Calaveras Big Trees

After Atreyu's baptism, we headed over for one last adventure with the family to Calaveras Big Trees. It was nice to get away from the craziness of the city and just enjoy nature. The kids wanted to climb on almost every felled tree and they had fun pretending the trees were pirate ships or houses. They even had their own bedrooms on some trees.

It was so wonderful to have family come to visit us. Jesse and I have really never lived away from family so that has been one of the biggest trials we have faced since we started traveling. It will be so nice to move back home some day and have family close by but until then we will be grateful for any chance we get with them.

Atreyu's Baptism

I was so glad that we had so many family members come for Atreyu's baptism. We originally thought it was just going to be the grandparents (which we were so thankful for) but it was such a treat to have cousins there as well. Jesse and I both have memories of having cousins at our baptisms and I'm thankful he can have those memories as well. We had friends from the ward come and it was very humbling to see the turn out. Atreyu asked Bernie to speak on baptism and he asked my mom to speak on the Holy Ghost. They both gave such wonderful talks and the spirit there was so strong. I asked Atreyu how he felt before getting into the water and he said he was excited. He wasn't nervous at all. After he was baptized he said he felt happy, warm, and fuzzy.

I'm so thankful Atreyu made the decision to get baptized and take this important step in his life.

Monterey

After our cable car adventures we drove over to Monterey where we spent the next day. We had plans to do the aquarium and spend a couple hours on the beach. The aquarium was amazing! Most the kids are funny and prefer all the fake little toys explaining different aspects of the ocean and it's creatures more than the actual creatures themselves.

We then ate some yummy pizza and breadsticks where I so kindly spilled Dr. Pepper all over my mother which made me feel so bad. Thankfully, she was a good sport about the whole thing.

We didn't have much time to spend at the beach like we had originally planned but we did spend about 30 minutes playing around at Lover's Point. Honestly, it was probably my favorite part of the trip. I love the peacefulness of sitting next to the ocean and listening to the waves. 

Chinatown, Alcatraz, and Cable Cars

The second day of our extended family fun consisted of Chinatown, Alcatraz, and unintentionally taking a tour of downtown San Francisco. We started off in Chinatown. The kids played on the playground, we explored shops, ate some Chinese baked goods, and even found a shop that makes fortune cookies.

We then headed to Alcatraz. The ferry ride over was a bit cool and windy but we got a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The island itself is rather beautiful with flowers and plants growing all around. We were able to do the audio tour of the prison. It was so interesting. It spoke of different attempted escapes and the life of the average prisoner and guard. They mentioned that if the wind was blowing in just the right direction the prisoners could hear the people on the mainland laughing and enjoying their lives. They were able to see freedom just on the other side of the water. I can't imagine how awful it would be to see freedom so close but be so far from it.

After Alcatraz we caught a covered cable car which we were going to take to the open cable car that was going in the direction we wanted. After given incorrect information, we got off a stop too early and ended up having to take a long walk through downtown San Francisco. The pregnant, tired, hungry part of me caused me to have a bad attitude about the whole thing and so I didn't take anymore pictures. Looking back, it was actually kind of funny seeing all of us trying to stay together with all those kids surrounded with all the other people.

We finally made it to the cable car we wanted and it was fun going up and down the hills of San Francisco. All in all it was a good day and I wish that I had had a better attitude.

Submarines and Beaches

We were blessed to have Jesse's parents, my mom, and Jesse's sister and her family come down for Atreyu's baptism. They all came down a few days before and we packed those days with a lot of activities. None of them knew that I was pregnant and we had fun surprising them all. Jesse's parents came first and the kids and I picked them up at the airport while Jesse was at work. I wore a loose fitting shirt and Jesse bribed the kids by telling them that if they didn't say anything to Grandma and Grandpa about the baby then they could pick out a treat. When Jesse got home, the kids hadn't said anything and we were waiting for Bernie to get out of the shower. Atreyu went up to the bathroom and told her we had a surprise to tell her and she knew right away. We told Eddie that we wouldn't be able to go on the cruise with them and that's how he figured it out since that's the way we told them I was pregnant with the baby I miscarried. It was fun seeing their surprise and excitement.

Two days later I went to the airport by myself to pick up my mom. I wore a shirt that said "Surprise..." and had little baby feet on the stomach. I walked to the escalator to meet her and gave her a hug. She hadn't noticed the shirt so I backed up and pointed to it and the shock and amazement on her face were worth all the times I had wanted to tell her but didn't.

The kids didn't know that their cousins were coming down and we told them that we had a surprise for them later in the day. We started in San Francisco and toured an old submarine. Atreyu was fascinated with it and thinks it would be so cool to work on one. I was also fascinated with it but there is no way I would ever want to live on one. There is no natural light, everything is very tight, and the diesel fumes were starting to give me a headache after only 30 minutes on board. It really helped me to appreciate what all those men did for our country.

We then grabbed some food and headed over to Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge. As we were pulling up, we asked the kids to look in front of us and there were their cousins getting out of their suburban. The kids were so ecstatic to see them. They all had fun playing on the beach and that's when I showed Janell and Cameron my shirt. I never thought we would have the youngest grandchild on that side of the family but that's how it's looking.