Vacation 2015: Family & Friends Visits
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After such a long, wonderful but sometimes intense trip it was SO nice to be with more family at a home. All day Addy had been asking for Audrey and Hadley and it was so nice for us to be able to deliver and give the girls some play time. Isla crawled and smiled to her hearts contents as well, and we loved being with the adults as well.
Shortly after getting there, us ladies worked on dinner and caught up on life [with Pride & Prejudice playing in the back ground of course!] while the men folk headed out with Ray to 'wash his car' aka go four wheeling and shooting. For Lester, this was heaven. It is so different there, where everything is public lands and completely legal. They shot hand gun and shot guns at clay pigeons after four wheeling for a bit, and even saw some jack rabbits and wild horses [I'm such a city girl I didn't know that was a real thing haha!]. Meanwhile, the kids played in the kiddie pool in the backyard while we blew bubbles. It ended up being 107 degrees while we were there-which apparently is nothing. So crazy! When the guys came home later that night, we ate a delicious homemade dinner and hung out a played for the night. It was perfect end to a great day.
The next morning was Sunday, and while everyone else headed out to church we slept in for a bit, took our time getting clean and ready for the day, then went to the LDS temple in Mesa. This particular temple is one of the original 50 and there is only one other one in the world [out of hundreds I should add] to be designed like this. It was beautiful and we were able to feel our spirits rejuvenated, and our testimonies solidified once again. I'm so grateful for the temples and the things that happen in them that enables families to be together for eternity-this life and beyond. When we got back we cleaned up, worked on lunch and were joined by my cousin Melissa and her family. It was so fun watching the kids interact and see how much our family has grown. Life is so good! We played games for a while, and then our clan packed it up to head to our last pit stop of the trip. Poor Addy was finally starting to feel a little sick, and so before we left she received a priesthood blessing. I'm so grateful that God speaks to us and has blessed us with the priesthood to comfort, heal and communicate with us. It was bittersweet to say goodbye, but I am glad we got to visit.
Our last stop was our friends the Tait's. We are lucky to have so many good friends here, but every single time we hang with them I forget how incredibly easy it is to be friends with them. We have a million good memories and ridiculous inside jokes-and every time were able to make million more. The time passed to fast, and I can't wait to get together with them sometime again. After eating a delicious Brittney made dinner, we took them up on their suggestion of hitting up the park at night-after all, it was only in the 90's at that point! Haha we played three on three with the teams being Brian, Britt and Isla and the other being Lester, me and Addy. Both girls were in the backpacks, and in the end victory was ours-of course haha. It was so fun, and Addy kept telling us so. Afterwards the girls played on the swings, slides and play sets while we hung out. They loved having B & B chase them around the park, and it was fun to see them in their element. Afterwards, we went back and ate cookies Brian had made, put the girls to bed and just hung out the rest of the night. It was like the good old days-only different because we all had responsibilities, like jobs and kids. Not bad-just different. I look forwards to seeing how it is a few years from now.
Finally after a late night, we headed to bed and got ready for the last long haul home. This time we went by way of L.A. and Gilroy and apart from a few lunch/pit stops, we made it home to our waiting family, cookies and comfy beds.
Like I said, we had been planning and look forward to this trip for months-and although we had to make some minor adjustments along the way, it was everything we hoped it would be and more! We made so many wonderful memories as our own family, but also with our extended people and we got the appreciate the stunning world we are a part of. Thanks to all the who helped or participated-we are so grateful and look forward to returning the favor if any of you are traveling! So that was our incredible Pineda vacation circa 2015.
Shortly after getting there, us ladies worked on dinner and caught up on life [with Pride & Prejudice playing in the back ground of course!] while the men folk headed out with Ray to 'wash his car' aka go four wheeling and shooting. For Lester, this was heaven. It is so different there, where everything is public lands and completely legal. They shot hand gun and shot guns at clay pigeons after four wheeling for a bit, and even saw some jack rabbits and wild horses [I'm such a city girl I didn't know that was a real thing haha!]. Meanwhile, the kids played in the kiddie pool in the backyard while we blew bubbles. It ended up being 107 degrees while we were there-which apparently is nothing. So crazy! When the guys came home later that night, we ate a delicious homemade dinner and hung out a played for the night. It was perfect end to a great day.
The next morning was Sunday, and while everyone else headed out to church we slept in for a bit, took our time getting clean and ready for the day, then went to the LDS temple in Mesa. This particular temple is one of the original 50 and there is only one other one in the world [out of hundreds I should add] to be designed like this. It was beautiful and we were able to feel our spirits rejuvenated, and our testimonies solidified once again. I'm so grateful for the temples and the things that happen in them that enables families to be together for eternity-this life and beyond. When we got back we cleaned up, worked on lunch and were joined by my cousin Melissa and her family. It was so fun watching the kids interact and see how much our family has grown. Life is so good! We played games for a while, and then our clan packed it up to head to our last pit stop of the trip. Poor Addy was finally starting to feel a little sick, and so before we left she received a priesthood blessing. I'm so grateful that God speaks to us and has blessed us with the priesthood to comfort, heal and communicate with us. It was bittersweet to say goodbye, but I am glad we got to visit.
Our last stop was our friends the Tait's. We are lucky to have so many good friends here, but every single time we hang with them I forget how incredibly easy it is to be friends with them. We have a million good memories and ridiculous inside jokes-and every time were able to make million more. The time passed to fast, and I can't wait to get together with them sometime again. After eating a delicious Brittney made dinner, we took them up on their suggestion of hitting up the park at night-after all, it was only in the 90's at that point! Haha we played three on three with the teams being Brian, Britt and Isla and the other being Lester, me and Addy. Both girls were in the backpacks, and in the end victory was ours-of course haha. It was so fun, and Addy kept telling us so. Afterwards the girls played on the swings, slides and play sets while we hung out. They loved having B & B chase them around the park, and it was fun to see them in their element. Afterwards, we went back and ate cookies Brian had made, put the girls to bed and just hung out the rest of the night. It was like the good old days-only different because we all had responsibilities, like jobs and kids. Not bad-just different. I look forwards to seeing how it is a few years from now.
Finally after a late night, we headed to bed and got ready for the last long haul home. This time we went by way of L.A. and Gilroy and apart from a few lunch/pit stops, we made it home to our waiting family, cookies and comfy beds.
Like I said, we had been planning and look forward to this trip for months-and although we had to make some minor adjustments along the way, it was everything we hoped it would be and more! We made so many wonderful memories as our own family, but also with our extended people and we got the appreciate the stunning world we are a part of. Thanks to all the who helped or participated-we are so grateful and look forward to returning the favor if any of you are traveling! So that was our incredible Pineda vacation circa 2015.
