Cloudcroft

We just got back from 3 weeks on a fantastic summer vacation! We drove to Lake Tahoe and spent a week with Aunt Anne, Unlce John and their family. So fun. We hiked all week (Emma counted that we had hiked somewhere around 21 miles!) and ate dessert the rest of the time. (21 miles is a lot of energy to recover and dessert seemed like a good way to do it!) When we weren't hiking we did lots of reading, playing games and just relaxing together. Thanks for a really fun time Wills Family. Then it was on to San Fransisco for a few days to explore the city. After that, we headed down the coast along Highway 1. We had perfect weather and the drive was beautiful. We stayed in Cambria and went to Hearst Castle. (Thanks Aunt Michelle for driving all the way up to go with us!) We saw fireworks on the beach for 4th of July and ate pie and some more pie. (this seems to be a dessert themed vacation) We were then off to Santa Barbara to stay with The Gaitans for a few days. Unfortunately, Rachel got sick and stayed in bed but we managed to see a little of Santa Barbara and spend some quality time with our cousins. Thanks so much for hosting us and for adjusting to our earlier arrival time. After Santa Barbara we traveled to Murrieta to stay with Uncle Scottie, Aunt Michelle, and our cousins there. Again, Rachel stayed in bed for a significant portion of time but we were able to relax and let her get better. We spent lots of time in the pool and lounging around visiting. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach. We had so much fun and miss them already. Thank you for having us for an extra unplanned day and for always making us feel so at home when we are there. Next, it was time to see the Bronsons in Vista for a short and sweet visit. The boys are getting so big and were so much fun to be with. We roasted smores, enjoyed a yummy dinner, and laughed a lot. We also got to the beach again and Stacey and Case joined us (yeah!) Case even taught Hannah a thing or too about diving through the waves. Thanks Tracy and Donny for such a great time. We can't wait to come back. Finally, it was time to see Grandma and Grandpa in San Diego. At this point, Matt had to attend a conference all week but the girls and I continued on with the vacation fun (someones gotta do it, right?) We hiked with Grandpa and went a little off the beaten path! It was great to spend time together though and we appreciated Grandpa's keen sense of direction! Thanks to grandma for the games of Scrabble and all the comforts of home! Thanks Uncle Brian for all of the time you came and spent with us playing games. Whew! What a trip. We feel really lucky to have had such a long vacation together as a family. We also feel very fortunate for all the memories we created with all of the family and friends along the way!