Quick Trip

Last week, Mom got an extra day off, so we decided to make a quick trip to California to see Grandma and Sarah and Aaron. We left Wednesday night and drove as far as Primm, Nevada. We got a room at one of the casinos there and the price was right, but it took 40 minutes of waiting in line just to check in! But it was better than driving through the night or sleeping in the car at a rest area, so we didn't complain. We got to Grandma's about 5:00 on Thursday - just in time for a mini reunion. Grandma had invited Ryan and Jan, Janae's family, and Bart's family over for dinner, so we had a great time eating, talking and playing with the kids. Sadly, I think we forgot to take any pictures. The next morning, we took Grandma and made the drive out to Modesto (with Ryan and Jan following behind in their truck) and found Aaron and Sarah's new house. We got to surprise Hakan (Sarah hadn't told the kids we were coming), but Finn was asleep and Pyper still at school. But after a little visiting, we walked over to the grade school and got to surprise Pyper, too. We had brought kites for Pyper and Hakan so we went back over to the park by the school and got to fly them for a bit before the rain started in on us. I decided kite flying is a good activity for Hakan, because lots of running around can be a good thing when you're trying to keep a kite in the air. Sarah had a short honey-do list for me, so on Saturday morning, I moved a chandelier from the family room into the dining room (where it should have been in the first place) and installed a ceiling fan and light in the family room. They even worked when I got done! Finnley had a good time playing with his birthday present from us, when he could get it away from Pyper and Hakan.

We made a lunch stop at Panda Express and it was kind of fun watching Finn dealing with noodles. He's a pretty good little eater, though. Hard to believe he's 2 already.

. We had to leave Saturday night and get back to Grandma's so we could drive home Sunday morning. Like I said, it was a quick trip and not nearly long enough, but was lots of fun nevertheless. It's nice to be close enough to make the trip on a long weekend. Mom is getting her miles in this month. California last weekend, a trip to Salt Lake for Conference weekend coming up, and then a trip to Rexburg to get Kimberly when school lets out the weekend after that. She may be glad to stay home for a bit after all of that. Bye for now! Dad