We were able to spend the bulk of our summer at my mom's house in the foothills of Northern California. It wasn't really planned. But my mom's memory is having challenges and when she went through a period (about a week) of extreme memory loss (and other issues) we bit the bullet, paid a lot of money, and bought tickets to visit. The most economical way to travel was to stay 6 weeks, so we did. It ended up being too long for me, emotionally, but we were able to do a lot of fun stuff without completely wearing us out.
Here are a bunch of things we did during the first half of our stay:
 |
| Reading the safety card on our flight out. |
 |
| The first morning there we woke up extra early (with the time change) and watched the sun rise over the dry earth. |
 |
| Morning walks with Grandma. |
 |
| Kayle's boat. |
 |
| We were only able to go out on Folsom Lake a couple of times before it got so low (because of the drought) the lake was closed off. |
 |
| More morning walks with Grandma. |
 |
| Isabella enjoyed having little girl cousins to play "big sister" to. |
 |
| Rope swing at Grandma's. |
 |
| A favorite photo!!! Isn't it gorgeous?! Picking wild blackberries. |
 |
| I was so impressed with my brave girl for trying this. We were at a church picnic where she didn't know anyone, but she was so willing to hop right in and get involved. |
 |
| This splash pad was very fun! |
 |
| Drying off in the intense sunshine at the splash pad. |
 |
| Swimming! |
 |
| Isabella and Kate helped me make a simple baby quilt for Mary's baby. Or, I guess I helped them! I love how involved they got. |
 |
| Kate helped by deciding where to put certain pieces. |
 |
| I know I'm the one that *looks* pregnant, but this is at Mary's baby shower. |
 |
| Summer perfection! |
 |
| Isabella adores babies and loved helping with Claire. |
 |
| Despite the intense heat we tried to get out and run around as much as possible. |
 |
| And catch baby lizards. |
 |
| I love that Isabella got to spend time with her big girl cousins. |
 |
| silliness. |
 |
| More running!!! |
 |
| Aunt Annie working her magic massage fingers. I couldn't believe how long Isabella just sat there, completely relaxed. |
 |
| Picking Tokay grapes with cousins outside the Folsom Zoo. |
 |
| My cousin, Tori, and her cute kids on a little steam engine outside the Folsom Zoo. |
 |
| This was at a Relief Society (church) get together for the women. I didn't have anyone to watch my kids so I brought them. Isabella got permission to swim in the host's pool, but she didn't have her swimsuit...that didn't stop her! |
 |
| We got to spend a day at my Aunt Evelyn's home in the Bay Area. My kids brought a lot of crazy to her home, but she loved them/us anyway and treated us so well! I love my Aunties!!! |
