While we were at trek Christian had a great time with his cousins and I'm grateful to Annie and Jeff for helping him have a fun weekend with Mary and Jonathan! On Sunday, June 4th Annie called me to let me know that Christian had gotten a cut on his lower back and was in the ER. He ended up needing 21 stitches but he was very brave! Annie and Jeff took good care of him and he was able to receive a priesthood blessing. I am grateful for good medical care and was glad I could reassure him on the phone. I drove to Colorado the next day to pick him up and be with the Murrays for about 4 days.
Here are some fun things we did in Denver for the next 3 days.
Aaron's surprise birthday party
Babysitting Hannah's girls
The Children's museum with Catherine and her boys.
On Friday June 9th we drove to St. George to stay and visit with Ivan. We enjoyed catching up.
On Saturday we drove to California to meet up with Sheri and Sterling who were at YM and YW camp with our Turlock stake.
Here is what Sterling's week looked like.
Here is what Sheri's week looked like at YW camp.
Ava W, Sheri, and Aubrey
Sheri, Ava, Taylor, Berry
Sheri and Ava were able to come home Friday night so that they could go to Ava's softball game on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Sterling and Sheri were able to go to a church dance and to the Tilby's for games.
At the end of their week Christian and I arrived in California. We spent the next week squeezing in as many friends as possible!
Monday Sterling played D&D with Carly, Taylor, Keegan, Macedonia, and John from school. Sheri spent time with Avery and Nyelli.
Christian played many times with Tice throughout the week. They are great friends!
Tuesday Sheri hung out with Tiffany and
Sterling got to hang out with Audrey & Grayson Torres.
Christian and I caught up with the Riddle family.
Wednesday we gathered quite a crew and went to Santa Cruz.
A pick up game of beach volleyball
Michelle was so good to us during our visit! She picked my kids up from the airport, let them stay for a few days, gave Sterling full use of her truck to drive around town for over a week, had us over for dinner and multiple afternoons, went on walks most mornings with me, and took care of anything we needed. She even had Christian and me sleep over before our temple trip so I wouldn't have to wake him up early. She is one amazing, generous friend! We relished our time together!
Nayeli, Sheri, Jasmine, Christian, Lily, Ava Mauchley, Sterling
The boardwalk
Sterling, the Cherry twins, and Ava M.
Aaron, Sheri, & Nayeli
Thurs - Sterling and Sheri got to go boating with the Tilby's and friends from the ward.
They always have a crazy fun time!
Top row, L-R - Everett, Jeffrey, Landon
Middle row - Grant, Hayden, Jared, Sterling
Front Row - Ava W, Sheri, Ava M, Ashlynn
Cliff Jumping
Also on this day Christian got his stitches removed, had a check up with the orthodontist, and then went to Get Air with his friends.
Jack, Tice, and Christian
Friday - Sterling had lunch with Emily then he and Sheri went swimming at Berry's house.
In the evening Sterling and Sheri went to Ella and Olivia's for a grad party and then Sheri went to Emily's for a birthday party.
Christian got to play with Ian Riddle and Tice Sixta again.
Liv and Sheri
Sheri and Emily
Saturday Aubrey and Christian met at the park. Allison and Aubrey also met up with us and we enjoyed seeing them!
Then Sheri got her hair done at Krissy Hamilton's house. We loved getting to catch up with Krissy and Michelle!
Then we were able to visit our previous neighbors, the Ashbys. Of course DJ always has fun learning activities for the kids. The Ashbys are wonderful people!
DJ, Fabiola, and Ronnie Ashby
Meanwhile Sterling was able to squeeze in another D&D session at the Mauchley's house.
In the evening Sterling and Sheri had friends over to play games and watch a movie.
Sunday we enjoyed going to our Turlock ward and catching up with everyone!
Christian got some bonus time with Ian Riddle.
The next week Sheri and Sterling went to FSY. Meanwhile Christian and I played in Turlock.
On Monday Christian had another playdate and I got computer work done, In the evening I went to dinner with my friends that served in Young Women's with me (Krissy, Michelle, Chris, Timber, Gina, and Johanna.)
On Tuesday Michelle and I met Krissy at the Oakland temple and we enjoyed sitting together in the temple. We also went to lunch afterwards. Christian stayed with Matt and Cameron Grizzle for the morning.
In the evening I went to a taco truck for dinner with Louisa, Alma, and her 2 adorable girls. I sure love these women. They have such good and generous hearts!
On Wednesday we went to Yosemite National Park with Michelle and Johanna. We loved the time to talk and we loved the views. The park was too busy and it made parking difficult, but we were able to eventually get to a hike and enjoy the mountain air.
Thursday we went berry picking with Krissy and Johanna. Krissy brought her Jeep to make it more fun for Christian. I have the most thoughtful, sweet friends!
Then we went to a fruit stand and Lunch Bunch where we had a great time catching up with friends from the ward. L-R - Johanna, Krissy, Kris Gresham, John Work, ? memory fail but I love her!, Terri, me and Christian in the center)
In the evening we were happy to be invited to dinner at the Liljenquist's house. We loved catching up with them and seeing their 3 darling boys!
Friday Christian was able to play with Ian again.
In the evening we were able to go to a ward game night for adults. I brought Christian and fortunately his friend Elle was able to come also. They had a marvelous time and so did I! I love the women and men in our ward - the Westmorelands, the Martins, the Greshems, etc.
The next morning Matt flew in to California. Nancy took Christian to a Stake Primary Activity while I picked Matt up. The youth were also brought back from FSY.
Here are some photos from FSY. The kids had an incredible time! Sheri was miraculously able to be roommates with Charlotte despite a registration mix up and no way to request each other. As this was their only chance to spend time together during our trip we all felt it was an answer to our prayers! The chances of them being paired together among so many youth are pretty slim. It's so great to know that God is aware of you and loves you!
Saturday evening Michelle and my friends organized a cookout. We loved talking with everyone! What an amazing ward we have! Again, Michelle went all out to make this a wonderful evening for us! She is the BEST!
Sunday morning we got ready for church...
all sharing one bathroom just for kicks.
We enjoyed being with our Turlock ward family one more time
Then we hit the road for our trip up the Pacific NW coast.
We will miss all our amazing California friends. We feel so uplifted by all their goodness!
We treasure their friendships!
We are grateful to Matt for making it possible for us to spend so much time visiting our friends. He spent about 3 weeks on his own back in Texas working and taking care of our home. Here are some of his pictures.
Car troubles
Greens from the garden
Our 4 garden beds. Matt worked diligently to run water lines to all the garden beds, fruit trees, and roses.
Basketball buddies
Beautiful skies and backyard.
He is so great! We were so glad when he could join us for our camping adventure up the west coast! That will be for the next post.
