Sunday, June 3, 2012

Memorial Day in California

 

Dan and I decided to go visit my family in Northern California over the long Memorial Day weekend. We left Wednesday after work and drove to Reno where we stayed the night. Then we drove the rest of the way on Thursday. We came home Monday morning so it was a pretty quick trip but a lot of fun.

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Shock of a lifetime, I didn’t even fall asleep at all on the way there! I still can’t believe it. We had a lot of fun singing and talking and eating. We used priceline to bid on a hotel in Reno and got it for $40! We still had to pay priceline and hotel fees which totaled $24 but it was still a great deal for a really nice hotel. I was really impressed with the hotel and it was nice to not have to drive the entire way that night.

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The main lady we wanted to visit was my Grams. My grandpa passed away last year and she has moved into an assisted living center near my aunt and uncle. It was so fun to see her and just visit with her a lot. She is so cute in her new place and everyone just loves her. It is so nice and it really makes me happy to see that she is in such a nice place where she can have her own little apartment and have some independence, but we don’t have to worry about her getting hurt or taking her medicine. And she gets gourmet food cooked for her every day! Not too shabby…

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Of course I had a ton of fun with the kiddos. My cousin Seth has a new baby Emma and I adore her. She is the tiniest thing since she was preemie and now that she is 3 months, she is only the size of a regular newborn! She was kind of fussy but I got her to sleep twice! Score. I was the baby whisperer and got Rachel (below) to like me too! I think giving her food and helping her walk everywhere helped!

553598_3649441368998_1663399491_2720557_1695869139_n Dan was a hit with Reilly too! This kid is hilarious and never stops going. He is obsessed with baseball and would honestly play for hours if someone would play with him. Dan played a lot with him so he was constantly begging Dan to play. It was so cute to watch them and Reilly is amazing at throwing and catching especially being only 4 years old!

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Basically all we did the whole weekend was eat and visit. Not too bad if you ask me. Unfortunately I gained a few pounds to prove it! My aunt and uncle have a beautiful home and they are the best hosts. It is so nice to stay at their house and they make the most amazing dinners every night!

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Me and Jacob. He is such a smarty pants and so big!

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The weather was awesome (70s) and we sat outside almost every night and ate dinner and enjoyed the weather.

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Helping “ya ya” (that is what the grandkids call my aunt) and “grandma weezy” (great-grandma Eloise) make frosting for the cupcakes.

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More family dinners and yummy food. Of course soda was involved….it’s my family after all and these people are soda addicts!

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We honestly felt like we were back with Dan’s family since there were so many people and kids everywhere, it was so much fun!

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Danny and Seth somehow ended up at the table with all the blocks and toys meant for the kids. They made some pretty good designs though!

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Cutest kids ever. Rachel and Marshall playing.

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Kallie with Marshal (her son) and baby Emma (her niece).

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We had a ton of fun spending time with my family in California. We don’t get to see them very often so it was really important for us to get out there when we could. I loved hanging out and just visiting them and getting to see my cousins’ kids. Dan and I had a blast driving and chatting on our road trip and hopefully we can go back soon!