California Trip 2021

 As my Mom put it, reality feels like a slap in the face this week.

We just spent the last 8 days in California visiting my parents, and getting back into real life has me wishing we could go back!

We drove up Friday afternoon and spent Saturday picking berries and enjoying the lake at Zion's Camp. But not until after we went to the Farmer's Market for some fresh fruits and veggies!

On Sunday, we went to church and then made homemade jam and a pie with the blackberries we picked! It turned out a little more runny than we wanted but that's ok... and I'll explain why in a bit.

Monday was Labor Day and we spent it swimming and catching up with my cousin Leah's family and my Aunt Meri and her granddaughter, Hannah.

On Tuesday, we chilled at my parent's house and swam with my Aunt Meri and Hannah again. John also got rid of my parent's popcorn ceiling for them! Kind of a slow start of the week considering how much we did at the end of it.

Wednesday was another chill at home day until the evening, My parents had to work this week, so we did a lot of "chilling" during the day before they got home. In the evening, the missionaries from our church came over to share a message and then John helped my dad give their neighbor's family a blessing for a hurt hip and back. That evening ended with a trip to Brock's ice cream! I think I will miss this place the most if my parent's end up moving when they retire.

When Thursday came, we had lunch with my parents during their lunch break and then went to a park while we waited for them to get off. Once they were free, we all went to John's Incredible Pizza. Man, I wish they had one of those here in Utah! It's like a giant Chuckie Cheese for Adults! But cooler than I just made it sound. Haha! 

Brooke saw "The Twister" ride and really wanted to go on it! I wasn't sure how she'd do, but she loved it and was doing what can only be described as a "giggle wiggle" the whole time. David was nervous but eventually decided to go on it (with the bribery of ice cream if it was horrible and made him sick. Lol.). He ended up loving it as well so it all worked out. David and John also did bumper cars and Aaron and Brooke rode a little bus and teacups ride along with everyone playing a ton of other arcade games. It was definitely a blast!

And of course we couldn't drive all the way to California without visiting the ocean! So, on Friday morning, we made the long drive to the Point Reyes seashore and stayed until the sun set. It was foggy driving in, but it cleared once we got to the shore. McClures beach and Kehoe beach both had a little bit of a walk to get to so they were pretty empty most of the time.

By the time we hit Saturday, I was beat! But not so much that I didn't hear blackberries calling my name! With how less jelly-like our first try turned out, it was time for a redemption batch! David and Grandpa stayed at home to swim, but the rest of us went back to Zion's camp. With this last batch turning out much better, I would say it was worth it! (We didn't add enough sugar for it to jell in the first batch that week) P.S. My dad also took a quick family photo for us that morning which was super nice of him!

Later that night, my mom's neighbor stopped by and brought us Prathas! John and I had never had them but they are sooo good! We were honestly craving them on the drive home! Luckily, I got the recipe for them, so I will be trying to make Prathas myself soon!

We also made smore's in my parent's fire pit in the backyard and... BYU beat U of U in football! I'm not usually much of a sports watching person, but when your Alma Mater plays their rival team, you gotta cheer them on!

The trip ended with church on Sunday and then another long drive home. We seriously fit so much in to that week, I think we ticked off all the "must-haves" for everyone in the family!