Surprise! Happy Father's Day!

Back in March Chris came up with the idea that I fly out to California by myself over Father's Day weekend and surprise my dad for Father's Day. I told him it was really nice to think of doing something like that but that I'd feel bad leaving him alone with the kids on Father's Day. Long story short: Chris and my mom went behind my back and purchased the plane tickets, and I'm so glad they did!

I flew into San Francisco last Friday night and surprised my dad at the airport. My mom had told him they were picking up someone from their ward, and then I walked out. By then my dad was getting a little suspicious, but it didn't matter he was still surprised.

It's been a long time since just the four of us were together, but that's exactly how it was Saturday. On Saturday morning my mom, dad, brother and I drove to the Santa Cruz Mountains and took a train to the Boardwalk. We had a great time! We spent the day walking around Santa Cruz, then took the train back in the late afternoon.

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting and enjoying hanging out together. I left Tuesday morning and came home to a clean house and mostly happy kiddos. Thanks Chris and Mom! You guys always know what I need. Chris, I really appreciate you taking vacation time, so I could go have a vacation. You're the best!

Update on the Yarbroughs

Ainsley finished second grade on June 3rd. It's hard to believe she's halfway through her elementary education! Before school let out for the summer Ainsley had an exciting last few weeks. Field day, a second grade store where she sold cookies to her friends, lunch on the lawn with music performed by one of the fourth grade teachers and his band, and the second grade sock hop were all part of the fun. We're glad to have her home for the summer, and I am happy to not be on a school schedule for a few months.

Kaylee has been enjoying her last few months of freedom before Kindergarten. She goes back and forth on her desire to attend school. She's made it very clear to us that school work is boring. Some days she shows excitement and some days she flat out refuses to start school. I think that once she adjusts she'll like it, but we'll see. She and Landon went through a fort building phase at the beginning of May and one day she convinced him to lay still long enough to make a domino outline of him. She is happy to have Ainsley home for the summer.

Having Landon in the family is so much fun. He is such trouble, but I can't help but adore the little guy. Early in May he found a new best friend in "Bella the Ladybug." This giant stuffed ladybug has actually been through all three of our kids. Landon found her in Kaylee's room one afternoon, and it was love at first sight. Bella accompanies Landon almost everywhere and shares his bed with him every night. It's very cute. Landon hit a huge milestone a couple of weeks ago, and is now 100% potty trained. I am no longer asking him every five minutes if he has to go potty. He can be completely trusted to tell you when it's time and is staying dry through the night. We celebrated his accomplishment at Chuck E Cheese's.

We planted a small garden this year, and it's growing great! We're growing watermelon, blackberries, strawberries, basil and bell peppers. We were so excited to harvest our first pepper about a week ago. The kids are having a blast checking on the garden daily. Landon is especially excited to see our watermelons grow. Because the kids are so excited about gardening I've decided to devote more of our backyard to a garden. I'm not sure if we'll get around to it this summer but definitely by next. I was telling them we could grow squash and pumpkins once we make our garden bigger. They also want to try to grow corn. Kaylee decided we should definitely have a backyard farmers market. She also decided that dogs will be allowed to come to our market as long as they're on leashes. She's such an entrepreneur. I'm sure we'll be adding a lemonade stand and cookie shop to our farmer's market as well.

We did take a couple of day trips in May that I will write about later but other than that, that's most of the last month and a half in a nutshell!