I've had a couple of days to recover now, so I need to write about our recent trip to California. We'd been looking forward to this trip for MONTHS, and finally the time came to go. It was a celebration of my Grandma Anderson's 80th birthday and a family reunion all in one.
We left at 8 last Thursday morning and drove ALL DAY to arrive at my Uncle Ryan (Dad's brother), Aunt Jan & cousin Curtis' house at around 7:30 Pacific Time (that's 12+ hours people!) Grandma was already there, but we were the first big group to arrive. It so nice to see them all again and to have a little time with them by ourselves to chat and catch up. Ultimately, the whole lot of us included my Grandma, my parents, 2 of my brothers, my 2 sisters, 3 uncles, 4 aunts, 11 cousins, 2 great-grandkids, 3 significant others, 4 dogs and myself. Did I get that right??
On Friday a bunch of us loaded up and drove a couple of hours over to Yosemite National Park. Aaron had been there before and wasn't all that keen on getting in the car again, but I'd never been so I got to go and leave the kids with him. We stopped here and there along the way to take pictures of the amazing views and eventually ended up at the Valley Floor. Coming during spring meant that the waterfalls were fantastic. We strolled around looking at the scenery and ate our bag lunches on a bridge above a pretty little stream that one of the falls had created. It was perfect weather, too. Other than dealing with a couple of cranky & rude shuttle drivers, I think we all had a good time. Some of the guys went on a 4 mile hike while the rest of us headed back to the house. That evening was spent relaxing, talking, playing and eating. We were close to having the whole Anderson family there, but were missing 2 couples, an uncle and a missionary, and they really were missed.
Us kids at Yosemite. That's El Capitan (far left), Half Dome (waaay in back) and Bridalveil Falls (between me & Jennifer's heads) behind us.
We left at 8 last Thursday morning and drove ALL DAY to arrive at my Uncle Ryan (Dad's brother), Aunt Jan & cousin Curtis' house at around 7:30 Pacific Time (that's 12+ hours people!) Grandma was already there, but we were the first big group to arrive. It so nice to see them all again and to have a little time with them by ourselves to chat and catch up. Ultimately, the whole lot of us included my Grandma, my parents, 2 of my brothers, my 2 sisters, 3 uncles, 4 aunts, 11 cousins, 2 great-grandkids, 3 significant others, 4 dogs and myself. Did I get that right??
On Friday a bunch of us loaded up and drove a couple of hours over to Yosemite National Park. Aaron had been there before and wasn't all that keen on getting in the car again, but I'd never been so I got to go and leave the kids with him. We stopped here and there along the way to take pictures of the amazing views and eventually ended up at the Valley Floor. Coming during spring meant that the waterfalls were fantastic. We strolled around looking at the scenery and ate our bag lunches on a bridge above a pretty little stream that one of the falls had created. It was perfect weather, too. Other than dealing with a couple of cranky & rude shuttle drivers, I think we all had a good time. Some of the guys went on a 4 mile hike while the rest of us headed back to the house. That evening was spent relaxing, talking, playing and eating. We were close to having the whole Anderson family there, but were missing 2 couples, an uncle and a missionary, and they really were missed.
Us kids at Yosemite. That's El Capitan (far left), Half Dome (waaay in back) and Bridalveil Falls (between me & Jennifer's heads) behind us.
A stream created by Bridalveil Falls
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls (I wish I was better at landscape photography, but this is about the best I can do.)
The mist created by Yosemite Falls could be felt hundreds of yards away, even through the trees.
Saturday was the birthday celebration where we all gathered around Grandma as Ryan & Jan presented her with the memory book they’d been compiling. We had each written a memory of Grandma and sent it to them, along with photos to be put together in this album. There were also lots of other memories written by other relatives & friends who love Grandma. Ryan & Jan had worked on it for months and it paid off- she loved it! The rest of the day was spent goofing off- swimming, talking, sleeping. Curtis even managed to organize a game of Ultimate Frisbee at the school next door.
Dallin & Pyper helping Grandma peruse her new album.
Molly the dog chooses not to participate in the dog pile Keith, Pyper & Hakan have formed on top of Todd.
Kimberly & Pyper enjoying the pool.
He really does like to swim, I swear!
Brief story: I convinced Aaron to join the game, and after I put the kids down for a nap I walked over to watch. Aaron's pants had giant mud stains on them and he was complaining about his shoulder hurting. What a whiner! Seriously, I didn't give it much thought. He'd slipped on a patch of mud and apparently didn't fall very gracefully. He kept playing, but by the time we got back to the house he was pretty sore. Luckily Ryan & Jan have a hot tub so he got to sit in there for a while to help ease his shoulder. I was starting to worry that he may have broken his collarbone. It was still hurting pretty bad later so Ryan gave him some painkillers and an ice pack, but these only helped so much. Even after we got home Sunday night and he took some of my leftover Vicadin he still wasn't able to get comfortable enough to sleep well. So Monday morning I took him to the doctor and after a couple of hours and a round of X-rays found out that he hadn't broken anything (phew!), but that he might have torn up his rotator cuff. That afternoon he got an MRI done and he has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to find out just how messed up he is. Guess he really was hurt. Whoops.
The infamous mud slick (Aaron says it would've been bigger if he hadn't eaten most of it. Ew!)
Another Ultimate injury
Anyway, we had a FANTASTIC time and the long drive there and back was totally worth it. We really, really appreciate how much work Ryan & Jan put into the occasion. Thanks guys!! The only sad part was leaving, knowing that it may be another couple of years before we see most of them again. I hope not, but I guess that's how it goes.
Heading home...
1 comment:
It looks like you had so much fun. Vacations are always fun to look forward to. Sorry that your hubby got hurt. I wouldn't believe Corey if he was complaining either. Glad you liked the fish recipe, although I found one that I love so much more. I will post it later today. Really it was awesome. Loved your pictures.
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