Visit from our Favorite People

Last August we were blessed by the Boyacks' presence in our home. They were so nice to drive down just to see us! Sam had to work some of the days but we still got to spend good time together! They couldn't stay too long but we got to visit a few places. Here are the snapshots of the weekend!

 

They drove in on Thursday, and on Friday I took them to the Aquarium of the Pacific to enjoy what it has to offer. We packed in a lunch and spent a good chunk of the day there.

Petting horseshoe crabs.

 

Noah really liked these penguins!

The next day we spent a good chunk of the day at the beach. Sam had some things to do in the morning and met us afterward. We boogie boarded, made sand castles, and looked for some shells. Lots of sun as well...

Beach cuddles.

 

Noah enjoying his sand.

Pooped.

On Sunday they came to church with us and we took them to the visitor center at the Los Angeles temple. They really loved it! We had an idea that we would have a sunset walk on the beach. Well, I forgot that the beach is such a happening place on the weekend. We were practically stepping over people on our sunset walk. We ended up walking to the Santa Monica Pier (though not doing anything but look out to the ocean).

 

Hugs! We won't see them again for a while!

The only girls in a sea of boys!

Sadly we haven't seen the Boyacks since! Time to have a FaceTime, I say! Thank you for the amazing visit! We miss you terribly.

Hobbs Family Reunion 2022

This was the culmination of summer 2022: the Hobbs family reunion. Jared and Jenny purchased and renovated a cabin in Fairview, Utah and invited the whole family over for Pioneer Day weekend. I didn't think Sam would be able to make it but he pulled some strings and was able to come! Luckily being in California the drive was very doable in one day. I peaked back at some point and had to snap a picture of this moment:

I hardly ever get to see my niece Nicole as she lives in Utah as we never really had a reason to go before now. So naturally we wanted to stop by and see her new home, her new dog, and her baby boy Calvin. She brought food from Cafe Zupas, we paid for it, and we had a pleasant meal and get caught up in life. Since then she is pregnant with a baby girl due in June, so the hope is we get to visit her again this year for the next Hobbs reunion.

 

Noah was born March 1st, Calvin was born exactly a month later. Look at these two!

He is the spitting image of his mama.

Joseph took a liking to Calvin!

Fairview was only an hour away from Nicole, but we arrived when it was getting dark. No pictures for the rest of that day! Here's the next day when the whole family took a walk to this pond in the rich people area. We didn't bring any swim suits, so it was fun trying to wrangle the kids...

Jared and Jenny bought enough tables and chairs to set up this huge dining area, so awesome!

Then Jacob and Shauna brought this bounce house and it was a huge hit with the younger ones!

Chloe also enjoyed it!

I caught a garter snake and gave it to Hudson. He named it Justin Timbersnake. 

He escaped though (it might have been Joseph's fault...)

Eden and Brandon.

Meal time!

Jared and Jenny also had this super nice hot tub. It was a hit with the boys!

All the girl cousins!

We brought inner tubes for the little river right by the cabin. Chloe also enjoyed this.

Jenny brought craft and things for all the kids to enjoy. She's an amazing planner!

Sam, the fire-loving Eagle Scout, made a huge fire for marshmallow roasting.

Siblings!

Snipe hunting!

Happy (almost) Pioneer Day!

Chloe enjoying the parade in town.

Many small town pageant winners!

Cousins!

All the cars for the Demolition Derby were in the parade. Here's a favorite!

Eden's birthday celebration!

Demolition Derby! Sam and I didn't go so Noah could go to bed early.

 

Sparkler time!

Overall we had a fantastic time. It was so fun we decided to to make it a tradition (if possible) to make it a yearly tradition for a Hobbs family reunion. Jared and Jenny put soooo much work in to make it as exciting and comfortable as possible. We had many fun conversations, good quality cousin time, and lots of fun overall. There was just one problem...

On the way over our car's A/C went out. We couldn't find a car place open close enough over the weekend, and we were wondering if we could make it work, but if we left the time we were originally going to, we would be driving through St. George, Las Vegas, and Death Valley during the hottest part of the day in the hottest part of the year. No thank you! So as soon as the demolition derby was over we left. Sam and I used that time while everyone was at the derby to pack everything up and clean our area. Shauna and I took one last photo:

Thank you to all the Hobbs family for this great time! Joseph especially loved it. The cabin became his dream home and started talking about wanting a cabin with three separate buildings when he grows up. Chloe, Jared and Jenny's dog, also convinced him he wanted a dog. He wanted a chihuahua as they are the smallest, but I'll just say a chihuahua would not act like Chloe. No other dog I've met acts like Chloe. Jenny says Chloe tricks people into thinking they want a dog, but don't realize that it's just Chloe they want! Anyway, we are excited to come back this year!

P.S. On the way back in the middle of the night one of our tires blew out. It was only two or so hours after we left. We were low on options, so after putting the spare on, we just tried our luck and drove all the way home on that thing. Don't recommend but it worked! Our car's A/C and tires have been fixed since then!