Vacation week 6 of 9 in the books for residency. It did not disappoint.
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Friday:
We picked Landon up at 7:30am and hit the road! We stopped at the Salt Flats which were crazy amazing and beautiful and I felt ashamed that it took me 25 years of living in Utah to go there! We made it to Reno NV at 3. Checked into our hotel, put Luke down for a nap and went swimming! After that we went and had all you can eat sushi. “I yove yushi mom!” It’s the best watching Ty take raw fish and drop it into his mouth with such pleasure. We ended the night with stories for the boys and movie date night for Landon and I. We specially got a hotel with a suite for this one night so we could have a good date night! Also, Reno is surprisingly beautiful!!!
Saturday:
I woke up and ran 9 miles! I hit 22.2 miles this week, just keep adding onto the miles. Landon ran 5 miles and we packed up and headed to Lake Tahoe. Holy beautiful! I’ve never seen a lake as blue and beautiful up against the gorgeous snow capped mountain and pine trees! It reminded me a TON of Couer d’lene. Which is also insanely gorgeous Our first stop was Sand Harbor! The beach was so fun. Paddle boarding was the highlight for the boys. Luke just loved being out and about. Then we headed on Hike, Cascade Falls Trail. It was fun and pretty. The waterfall was cool. It’s not a hike I’d ever recommend though. But we had a blast. We LOVE hikes as a family. Luke fell asleep on Landon’s chest and it was the sweetest. We stopped in South Tahoe at Blue Dog Gourmet Pizza. It was DELICIOUS! One of the few pizza times we wish we had ordered so much more. Then we headed to our hotel in Pleasanton CA. Which I keep accidentally calling it Placenta CA! Oh man. We pulled in at 10:00, we peacefully put the boys down and cuddled til we fell asleep!! It was a wonderful day.
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| Shmar dawg graduated!!!! I can't believe that!!!!!!!!!!! Gary has worked soooooooooo crazy hard the last 10+ years through applying, medical school, testing, residency, testing, applying, traffic..... I'm so stinkin proud of him!!!!! He's headed to Cleveland to do his fellowship. Gary is the best! I hope little Luke can grow up to be just like Gary!!!! |
Sunday:
We didn’t wake up til 8:00! Whaaat? I think Luke and Ty were up earlier than that, but they just quietly laid in their beds. We went and had breakfast at my cousin Melanie’s house. We love Mel and Adam!!!!! Mel was my roommate when Landon and I got engaged and it was such a blessing. We have such love, admiration and respect for Adam and Mel. After breakfast and church with them, we headed to San Fran. Logan and Erika joined us once we got all set up. We walked straight down for a mile and through some of Golden Gate Park to get some yummy fish at Hook Fish. We then walked along the coast and explored Lands End. A Beautiful 4+ mile loop. Ty loved the stairs. Jax just wanted to run in the ocean. Landon’s always just high energy seeing new places! My favorite part for sure was Ice Cream and chatting with Logan and Erika. I love them. We ended the night talking and with a couple rounds a Jenga. I lost. Surprise surprise ;).
Monday:
We both did a quick 3 mile run in this crazy secluded, foresty, Lands End coastal trail. I didn’t know how grateful I’d be for that type of serenity to begin our day. We decided to try and put Luke down for a quick nap while we watched the Women’s World Cup game. They won. Luke kind of slept. We drove down Lombard Street then headed to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Warf and Ghirardelli Square. We walked and saw. We got Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl at Nicks #5. We got ice cream & chocolate for dessert. We sat in the grass in front of Ghiradelli Square and played tagged and relaxed for a good hour. The ocean is so peaceful. Probably the next two hours was our hardest stretch of the trip so far. Luke is so exhausted! And he would not fall asleep on our walk to the Golden Gate Bridge. We did the best we could, but ended up just having one person push the crying Luke and the other pay 100% attention to the boys. I-Spy and house hunting were in full swing. The house Jax picked to live in ended up opening its garage door and of course a bright orange Lamborghini roared out. I’m pretty sure a teenager was driving it. Some people’s lives. The boys wanted Sourdough bread for dinner and we wanted Chinese Food in Chinatown. We got both. #vacation!!! Happy day.
Tuesday:
I ran six miles on the beach Tuesday morning (and Landon ran 4) and when I got home the boys were just all happily playing together and it was a beautiful thing. We then headed to Muir Woods. It was so peaceful and beautiful. We all thought the Redwood Forest was significantly more incredible, but Muir Woods is still a destination spot. We stopped and at crab legs. So many crab legs in the Saulsilto Bay. It was sooooo good! We decided Luke needed a good nap at the point, and so we headed back to our Airbnb and we all crashed. Well Ty and Jax watched a movie, but the rest of us zonked. Tuesday night was kind of a bust, we were all feeling so exhausted and traveled out. But we went and got smoothies at Judahlicious (and they were delicious) and Sushi to go and ended our night on the beach. We told the boys “okay we will go to the beach, but let’s not get wet....” yeah that was a rookie move on my part. I’m still learning beach and kids. Landon and I finished the night with Gilmore Girls, popcorn and Coke.
Wednesday:
I woke up at 5:00 and ran 13 miles. I hated my life from about 5:00-6:00. Getting myself out the door and those first three miles were kind of brutal. I was talking to Gary during it and I was 100% positive that I was going to quit. But once I got past 3 miles, I got in a groove and it was such a great run. I gain 1,200 feet in elevation. So hilly! We then headed to the beach and met up with Mel and her girls. Melanie is my closest girl cousin in age! I always looked up to her as a little girl. We were neighbors then roommates in college and I looked up to her then too! And this beach day proved to me that some things never change. She is wise, meek, humble, patient, calming, positive, classy and elegant. I loved being with her and her girls. The beach was freezing and rainy but that didn’t stop us from having a blast! We then made the much anticipated trip to FRESNO. Fresno. That one word, no one else in the world understands what “Fresno.” means other than Maddie. Maddie! Oh I cried I was so excited to get to their place. When we did, of course she had everything we could ever need. She’s the best host! But also it was just so easy to be there. Our boys instantly clicked and played and we just sat and chatted and I soaked in every minute. Oh how being neighbors in residency would have been something else! Luke at this point had had enough of this trip. Poor guy. But other than Luke, the night was so peaceful, pleasant, and perfect. We put the boys down and chatted the rest of the night!
Thursday:
We headed to Shavers Lake in the morning! I’m so blown away by all different landscapes of CA. It’s no wonder people live here. Shavers Lake was this quaint, charming, cozy, beautiful lake! The boys played in the sand, we all took turns kayaking, and just enjoyed our own little beach together! I’m always so inspired by Maddie! They make simple smart choices that we could so implement. From recycling to packing lunches to finding things to love about their current location to get up and out the door and outside. Anyway! After the lake we came back and started dinner while the boys played in the pool. Have I mention Maddie is 36 weeks pregnant! I can’t believe we did that to her!! She got as much done and did as much as I do not pregnant so I just basically think she’s superwoman! The boys were down by 7 which left lots of time for talk and games! I introduce Michael to Strange Planet and we laughed over some comics. We also laughed at me hitting my head on the window, not getting “mine” with “shaft” and “Tar 3”....... Then at 11:30 we were doorbell ditched and that led to a series of confessions! It was my favorite day of the week!
Friday:
We woke up early for YOSEMITE! First we said goodbye to the Daetwyler’s. I cried! For real. So many of my biggest emotions, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, worries and heartaches have been placed on Maddie’s shoulders. I love her! And then Yosemite! BREATHTAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We did Glacier Point, Vernal Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls. All incredible breathtaking. And then we drove through Tioga Pass, which normally isn’t open and saved us 5 hours of driving, to get to Reno. Those 90 minutes of driving were unreal. God knew what he was doing when he created Yosemite. I’m trying to think if there is a place I feel has captured my heart in quite the same way. We will be back. And we will stay for more than a day! We rolled into Reno around 7pm, finished the Women’s World Cup game against France! USA! Had PPQ night and got the boys down and Landon and I cuddled and watched a movie. It really was a perfect, unforgettable, vacation!!!
PPQ Night
Favorite thing:
L: Yosemite & Shavers Lake & Tioga Pass
B: The people
J: Shavers Lake
T: Pizza
Favorite Food:
L: Crab
B: Açaí Bowl & Vegan Burrito
J: Clam Chowder in Sourdough
T: Pizza
Return Again:
L: Yosemite
B: Yosemite
J: Tahoe
T: Mummy’s house
Surprise:
L: Salt Flats & Tioga Pass
B: San Fran was dirty
J: View from Glacier Point
T: The Paddle Board on Lake Tahoe
Most Relaxing:
L: Running on the coast
B: Maddie’s house
J: Shaver Lake
T: Playing with my best friend (Westin)
Saturday:
We were able to get a good nights rest and then hit the road for a quick 7 hours home. Our family is really good at driving and today seemed so easy. We ended up driving at least 30 hours on this trip, but I think if you count the out and back day trips we took it would be closer to 40 hours. Landon and I got lots of talking in. We talked about his particularities (he has many) and my irrationalities (I have many. We talked about where to go to fellowship and where to end up after that (we got no where). We talked about how we want to raise our kids and what our priorities are. We talked about immigration and equal pay between men athletes and women athletes. We talked about why some people are prone to change their mind last minute on big decision (ahem me) and why others are so much better at making a decision and sticking with it (ahem Landon). Those were just a few things. The boys listened to lots of Harry Potter and podcasts. The last stretch we caved and let them watch 2 movies back to back. We pulled in at 5:30pm and by 6:10pm we were unloaded, unpacked, bathed and dinner on the table so Landon and I could go on a date. I love KonMari! But seriously, in 40 minutes it was like our trip never even happened. Well that’s not true, the first thing we did for trip night was got clean the car. And after that 30 minutes it was like our date never happened. Then we finished the date by grocery shopping and running. It was too productive of a date night for my taste, but we were glad to get it those things done. I finished off the week with runing 26 miles. Which I feel like is good for how much driving and vacationing we were doing!!!
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| We were driving along the Salt Flats and Landon said, "This is the longest straight road in the world." I mockingly said, "In the world babe! Don't you think thats a little dramatic." But then felt compelled to google it. Its not the longest, BUT google had it right there as the longest road in North America. Boom! I was both humbled and impressed! |
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| This was our route. Give or take a few stops! Google only allowed me to plug in 9! |
Sunday:
Went to church. I went to choir. Landon went out to do visits. Boys in quiet time. Luke is on his second nap. And just like that, its like we never left. It was a wonderful trip!!!!!!! Our vacation week #6 out of 9 in the books. Three more to go and then residency is over!
