A {Semi} Spontaneous Trek to California

At some point during the summer, my sister, Kristina, got a bee in her bonnet about us coming to visit them in California.  And by "us," I mean she really wanted Cami and the kiddos to come visit them and was willing to tolerate Ellie and I coming along as well.  😆

As luck would have it, Cami was equally as excited about the possibility AND was able to easily change her flight home without penalty.   I worked on getting us some cheap tickets and thus our trip to California became a reality.   I think Cam and kids enjoyed the change of scenery about as much as K's family enjoyed doting on Lucie and Oliver.    

Oliver loved having all the floor space to scoot around and both kiddos enjoyed the attentions of  Madeline, Kristina, and the King Boys, especially Jesus and Manuel, who loved to snuggle them and try to make them laugh.  It was quite sweet to see their soft sides shining through.  

We arrived during one of the hottest weather spells they'd had in a year, with temps around 100* the whole time we were there.   The searing heat meant it was a little too toasty for hiking and such, but it was perfect for visiting Newport Beach--especially since the temps were a good 15-20* cooler at the beach too.  Here are some pics from our day at the beach. 

My nephew, Jesus, skipped school and came along with us too, a fact which made Lucie quite happy.  They played well together and I think they kept each other entertained far longer than either would have been on their own. 

It had been quite a while (maybe Hawaii in 2022) since I'd spent any time at the beach and it was a delightful day. 

I also enjoyed recreating this picture with Oliver...

Another day we headed to Balboa Island, where it was also 15ish degrees cooler.  We found some good food and enjoyed walking around together.

We also went on a whale watching cruise where we saw zero whales, but lots of baby dolphins and sea lions.   It was a bit disappointing not to see any whales, but it was still a delightful trip. 

We were only there a few steamy days, but we made a lot of fun memories together and Lucie keeps asking to go back to California, so we are calling it a success!  

Within 24-hours of  returning from California, we put Cami, Ellie, Lucie, and Oliver back on a plane and sent them back home to Birmingham, where Ellie has been nannying for them for the last month.  Our house is way too quiet and lonely without them here, but I am forever grateful for the fun memories we made while we were all together!  💗


 

Summer Happenings: Part 1

Well, what can I say?   All routine is out the window and I am having an incredibly difficult time keeping up here on the blog.  I known that there are approximately 2 people that may have even noticed that it's been while, but I feel like I need a little brain break, so here I am.

So here's a glimpse of the last few weeks...

Kristina and boys came to town for a couple weeks.  

It was loud and the house was a mess, but I very much enjoyed spending time with them...

I introduced them to Perler beads, which they'd never tried before, but Jesus dove in first, then when the other boys saw what  it was all about, got obsessed too. 

It was very cute how hard they worked (for hours a day) and how proud they were of their work...

Denali also very much enjoyed the extra attention!  

I taught them a couple of old-fashioned card games--Old Maid, Go Fish, and Slap Jack--and enjoyed watching them have fun playing those!

One day, we dropped by to wish Nana a happy birthday!   She's 95 now!  

I won't lie...it's a bit chaotic when they come to town, but it's mostly a good chaos that I enjoy.  

I always love my postcards, but this summer I've been a little extra obsessed with them. It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't love sending and receiving mail as much as me, but it's literally a stress relief for me and I love that it's not a super time consuming thing I can do for myself.  I may have to do a whole post on this topic soon, because I've been having fun with it!

Speaking of postcards, here's a little postcard challenge I'm doing with my sisters (and Cam).  The challenge this week (chosen randomly by Heather) was blue-footed booby.  I had run out of my authentic Ecuadorean cards, so I adapted this one to fit the bill.  haha...

Also...Ellie submitted her mission papers a few weeks ago.  We knew her call would likely take longer because of her seizures, but we are hopeful it will come soon!  

She finished her second trimester at BYU-Idaho and she is happy.  She had good roommates and really enjoys the environment up in Idaho...

I picked her up from Idaho and we are enjoying the extra noise and action that comes along with having her at home.  

I have a bunch more to add, but blogger is not letting me upload photos today, so I'll do a Part 2 soon.  Stay tuned... 

A Little Side-Trip

As soon as the trip to Nashville had been booked, I knew that I needed to find a way to see my sweet grandbabies while I was so close.  Close meaning only 3-1/2 hours away!   It was a lot of driving for only about 20 hours to spend there (including sleeping time), but it was worth every second and somehow I was able to talk my Mom and sister, Kristina, to join me as well!  

I may have been a little giddy while I was there...

I read as many books as I could, had many hilarious toddler conversations, snuggled Baby Oliver, and just enjoyed some bonus Gigi time...

And I didn't mind sharing them too much...especially since they seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as I was. 

Now only 34 more days until I see them again!  




 

Surprising Nate

Well, it's been a few weeks and I guess it's time for a little catching up here on the blog.   I know you have all been waiting on pins and needles to see what excitement has been going on to keep me away. This time it was a little trek to Tennessee to surprise my brother for this 50th birthday.   His birthday was actually back at the end of May, but he was off trekking the world on his birthday (visiting his 100th country!!!), so we opted for the end of June to surprise him instead.   

All seven of us siblings gathered in from 4 different states (Utah, California, Virginia, Maryland) to surprise him at his home in rural Tennessee (about an hour and a half from Nashville).  

My mom and I arrived several hours earlier than anyone else, so we did a little exploring in Nashville, while staying close to the airport, so we could do runs to pick people up. 

Opry Mills Mall fit the bill perfectly.  It was only 10 minutes to the airport and had air conditioning, comfy places to sit, and whatever kind of entertainment we could think of.   Here we are in the Bass Pro Shop.

We found a good place to get some food...

And found some yummy cupcakes to try, one of which, was even gluten free! 

AT one point, we even sat in some massage chairs and took naps, since we'd been up since 3:00am!   😂

The Grand Ole Opry is right next door, so we also walked across the parking lot to check that out as well. 

Eventually we picked up Kristina and Matt.  Pete and Tim arrived later that night.   We all stayed in a hotel near Nashville that night, since we had to wait until Nate was done with work for the day before surprising him.  

On Friday, Tim, Matt, Kristina, Mom, and I visited the Hermitage--the home of Andrew Jackson.

  It was a beautiful home on gorgeous grounds, but we found the tour a little simplistic, focusing more on the home decor than anything to do with Andrew Jackson.  

After that we made our way up to Nate's house where Pete and Heather met us separately (but not AnnaLisa, since she couldn't take any time off of work and her flight was later that night).  I think he was quite surprised to see us all!

That night we just got his house set up for all of us to stay (we brought air mattresses, pillows, and blankets) and mostly just talked, ate, and watched funny youtube videos.   The next day, Nate took us to one of his favorite hikes. 

Later we did a little picture shoot at Fort Donelson National Battlefield...

The number of selfies I took on this trip was a bit obnoxious. 

Perhaps really obnoxious...

Later we actually dressed up in semi-coordinating clothes and did a real photo shoot with Nate's camera and a tripod  at a park in Clarksville. 

We didn't do too badly, if I do say so myself.  Definitely better than getting a closeup of my gray hairs and wrinkles! 

Of course we had to do a silly one too!  

After that, we went to a restaurant in Clarksville called the Mailroom.   I may or may not have partially chosen it because of the name, but it did have very good reviews as well.  

The food and service was good...and they gave us a free postcard!   My type of restaurant for sure! 

After that, we found a cute ice cream shop in town...

This cool fountain was nearby and was perfect for some photos! 

All in all, it was a great trip and I am grateful for a family that gets along  and enjoys spending time together.

Plus they tolerate my incessant selfie taking.  😂

Our time all together was less than 24-hours before some of the siblings had to start heading home, but it was a great long weekend celebrating Nate and I'm glad we were able to make it happen.   Here are a few more random pictures: 

Tim and Mom

Nate with his "hot potato" birthday gift that he is supposed to regift as soon as humanly possible.  It's been floating around the family for over a decade now!   The animals live on a cute farm right across the street from Nate.   He really does live in the boonies. 

Speaking of the boonies, check out his church building!    That's it right over next to the Subway...

It's essentially a refurbished warehouse that just his little branch meets in... (everyone else had left by the time church rolled around)

The inside was small, but quite nice...

Apparently we were all a bit tired! 

Here are the birthday goodies we got for Nate at a cute little bakery in Clarksville.

This Piggly Wiggly was the most backwoods grocery store I'd ever been in!  

Yet another selfie...

This was right before heading out...

The view from Nate's backyard...

We may have been a little obsessed with the view (and all the fireflies)!  

All in all...a great time together with family!   💗