Our little weekend getaway

We just had to fit in one last little trip to the beach. We left on a Saturday morning and drove a few hours to Pacifica Beach-just south of San Francisco. It was sooooo cold! There were tons of surfers at the beach and it was packed! You wouldn’t know it was so cold by all the people there! The kids didn’t care about the cold and ran right into the ocean. They said the water was warmer than outside.

 

Sylvia didn’t last long in the water, she got out and laid flat on the sand and got all sticky and sandy. She didn’t like that feeling too much.Tessa and I just put our feet in-it was windy too. Julio took the pictures.I got one of him! It’s proof he was actually there. Tessa enjoyed playing in the sand.

Brrr.Grrr.After the beach, we went to our hotel and got clean and warm. The kids wanted to go play at the park, so I stayed and rested at the hotel while Julio took them. (I wasn’t feeling well).

The beach was right at the end of the street from our hotel. Julio took Lucia and Marco to see it.  We ate at a diner right by the hotel. We should have known when we walked in and it was empty that it wouldn’t be that good. I was right. The worst part was how expensive it was.

On the way home, we stopped at Treasure Island-it’s an island in between San Francisco and Oakland off the Bay Bridge. There is only a Naval Depot there, but we stopped to get pictures of San Francisco behind us.

Then we stopped at the Oakland Temple. We spent some time in the Visitor’s Center and enjoyed the beauty of the grounds. It’s been 9 1/2 years since we were sealed there. The kids loved to see the temple. It was a quick little trip, but the last one of the summer and it was worth it.

Some of July

The 4th was pretty low key this year. Lucia and Grandma were still in Idaho, so we just went and swimming, had tacos and then watched our neighbors fireworks.

Sylvia went to summer school every morning. She came home and watched Minnie’s Bowtique and became obsessed. Every day we would go pick her up from school and the kids would get free lunch. Then we’d go swimming at Grandma’s while the work was being done on the house.

The day Grandma and Lucia got back from Idaho-we went to Music Circus and saw Mary Poppins. I didn’t get any pictures of us together, but Deora and her granddaughter came with us. It was a cute show and we had a lot of fun.

Julio and I got a little getaway! Julio planned it-he bought the tickets to the New Order concert in San Francisco and booked the hotel. We left late Friday afternoon-leaving the kids with Sister Myers at Grandma and Grandpa’s house (they went to the Fair). We got to the city and checked into our hotel and then took the Bart downtown to the concert. We ate at a little diner before the concert, so we got there just as New Order was playing their first song. Walking into the venue, I got hit with a wall of marijuana smoke. It was like walking into a time warp-people in their 30’s and 40’s walking around dressed like they did in the 80’s. It was weird, but we had fun.

Saturday, we went to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. It was fascinating-it was owned by a flamboyant widow who was told that the souls of anyone who died by a Winchester rifle were haunting her, and in order to avoid these souls, she would have to continue building and adding on to her house until the day she died. So that’s what she did-there were doors and stairways leading to nothing, windows in the floor and ceiling, secret passageway-a séance room-the house is reportedly haunted. We had a great time away-if only it lasted longer….

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, only outside.

Change of plans

Sylvia posing for pictures at the Great Salt Lake on our way home. I was probably throwing up…

On Sunday, the day after Mom’s party, Julio was going to leave early to drive home with Dad and Brandon. I was going to stay with the kids and go to church and then drive to Idaho with the Aldama’s, Mom and Callie. During the night, I woke up and was so sick-the stomach flu! So, Julio did not drive back with Dad and Brandon, and I did not drive to Idaho with the kids. We attempted to drive home together, stopping every hour so I could vomit on the side of the highway. We finally stopped at a seedy hotel in Elko for the night. Then Tessa started throwing up and Julio had the runs. There was barf everywhere and then the toilet stopped up! What a nightmare! I was awakened several times in the night to take Tessa to the bathroom to throw up. Then, I finally got settled in to sleep and I felt a warm wetness on my back. Tessa had wet the bed. Such a nightmare. We finally made it home on Monday to find flooring and drywall torn out of the bathrooms and bedrooms. The work began the next day. Here it is a month later, and we still have one final thing to do-the hall floor. The new paint and carpet and new tile in the master bath all look great! It was a blessing in the end that we didn’t have to pay for or do the work ourselves. If you want to see the improvements, you’ll just have to come visit us!

Mom’s 60th Birthday Party

On Saturday, June 28th, we threw Mom a big party at the church. April had suggested we have it catered by Café Rio and we are so glad we agreed to that! Saved us so much time and energy. Callie and Tami were the decorating divas, Brandon did the pictures on the tables and the photo booth. Jake brought a sound system and we played 60’s music. Aunt Julie made a Family Feud game with trivia all about Mom.  We had two pinatas (and way too much candy) and cake. We had so much fun! I just wish I had taken more pictures. I know I missed a lot.

Crazy photo booth shots

Getting ready to play Mom’s birthday trivia.

Their team –The skull and crossbones (what?) Uncle John, Jake, Callie, Julio, and Tami

vs. The Claudhoppers (Dan, Aunt Alice, B, me and Jeni) We won!!Corom with our prize winnings!

Enjoying the cakeThe first pinataThe whole group!

Happy 60th Mom!!!!