Home Is Where the Heart Is

I still call California my home even though I have not lived there permanently since 2007. Over Memorial Day wknd, my sister, her son Riley, our friend Devin and I all drove to Woodland to spend a few days. Devin spent time with her family and Laura & I went down for her baby shower and to see family & friends! Oh, and empty her storage unit ;-)

Took this picture for Tony because there is a big soccer ball on the grass

 

Friday night we went to our friend Kirsten's house where there was a very nice baby shower had for Laura & Riley. It was fun to see familiar faces we grew up hanging out with and seeing each Sunday at church. There were a few treats and then everyone just mingled, talked & watch Laura open presents. Riley cried most of the time until we figured out he did not want to be held - he just wanted to lay on the floor and kick! haha

Thrift store shopping with Betty! He behaved so well while we shopped at a few different thrift stores to find cool stuff.

Kokob at Crepeville in Davis!

My funny face

Saturday our friend Kokob drove from Tracy to Woodland and we all went to Crepeville in Davis for a late lunch. Love hanging out with her! Then we drove to Natomas and did some shopping. Went to Ulta and a few other stores. Riley behaved pretty well.

Kokob had to get somewhere else after awhile so after we dropped her off back to her car, Laura and I went to a few stores around Woodland. Here we are at Marshalls, I wanted Laura to get this panda shirt! So cute.

I found a super cute owl shirt but didn't buy it

One other main thing we did on this trip was empty Laura's storage unit. Linda was awesome and brought her van across town so we could fill it up + we had Laura's car we filled with tubs and boxes. Decided to sort it on Linda's front lawn because there was a lot of space to just spread out. Betty came and helped her go through things, I scored some things that I thought had been lost forever!

Like an owl whose head spins which my Granny bought for me when she was alive.

Had a wonderful time at church on Sunday and then Laura, Riley and I headed to Fuddruckers in Sacramento for lunch with the relatives.

Here is the salad I got

and my delicious mushroom burger

Huge thanks to my grandparents (I think it was them) who paid for everyone's food. It was great to see them again, my Aunt Lori and Uncle Rich too. My other aunt and uncle were visiting their son (my cousin) in Arizona and our other cousin w/his wife and their son were not able to make it. Too bad! Hopefully we will see them next time.

Riley chilling on the couch at grandma Linda's

Kokob, Riley & I. So funny the face Riley is making

Riley with grandma Betty at Linda's. Lucky Riley has so many grandma's!

A tape that got a bit eaten by the VCR. It is a really old tape and our family probably watched it the most when we were all young

Laura still kept going through all her stuff all evening, I worked on transferring some VHS to DVDs for my dad. That evening we were so exhausted we kind of fell asleep where we were , then woke up and went to bed.

Getting instruction the morning of the bike ride before heading 

to the first park.

Monday morning was Memorial Day and the annual Woodland 2nd ward Bike Ride & BBQ. I wish every ward could/would do this. It's a tradition that has been going on as long as I can remember! I was super super excited that this year we were going to be in town to participate.

A nice guy in the ward had a pump and I was using Laura's bike. He pumped up my tires and then walked away to help someone else. I stood there for a few minutes and then tried to wheel my bike but it wouldnt go forward! I noticed the back tire was getting lopsided and the tube was starting to burst out from the tire! I didnt know what to do so I laid the bike down and started walking away from it. Then there was a loud BANG and the tube exploded. Everyone was looking at me , aiai, I was so embarrassed! Luckily going through Laura's tubs the other day I had found a tube for a bike tire. Bro. Erickson who rides his bike quite a bit, told me what size tube I needed as he took the back tire apart. I called Laura who was able to bring me the tube for the tire and it happened to be the exact size I needed. Happy day! Betty and Kirsten waited for my tire to get fixed while everyone rode to the first park. So so nice of them.

 In the picture above we are at the first park and people are playing softball. Standing in the middle watching is Leslie V. with her bike.

Betty & Kirsten riding towards Ferns Park

Ferns Park was the 2nd park and there were different stations with games. Above is Phoenix A, Kristen H and Brandon S. Every time I go home its crazy how much everyone has grown!

Playing a round of duck duck goose

A game with a sponge and water

Waiting in line for their turn at a game. In the light blue shirt on the left is Jesse B. who just came home recently from serving a mission in Mexico. Towards the right is Bro. Wagnon and Sis Wagnon.

The Kelley's are off to the left and Sis. Morgan and other people are standing to the right - trying to stay out of the sun

Tug of war and other games at the last park. This is the men vs. the kids. Pretty funny to watch!

Hanging out in the shade with Betty & Kirsten

Some people hanging out at the last park before heading to Woodside park for the BBQ

Bro. Campbell, Bishop Bringhurst and Bro. Keck working hard to grill hamburgers and hotdogs for all the hungry people

 After the bike ride, everyone meets at the park by the church for a potluck and BBQ. So much good food! In line on the right you can see Linda and behind her is Laura.

In this picture below, the lady on the left is Mary C. I used to work at Gemini Bio-Products with her. She still works there!

Laura, Riley, Linda & I

We hung out for awhile and ate, said some goodbyes and then we left to pick up Devin and drive back to Utah.  What a great trip. I LOVE more than anything going home to visit Woodland and see my family & good friends there. Thank you so much to those who did things for us while we were there and to Linda for allowing us to stay at her house, use her internet, get the front room messy for a bit with Laura's storage unit stuff, and take us out to eat a couple times!