In 3 long years, we finally drove down to southern California to visit family for Chris’ mom’s 80th birthday and to take kids to Legoland and the zoo in San Diego. Our schedule was packed with nonstop activities and driving, however, we always stayed masked up and cautious!
Except for car sickness and occasional throw ups from me and the kiddos, all of us stayed healthy. Thankfully Chris stayed healthy the whole time and kept our family together. I must’ve been more stressed and worked up than I thought, because I had a full-blown sickness on our drive down to Los Angeles: lack of sleep, car sickness, too much coffee on an empty stomach, and imagining worst-case scenarios. After a quick stop at McDonald’s, I suddenly felt aches in my shoulders and knees (bizarre symptoms). Then, it hit me: vomiting, panic attack, emergency stop to the next bathroom, more vomiting, and then it suddenly stopped. It shook up the other 3 in the car and everyone fell silent. I felt terrible for freaking everyone out and worrying them just hours into our vacation.
That was the only major hiccup on our entire vacation, which I’m so grateful for. It was one of our best vacations and it was wonderful to not cook or clean all those days. Freedom!
Our trip back home was bittersweet: nice to come back home yet sad to part with dear family. Our kiddos missed playing with their older cousins and being part of a bigger family. Even though so much time has passed since we last got together in person, it seemed like no time has passed. Everyone goes back to their daily routines, but we now have some good memories from this summer.
Wow, we started the summer with a bang with Ellis’ surgery and that was all we could see and deal with. It’s been a trying summer, but God has also blessed us with time to heal, refresh, and have fun. Thank you Jesus!
Categories: family
singlikewildflowers
Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!
sing like wildflowers 
How fun to get together with family despite all the worries associated with travel. These are great pictures Esther and what a cake!
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The cake was fancy and delicious…which was hard to believe. The top layer was strawberry and bottom was chocolate hazelnut. I had a tummy ache that morning so decided to only have one piece of cake later. And I love cake and sweets.
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It was pretty and that sounds wonderful. Glad you got to sample it later.
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