Day 6: Thursday

Thursday was a "down" day. I purposely didn't plan anything for that day when planning out an itinerary. I knew that Doug and I would be exhausted by then (we were) and that everyone would need a break from constant togetherness as well.  Doug and Finley played on the playground at the community center across the street in the morning and then Chad's gang left to go to the Santa Ana zoo which was only about a mile from where we were staying. Derek's gang left to explore Laguna Beach. Matt and Sherlyn stayed home as Matt was feeling lousy with a head cold/sinus congestion. I decided that I wanted to cook something nice for dinner so we could all eat together that night. We didn't have a car since Derek and Shelby took it to go to Laguna Beach so Doug and I walked to the grocery store which was only about a mile from the house. We loaded up on two roasting chickens, a pot roast, potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen veggies, etc. We were limited on cooking pans but it still worked out. I baked a bunch of potatoes, Anney made some roasted sweet potatoes, and I roasted the chickens with a spice rub of whatever spices were in the cupboard, and cooked the roast and onions. It turned out really well and I think everyone liked having a good home cooked meal together. The food disappeared quickly if that was any indication of success. We grabbed some herbal tea, throat lozenges, cough syrup, etc for Matt while at the store and he felt quite a bit better by dinner time.  Later that night I baked a pan of brownies and then Doug and I played games with Derek and Shelby when everyone else had retired for the night.  It was a good day.