Bradshaw Reunion 2015

Parker flew in to Wenatchee on August 11th, so the whole family took a day and drove over to pick him up from the airport. It was so good to embrace in a hug and see his cute face! He is such a huge example of an optimistic and loving soul. He was away from family and friends for 2 years and had some good and bad experiences, but through it all stayed strong, lived the gospel and served a faithful mission. I am so proud of him and happy he is home! 

We planned a family Reunion around my brother’s homecoming, and were lucky enough to have almost the entire clan be able to make it (Sorry Mike, Megz, and Jxn). While the pinnacle of the reunion was welcoming Parker home with open arms, we were able to pack in lots and lots of activities. Boating. Honeymoon Campground. Family Olympics Competition. Family games in the yard. Horseback riding. Board games at night. Water Baseball. My mama’s 60th Birthday Party. Tie-dying Shirts. Driving the Convertible. Shopping in town. JD’s first bee sting. JD’s first horseride. Cousin Playtime. Dad's caramel corn. Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe. Etc. etc. etc.

Our reunion was so much fun!! Each day we had something planned and made the most of our family being together. It was so good to be home and show JD what my childhood looked like... being outside most of the day, jumping on the trampoline, riding horses, and playing on our swing-set. We had about 30 people in my parents house but it never really felt like that since most of the kids were outside all day and we were playing and having fun. We all took turns making a dinner one night too. 

My mom also celebrated her 60th birthday while we were all home. So, naturally, we threw a surprise party for her! It was so much fun to plan and she had no idea! This is HUGE if you know my mom. She loves to surprise people but usually finds out things pretty easy, so to be able to keep this all from her was a huge success. She was very surprised when she walked into the room where everyone was and it was priceless just to see her face! Madz put together a book of memories filled with notes from friends and family members. It was amazing how many people responded with the nicest things about her. Around 120 people wrote something to our dear mother. She really does have such a huge, selfless heart and the way people talked about her definitely reflects who she is as a person, beautiful inside and out. For her surprise birthday we set up a little treasure hunt for her to go on. We woke her up at 6:30am by going into her room and singing Happy Birthday and giving her her first clue. It was to get dressed and go on a walk with a few good friends. After she got back from her walk, her grandkids sang her a few songs and then my dad took her on a drive. They had a few more clues to find when the last one sent them to her favorite breakfast place where she thought it would just be her and my dad getting breakfast. They went upstairs where there were about 30 people to sing Happy Birthday to her and have breakfast together! It was a perfect surprise birthday! I am glad everything turned out so well because she definitely deserves the best. We love our mama!

i just love my family so much <3

NW Coast Roadtrip

we knew our golden summer would eventually come to an end, but boy did it sneak up on us! It wasn’t easy to leave, but we had a very, very good reason to pack our bags and head up to Washington – MY BABY BROTHER WAS RETURNING FROM HIS MISSION! Release the pigeons, sound the trumpets – After 2 years we were finally going to see lil Parky Poo.

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful drive from CA --> WA, and stayed on scenic Highway 101 for as long as we could. I picked out a few gems for our pit stops (J limited the number of stops we could make, or else we could have been on that road trips for dayyz). Our first stop was driving through the Avenue of the Giants and enjoying the beauty of the glorious Redwoods. We drove through a tree (JD steered), saw trees hollowed out into homes, and stopped at the ‘Big Tree’ and ‘Tall Tree’ (clever names, eh?)

 

After the Avenue of the Giants we continued on up through Oregon. We stopped off at the Sea Lion Caves, but unfortunately there were no lions to be seen. But, this stop was far from wasted. We were able to meet up with Rachel & JP, our good friends from college. Rach and I were roommates our freshman year, and have remained close even after moving to different states, etc. We went out to dinner and had a much needed catching up with these wonderful friends. We had a goal to make it to Newport by nightfall, so unfortunately we had to part ways with the Porters and jump back in the car.

Well we made it to Newport, but alas, we did not stay for the night. On my phone a plethora of hotels showed vacancies, but after driving circles around the town and trying multiple inns, we were shocked to find that they were all full. It was unbelievable. It was late. We had a very fussy baby who wanted out of the car. Heck, we all wanted out of the car. I was so mad that my phone showed available rooms but when we actually went to the hotels to book, they didn’t have a room to spare. Well, turns out I had the wrong dates entered into my phone… FAIL. We ended up driving about an hour out of our way and found the last overpriced room at a Motel 6… And no joke, a car literally drove up minutes after us and was turned away. I remember being so grateful that we arrived at the hotel first. The next town would have been another hour drive!

 

The next day we awoke happy, well rested, and ready to hit the road! We stopped off at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and learned all about dairy processes. It was actually quite fascinating, plus we got some very tasty treats. Then we were off to Canon Beach to build some sand castles and dip our toes in the ocean with Haystack Rock cheerfully sitting in the background.

 

After Canon Beach, we were homeward bound! We didn’t make any other stops and just cruised on in to Winthrop. It felt so so good to finally be home, and we couldn’t wait to see Parker. Bring on the Bradshaw Reunion!

Stinson Beach

a cold + cozy evening

it seems like all summer long, we tried and tried to make it to Stinson Beach for sunset. but alas, it didn't seem to be in the cards for us. Finally, on a whim after a pleasant evening in Sausalito, we decided to drive out to the beach. While it was too overcast to enjoy the sunset, we had a lot of fun bundling up and playing by the seaside.  and, we got lots of family selfies out of it :)