Trip to California

To kick off the summer, I took Ashley and the boys to California to visit my dad and to attend their cousin, Thomas, baptism. I was a bit nervous about making the long drive on my own, so we stopped in Henderson on the way down and again on the way back. It gave me the opportunity to catch up with my sister, Christy, and her family. She is always such a great host and so fun to talk to. The drive down was uneventful, and we were happy to pull into Grandpa's driveway on Friday afternoon. We got there later than planned, so I didn't have a chance to do any grocery shopping before dinner. I scrounged through his freezer and cupboards and came up with the ingredients for a chicken, rice, and broccoli casserole. We enjoyed dinner together and then the kids watched a movie in my room while I sat with dad to watch the Dodgers game together (more like he watched the game and I read a book on my phone, but we were still in the same room :)) We did go out on a walk all together that evening after dinner. in fact, we decided that I would wake up early each day to walk with Dad in the mornings and Ashley would walk with him for his evening walks. The only morning walk I missed was on Sunday morning because I didn't know that he walked on Sundays, so I didn't wake up. And Ashley missed the Saturday and Monday night walk while we were away from the house late.

On Saturday morning, after a morning walk with Dad and breakfast, we headed down to Fullerton to spend the day with the Wheelers for the baptism. We got there around 11 am and the kids immediately disappeared with their cousins. Maryn found them later in the girl's bedroom playing with barbies 😂

I visited with Maryn and the grandmas. The baptism was nice and most of the Wheelers were there. Maryn's parents were also there. After the baptism, we enjoyed tacos and visiting in Brian and Maryn's backyard. The weather was bearable, at first, in the shade but cooled off nicely by the end of the party.

We left around 8pm, stopping for gas and groceries on the way back to Dad's house. 

On Sunday, we enjoyed church in the Sunland Ward and hanging around Grandpa's house. We introduced Grandpa to sweet pork (one of our kid's favorite meals) for dinner. I went through mom's sewing supplies and collected some things to take home with me. I also continued reading Mom's journal, something I started when I was there for the funeral.

On Monday, we left Dad at home and spent the day at Universal Studios. 

On Tuesday, I walked with Dad in the morning and then he took Ashley to the LA Temple to do baptisms in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, we went to the beach while Dad was doing his weekly shift at the Stake Family History Center.

On Thursday we hung around all morning, washing bedding and towels, and cleaning up our mess. We left after lunch and headed back to Christy's. 

I was glad that we could get away to spend that time with Dad. I think he appreciated the company.