First Week of Vacay

We love the summer. We like it for the weather to boat in, and be in the water, and Christopher gets a break from school; but one of my favorite things about summer is that we can drive and visit family.

Christopher's final ended at noon on Friday and we were on the road right after. We were headed to California to see my family first, but since it's a really long drive we split it up so Mason wouldn't go crazy being in the car.

We thought this was the best sign ever, it's like 4 signs put together, and is probably a whole road lane wide! It's so big, it looks cartoon-ish to us.

We stopped in Bend Oregon Friday night and left Saturday morning for the rest of our trip, we got in right before dinner time and Mason was a champ in the car. 

We sang a musical number with my family in church on Sunday since both Chris and Julie and Burley and I were home.  Then on Monday I went with my mom, Zoe, and Lindsay to get pedicures. I needed one very badly; we all picked different colors but they all look super cute.

Mason got to experience Paka and Grandma's backyard. He got to bounce on the trampoline, walk around on the grass, and get  pushed in the baby swing by Grandma.  He loved the swing, he would laugh and giggle everytime he got pushed. He was so fun to watch and play with, I guess we'll have to take him to the park so he can swing in the swings more often.

Mason also go to play in the pool. He loves water and had a blast being in he pool.  When it's a little low they fill it up by turning on the water which shoots a stream of water into the shallow end, Mason thought it was the coolest thing ever. When it was on he would turn in his floatie, reach for it, and kick and flap his arms trying to get to it. He had great time in his floatie and being in the pool with lots of people to watch.

We were also lucky enough that my sister Wynne decided to go through the temple before her mission while we were there. It was awesome being able to go through with her and be there for that. It was an awesome experience which of course had to be celebrated with Leatherby's afterward.

One of the days we took a trip out to Sutter's Mill. It was fun to see the different sites there and see the mill. We got to play in the river which was really refreshing that day. Mason loved the water despite it being pretty cold. We skipped rocks and threw bigger ones to splash people, mostly Zoe.

 We got to see a blacksmith shop, a chinese store, the "Mormon Cabin" where LDS men stayed while they worked on building he mill. We got to go on Grandmother Rock where the Native Americans would grind acorns, and go inside some of their teepees.

After a while of exploring we went on a hike to Marshall Monutment and on a loop around the hill. It was pretty hot and we only had to check the GPS a couple times to make sure we were on the right trail. We were all really hot, tired, and definitely sweaty from the hike, we stopped at In N' Out for lunch to eat and cool off on our way home.

 Mason fell asleep partway through the hike and collapsed onto the hiking pack.  He had a little bruise and scab the next day from all of his bouncing. I figured if he was uncomfortable at all he would have woken up, I was wrong.  

So after our hike if we stopped walking Mason would wake up, Paka was kind enough to carry him the rest of the way back to the cars so he would stay alseep. 

Mason started sleeping better a few days before we left to go on our trip and I hoped that it would last through our trip and he did.  Some times during his naps I would go in and see him on his knees with his butt in the air. I was glad that Mason slept well while we were in California, even if he slept in funny positions every now and then. 

We did a lot while we were in California and had such a fun time. We got to visit with family and even help move my sister Melissa into her new house.  We loved spending time with everyone and visiting for the whole week.  We love and miss you guys!!