Sunday, June 29, 2008

California

A few weeks ago, we went on a trip to California for a Family Reunion with the Gaoiran side of the family. Eric went out a week early to help his uncle Jim rebuild a barn. The boys and I flew out a few days later. They were pretty good on the plane, but I was still stressed of course.

Before we went to Merced, I stopped in Roseville to visit my brother Daniel, his wife Rachel and their son Luke. Tyler calls him "Wuke".
If I ever left Utah I would want to live in Roseville. It is such a nice area with so much for the kids to do. I have never seen parks like these...
And that's not all...if the park is not enough, there are water play areas too! Talon absolutely loved this...

Tyler wasn't as interested in getting wet...he stayed on the perimeter most of the time.
Luke was loving it too...
We finally get to see daddy after a week without him.
We had lots of fun hanging out with Daniel, Rachel and Luke. Although I think we were a little much for Luke. He is a mellow child and used to a quiet environment. Yeah, that's not my boys. At the end of our stay Luke went up to Rachel and said, "Say good-bye kids". It still makes me laugh. He was ready to have his space back. I think Rachel was too as she was close to her delivery date and still let us stay in her home. So nice.

Growing up, Daniel and I were close. He was my little buddy. He is three years younger than me and we used to talk a lot growing up. Or should I say, I used to talk a lot. I am pretty sure he just listened. He must have been so annoyed at times. He was always so sweet and just listened to whatever I felt like talking about. So, when I wasn't depressed, stressed, anxious or frustrated, we had fun together...no really, we did have fun together. Promise. We laughed a lot and played together. Growing up around my brothers meant that we did things boys do. We played "guns", Nintendo and computer games, rode bikes and skateboards, played outdoor hockey, basketball and went rollerblading. I have such great memories of spending those carefree hours playing with them. On this trip he had some time off work and so we had time to hang out together. We both have been so busy with our own lives that we haven't had time like that in years. I loved having that time with him.

After Roseville, we left for Merced and stayed with Eric's mom and her husband Dave. They are always great hosts and we feel at home in their home. We appreciate them making room for us. They bought a nice airbed for the kids to sleep on. Who knew that an airbed was comfortable? Oh the memories of starting out with it all full and then waking up on the ground because all the puffiness was gone. Destiny and Alyssa, their Crawford cousins, were being cozy on it altogether.

Eric's Aunt Susie and Uncle Jim have an almond tree orchard near Merced and they invited us out for a family reunion. Almost all his family was there. We missed you Val, Cooper and Uncle Nick. We had a blast and everyone enjoyed being together. It was great to see the family. Eric's dad, Tony, is in the black shirt)
Eric hasn't seen his cousins for 9 years! They all look alike, don't you think? His cousins are all boys and there are 2 boys to each family. We have 2 boys and Justin and Valerie have a boy. That's a lot of testosterone.
The little boys loved the "quad" and I have to admit it was fun driving through the beautiful almond trees.
We miss Justin! When he lived here, Talon and he formed a bond. Justin's dog is named Boston. Talon used to ask to visit "Jussin, Bosson" (Justin and Boston). Tyler followed suit and always asked to play with Justin. They both adore him.
Talon couldn't believe that there were other kids with his same last name. He said, "MOM, they have my same last name!" He and Tyler ran around all day with their Gaoiran 2nd cousins loving every minute of it.
What a trip!

7 comments:

bechtold clan said...

Looks like so much fun! Roseville is pretty awesome...you know im from that area right? Anyway glad you had a fun trip...headed to disneyland tomorrow and hoping all will go well..

Rachel said...

Thanks for your comments Jay. We do have some sweet memories of growing up! We had a great time with you guys here, as usual. I'm glad you came a day earlier so we could hang out more. It was fun to have the kids play together.

BUD

Eric Gaoiran said...

We need to vacation like that more. I think we should go somewhere in October. How about a cruise?

Abigail said...

Cute blog! It was good to talk to you at the MS ride. I think it would be fun to go out more often with you and Sonja. Since we are all neighbors it would be very convenient. I hope you had a great ride last weekend!

Jessica said...

You guys look so good. Your boys are too cute. What a fun trip. I wish I were in Merced at the same time so that we could have seen you. Maybe next time or in Utah. Love ya.

Carrie said...

hey guys! looks like you had a great trip! I know there are other priorities...like family, but I think our boys would have sooo much fun together! Next time you come to good ole Roseville...maybe we can meet at that awesome park!

Abigail said...

Hey Jaynann lets ride this week! What days work for you?