On Friday we were able to visit Great Grandma Gladys in the Bethany Home Assisted Living facility. It was great to see her again!

 That evening Grandpa gave each of the kids a special ride on his Harley.. They loved that!  It was a perfect way to spend our last evening with them.

 With Oma's help, even Kristiana got to go for a ride!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving day ~ We were thankful to be able to spend this holiday with Dad & Mom... our first time for being on the farm with them!  That morning we attended services at Zion URC then, came home to a fabulous big feast that Dad & Mom cooked/baked!  It was a beautiful day outside too so after our meal we went for a little walk around the farm.  It was so nice to spend the day relaxing and hanging out with each other!

 Dad's yummy BBQ turkey!

 A little post-Thanksgiving dinner nap :)

 The orchards were colorful and so nice to walk through...

 Love this view!

Everyone spent the evening playing in the yard (or, the guys tinkering on their vehicles :)  Tys began a quest to make a 100 baskets.  He reached about half way on Thanksgiving and the rest he conquered the next day!

Thanksgiving Part 2

We arrived to Dad & Mom's house on Monday evening.. it was so good to see them and be on the farm once again!

Tuesday morning we loaded up and headed to the coast for the day! It was a beautiful day to be on the ocean and we soaked up the sun. First we went to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz.  It was a very fun, educational, hands-on place right by the ocean.

 Trenton's favorite, the Leopard Shark

 The bones of a whale!

 From this look out we were able to see a whale off in the distance, on the horizon, blowing through his spout!  Everyone was pretty excited to experience this!

 Grandpa & Oma with their grandkids :)    *serious

 *silly

Thanksgiving Part 1

For Thanksgiving we headed to California for the week.  Our first stop was in Sonora, to visit our dear friends, the Loverins.  We left super early Saturday morning and arrived to their place around 7 that evening.  It was SO wonderful to see them again! Even though the kids hadn't seen each other in about 2 years, they quickly became great friends again.

 These two buddies were born just 2 months apart and have been friends from the very beginning! Trent & Josiah

 My dear friend, Sharla

 The "kids table"... lots of goofiness and laughter happening here!

 On Monday morning we enjoyed a hike near the Colombia College (basically in the Loverin's back yard)  With Wesley as our guide, we girls had a fun time adventuring through the "enchanted forest"; the moss on the big rocks were amazing!

 Friends ~ Wesley, Eliese and Katie

 We met up with the guys and rest of the kids at a nearby historic mining town called Colombia.  There were rocks to climb on and we spent time exploring the little tourist town.

 Possibly the future "Mr and Mrs"?!

 The Stagecoach

JoJo, Jakob, Tys, Wesley and Trenton