Dear Friend,
What a month this has been! So many adventures. The month began with the final performances of the Menlo Park Stake Youth Musical. I had been put in charge of the props and scenery, so February afternoons were filled with making Seuss trees, lockers, classic cars, and more. It really came together in the end and the youth were great!
7 gals, 5 moms, 4 pregos...we made the most of our 48 hours away from home!
We packed in multiple delicious meals, shopping, a pedicure, a matinee, a walk on the strip, a nap, a trip to the temple, church, a cooking demonstration, and a Celine Dion concert!
Corie joined us for the concert and was gracious enough to host all of us at her place. Her home is amazing and she is such a generous host. The very best part was just hanging out, playing games and talking with so many good friends. We even had a little spiritual moment when I lost a diamond from my wedding ring and we miraculously found it after saying a prayer. As they say...wild stuff happens in Vegas!
The next Saturday, Elias & I took Summer to the beach. It was still a little cold, but she loved it! We played with bubbles and took our chances with the waves.
One day Elias came home from school earlier than expected and surprised Summer and I with a little picnic in the mountains. He's the best. We are both crazy about him. We will all miss living in such a beautiful place!
That weekend we went camping with our friends the Coxes. We drove up to Portola Redwoods and were taken away by its beauty. It was magical.
Unfortunately...we weren't allowed to camp there so we ended up camping at Half Moon Bay. While the campsite is just off the beach, it is probably one of the least desirable camping areas. Both times we have camped there were were sandwiched between RVs, and it was cold, wet, and windy. Nonetheless, we had a great time because we were with good friends and Summer loves an adventure!
Summer loves Katie and Morgan and had a blast setting up all the camping stuff.
While we did make it through the night, it may be a while before we go camping again. We unfortunately didn't bring enough blankets for Summer's bed, so she had to sleep on the air mattress with us. While she didn't cry, she certainly didn't sleep much either. Everything was magical to her; the way the sleeping bags felt, the way our tent moved when the wind blew, the way the air mattress moved up and down. She giggled her way through the dark night as Elias and I tried to sleep to no avail.
The last half of the month was spent traveling around during Spring Break. Oh, how we will miss the student schedule. The first leg of our journey was to spent visiting the Shumway cousins in St. Louis. They are such an amazing family, with a beautiful home, and a wonderful spirit. We love you Shumways! Thanks for such a good time.
Next we met up with two of Elias' best friends from undergrad. David & Bonnie joined us with their little girls and Rob & Lindsay hosted us at their beautiful home in St. Louis.
We had a ton of fun talking the nights away and watching the four little girls play with each other. Unfortunately, all of the Ericksons were sick, but we had a blast anyway. And when we were snowed in on Sunday, we didn't even have to make up an excuse to sit inside and talk all day long!
Summer loved it, but Elias LOVED it! It was like the home of the Lost Boys from "Peter Pan"; a huge jungle-gym with lots to discover. Elias, Rob, and David dominated the the human hamster-wheel and crawled through tunnels that clearly were not made for such "big kids". It was so wonderful seeing you guys! We miss you already!
After a week in St. Louis, we jumped on the plane and headed to Washington DC. My parents were kind enough to let us stay in their condo right on the mall. Though we were still recovering, we made at least one little adventure each day. We loved the new Newseum; there they had a portion of the Berlin Wall.
We explored all around the city and Summer loved the Metro.
We were able to meet up with some dear friends from our San Francisco days and meet their handsome little Wyatt!
We loved spending time with my sister Chelsea who is doing an internship in DC this semester. And our baby sister Hannah received her mission call while we were there so we all skyped with her as she opened the call. Watch out Vancouver Canada...Sister Christensen will be reporting this August! We are so excited for you Hannah!
Elias' brother Davis is attending the military medical school in Bethesda, so we were able to spend some time with him and his family. They are such a darling family and it was so fun to meet handsome baby Bear. On Friday Tim, Britta, Kevin and Jeannie joined us for a day of fun. Summer loved having so much family around.
Saturday was spent with two of my best friends from undergrad. Mare and her family joined us from Maryland and Heather and her family came up from Virginia. It was so good for the soul to spend time with such great friends. They are such examples to me in so many ways and they remain my dear friends despite being miles away. We enjoyed the kite festival out on the mall, watching our little girls play with each other, and talking about round two as we are all pregnant again at the same time.
Our husbands were so good to watch the girls so we could get enough girl talk! Thanks boys!
All in all it has been an amazing month filled with many adventures with dear friends and family. We love you all so much and can't wait to show you around Santa Fe...so come visit us!
Here are a few videos of little SummerGirl...
Summer and Annie during bath time.
Summer and Annie during bath time.
The Summer & Daddy show during our picnic.
We love you all so much! We only have two months left in California so try to squeeze in a trip to come visit us before we leave this beautiful place!
Always,
B,E&S
1 comment:
Hooray for such a fun month!! Again, what awesome travelers you are! Glad you got a girls get-away too. Ummm... did I miss Mary's announcement?!?!?
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