This past Valentine/President's Day weekend my little sister got married!!! We drove out to California for the event. Here is a break down of our quick trip.
Day 1 --- We left Wednesday night after I got off of work and drove to Elko, NV. This time we drove this route we actually stayed some place really nice. (Thanks Dad for getting us a room) Last time we headed on the I-80 we stayed in a dump! We got in about 10 or 11 (depending on which time zone you want to go by) Even though it was late the kids had slept the whole way there and were of course wired because we were in a new place. Since the pool was open 24 hours we took them to the pool to get some wiggles out. I so wish that my video camera was not broken. Paige is our little fish. It was very instinctual for her to be in the water. She started kicking and moving her arms. She was very happy in the water. We had a good nights rest.
Total hours in the car: 5
Unwinding before bed at my brother's house.
My dad's version of babysitting! I think that Jack is the one that provided the pillow!
--- Before leaving the hotel we went to the pool again. They loved being in the water... especially Paige. After everyone was ready we shoved off for the 8 hour drive to my brother, Matt's house. As we were leaving Elko my mom called to see if we were on the road and check in. After hanging up with me she called Meghan and Stephen to see how they were doing and it turned out they were in Elko getting gas! So we soon caught up to them and Stephen's parents. We all met in Reno for lunch at my favorite fast food place in the whole world, In-n-Out. We got to Matt's house in time for Aaron and Matt to go play some in door soccer. Aaron came back with his toe bleeding and it looks even worse today. I can't think about it, it makes me want to gag. I hate feet and the thought of them.
Total hours in the car: 8
When Aaron and I got married it was pouring and so we never go the classic shot with the Temple in the back ground. Since we got married at the Oakland temple and we were there my mom took some pictures of us in front of the temple.
Uh...So now what?
Meghan and Stephen with Stephen's family minus two sisters.
My tired little bambino!
My cute little family being so good and patient. Aaron looked smokin' hot in his new suit!
Matt and his cute little family. Abbey and Paige had matching dresses. They looked so cute.
What'cha looking at?
--- We woke up at 5am so that we could get showered and dressed and out the door by 7am. We had to be at the temple between 9 and 9:30am. There was so much wedding reception stuff that we carried most of it in our van. As a result we, or should I say Aaron, had to re-pack the van. In fact he ended up repacking the van three times in order to fit everything that seemed to keep piling up. Oh and did I mention that while Aaron was packing the van it was pouring?! He won the MVP for the day. We left Matt and Katie's house at 7:30am (my parents, Meghan and her friend Heather left at 7am) and did not hit any traffic on our way to Oakland. We enjoyed the temple sealing and then went outside for pictures. They were very lucky because the sky cleared and it was beautiful. Because the rain had cleared the air, you could see San Francisco across the bay. It was gorgeous. Stephen's parents treated everyone to lunch afterwards. The place had really yummy food but parking was a nightmare. Once we were done eating we headed to the Central Coast. It was raining on and off during the drive and the riots in the back seat started. The kids were doing really great until Paige was feeling a little constipated and started crying which woke up Jack, which made him grumpy. Poor Paige gets a little blocked up when we travel. Note to self remember to pack pear juice in the diaper bag for long trips. We finally made it to the Central Coast and made a stop in Atascadero before heading to Morro Bay. We had a nice dinner with almost everyone in Aaron's family. The only one missing was Charlie who was working. Jessica is pregnant and due in a few weeks, so it was nice to see her. The kids were just happy to be out of the car. After dinner we drove the rest of the way to Morro Bay and to the house my parents had rented for the weekend.
Total hours in the car: about 7
The view from the house we stayed at. If you can look past all of the power lines you can see the wonderful ocean.
--- We woke up and we could just take our time and relax. The reception wasn't until noon so we had some time to breath. Paige got in a good morning nap, not in her car seat and Jack got to play and be the center of attention. I went downstairs to iron our wedding clothes and my brother came down too. There was a CD player down there and someone had left a CD in it and so we were goofing off and dancing to the lame CD when Matt starts rumaging through the cupboards and finds a few packs of adult diapers. A light went off inside his head. Next thing I know he is in the other room putting a pair on. I run upstairs to grab my camera and tell Aaron and Katie to come downstairs quick. We get down and Matt is only wearing the adult diaper. I thought he would put it on over his shorts, but no. I run back upstairs to tell my mom and dad. My dad had left for a little bit and my mom had just gotten out the shower, but she came to look with a towel wrapped around her. I was laughing so hard. I have allergies and asthma as a result of the allergies. There was something in the house that I was allergic to and laughing as hard as I did and running up and down the stairs a few times caused me to have a tiny asthma attack. It was that funny. I took some good pictures but I am not going to post them here because I don't think that Matt would appreciate it. Because of Matt's little whatever we were all rushing again to get out of the house. Oh man it was funny though. I left with my parents to help get the rest of the stuff set up for the reception. I did the cake table and some of Meghan's friends came and did the center pieces. We were still setting up when people started to arrive. I blame Matt! ;) The reception was lots of fun. I got to see a bunch of people who I haven't seen in a long time. It was good to catch up. My favorite teacher from high school came. It was so good to see Ms. Mckenzie. My cousin and her family came. She has three kids and I have only met one of them. It was fun to finally see them in person. (I blog stalk her) She has a daughter about Jack's age and they had so much fun together. Her name is Katie and so Jack started calling her little Katie since my sister-in-law's name is also Katie. After the reception we chatted with our extended family that came and then headed back to the house. I really wanted to take Paige's 11 month pictures on the beach while we were there so after she took a little nap Aaron and I ran to the beach super fast and snapped a few shots. She mostly cried, but the scenary was gorgeous. The sun was setting and I was happy. Being there in the Central Coast just made me feel at home. (sigh) If only I could live there. Anyway after we were done torturing Paige and wishing we could live there we went back to the house and had a yummy yummy dinner. Most of you may know mine and Aaron's obsession with tri-tip well it comes from my dad. He prepares and cooks it the best. Since they have moved to New Mexico he has not been able to find the right marinade and as a result his tri-tip has been a little off. So while he was in California he stocked up on it. It was so yummy. Then Meghan and Stephen opened up their gifts. They scored!
Total hours in the car: 20 minutes, at the most.
The cake table. Meghan requested having my mom's chocholate chip cheesecake.
Meghan's bouquet.... She did all of the flowers herself. I think they turned out great.
Jack and "Little" Katie playing during the recpetion.
Abbey
Paige snagged one of the jelly beans that were on the tables.
Meghan and Stephen let me play with their rings for a little bit. I like the one with the pink and purple flowers but everyone else seems to like the one with the tulip the most. Either way I like how they both turned out.
Awesome Sunset
Morro Rock at sunset
Pretty Paige
One where she is not crying!
She wouldn't keep the bow in her hair.
So pretty!
Both kids fast asleep in the car... for now.
We also stopped at the In-n-out in St. George. I had to get my fix.
Day 6 --- The only reason that I know to put day 6 is because I put the other days above. I had toally lost track of days and time and dates and everything else. I was exhausted. We took our time getting going and we were on the road by 11am. The kids slept all the way until Brigham City and when they woke up they were happy. I was worried because I thought they would throw fits for still being in the car. Luckily we missed all storms driving home. As I write this post it looks like a blizzard outside. So thank you weather for holding out a day before you decided to dump a bunch of snow. We got home in time for dinner and just relaxed until bedtime. It is great to be home and out of the car but I miss Cali and the Central Coast. Total hours in the car: 5
Jack getting "cozy" at the hotel before we left.
He really liked lying on the bed and watching TV.
Paige has gotten really good at pulling herself up onto all sorts of furniture.
If case you haven't been keeping track of all of the hours we spent in the car... the grand total is about 35 and a half hours! Whew that is a lot of driving! All worth it. But it isn't over yet. There is an open house in Utah this coming weekend at Stephen's parent's house. Fortunately that drive is about 2 hours. At least we didn't have to do as much driving as my parents who the weekend before the wedding drove to Utah to be there when Meghan went through the Temple for the first time and they will be driving to Utah this weekend for the open house. What can I say except that Meghan and Stephen are loved!
