Surprise Birthday Party in Cali

So Mark's mom turned 70 this month. And all she wanted for her birthday was a nice picture of her and her boys. So they wanted to surprise her and throw her a birthday party and get that picture she wanted.

What they did was the older 2 brothers in Cali told their mom that they wouldn't be able to see her on her actual bday, so they took her to lunch a week earlier and gave her a card that ALL her sons had signed. It told her that all the AZ brothers were coming out to take the picture she wants and that we are throwing her a party. She was so excited!! They told her a week early so that she could get her hair done and get outfits figured out.

So we left for Cali and had fun with cousins! Night swimming at Kirk and Stacy's

Then Mark had all the kids laughing playing something on the ipad

Then on Friday, we left Elli and Caleb with a babysitter and drove to Hollywood and walked around. You can't see it, but the Hollywood sign is on the mountain behind the boys.

I love this. Braeden wasn't tall enough to look in, so his sweet cousin got on his hands and knees and let Braeden stand on his back. They were looking at the Hollywood sign.

We ate at California Pizza!!

After we were done eating, we were walking to the El Capitan Theatre and they were trying to run through the splash pad without getting wet. They did it the first time......

But not the second time.

We saw a ton of "Stars"  Trevor liked this one.. Ryan Seacrest.

I guess this guy is the owner of the LA Lakers.

We were waiting for the movie to start.  We were seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Inside the theatre were real costumes and props from the movie. We just got a picture of the Jack Sparrow costume. But there was a ton of other stuff. Pretty cool!

There were a lot of characters to take pictures with.

In front of the Kodak Theatre

The kids had a long day with night swimming again, we were all pooped. I was putting the kids to bed and I fell asleep with them. I guess Mark decided to take a picture of it.

The kids found a lot of snails in the bushes and started collecting them and having snail races. Then they were making some sort of mud thing and it was really disgusting. 

And these next 4 pictures aren't from the professional photographer, but these are the pictures Dianna wanted. I think they turned out great!! I've seen the proofs.

They HAD to get a picture with USC shirts!!

For the party, we went swimming at Kirk and Stacy's. Here's my baby swimming. He is getting so good at swimming! 

We had a little spotlight moment where everyone told something they remember/love about their Mom/Grandma.

Love the way they adore each other!

Mark jumping off the diving board with Elli on her shoulders while trying to catch a football.

This is a great picture!

After a long day of swimming... the kids took a bath. And grandma told Elli to get a brush and blowdryer and she would dry her hair for her. Well, little Miss Sarah took over and started blowdrying Elli's hair. This girl is so funny! She LOVES shoes and puts any shoes on that she finds and walks around in them. If you can't find your shoes and Sarah is around, she probably walked off with them. But we all got a kick out of this. So cute!!

These boys sawm all day. They were exhausted.

Then Mark took the camera and snapped pictures of our darling Elli! She is so stinkin' photogenic!

My FAV!! Shows her totally cute personality!

We were glad Grandma had a birthday so we could party with her in Cali! We love her and are so grateful for her all she does for us!

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The day we were leaving, we were packing our car and Austin asked if Braeden could stay with him. After much consideration, Braeden stayed behind and is still there at his cousin's house. It was so cute, when we were driving away, Braeden stood outside and waved to us until we couldn't see him anymore. I have to admit, I cried.  I was already missing him.... and mix that with pregnancy hormones. I couldn't hold it in.  He's now been there a week and a half! We miss him like crazy!! But he has been so spoiled there. Aunt Stacy has gone above and beyond to make sure he stayed busy and entertained! Thanks Stacy!!