California

So, almost a month ago, we found out my mom's mom (my grandma) had passed away.  It was really hard, especially since I was across the country & knew we couldn't afford plane tickets.  It was so special, though, when my uncle used his air miles & flew Ollie & myself over for a few weeks in California for the funeral.  We are forever thankful to my aunt & uncle for doing that!

A day after we got into California, I got a really bad cold & ended up not even making the funeral.  I was devastated & wondered why & cried, a lot.  It ended up being okay, because it was so stormy & rained the entire time, so I probably would have gotten worse.  A few days after the funeral, we drove down south & stayed with my 91 year old grandma (my dad's mom).  She is absolutely incredible & is up & moving like she was our age :)

For the next week, we mostly hung out with my grandma & my family.  It was so nice to just listen to all my grandmother's stories about her life & growing up.  Being back at her home made me also miss my grandpa so much.  I had a breakdown when I went into her garage to take out the trash & saw all of my grandpa's tools lined up on his tool bench.  I know for a fact I will see him & my mom's mom again someday, but while we are here on earth, I miss them terribly.

We left my grandma's for a few days & went to Disneyland.  I grew up going to Disneyland & it has such a special place in my heart & I was so excited to take Ollie there.  Well, we were so surprised to see that it was PACKED.  Well, let me clarify, usually Disneyland is packed, BUT, we chose to go on a Wednesday & we soon found out that it was 'Ski Week'.  So, pretty much everyone in California was at Disneyland.  We got to go on 5 rides and I was exhausted!  We stopped at the Starbucks there & just rested while Ollie took a little nap.  Then, my cousin, his sweet wife & their adorable little boy, Jackson, came & met us!  It was so nice seeing them, because it had been a few years.  That is one thing that is really hard about living so far away.

The next day was my sister's birthday & also my grandma's birthday!  We all went out to dinner & this really neat restaurant in Rancho Bernardo with my uncle, grandpa (mom's dad), grandma, my aunt, sisters, & my cousin & her husband!  One thing that was so great about this trip was Ollie meeting all the family!  He was so excited meeting all his cousins & relatives & he cried overtime we had to say goodbye.  

The rest of the week, we went to La Jolla & pretty much just hung out with family.  I hardly took any pictures or got on social media, because it was such an emotional time & I knew that I wouldn't be able to have this time back.  It was a sweet trip, minus being sick, & I wish we could have stayed longer.  When I came back, I tried to convince Matt to move to California just because of all the family that's there.  Family is so important & I am so thankful for the time we had.

Lisa NightingaleComment