Mark was able to get some time off over the 4th of July week. We had told my family we would try to come to California and were so excited to make it to Petaluma to celebrate with them. I LOVE the 4th of July. Yummy food, family, fireworks, freedom. It's all amazing! Everyone was excited to be with Brooklyn too.
Brooklyn's longest car ride has been about 3 hours. She usually doesn't mind her carseat, but it's an 11 hour drive to California. That is a long time for me to sit still! We left Friday evening after Mark got off from work. The first night we usually stop in Spark, NV to spend the night and rest up for the last 4 hours of the drive. Brooklyn fell asleep about 10 minutes into the drive and then happily played when she woke up. We stopped to feed her and change her into pjs. She wasn't so sure about all of this. She fussed a little once we got back in the car, but eventually gave in to her sleepy eyes. She slept like a champ! We got into Sparks and had made a reservation at The Nugget. We always stay there and were pleased to finally arrive. Mark went to check us in only to return and say that they overbooked the rooms and we didn't have a hotel room. We were exhausted. We had a sleeping baby in the car and no place to go. We called around to a few places, but it was a holiday weekend and everything was booked. Finally we found a place that didn't look like we could be murdered at. Lucky for us Brooklyn was so tired that she stayed asleep in her transfer to her travel bed.
This picture I took after feeding her. Lately she has been doing cat naps right after she eats. Apparently she wasn't done sleeping!
I still have a few friends in California that I love to see when I go home. We knew we wouldn't have time to visit everyone so my parents hosted a little BBQ so that everyone could see us and meet Brooklyn. This was probably one of my most favorite days at home. We had a blast seeing so many friends. Kids were running in and out of the house and everyone just seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Not to mention my mom cooked like a champion and there was tons of food and snacks.
One of my best friends from High school, Devin, came with his two adorable kids and awesome wife. They hadn't met Mark or Brooklyn yet and I hadn't met their kids. Colin was born just a few days before Brooklyn. It was so fun to see them play together. Hopefully with a few more visits home we can get them to be best buddies too.
Camden and Parker lovin' on B
We just started solids! It is pretty funny to watch her try new food. Here she is tasting mango and loving it. She seems to like the fruit way more than veggies, but so far will eat everything other than peas.
For the 4th of July we decided to head to Salmon Creek Beach. We had wanted to take Brooklyn to the beach and figured since everyone had the day off that it would be a perfect day to go. The only hard part is our beaches are COLD, WINDY, and sometimes RAINY! We headed out anyways in hope of some good weather. Cami's kids didn't seem to mind the cold, but Brooklyn wasn't a huge fan. The water was freezing and one dip of the toe and she was done! The wind was too much and she didn't even like the sand. Mark ended up just snuggling her in some towels the entire time. Maybe some day she will get to see a nice warm beach and crystal clear water.
We grabbed some yummy lunch before heading back. Clam chowder and fish and chips. Loving having fresh seafood after a morning at the beach.
My cute little 4th of July family!
We did a few fireworks after dinner so that Brooklyn could get to participate. She loved the sparklers. The few bigger quiet ones we did she just stared at not knowing what was going on.
Missing 2 favorite California cousins, but had fun with these 3
Had to get a nap in! It was a busy day!
My mom knows how much I love to go see the fireworks and was worried that Brooklyn wouldn't stay asleep during the loud noises. She offered to stay home while the rest of us went and enjoyed the show. I was so grateful because it meant after a long day Brooklyn would get a good night's sleep and I wouldn't be so worried about her.
We were a little silly while waiting for what seemed like FOREVER for the fireworks to start. We had a great time and enjoyed our fireworks at home afterwards.
On Tuesday we just relaxed all day! Everyone was tired from such a busy holiday. That night my parents too Mark, Brooklyn, and I out to my favorite Thai restaurant, Sea. It is the BEST! I crave it constantly in Utah and talk about it all the time. I have yet to find something that comes close to how good this food is. It was fun for Mark to get to try it because I seriously talk about it ALL THE TIME! This was just our appetizer!
My mom gets free tickets to Six Flags/Marine World every year. We were thrilled that we would get to go this year! Even better, it was a gorgeous day and not crowded. Everyone had so much fun. Brooklyn even slept through half of it so we could enjoy some fun rides too!
B got to ride a little train and the carousel! Happy Girl
Around 5 Mark and I left Brooklyn for the evening! My parents had gotten us a room at their time share so we could have an early anniversary getaway! I knew Brooklyn would be in amazing hands the whole time and it was a much needed night away.
Haddley and Parker were thrilled to get to be babysitters for the night and have their first cousin sleepover.
Mark and I had a nice dinner with no fussy baby!
It was so fun to getaway for the night. I slept so well and didn't worry for a second. Luckily for grandma, Brooklyn sleeps through the night so she did great!
Our last day was spent lounging and playing with the kids. Mark and I took Camden and Haddley to go get chocolate dipped cones! SO YUMMY! I'm glad that is a tradition because I love them.
Just a little messy....
Kyle, Jordan, Kassidy, and Jayden got back a little early from vacation so they came to play with us our last night! We wish we would have gotten more time with them..and pictures!
Our last adventure was a campfire in the backyard with grandpa. Brooklyn didn't make it too long, but I did get to enjoy nursing by the fire!
We ended the night with bedtime stories and snuggles. It officially took 10 minutes to get normal smiles out of these 3! Boy do I love them and miss them like crazy!
We headed back to Utah early Friday morning. Our hope was to make it to Reno before Brooklyn needed to eat again. She played and napped and ate a little in the car. We made it just outside of Sparks for a quick stretch your legs, change diaper, grab food break. We jumped back in the car and kept going for another 4 hours. The trip seemed to go by so quick. At one point B started to get a little fussy so Mark jumped in the backseat with her. All she wanted was some attention. Poor thing had spent a lot of time alone with a few toys. After stopping again to quickly feed and change her, we hit the road again. Luckily we made it back to Utah not too late and could stick to our usual routine for bedtime. This was Brooklyn's happy face when I parked the car! She was such a great baby!
