california: week one

we have been thoroughly enjoying our time here so far. i cant even believe that its only been a week. maybe its all the 3 or 4am wake up times that make our day last twice as long? at any rate, we do feel like we are taking full advantage of it all! here are some pictures of the best times! (or just the times that i had the head on me to take them). 

we never cease to be amazed/shocked/excited about the sizes of the retail stores here. in fact, i dont think there is such a place that is under 50,000 square feet? haha

all you can eat sushi, and my first trenta! 

birthday breakfast. (looking at this now turns my stomach!)

willow enjoying some freshly juiced carrots.

we have also (obviously) been enjoying the many types of glorious american cuisine, all of which i have not taken pictures of, which is kind of a good thing, because you would think we are gross for eating that much in that small amount of time.

willow has been loving all this time that she has been spending with her dad. they are becoming the best of friends and she even (gasp!) reaches for him when she is in my arms. 

willow has been in baby heaven. loving her cousins expansive toy land!

willow has also been loving sally's pool and her rocking new sunglasses. this californian sun is a bit much for her little irish eyes. cant handle the shine!

having her nightly bath in the kitchen sink, because the one and only bathroom was occupied.  she loved it! she also loved her aunt's kisses.

 

in fact, she has been very kissable/kissy.

on my birthday, i woke up to a lovely birthday bouquet, along with a cup of coffee, a perfectly handmade card, and a bottle of champagne to celebrate with that night. thanks love. (in other news, the next day, he bought me probably the best gift a girl who lives in the kitchen could ask for. can you guess what it is?)

thats my grandma (my dads mom) on the right. does she look familiar? those cheeks! those rolly arms! those round eyes!

and finally, after all that you probably want to pass out like this, the way willow has almost every night.

flight 601

we made it to california. and it was quite the journey! probably the longest and most tiring 11 hours of our lives (mayyyybe. there have been some other intense non-airplane-related 11 hours in our lives, but all with much more leg room).
our flight was over booked and they had switched planes at the last minute, and the seats they gave us weren't the ones we asked for, so the super star flight attendants did their best to accommodate us+baby. unfortunately, the best was kinda sucky.
but its actually all quite humorous as im thinking about it now.

clay (remember, a 6'4", 225lb grown man), sitting in a middle seat across the aisle from me, next to an old man who slept 90% of the time, thus leaving clay to do a pretty impressive pole vaulting manoeuvre just to get out to use the toilet or to help me with willow, after being made aware of my distress by my flailing arms or throwing of a crumpled something.
me, sitting in another middle seat with a baby cot in front of it, next to a teeny tiny little man who said he had diabetes and therefore could not switch seats for a lady with a baby (who needed to get up and walk around with said baby/pee approximately 300 times) because he needed to be able to stretch his legs, even though his legs didn't even reach the aisle, nor did he get up and stretch his legs bar twice to use the bathroom. yes, he didn't even bother to get up when i needed to get out, leaving me to crawl over him whilst holding a baby and bending slightly to get past the baby cot, my bum in his face.
and willow, who was the greatest  in spite of everything. only a couple of very short lived breakdowns, she was like the flight mascot, with all of our walking up and down the aisles, making faces at the people looking, ladies grabbing at her toes and fingers, giggling at all the people telling her how good and cute she is, sleeping her best in the cot even though it was noisy and bright.

BUT redeeming moment of the entire flight: about halfway through the flight, when i was starting to reach my end, the lady in the seat next to me (in her broken english with a dutch accent) told me that i was a great mom, that i was kind and patient and sweet and that i have a great little girl because of it. she told me that her daughter said the same thing and that we were "a family for the future". needless to say, that gave me the super strength to get through the rest of that flight.

after all that though, we made it. and it was so worth it!

here we come, the golden state!

in just 23 (dreadfully long) hours, the worrells will be in california for 6 (surprisingly short) weeks. we only just went for a visit back in june, but even then feels like forever ago. we are so looking forward to our time there, and are more excited about this trip than all of our past ones.  im the most excited for willow to be with her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, and all her family who isnt technically family, but still so dear to our heart. and of course, we are so excited to be with all of them too.

other things we are looking forward to:

sushi

sunshine

boat fishing in the pacific

target

pho

disneyland (the real one) (though pretty much anywhere feels like disneyland those first few days)

waking up early (not because of an alarm, but because of the amazing jet lag in that direction)

24 hour ANYTHING

low gas prices (serious)

dollar to dollar exchange rate 

warehouse sized health food stores

hole in the wall mexican food restaurants 

hot cheetos/beef jerky/twizzlers

a day in the dirt

wal mart

convenience

etc, etc, etc!

let me know if you want to get together!

instagram dump (his & hers)

willow:

 church:

last sunday in the old building & all of us at the annual conference.

first sunday in new building & new building signage.

tyrone power was ordained as another pastor in the church.

bramble picking

a few weeks back, on a nice day, willow and i went out for a walk to pick some blackberries. blackberry bushes are all over the place out in the country, you just have to look closely! after about five seconds, willow fell asleep, so i was left searching and picking on my own.  

 helpful hint: dont get too excited when you see a branch full of berries and go reaching to grab them all willy-nilly. where there are bramble bushes, there is usually stinging nettle. (i learned that the hard way) oh, and not to mention the branches themselves, they are armed! ouch.

stained fingers from all the pickings and our plentiful crop!

penelope

have you all met penelope? well, if you haven't, you will become well acquainted with her by the end of this post. penelope is a sphynx, hairless and naked in all her glory. we have had her since she was just three months old, back in june of 2009. we got her by a miracle of sorts (because God cares about the strange and wonderful little things doesn't he?), and she has been a pretty great blessing ever since. (well, most of the time).

her favorite food is raw liver or a lambs heart, but her daily meal is raw chicken, straight off the bone. i know, sounds appetising. but she is in cat heaven. (she is quite the messy eater though, which is pretty gross...ie. blood and bones left on the floor, like some kind of crime scene...)

(her bithday lambs heart, hence the candle. and yes, thats corn on the cob)

because we were living in an apartment in the city at the time, and because she is hairless and helpless to outdoor elements, and also because i hate cat litter something fierce, i decided to toilet train the poor soul. yes, i said toilet train. with the exception of flushing after she is finished, penelope will do her business on any toilet available. (except dont walk in on her while she's doing it, it will give both of you a fright.)

when the weather is cold, she gets extra needy though. which in turn could get rather annoying. she would gladly live in your hooded sweatshirt, or under your cozy blanket, or even in your beard. her best friend during the winter months is the wood stove, which is usually well stocked with coal.

 (yoga over the years with said needy hairless cat.)

she also likes hanging out in windows, soaking up those magnified when-there-is-sun rays.

she's been extra annoyingly needy lately though, ever since willow came around. i mean the, she is on your lap before you even sit down, kind of needy! but to her credit, since willow has grown some, and is therefore more interactive, penelope has been so very patient and even sweet and gentle, (yes i said sweet! now be quiet!). amidst willow grabbing her tail, and yanking her skin, i guess any attention, albeit rough and painful, is better than none in penelopes eyes.