Saturday, September 1, 2018

The Ridings take Oceanside



Also in May of 2017, my family took a siblings trip to Oceanside, CA.  It was amazing.  

After flying in and making a definite stop at In N Out, Danny and I were ready for the party!

 

We got this incredible beach house right on the beach.  It was huge and beautiful, with room for everyone.  I miss seeing my nieces and nephews on years when we don't see them at the reunion, but it is so great to have adult time with my siblings and parents, without worrying about kids.  It was so fun!


 





We took a temple trip to the San Diego temple, 

 

ate great food, spent lots of time on the beach, 

 

rented bikes (Danny and I, of course),

 

 

 took walks on the beach, laughed, talked, and all the things we love to do together.   

 

I think it was great to have Danny spend some time with just my siblings, as he was able to get to know them a bit better when everyone could just focus on quality time.

 

 


Danny's friend Jared came to spend an afternoon with us since he wasn't able to make it to the wedding, and it was great to meet him!  He is a really dynamic, charismatic person, so he fit right in with the family, and was very natural with everyone. It was so fun to have him! 


We also took family pictures in back of the house, with the beach providing an amazing backdrop.  

 


 

 

My parents were so happy being near the ocean, and they were so cute as they watched my brothers play in the water from the window upstairs.  

 

 

It's hard to watch my parents get older.  My mom was about to have a hip replacement, so she was very frail.  

 

 

 

It was so touching watching everyone be so solicitous of her; I almost didn't get a chance to do my part!  We all love Mom and Dad so much. 

 

 

Of course Dad is still goofy as ever.


Mike, Dave, Sarah, Becca, Danny and I played in the water and went a little crazy with the photobombing, but it was SO FUN playing together!  We laughed so hard for hours; it felt like old times.

 

 


 

 

 

It was a fantastic week, complete with the best breakfast taco of my life. Ha!  Really, though.  It was so good.  

 

I'm so grateful to my parents for their generosity in facilitating these trips.  I love them, and I love my family. 

 

 

And getting to share the week with my Favorite person was amazing. He's amazing.  


Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Girls Camp 2.0 Takes Austin

Girls Camp 2.0 was at it again!  We had such a great time together in Austin, TX in May of 2017. (Yes.  It's now August, 2018 and I'm still working this far behind).  The location was picked purely for the sake of it being a cool city and kind of central-ish. We laughed so hard, cried some, had a few adventures, and talked A LOT.   I sure love these girls.  They are good for my soul. Beth, Katie, Kristi, and Jen.  Such a great weekend. A few highlights:

Torchy's Tacos- gave me LIFE.
Riding bikes
Seeing the flight of the bats at sunset
Swimming in some natural spring
Good Tex-Mex food.  You can't find that very easily in Virginia.  Go figure. 
Salt Lick BBQ
Ice cream with a free show of a some Christian dude rapping, another filming him, and backup dancers to complete the best moment of the night.  All coming out of a van with something about Jesus on the outside.  And then driving away.
Late-night shenanigans
Some mechanical bull riding, being stared at by some creeper at the window.
Hanging out with Kristi at the Capitol after dropping everyone else off at the airport. 

These girls are just good for my soul.