The Goodman's!

If families had soulmates, the Goodmans would be ours.

We have big time hearts in our eyes for these guys, so we HAD to go buy and visit them while we were on the West Coast.  Anita prefers to not tell her kids when visitors are coming, so we were able to sneak up on them.  Of course, their asking to come to Yuma to see us while we were there and having their parents refuse had them a bit confused about the level of commitment to the friendship, but you should have seen the looks on their faces when we got there.  We just walked up and rang the doorbell and Goodmans ran screaming from every corner of the house when they realized who was on their doorstep.  Fred Jr was the best.  In all the chaos, all I could hear was Anita's warnings to Fred to not hurt the Bitty Beavens.  ;)  If he had hurt them with his enthusiastic clotheshanger style bear hug, they were so deliriously happy, they never would have felt it.  

With the way schedules were working out, it suited best for us to visit them during the week.  The kids still had school most of the days, but they were able to take a little time off during the day just to hang with us.  We took advantage of that time by taking them to see the Gardens of the World  in Thousand Oaks.  Unfortunately I had so much fun just living in the moment that these are the only pictures I got during our time with them.  We packed a picnic lunch and ate on their expansive lawn.  The kids got ran around the gazebo while we finished eating and chatting.

 The first garden and my personal favorite was the Japanese garden.

I know it's supposed to be Japanese, but it looks just like Thailand to me!

 Abby and her bestie, Autumn.

How she misses this girl!

I feel as though there needs to be truth in photography, so I must admit that Abby is standing on a rock. A big one.  When both are on the ground, Autumn is probably a good 5-6 inches taller than Abby.  But Abby's gaining on her.  Slow and steady may not actually win the race, but maybe one day Abby won't get a crick in her neck from looking up at Autumn.  ;)

 I think someday I'll learn how to bonsai.

For now, I'll try to keep my bamboo from dying off one stalk at a time.  Poor, sad little plant.

 The Mission Courtyard.

Historically this garden had a lot to offer.  It tells the story behind the priest who WALKED up and down the California coast, doing his work for God.  He suffered from asthma and had been bitten by a insect which left him with chronic ulcers on a debilitated leg.  He eventually died of a venomous snake bite, but not before establishing 9 missions for Spain in California.

This garden was exactly what I would have pictured being in California.

 Fun in the courtyard while Alexis and Mrs. Goodman told us all about the history of the Mission Garden.

Marshall said he was having a "LIGHTBULB" kind of moment!

I want to live where citrus grows on trees...

and plants look like exotic birds.

 The French Garden

Complete with a replica of the fountain in Versailles.

Did you know that in a French garden, the trees will be planted in such a precise straight line so that if you stand directly in front of them, you will only see the first tree?

The girls found some furry plants called Lamb's Ear to pet in the English Rose Garden.

 Oops.  Sorry, little lambie.

You should see what this girl does to Easter Eggs.

And a caterpillar.  But that was only that one unfortunate time...

 The Rose Garden has over 400 rose bushes of various sizes and colors.  I'm sure we didn't get the full magnificence of any of the gardens... HELLO!  It might be California and the sun is shining, but it IS after all still November! However, what we were able to see was beautiful!

 Alexis had been here before on a school field trip, so she was our tour guide.

 I know I have seen this plant before, but I think I kind of forgot about it.

I like it.  It looks like it's covered in snow.

But I have to know...where's the chlorophyll?

 Addison, Amelia and Alexis.

(All the Beaven and Goodman girls are A's... See, I told you, family soul-mates)

 The Italian Garden

 Well, the less said about this, the better.  We did come here with a bunch of kids who were all snickering and chortling.  And we won't even touch on the immaturity of a certain Doctor Dad.  Although he did make me laugh.  Alot.  And out loud.  That's right.  He made me LOL.

 We must sell our house before our Cypress tress get this tall.

 Marshall liked this oversized chess set.

I told him I would take his picture with it and no kidding, without even having the time to think about it, his feet flew out from under him.

He. Struck. A. Pose.

Man, this kid makes me laugh.

 The big kids shopping.

One last thing to sneak in before we left.

Addison has somehow gotten the idea that I like to bake, so she wanted to make some cupcakes with me.  I took her to the store and she chose a vanilla cupcake and buttercream frosting with an orange cream mix in packet.  They were kind of like an orange creamsicle.  Since it was just before Thanksgiving, she also wanted to make them look like pumpkins, so she added green Mike and Ike's as stems and leaves.

Sure do love these guys!  We had a wonderful visit and were wishing we could stay longer.  It's amazing how it feels like time stands still when you're apart and you pick right up where you left off with good friends.