This morning we went to my dad’s old church! It was pretty
nostalgic being there and recognizing so many people that literally watched me
grow up. I caught up with multiple people and introduced them to Daniel. Two of
my girlfriends (who also grew up in the church) went with us and we all sat
together, sort of reflecting on memory lane from back in the day. It was pretty
cool. After church I caught up with more people that were still there and
exchanged brief conversations, catching up on each others’ lives. It was
positively charming. After church, Daniel and I went to In-N-Out (his new
favorite) with Dana and Barrett. While I was talking to everyone catching up,
Daniel was playing “airplane” with Barrett and they were having an absolute
ball. It was super precious. Anywho, at lunch we just caught up and really
enjoyed time together. Daniel and Barrett became besties for life, and it was
truly the cutest thing ever. So while they were doing their boy thing and being
adorable, Dana and I were able to catch up one-on-one with little
heart-to-hearts (my fave!). Once again, just positively marvelous time well
spent. Then we had to split ways. Always no fun, but we all knew that this wasn't goodbye but more of just a "see you later, alligator" type thing. Barrett kept telling us to come over! Wish we could :)
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| My old church! |
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| Best friends :) |
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| Such cute little men :) |
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| Dana and I :) Best friends since second grade! Love you chica. |
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| All four of us :) |
Our next part of today's adventure was driving to my grandmothers house in the bay area! This took several hours, but Daniel and I just discussed all our previous adventures and what was to come! :)
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| Listening to my grandmother tell stories from when she was younger :) |
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| Loved seeing my grandma green! |
Visiting my grandma was so lovely! I haven't seen her since I was about 15 or 16, so it's been quite awhile! She showed Daniel and I old family photos (you know - the typical naked photos of your bum. Daniel thought this was precious). It was cool though because we were able to see old photos of when my dad was young! It was weird seeing him as a 70's love child... chest hair and deep v-necks. wow dad! haha. We caught up on what Daniel and I were up to these days, and she shared how she and my grandpa were doing. Sadly we didn't get to see my grandpa - he is currently in a nursing home because he has pretty severe dementia. I saw a recent photo of him and it was difficult to look at a men that was already tall and skinny lose about 50 pounds... He just looked really sick and different than the man I grew up seeing. It's never easy seeing the people you love start moving toward the end (please keep him and my grandmother in your prayers). Anywho - my grandma is an avid reader and she shared several of her books from her collection (pictured above) with us! She writes her name in all of her books, so that is something I will treasure! It was really sweet to see her and to spend some good time with her.
Next we drove up to my cousins house! I haven't seen this cousin since I was maybe four years old? I am not quite sure, because sadly I do not remember meeting her! She was only about an hour away from grandmothers house, so not too bad at all! We arrived at her and her husbands cute little house, and the four of us all talked and caught up on each others lives! It was cool to get to know more family that I've really never connected with before! It was definitely a blessing and Christiana and Justin were absolutely lovely!
Below is a photo taken the very next morning with them in front of their house.
