Splashing, Backpacks, Pretending

 My sister and I just got back from a family reunion in Iowa, but I'll write more about that later. There's still a little more I want to tell you about our trip to Anaheim.

 

Our last full day there we spent in the pool at the condo. We just hung out and relaxed, it was so nice.

 

 

 After that we all went inside to get ready to have some family photos taken. My nephew agreed to take them and suggested a park nearby. There's only eight of us but it was fun trying to get everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time! Adelaide thinks it's hilarious when she sneezes so my sister and nephew pretended to sneeze. 😊 

 

Here Adelaide is pretending to sneeze in my ear

 

From here we went to Knotts Berry Farm for their famous chicken dinner. We used to go here fairly often when Chuck's mom and sister lived in L.A. His sister lives in Colorado now but his mom passed away in February 2021. This was a way for us to kind of include them in the trip. Do you sometimes do that? Have a little 'nod' to a family member while you're doing something?

 

 The next morning it was time to pack up and head home. 

 

 

But first, a quick stop at Downtown Disney for souvenirs and final goodbyes.

 

 

Beth was so excited when she found this backpack! And I bought a mug, because you can never have too many mugs.

 

And besides...

 

 

We sat here for a little while before beginning the long walk back to the car.

 Such an amazing trip. We are so blessed to have had all these opportunities to travel and hang out with each other.

Have you been able to get together this family this summer?

A Text From Beth, Childhood Memories and Swimming Pools

August has been such a difficult and emotional month. I hope things are beginning to settle down and September will be better.

I got this text from Beth a couple weeks ago:

"my life ear got big pot already"

Hmmm. I showed it to Chuck and thought maybe it's like that game where you have to say it fast so you can understand it?!

mylifeeargotbigpotalready

And that actually helped!!

We stayed in an Airbnb while we were in San Diego and the backyard had a pool. 

 

It was, it's hard to describe. I grew up in San Diego and for a few years we had a house with a below ground pool and the memories that came flooding back when I walked out to that backyard took me by surprise! In the 5th grade I would get up before my parents and be in the pool even before breakfast. I remember swimming at night and seeing my shadow in the pool light as I swam laps. 

So I absolutely loved this Airbnb!

Well anyway, Beth's ears plugged up the minute she went underwater and they stayed plugged for days. I tried using a, like a nostril suction bulb in her ears; she would plug her nose and try breathing out but nothing worked. Then one afternoon she was at All Aboard and sent this text:

my life ear got big pot already

Which essentially means, "My left ear has finally popped!" 

And I guess it was a big pop too!

Do you know how to swim?

Do you have memories of swimming when you were growing up? 

A Few Days Of R&R

We got to spend a few days up at Birch Bay, WA about 2 hours north of us. It's actually just a few minutes from the Canadian border and it's beautiful up there!

This was right after we arrived. We put everything in the condo and Beth, Sharaya, Allie and I headed down to the bay.

 

It was nice to just spend a few days relaxing, there were no responsibilities or deadlines. It was wonderful!

 

 Even though it was absolutely freezing, Sharaya and Allie braved the indoor/outdoor pool. It was so cold, the steam was pouring off the hot tub! For the most part I stayed by the indoor pool with my gloves and jacket and I was still cold. They had the pool to themselves and had a lot of fun but I don't know how they did it!

We took a walk along the bay and came across this small island that we wanted to explore. 

 

I saw a bridge that went to the island so we headed toward it but when we got to it...

Well bummer.

I was surprised at how many birds there were in the bay. We saw ducks and seagulls, terns and crows and geese. The waiter at the restaurant we went to pointed out an eagles nest. We never saw the eagles but he said they live there year round.

(Thank you to the patron who volunteered to take a photo of all of us!)

We had a corner room that faced East overlooking the Cascade Mountains, and South, plus we were on the top floor so we had gorgeous views!

Wednesday morning we packed up the car and headed home. Just a few minutes after we got on the freeway...

I hope you've all had a restful and relaxing week.