Pacific.

 Mindy showed Vianne how to make sand castles...

 ...while it warmed up enough for a wardrobe change.

 Mindy & V were fast friends!  Puddle and wave jumping...

 We walked down to the end of the pier and saw a couple of playful sea lions.

On Wednesday, Grandpa took Vianne for several hours so Mindy & I could get ready for our concert, planned for Friday night at our church (Valley Center Church of the Nazarene).  We walked into San Dimas for lunch in the charming downtown at the Sweet Savory Bakery & Cafe, which I'd been wanting to try - and it was delicious!  We found five geocaches on our walk to & from as well :-).

On Thursday & Friday we mostly prepared for the concert, but got in lots of catching up & laughs & good food, too.  And Vianne & Mindy built a lot of tents out of blankets, which remains a favorite pastime of Vianne's.  

Friday night, we had so much fun singing together - with friends & family in attendance - that I could've gone on for hours. 

 With our friend Cammie

 Mrs. Irish takes care of Vianne in the nursery on Sundays.  Vianne loves her (as you see) and calls her "My Irish".

 Vianne & Rachelle

 A little playtime in the nursery with David & Ansley

Such a great time!  We really rocked San Dimas:  on the way home, while picking up some dinner, we felt a 5.1 earthquake!  I guess Mindy couldn't leave without experiencing this joy of California living.

Mindy had to leave us on Saturday morning :-(.  We got in a few more snuggles...

 ...and a dental check-up before she had to go.

We still miss her!!!

Over the past several weeks, Vianne has become a huge fan of Doc McStuffins (a Disney show about a little girl who is a doctor to toys - awfully cute) so has been using her doll mirror & hairbrush to give (and receive) a lot of checkups (or "che-puts" as she calls them).

Patrick was gone to the Wesleyan Theological Conference for the first weekend of March so Vianne & I tried to fill the void with some fun...park trips, walks, and Starbucks (coffee for Mama, scone for Little V)...

 We had gorgeous weather!

 That's my girl, Harry Potter was her pick off the shelf :-).

During Patrick's spring break, we went for a morning stroll at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden.

 Vianne enjoyed dancing on this wooden stage.

 We have to remember to take pictures of us, too, on these outings!

 Our Princess of Quite-A-Lot...she went in the house to see Daddy, who helped her assemble this fine ensemble before coming back out again.

 Granma & Moishe were invited in to the playhouse.

 Sharing giggles with the boys!

 We celebrated Granma's birthday with a lovely lunch outing.  Vianne spent the first 10 minutes hugging her :-).

 Then, ice cream cake back at our place...

Why use the fork? :-)

 I snagged this cute series of her "reading" - definitely Daddy's girl!