▲▲▲ Day Twelve: To Grandmother's house we go! ▲▲▲

Today we had the pleasure of visiting my delightful grandmother and grandfather! My grandmother has always been my treasure and my heart is filled with love because of her (it's our little saying). I suppose by worldly standards, I couldn't say we did much today. However, today was easily one of my favorite days from the whole trip - because we all just sat around and talked. Not blabbering about, but good ole fashion, genuine heart-to-heart conversations on life. We ate good food/meals and really just enjoyed the simple company of one another. I think that's something that is often lost in our world today - where people have a hard time just being in one place with just people and not letting their phones or other electronics help occupy the time. I think that's another reason I love visiting my grandparents home so much - it feels genuine and I don't feel like I need my electronics to "survive." Anyways, ending that rant... Grandparents house was an absolute delight! They were so thoroughly impressed with Daniel, which of course just made my heart glow and make me fall in love with him even more. Of course, Daniel fell in love with my grandparents, too, as it would be far too hard not to! They are such incredible people who have lived such a thorough life... My mum always says that my grandma has more common sense in her pinky finger than most people will have in their entire life - and it's true!

Me and my darling grandparents whom I love with all my heart :)

Daniel and my grandparents - three of my favorite people in the world!

My grandma is easily one of my heros - she has lived more life and been through more difficult things than anybody I know... and yet she carries herself so strongly. She is not an angry or violent person because of past things that have happened, and instead of blaming God for "why this" or "why me" she thanks Him for the life she lives and all the blessings that surround her. My grandfather is one of those soft souls. He is genuine and tender-hearted. My grandmother calls him her "Mr. Wonderful" and whenever he is being rotten, he is "Mr. Bumbles." Why I mention his "rotten" nickname, it is to say that no marriage is perfect... We all fall short and make mistakes, even in our relationships. However, the way they stick up for one another and love each other despite a fault or a mistake... My grandma shared so much wisdom with me on how to fight in a healthy way, how to forgive unconditionally, and how to let God have control as He is stronger than everything else. I just love the way my grandmother talks about my grandfather, as their story reminds me a lot of mine and Daniel's story. The way my grandfather cares for my grandmother is how I feel about Daniel and the way he cares for me - in a way that is so strong and so pure that no matter what, the love is always there.

Both my grandma and my grandpa are absolute goobers. Wise, beautiful, incredible goobers. I always know that I am in for a smile and heart warming whenever I am around them. Right now my grandfather has cancer and he is doing his best to beat it. While I was there they received really great news, which gave the both of them hope for the future. My grandmother has had a hard time seeing her prince charming struggle with cancer, and not knowing which direction the cancer will lead (victory on earth, or defeat on earth but rejoice in heaven). My grandmother also had to recently put her dad in a nursing home... and I know that has been really hard on her heart lately. I cannot imagine! I am a worrier, and I always worry about the "what ifs" like what if Daniel dies, or my parents get sick, or my siblings or best friends... But I realize I cannot worry about these things and I need to simply give it to the Lord. I know my grandmother has been doing this (and my grandpa too) but if you wouldn't mind lifting them in prayer, that would mean a lot, too. I love both of these people so much, and they are both my heroes and role models... Both for myself and my relationship with my precious husband. My selfish heart isn't ready for them to leave this world yet... But I know that no matter what happens, we always have heaven.

Well, this post was more personal than I thought it would be... I suppose that's how it goes sometimes. My grandparents mean the world to me, so I suppose it is hard not to get emotional about it. This road trip started because I wanted to visit my grandparents this summer, but flights were just too expensive... I'm really thankful that we were able to road trip and see all the people and the sights that we were able to see.
God is soooo good, all the time. All the time, our God is SO good.

▲▲▲ Day Eleven: Driving // Jelly Belly ▲▲▲

This morning we woke up from the most wonderful nights sleep at my aunt Pam's house. She treated us to a fancy breakfast place in downtown Richmond. We shared good conversations and delicious food. 

My beautiful heart shaped mocha :)

After that we drove up to where my father went to seminary! That was a neat experience to see where my father went to school (near UC Berkeley). It was a small school, but beautiful as it was on top of the mountain and overlooked San Fran and the entire bay area. It was just so strange to be in a place my father lived and learned when he was my age (I won't make him sound old, but this was quite awhile ago). Anywho, it was lovely. Shortly after that, we were on our way to our next destination. 

My lovely aunt pam! 

Right before we left the Bay Area, we found out that Jelly Belly was literally right off the interstate! Daniel had never been, so of course we simply had to stop by! We didn't get to go on the tour as the line was over a two hour wait (thanks to multiple schools/daycares deciding today was THE day to go on tour) but we did have fun eating random jelly beans, taking pictures by the fun signs, and exploring what they were about. Daniel even ate a "pencil shavings" jelly belly! Grooooooss. But he was adorable doing so. He enjoyed our little visit and it was definitely a lovely little detour!

After Jelly Belly, we finished our drive up to Auburn, California. 

This is probably my favorite place in the United States, perhaps aside from the beach, as it feels like home to me. Many people do not understand that Northern California is almost the opposite of southern california, as there are many plains, ranches and it feels kind of like you are living out in the country - but you are close to a love of major things (Sacramento, San Fran and other larger cities). When we arrived at my aunts house, she and her husband were still at work, but we were okay with that as it gave us a reason to crash and take a nap. Even though we have been blessed to sleep in a nice bed every night, traveling does take a toll on you and you find that you need a bit more sleep than you might normally. Perhaps because our days our fuller and better spent, but either way, taking a nap for an hour or two might as well just be a glass of heaven on earth :) Later in the afternoon, my aunt and her husband cooked us a delightful BBQ meal! Tons of veggies and organic goodness, and my cousin even joined us! We all ate together and had a lovely time together, just enjoying simple time together.

It was a positively lovely evening! :)

▲▲▲ Day Ten: San Francisco ▲▲▲

Today we spent the day in San Francisco! We drove from the bay area up to San Fran, where we met my Aunt Pam, her daughter Jessica and her three beautiful children. We spent the day exploring the city! We did many touristy things, along with seeing new sights that I had never been to! When we all got together, we were rather hungry and ate at a place called Aliotos - which my dad says is the oldest restaurant down in the area. Either way, it was rather delicious! :) After we ate there and walked around for a bit, we all had to move our vehicles to new locations... Parking in the city was rather a nightmare, especially with the large silverado that we are driving on this trip! So that took quite some time... But then we all decided that a lovely place to meet would be at Ghirardelli factory! Definitely a delicious decision! We were all still rather full from lunch, so we split delicious sundaes and I walked around with the children, showing them how they make the various ice cream treats. 

Lombard street!

My beautiful Aunt Pam who showed us the city! :)

He is such a cutie pie!

Daniels delicious dinner!

My yummy italian meal!