June 29 - July 5, 2026
Katie loved the aquarium. She would look at all the fish and say, "Wow!" over and over again. Wendy was scooting on the sand at the beach while we were doing our sand hand craft and she said, "ow, ow, ow" as she scooted. Katie then copied her scooting motion and repeated, "ow, ow, ow". Rachel said, "Oh geez" a few times on the trip and Katie copied her and would say, "oh geez" too.
Mary was in heaven with every activity on this trip. She loved stomping through the forest at Avenue of the Giants, she loved the sea creatures at the aquarium - though she was a little nervous about petting the shark. The beach takes the cake for her favorite though. She could play there all day and all night forever and still be sad when it is time to go home. Grandma Wendy and Mary are kindred spirits in their love of the beach.
Mom and girls joined Wendy and Rachel on their trip to Crescent City :)
Dad stayed home from the trip because the Japanese team was in town. They took him to Carson City on Wednesday for a work dinner but he didn't think it was fun and the food wasn't good. It sounded like they all got drunk. The nice thing was that they were very respectful and accommodating to him, knowing that he doesn't drink. More people quit this week and morale is very low at Redwood.
Sunday (6/28) we went to Reno with Wendy and Rachel for dinner. They were talking about their planned trip to Crescent City and Dad said that me and the girls should join them. They seemed okay with it and I wanted to go so we headed home and I packed, got some social media posts scheduled, and went to bed at 12:30 am.
Monday I got up at 5 am to finish packing and getting ready. Dad went to work at 7:30, like normal. We got loaded up in the car and left at 8:20. Katie threw up when we were an hour north of Reno. We stripped her down and she wore Mary's jacket as a dress for the rest of the drive. With the bikes on the back of the car we couldn't get to the suitcase so we just had to make do. It was a beautiful drive through California and Oregon. We got some beautiful views of Mount Shasta. We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Oregon. We got into Crescent City around 6 pm. It was very windy and cold when we got there. We were thinking of going to the beach but the weather deterred us. Rachel went for a walk and Wendy and I tried to get the girls to bed. Rachel got back and helped Wendy so I could go to bed after not sleeping very much the night before and driving all day. Eventually Mary did join me and went to sleep pretty quickly after playing around the room and changing her clothes. On the drive, I kept using the term "twisty twindy" throughout the week to describe the roads around Crescent City. I also made sure to sing the Rescuer song every time we passed someone on the road. We were in the car a lot this trip and the girls were both so patient about it.
Tuesday we got ready and got breakfast at McDonalds before going to the aquarium. We did a little aquarium tour where the girls got to touch starfish, anemone, and sea sponges. We saw different fish, sharks, and manta rays in their open ocean exhibit. Then we got to pet a leopard shark. We ended by going outside and watching a seal and sea lion show. We got some fun souvenirs. I got a jacket and a necklace with turquoise stones on it. The girls both got a jacket and Mary got a t-shirt. Katie got a bracelet, which she immediately tried to break so it went to Mary. Mary got a bucket of small toy sharks that she shared with Katie. After the aquarium (Ocean World), we went to Walmart and did some grocery shopping for the week. We went back to the AirBnB and rested. When everyone was up we got Chinese Food for dinner then took it to Pebble Beach because you are allowed to have a fire there. It was way too windy again and we just got sand in our food and eyes before giving up and going back to the house to eat. Wendy and Rachel went for a bike ride while I bathed the girls and took a shower. The girls watched Moana. Wendy and Rachel joined them when they got back. After the movie we all went to bed. Katie slept in my bed this time. She climbed over the pillows in the night and fell off the bed, cutting her lip open. I felt very guilty and had her sleep with Wendy for the rest of the trip - there were no more falls.
Wednesday was a big driving day. We drove down to a scenic beach bike trail only to find out it hadn't been kept up and was all washed out. We went to a nearby trailhead where Wendy and Rachel biked and I walked with the girls. We saw some elk and the girls had fun throwing sticks and leaves into the river. We got back in the car and drove to Patrick's Point. We had lunch in the parking lot then hiked up to the lookout then down to the rocky shore. We stopped for gas in Eureka at the Costco there. We drove 45 more minutes south to go to the Avenue of the Giants. I was hoping the girls could play there for a couple of hours but there were so many mosquitos we only lasted for about 20 minutes. It was frustrating because we drove almost three hours throughout the day to come here as the main destination. We drove back to Eureka and got dinner at In-N-Out then went to a nearby park where the girls played on a playground for about an hour. Mary made friends with a girl wearing a "skeleton dress". She shared her toys with Mary and they had fun together. We drove straight back to Crescent City. Wendy stayed with the girls at the AirBnB while Rachel and I went to Walmart to get craft stuff. Then we all went to bed.
Thursday we went to Trees of Mystery first thing in the morning. I liked it because it felt like it made up for Avenue of the Giants yesterday. We had a nice trail to explore and appreciate the redwood trees. Mary liked the "car ride" or the gondola up the mountain. She pretended to be a fruit bat flying over the trees. Katie loved all the black bear decorations around the park. She kept giving them little baby kisses. Grandma got Katie a little bigfoot toy, Mary a banana slug toy, and both girls a matching glow-in-the -dark t-shirt. We went back to Crescent City and got lunch at the Chart Room. I got clam chowder and the girls got chicken tenders. Wendy let me finish her blackberry cobbler. The girls didn't eat their tenders so I had a chicken wrap with coleslaw for dinner later. After lunch we went to Crescent beach and looked for sea shells. The girls loved playing in the sand and water. Mary showed us her "water run". We did a craft where you put glue on her hand and stamp it on a canvas board then sprinkle it with sand so you get a sandy handprint. We went back to the AirBnB so people could take naps but no one needed one and Katie wouldn't sleep. So we worked on our flag shirts for the 4th of July where we did blue handprints over star stickers and painted red stripes across the chest to make a personalized flag. We went to the lighthouse and looked for more seashells at low tide. Mary had a bunch of juice and I forgot to have her go potty before we left so she peed her pants when we got there. She was distressed and hungry so we got her to the car and luckily had some dry pants and underwear for her. We got her some snacks then went to Pebble Beach again. It was not windy this day. We built a fire and made s'mores and played in the water again. This was my favorite day of the trip. It was full of fun and every activity went how I wanted it to. Well, except for Mary having a hard time at the lighthouse. We stayed on the beach until after the sun went down then we went back to the house. I bathed the girls while Wendy and Rachel sorted out the car and packed up their stuff. Wendy showered next and got to bed with Katie. Rachel helped me get some stuff sorted then we went to bed, Mary with me. Dad said he would be surprised if we got out the door at 9 am so naturally we had to defy him in that. Rachel and Wendy helped me get a lot of things done the night before so we could get on the road early and be with Dad on his day off.
Friday I got up at 4:30 and folded the laundry we started, packed up our food, and we loaded up the car. Rachel did one last sweep then we hit the road at 6:10 am. Katie threw up again within the first hour of the drive. We got her stripped down again and put in one of the new jackets we got on Tuesday. We made good time because the construction crews weren't up and running yet, so we didn't have to stop and wait for them to let us through. We only stopped a couple of times for gas and met Dad at Five Guys in Reno at 2pm. We went back to the house and pretty much all of us passed out. After our naps we finished our 4th of July shirts and made one for Dad too. He was acting aloof but got more into it once we started on his. Wendy and Rachel got dinner at Denny's while we put the girls to bed. Naturally, though, both girls ended up in Wendy's bed that night.
Saturday we went to the parade on Main Street. This year the muscle cars that go first were all doing burnouts and it was very loud. Katie cried but got over it. Mary was really upset by it. It really scared her and hurt her ears. She stayed on the camping chair and a really nice man got his work ear protection from his car for Mary to use. His daughter gave us her fan to help Mary stay cool. We left early because each thing kept upsetting her more. We drove to Smith's in Dayton to get Gatorade and treats. Then we got Flat Earth Pizza in Carson City. We ate at a park then went back to the house and took naps. We glued stones and shells onto the sandy handprint canvas we worked on on Thursday. I made some peach cobbler then the girls played in the sprinkler with Rachel and Wendy. We also planted some flowers that Wendy got for Mary and Katie. We went to see fireworks that night up on the hillside on the West side of Fernley. Katie fell asleep on the way there and Mary fell asleep on the way back. There was an accident at the Fernley show. There was an explosion and all the fireworks went off at once so the show only lasted 5, maybe 10 minutes. We looked at the smaller fireworks going off around the city then went home and went to bed. Mary got one more night to sleep with grandma.
Sunday morning Wendy and Rachel loaded up and drove back to Utah. It was a fun week and I was grateful we went with them to Crescent City. I took Mary to the second hour of church and I did singing time for Lindsay while she's out of town. Sarah Johnson talked to me about me getting released from Young Women's. I told her I felt embarrassed and a lot of shame about it. She surprised me by getting all teared up. We hugged. I was touched by her show of emotion. Dad has also talked about how he appreciated Norm talking to him like a person and not making conversation feel forced or awkward. We picked up groceries after. I got a Slurpee from Taco Bell and got some fries for Mary. We relaxed at home then Dad did his meal prep and I did some cleaning before we put the girls to bed. I watered the grass and plants then went through the pictures from the trip before going to bed.
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Mary was in heaven with every activity on this trip. She loved stomping through the forest at Avenue of the Giants, she loved the sea creatures at the aquarium - though she was a little nervous about petting the shark. The beach takes the cake for her favorite though. She could play there all day and all night forever and still be sad when it is time to go home. Grandma Wendy and Mary are kindred spirits in their love of the beach.
Mom and girls joined Wendy and Rachel on their trip to Crescent City :)
Dad stayed home from the trip because the Japanese team was in town. They took him to Carson City on Wednesday for a work dinner but he didn't think it was fun and the food wasn't good. It sounded like they all got drunk. The nice thing was that they were very respectful and accommodating to him, knowing that he doesn't drink. More people quit this week and morale is very low at Redwood.
Sunday (6/28) we went to Reno with Wendy and Rachel for dinner. They were talking about their planned trip to Crescent City and Dad said that me and the girls should join them. They seemed okay with it and I wanted to go so we headed home and I packed, got some social media posts scheduled, and went to bed at 12:30 am.
Monday I got up at 5 am to finish packing and getting ready. Dad went to work at 7:30, like normal. We got loaded up in the car and left at 8:20. Katie threw up when we were an hour north of Reno. We stripped her down and she wore Mary's jacket as a dress for the rest of the drive. With the bikes on the back of the car we couldn't get to the suitcase so we just had to make do. It was a beautiful drive through California and Oregon. We got some beautiful views of Mount Shasta. We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Oregon. We got into Crescent City around 6 pm. It was very windy and cold when we got there. We were thinking of going to the beach but the weather deterred us. Rachel went for a walk and Wendy and I tried to get the girls to bed. Rachel got back and helped Wendy so I could go to bed after not sleeping very much the night before and driving all day. Eventually Mary did join me and went to sleep pretty quickly after playing around the room and changing her clothes. On the drive, I kept using the term "twisty twindy" throughout the week to describe the roads around Crescent City. I also made sure to sing the Rescuer song every time we passed someone on the road. We were in the car a lot this trip and the girls were both so patient about it.
Tuesday we got ready and got breakfast at McDonalds before going to the aquarium. We did a little aquarium tour where the girls got to touch starfish, anemone, and sea sponges. We saw different fish, sharks, and manta rays in their open ocean exhibit. Then we got to pet a leopard shark. We ended by going outside and watching a seal and sea lion show. We got some fun souvenirs. I got a jacket and a necklace with turquoise stones on it. The girls both got a jacket and Mary got a t-shirt. Katie got a bracelet, which she immediately tried to break so it went to Mary. Mary got a bucket of small toy sharks that she shared with Katie. After the aquarium (Ocean World), we went to Walmart and did some grocery shopping for the week. We went back to the AirBnB and rested. When everyone was up we got Chinese Food for dinner then took it to Pebble Beach because you are allowed to have a fire there. It was way too windy again and we just got sand in our food and eyes before giving up and going back to the house to eat. Wendy and Rachel went for a bike ride while I bathed the girls and took a shower. The girls watched Moana. Wendy and Rachel joined them when they got back. After the movie we all went to bed. Katie slept in my bed this time. She climbed over the pillows in the night and fell off the bed, cutting her lip open. I felt very guilty and had her sleep with Wendy for the rest of the trip - there were no more falls.
Wednesday was a big driving day. We drove down to a scenic beach bike trail only to find out it hadn't been kept up and was all washed out. We went to a nearby trailhead where Wendy and Rachel biked and I walked with the girls. We saw some elk and the girls had fun throwing sticks and leaves into the river. We got back in the car and drove to Patrick's Point. We had lunch in the parking lot then hiked up to the lookout then down to the rocky shore. We stopped for gas in Eureka at the Costco there. We drove 45 more minutes south to go to the Avenue of the Giants. I was hoping the girls could play there for a couple of hours but there were so many mosquitos we only lasted for about 20 minutes. It was frustrating because we drove almost three hours throughout the day to come here as the main destination. We drove back to Eureka and got dinner at In-N-Out then went to a nearby park where the girls played on a playground for about an hour. Mary made friends with a girl wearing a "skeleton dress". She shared her toys with Mary and they had fun together. We drove straight back to Crescent City. Wendy stayed with the girls at the AirBnB while Rachel and I went to Walmart to get craft stuff. Then we all went to bed.
Thursday we went to Trees of Mystery first thing in the morning. I liked it because it felt like it made up for Avenue of the Giants yesterday. We had a nice trail to explore and appreciate the redwood trees. Mary liked the "car ride" or the gondola up the mountain. She pretended to be a fruit bat flying over the trees. Katie loved all the black bear decorations around the park. She kept giving them little baby kisses. Grandma got Katie a little bigfoot toy, Mary a banana slug toy, and both girls a matching glow-in-the -dark t-shirt. We went back to Crescent City and got lunch at the Chart Room. I got clam chowder and the girls got chicken tenders. Wendy let me finish her blackberry cobbler. The girls didn't eat their tenders so I had a chicken wrap with coleslaw for dinner later. After lunch we went to Crescent beach and looked for sea shells. The girls loved playing in the sand and water. Mary showed us her "water run". We did a craft where you put glue on her hand and stamp it on a canvas board then sprinkle it with sand so you get a sandy handprint. We went back to the AirBnB so people could take naps but no one needed one and Katie wouldn't sleep. So we worked on our flag shirts for the 4th of July where we did blue handprints over star stickers and painted red stripes across the chest to make a personalized flag. We went to the lighthouse and looked for more seashells at low tide. Mary had a bunch of juice and I forgot to have her go potty before we left so she peed her pants when we got there. She was distressed and hungry so we got her to the car and luckily had some dry pants and underwear for her. We got her some snacks then went to Pebble Beach again. It was not windy this day. We built a fire and made s'mores and played in the water again. This was my favorite day of the trip. It was full of fun and every activity went how I wanted it to. Well, except for Mary having a hard time at the lighthouse. We stayed on the beach until after the sun went down then we went back to the house. I bathed the girls while Wendy and Rachel sorted out the car and packed up their stuff. Wendy showered next and got to bed with Katie. Rachel helped me get some stuff sorted then we went to bed, Mary with me. Dad said he would be surprised if we got out the door at 9 am so naturally we had to defy him in that. Rachel and Wendy helped me get a lot of things done the night before so we could get on the road early and be with Dad on his day off.
Friday I got up at 4:30 and folded the laundry we started, packed up our food, and we loaded up the car. Rachel did one last sweep then we hit the road at 6:10 am. Katie threw up again within the first hour of the drive. We got her stripped down again and put in one of the new jackets we got on Tuesday. We made good time because the construction crews weren't up and running yet, so we didn't have to stop and wait for them to let us through. We only stopped a couple of times for gas and met Dad at Five Guys in Reno at 2pm. We went back to the house and pretty much all of us passed out. After our naps we finished our 4th of July shirts and made one for Dad too. He was acting aloof but got more into it once we started on his. Wendy and Rachel got dinner at Denny's while we put the girls to bed. Naturally, though, both girls ended up in Wendy's bed that night.
Saturday we went to the parade on Main Street. This year the muscle cars that go first were all doing burnouts and it was very loud. Katie cried but got over it. Mary was really upset by it. It really scared her and hurt her ears. She stayed on the camping chair and a really nice man got his work ear protection from his car for Mary to use. His daughter gave us her fan to help Mary stay cool. We left early because each thing kept upsetting her more. We drove to Smith's in Dayton to get Gatorade and treats. Then we got Flat Earth Pizza in Carson City. We ate at a park then went back to the house and took naps. We glued stones and shells onto the sandy handprint canvas we worked on on Thursday. I made some peach cobbler then the girls played in the sprinkler with Rachel and Wendy. We also planted some flowers that Wendy got for Mary and Katie. We went to see fireworks that night up on the hillside on the West side of Fernley. Katie fell asleep on the way there and Mary fell asleep on the way back. There was an accident at the Fernley show. There was an explosion and all the fireworks went off at once so the show only lasted 5, maybe 10 minutes. We looked at the smaller fireworks going off around the city then went home and went to bed. Mary got one more night to sleep with grandma.
Sunday morning Wendy and Rachel loaded up and drove back to Utah. It was a fun week and I was grateful we went with them to Crescent City. I took Mary to the second hour of church and I did singing time for Lindsay while she's out of town. Sarah Johnson talked to me about me getting released from Young Women's. I told her I felt embarrassed and a lot of shame about it. She surprised me by getting all teared up. We hugged. I was touched by her show of emotion. Dad has also talked about how he appreciated Norm talking to him like a person and not making conversation feel forced or awkward. We picked up groceries after. I got a Slurpee from Taco Bell and got some fries for Mary. We relaxed at home then Dad did his meal prep and I did some cleaning before we put the girls to bed. I watered the grass and plants then went through the pictures from the trip before going to bed.
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