Fun in Fresno, Soccer in Sonoma

Our trip to California to visit Kris, Erin and Tylre (and her family) and Charlene Sappington and her family was tiring, but very fun.  It’s a long drive to Fresno and Sonoma so it was nice to have family happy to see us on the other end.  While we were at Charlene’s we enjoyed catching up on all the family news.  Todd and Naoko, already married in the eyes of the Japanese government, will have a formal ceremony on August 8 in Japan.  Tyson will marry in August as well, so Charlene has a lot of travel ahead of her.  Tiffany and Bob are close to finalizing the adoption of little Abby … and Bob is scheduled to have weight loss surgery very soon.

On Monday night, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and fun conversation with Tyson and his kids, Tiffany and Bob and their kids and Charlene.  On Tuesday, we had a lovely day with Charlene.  We stopped by the Fresno Temple (didn’t bring the right clothes so were not able to attend), then toured the Forestiere Underground Gardens.  It didn’t look like much from the street, but it was beautiful and intriguing.  If you are ever in the Fresno area, it is definitely worth your time to see this one-of-a-kind subterranean home and garden hand built by one man between the years of 1906 and 1946.  On Wednesday, we took a swing through Yosemite National Park, including the Pioneer Yosemite History Center.  It was a lovely day despite the fact there was NO water in the streams and only a slight mist coming off the mountain side where a world-famous waterfall was supposed to be. 

On Thursday morning, we loaded up the car and headed to Sonoma for a visit with Kris and Erin.  On the way, we stopped for a brief visit with Troy and Linda and their family.  It was fun to see how tall their girls are getting and how much they are enjoying their beautiful third baby girl.

Kris wasn’t able to get Friday off, but it gave us the opportunity to spend time with Erin and meet Kris’ co-workers and her boss, Jeremy.  We had lunch and hung out that evening with Tylre, Jaeson and their adorable Memo (Guillermo).  I made Master Mix for EJ, we cleaned the kitchen for Kris, took in a movie and cheered Memo at his first ever soccer camp.  All in all, it was a very fun weekend, just not enough time together.

On Sunday morning we headed back to Charlene’s for dinner with her family and so our trip home wouldn’t be 10 hours in one day, but rather 4 hours on Sunday and 7 hours on Monday.  It was nice to get home, but we sure enjoyed being with everyone, even for a little while.