I have put off blogging about our last day or two at home because I felt like that would mean that it was officially over and I would feel sad. But it was such a good experience that it can't be left out, and I suppose now I can start looking forward to the next time we can all be together again.

On Friday, my parents let Luke & Sam take the day off of school so they could spend some time with us. We went to the Stonestown mall at first to do some window shopping, then headed over to the SF zoo. It was a blast. They have redone alot of it since we were last there and it was really nice. I also loved seeing both Luke and Sam wanting to take turns walking with Addy in the carrier. They love her so much, and I love them so much. Anywho, we had a really good time. That evening we had fun making our own personal pizzas and watching some Christmas movies before decorating the tree we had gotten the other night. I'm so glad we were able to be there for that Christmas tradition, especially since we won't be there the day of.










Saturday we were all actually home together, so we went to see Luke's robot skills at a school club event. Then we headed over to Fort Point, which is literally right under the bridge. I couldn't believe the views-and that we haven't been there before after all our years living there haha! It was ripe with history and gorgeous architecture, and I loved every second of it. Lester and I think it would be perfect for going to Halloween night if you want to freak yourself out haha! We then headed over to Golden Gate Park for a delicious picnic lunch [who knew it was so hard to find Dutch Crunch out of the bay area?] and that was fun.  On our way out, we had to stop at Ocean Beach. Lester was adamant that we had to dip Addy's little feet in the ocean so she could experience the ocean. ADORABLE and our little adventurer didn't even cry! I knew she was CA girl at heart! [We took a great video, but I'm having issues posting it..so check that out on mine or Lester's facebook I guess..] We visited my Grandma Chandler after this for a gem of a 4 generation picture and we had a good little talk. Finally, we headed home for roast for dinner and visits from a ton of family. Again, we felt engulfed in the love of our family, both immediate and extended and it was wonderful. After everyone had left, we stayed up playing some Monopoly Deal and tried not to cry as we said our beginning goodbyes. After packing some, my Mom read me a bedtime story till I fell asleep and it brought me back to days long gone by. I have to make sure I do that with my sweet girl.












The next morning we said goodbye to my Mom and loaded up so my Dad and Luke could take us to the airport. It was a little emotional and hard to say goodbye to them-this will probably be the longest time I will have ever been away from home; and it will most definitely be the first Christmas I spend away from home. But I've decided to try not to see this as a bad thing-its been a year of firsts. My first time becoming a Mom, my first time living in Oklahoma, our first times not in college, and our parents first time being Grandparents. All these things are good things, especially when I choose to make them so. Plus, I got to come home with the two I love and who love me most. I realize more and more every day that family is everything. We three our now our own family-and that is literally a beautiful thing.

So the last time I blogged was Sunday, and it is now Thursday night which kills me. Lester and I are both wishing we could stay, but the good thing is we know home will always be here for us in the end. I am going to break down our happenings day by day.

On Monday Addy spent a majority of her time with her Lolo while we did this and enjoyed some rejuvenating. That night we were able to hook up with my family and Lester's and go out to dinner together at a place called Broadway Prime and it was lots of fun-and also delicious.







Tuesday we had a nice, fairly lazy day. We enjoyed some more baking using all the fancy tools and ingredients my Mother in law has that don't get a ton of use. We made a chocolate swirled cheesecake and creme brue le. We switched from the Pineda's house to my house so we did some packing up, napping, and target shopping before heading over to the bakery for breakfast [can't get enough of those chocolate croissants!] We had fish and chips for lunch and Addy continued to play with her grandparents before we headed over to my house for some fun with my family.




Wednesday, after dropping my Mom off at work we were able to introduce Addy to two of her great Grandma's. We stopped first at my Grandma Hanaike's where she got be held by both her and Uncle Gil, who gave her what will be her first stuffed animal-a cute little pug doll. Afterwards we headed over to my Grandma Chandler's and got to enjoy catching up with her and again showing off our sweet girl. After meeting up with Lester's parents at Five Guys for lunch, we then went and picked up my Mom and Luke and came home and hung out for a few hours before eating a delicious homemade ham dinner. Then we went to the beautiful Oakland temple to see the lights and show Addy where she became a possibility haha. We then made our way over to the gorgeous Union Square in all its Christmas grandeur. It was such a perfect and beautiful night, and we finished it with some Macy's shopping and the Cheesecake Factory.










Today we finished out visit with Lester's parents as they are headed to L.A tomorrow. We went to Costco and stocked up on diapers and wipes, and took a nap while they bonded with Addy one last time for this visit. Afterwards, we came home and hung out until some of my high school friends and some family came over to visit. After this we continued out home tree tradition of going to get a tree altogether and then taking forever to find one we either all like or all settle on together haha. We succeeded and we are decorating that thing tomorrow!

I don't want to take to much time out of our visit to blog, but I don't want to forget things or have to do a super long post that crams everything in later. So although we were scheduled to leave Saturday, we were able to move our flights up to Thursday. We were worried about traveling for 7 hrs with an infant, but to our surprise she did extremely well-people even complimented us on how good she was! After we got here, we made some plans for the week and spent some time with Lester's family. However, my family didn't even know we were in town. So after eating some dinner, we headed over to my house and surprised them. They were ECSTATIC and so were we.






The next day my mother in law and I spent the day baking and getting the house ready for a relief society activity that day. All together, we made several things, but I helped mainly with a lemon strawberry cheesecake, some cranberry crumble, and pecan brownies. The activity ended up being a lot of fun, with a huge turnout and we enjoyed it. My family came towards the end and my in laws watched Addy while we all went to see Life of Pi. Great visual effects, but very strange story-still not sure how I feel about it haha.

Saturday we spent the time with Lester's family and went shopping at the new outlets in Livermore. It was a lot of fun, and they were very nice. When we got home we headed to my house and watched some Christmas movies and played cards with my family. We also got to skype with Hillary and Andrew which was a lot of fun.

Today is Sunday and a very very special day, because we blessed sweet Addy in church. Lester, my Dad, Lester's Dad, and the ward Bishop performed the ordinance and it was beautiful. She is such a special daughter to us and to her Heavenly Father and it was wonderful to hear that through this blessing. She is so loved and I think we could all feel that. Our dear friends the Bennings and Lualamagas were able to be there which was nice because they have both been such a huge part of our growing up. We were also able to hear lots of lovely testimonies and the spirit was extremely strong. It was a wonderful experience and I am so so incredibly glad and grateful that we were able to do it surrounded by loved ones. After church, both of our families and some close family friends were able to come celebrate the occasion with lunch and cookies at my house. I don't think Addy has been put down since we got here haha-she is so adored by everyone, just as she should be. Seeing people love my baby makes me love her and them even more. It brings so much joy to my heart. We are finishing the night watching the Christmas devotional and enjoying each other at my in laws.






We have another week here, which is great, although I don't know if that is enough! I am so glad we all are connected throughout the eternities and we have that to hope and look forward to.