A Long Post Starring Auntie Heather!

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!

God's Glory in the Pismo Sky

Confession time.  These past few months have had some real low points.  Days of melancholy have been aplenty.  Annoyance with one another has been real.  Being a leader and making decisions that are essentially lose-lose has been challenging.  But, in watching the Pismo sky this week, the Lord settled my heart and spoke words of reassurance through well-known songs and scripture passages.  He reminded me of His care.  His faithfulness.  His power.  Song lyrics, like those from The Love of God or Oceans or This is My Father's World, kept running through my head.  We returned home to another set of stricter gathering guidelines and all the hard decisions and sacrifices that come with that.  But, I returned home also with a more peaceful heart and reminder that our world, crazy as it is right now, still belongs to God.

"This is my Father's world.  I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas.  His hands the wonders wrought."

"Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the sky of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade?  To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.  Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky."

"I will call upon Your name.  Keep my eyes above the waves.  When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace.  I am Yours and You are mine."

"The heavens declare the glory of God.  The skies proclaim the works of his hands." Psalm 19:1.

Dunes, Dinosaur Caves, and Donuts

Here was another day spent doing little hikes that were not far from our hotel.  

After walking through a fragrant eucalyptus grove where 30,000 some monarch butterflies migrated last winter, our path led us out to a neat, dune covered, deserted part of the beach.  It was fun to run down dunes and climb twisty trees here.

After that, we checked out the nearby Dinosaur Caves park.  The many arched rock formations and tops of caves are where hundreds of pelicans land and call home.  We'd been watching these fascinating birds fly in packs, ride the waves, and dive bomb the fish they were hunting all week.  We spent a long time observing their colony and trying to spy their fluffy gray chicks.

There was a cool playground here too that was actually open!  Love that my kids are not too big for a good old "floor is lava" challenge across the obstacle course equipment! ;)

 Another local hot spot is Surfside Donuts, so we couldn't leave without trying their unique take on donuts-- we savored banana cream pie, apple cheesecake and French toast flavored donuts!  And we got to the shop by walking there across the beach!

Avila Barn and Cinnamon Rolls

This just made me smile.  As our girls get older and now do things when we travel like, post their own vacation stories on Instagram, or text their friends updates, or watch certain episodes of The Office in bed with us at night, it's fun to see their still innocent and playful side!  We spent a long time feeding each of the many many farm critters healthy greens at the Avila Valley Barn.  Ella and Delia may even tell you this was a vacation highlight!  

  

All week, we'd observe the around-the-block line at a famous local bakery each morning.  We had a stop here on our list, but thought afternoon might be better timing.  So, after our time at the barn, we had to see what the big deal at the Old West Cinnamon Rolls shop was all about.  We tasted and immediately understood the long lines!!  We ordered one of each roll type to eat around a fire pit at our hotel.  I did not get a picture because theses most delicious treats we ate all week were gobbled up that quickly!

Boogie Boarding

Possibly the best $10 we spent on this trip was to rent Delia a wet suit and boogie board for the day.  She is the girl who would return from each walk we took soaking wet because she just couldn't resist those waves!  She was dying to get in the ocean, but we knew she'd freeze, so this was a happy discovery!

Dave wins the best parent award for braving that cold water to take her out and teach her how to catch waves on her boogie board.  She was a good student and learned quick enough.  Her screams of joy each time she rode a wave in resounded over the beach, delighting us watching from the sand.

Do you see those two tiny dots with that WALL of waves behind them?  

(Insert any Beach Boys surfing lyric of your choice here. ;)

Ella and I were happy to be spectators, bundled up in sweatshirts and dry towels with our books on the beach!

Cambria to Cayucos

We took small trips each day to local hiking paths and parks I had researched and found open.  On our first day, we walked the coast-hugging loop at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve in Cambria.

The path was easy and super scenic and had a great perch from which to watch a whole rock full of entertaining seals.

 

A little ways south of Cambira is the tiny town of Harmony.  Blink and you will miss it and its 18 residents!  Harmony is known for its artists, though, so we made a pit stop to admire the pottery and glass blowing studios.  Delia and I got some pottery souvenirs.

 The last stop on this string of coastal towns was Cayucos, where we found the only open pier in the area.  Good to see the girls still love each other enough to naturally choose to walk like this, even though they endured non-stop togetherness since March! ;)