Hello!
I know, I know, I just sent an email a week ago and when was the last time you got two emails a week apart from me?! A rarity these days! However, this was an exceptional week, one for the books, and I wanted to do it justice by giving this lovely week its own stand-alone email. So here I am, back in your inbox again. :)
This last Monday was great. Richard had the day off, so that is always a great start to any day. After Marshall and Bridget got home from cross country practice the six of us had breakfast out on the deck...baked eggs and homemade cinnamon rolls. It was completely delightful and leisurely and left us all wishing every morning could be a morning such as this! After breakfast, we all scattered a little bit, therapy for me, and haircuts for the boys! We all came back together for lunch, meeting up at Penny Anne's Cafe, for a sup-par meal, but hey, it was relaxing and I didn't have to make anything! Ha! That afternoon, Gretchen went to her first dance class in July, and had a good time. That evening, Bridget worked at the farm, Richard and Marshall went to a cross country dinner and summer meeting, Rachel was with friends, and I went to a wedding reception for my first young woman to get married! She was a senior in high school when I got put into YW's the first time in this ward, in 2019. It was a lovely reception and it was so good to see her and give her a hug. And of course I loved visiting with neighbors. A wonderful evening. Oh, another Monday highlight was Marshall got his AP test scores back, and got 5s on both his world history and physics exams! Super happy for him.
Tuesday morning, Richard, Rachel and I gave everyone hugs at 9:00 am and left for the airport! Rachel's much anticipated trip with us was here! Per her request, we flew to San Diego and spent the next four days living it up in pure Rachel fashion.
We had a bit of time at the Salt Lake airport to relax in the Delta Lounge and Rachel's mind was blown, as was mine in February when Richard took me in there! Haha! Comfortable chairs, drinks and food at our fingertips, and fancy bathrooms! After experiencing that level of bliss, we boarded our plane and had a quick and smooth flight down to San Diego. Before we knew it, we had our luggage, took an uber to the hotel and arrived at the Marriott Marquis (right next to the hotel Rachel and I stayed at 2 years ago for nationals). We got there about 1:00 pm, but we got an early check-in and were up in our room on the top floor (25th). Our room had a balcony, which Rachel and I very, very much enjoyed. We had a fantastic view of the pools, the bay, and Coronado and it was just so pretty. Richard set one foot on the balcony, and promptly stepped right back inside-a little too high for him! After we got settled, we took off in search of lunch. We ended up walking to The Melt and had a really, really good lunch. It was fun to walk the streets of San Diego and remember so much of it from two years ago, Rachel loved it! After lunch we got back to our room and played games, took naps, relaxed/watched TV before heading out for a late dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. A great dinner and delightful conversation with Rachel Louise. After we got back to our room that night, we watched a movie before calling it a night.
Wednesday morning Richard got up early and went running along the bay. Rachel and I slept in, but by 9:00, we were all up and at 'em and headed out the door. We walked a few blocks to Richard Walker's Pancake House. Rachel and I ate breakfast here two years ago and it made an impression because this was seriously the one thing she knew she wanted to do on this trip! Haha! We didn't have to wait at all, got seated outside, and had a yummy breakfast. Rachel ordered the same thing as two years ago, French Toast with fresh berries and gobbled it up. After breakfast, we walked a few more blocks to the Museum of Illusions and had a blast in there for a solid two hours. We were enamored with all sorts of illusions: some that you just observed on the wall, or through a glass case, others we got to play with, and others we could walk into and experience ourselves. It was honestly SO much fun. We laughed and were wowed and had a really fantastic time. After the museum, we walked a few more blocks and stopped at a grocery store to get some snacks and then made it back to our hotel for some well earned downtime! Richard and I both napped, Rachel watched Heartland, and once we were all awake, we played some card games before heading out again. We took an Uber to Old Town and had so much fun walking around there. We actually hardly did anything historic, but I think we hit just about every single souvenir shop. It was so fun to follow Rachel around. She didn't ask for a single thing, but honestly touched everything. This is one thing I LOVE about these one-on-one trips. You just get to observe your kids and watch how they take in the world and watch them navigate new places. It is so fun. Anyway, after probably two plus hours of window shopping, we ate at Casa de Reyes and had a fantastic Mexican meal. Rachel doesn't love Mexican, but she does love guac and devoured that! We had so much fun talking with her. She asked so many questions and was just the happiest little dinner guest. After dinner, we did even more window shopping and watched a couple perform on a stage doing some ethnic dances from Mexico. By then, we had enough room in our stomachs to eat the most delicious churros we have ever had. They were perfectly crispy on the outside and completely divine and soft on the inside. Oh my. Needless to say, we left stuffed! Once back at the hotel, we watched another movie before quickly falling asleep!
Thursday morning we let ourselves sleep in a bit, and then as decided the night before, Richard and I had breakfast at the hotel, while Rachel kept sleeping, and then we brought her a pink drink and warm chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks! Haha! This girl knows how to live in luxury! And on a trip like this, of course we are happy to oblige! Rachel had just woken up when we got back to the room, so we all lounged a bit while she ate and then got ready and took an Uber to the San Diego Zoo! We were in by 10:15 and spent the next 5 1/2 hours having an incredible time! We made a bee-line for the pandas and just had a short ten minute wait to see them. The female panda was a complete delight! She was active and moving and eating and so fun to watch. The male panda was in a separate area, and was sound asleep! But, we had a great view of his back and a bit of his profile. :) And then the poor red pandas, we glanced at so briefly, but they were on the other side of the walkway and the other pandas completely stole their thunder! At Hogle Zoo, the red pandas are the highlight of any zoo day! Anyway, after the pandas, we made our way to the hippos, and let me tell you, those hippos were a complete surprise! I really don't know if I have ever seen a hippo move, but there were three hippos in this huge area and they were having the time of their lives! Two were completely underwater and just trotting all over the place. The third hippo was front and center, and mostly underwater, but every minute or so, his head would come out of the water, he would open his huge mouth and get sprayed by this giant hose thing. It was so fun to watch. And all the while, a mama duck and all her ducklings were swimming all over and just making us giggle. We probably spent a good ten minutes sitting on a bench watching all of this play out, it was incredible! Other animal highlights were monkeys of all kinds (including babies) and the whole bunch or orangutans. One orangutan just kept walking around in a blanket and it was cracking us up...reminding us of a certain 16 year old who we live with! There were also orangutan babies and the whole bunch was so fun to watch. The koalas about killed me with their cuteness. There were many, and they were all tucked up in the trees, but we did get to see one's little mouth moving, munching on leaves. Last animal highlight...Rachel loves elephants, and has for years. She was so sad when the Hogle Zoo got rid of their elephants. We visited the elephants after the hippos. The San Diego has four elephants: one female, and three males. When we stopped by in the morning, we could only see two elephants and both were quite far away from us. So, we made sure to circle back before we left, and I am so glad we did. We were able to see all four elephants, and they were all active. Rachel carefully read every sign she could in order to figure who was who. We spent a huge chunk of time here, and again, so fun to take a step back and watch her sweet mind taking in all she could about these elephants. That tender heart of Rachel Louise! Sure love her. And we all loved the zoo! It sure was a fun way to spend a day. We got back to our hotel around 4:30 and crashed for a good while. We had a late dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and actually ran into our past bishop and his wife! We got to visit with them twice that night and that was a real treat. We think the world of both of them and it was fun to run into them down there.
Friday morning, we slept in, and repeated the same breakfast plan as the day before! Starbucks in bed, what a life! Haha! We got a late check-out from our hotel, so we did some more sightseeing that morning after breakfast. We walked around "Mexico Town" as Rachel calls it, also known as Seaport Village. :) Rachel and I spent a lot of time there two years ago, and it was fun to be back. Just lots of shops for window shopping and cute restaurants, and you're just right there on the bay. So pretty! After that, we went back to our hotel, packed up, and took an uber to the airport. We had time to kill, so we played card games and hung out in the Delta Lounge again. Safe flight home and walked in the door about 8:45 pm.
We loved our four days with Rachel. She is one of a kind, that girl. She is so grown up in so many ways. She loves fashion and nails and hair and make-up and has for years! But, she has the most childlike heart, and is not at all embarrassed by it. She came home with five new stuffed animals, all of whom she named, and talked to and was so sincere with each of them. This sounds weird to type, and maybe even more strange to read, but seriously, just the sweetest thing to observe. Rachel is confident in who she is, and I just love that about her. She is thoughtful and kind and also cracks us up. We love her so much.
And, because we do have other children, I have to give them a huge shoutout. Per their request, we did not ask grandparents or anyone else to come and take care of them while we were gone. This made me VERY nervous, but we came up with this plan weeks ago, so I had some time to let it settle. Marshall, Bridget, and Gretchen did GREAT! Marshall drove Bridget and Gretchen everywhere they needed to go (piano, dance, tumbling, friends' houses). Marshall even took Gretchen to her therapy appointment and had a good visit with Cody himself! Jaw on the floor! They took care of the dog, took turns cleaning up the kitchen, made dinners, helped Gretchen, and just really rocked it. My Mom texted Bridget once just to check in, but Bridget told her everything was great, and that's all that was needed! I am so proud of them, and I love them lots!
Okay, that is all! Thanks for reading! This should make my July email more manageable! Ha!
Love,
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
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