This was supposed to be a summer where we traveled to Chicago. But, like everything else in life, plans changed and we had to adjust. When my sister Heather reached out and told us she could fly crazy cheap to us, if we were okay with her germs, we didn't hesitate to welcome her with open arms! I'm soooo happy our summer could still include a little time with far-away family! Heather wasn't here for long, but we packed her visit with lots of fun, spending 5 days laughing and making new recipes, new clothes, and new memories!
We took her to our favorite little coffee shop while the girls were busy with Drama Camp.
We followed the 7 step instructions for making Bitterballen-- a new Dutch dish for me, but one Heather discovered in the Netherlands and wanted to try to cooking. What is it, you wonder? It's deep fried meat and gravy balls. Yep. Trust the Dutch to come up with this crazy, but delicious, recipe!
Heather had the fun idea to do a big tie-dye project with the girls! This also was new and we had a blast researching our designs, anxiously applying the dye, patiently waiting for them to dry, and finally revealing the mystery of how they turned out. We each looooved our shirts! Ella and Heather loved theirs so much, they even did a round two! So now between the four of us, we have a tie-dyed hoodie, leggings, three shirts, and two tank tops!
We celebrated our summer birthday girls with ice cream cake and presents. We giggled over the 2020 way to extinguish birthday candles-- fanning, NOT blowing!
We took Ivy to the river for a few hours to teach her how to swim! She did not love not feeling the ground under her feet, but she did love splashing around playing fetch in the water. We all loved discovering a new place to cool off.
And then we girls took off to the coast for a few days! It's wonderful that this piece of our state remains open, with a few easy-to-follow guidelines for staying safe. We really enjoyed that we can still be outside soaking up gorgeous scenery, while dealing with very few summer crowds! We started our getaway with a morning on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and wharf. The rides are closed, but Pirate Mini Golf was open!
We played a super competitive game, all of us within a few points of each other. Ella ended up squeaking out the W with her hole in one on the very last hole!
After a picnic lunch at our pick of dozens of empty tables on the Boardwalk, we made our way over to our favorite little cove beach. Here it is warm and sunny, with great waves, hot sand, and lots of pelicans flying over. Do you like our matching shirts? ;)
Of course, every trip to Santa Cruz must include a stop at Marianne's for ice cream. The dining room was closed, but this local hot spot figured out a way to still serve safely, all outdoors! What you're looking at here is blueberry cheesecake, coffee almond fudge, heaven, and salted caramel. Yummmm.
We then drove about an hour down the coast to where we'd spend the night at a cute little hotel in Carmel. We went for swim in the pool, had another outside meal at Pizza My Heart, and then chased the rapidly setting sun with such ferocity, the shocks on our car got a work out and the kids in the back got locked in! (Not to worry. When you accidentally lock your kids in the car because the sun is a minute from sinking below the horizon and they are too slow, they just call you up and ask to be let out!)
Bright and early the next morning we headed out to explore a new spot on the Carmel coast-- Garrapata State Park. The views here could not be beat! But, brrrr! It sure was windy hiking up in the fog on the cliffs! By the time we returned home to 110 degree heat, we realized we'd felt a 60 degree temperature change in one day!
See the rainbow in the fog?
After Garrapata, we took Auntie Heather on the famous 17 Mile Scenic Drive. This is a road we've traveled a lot in the past, but this time we had the goal to stop and check out every one of the 17 landmarks. This made it so fun! We walked around the ritzy Pebble Beach Resort and found the 18th hole right on the water.
We took the obligatory picture with the iconic Lone Cypress.
We played in soft white sand, and explored tide pools, and hiked boardwalks, and watched otters and sea lions.
And we did it all with very few other people around! California is indeed for Californians (and the occasional Coloradoan) this summer! Thanks for braving airplane travel to brighten our summer days, Heather!
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