California Trip

Last week we took a trip to California with my mom and dad. We did a lot during those 5 days. It was really exhausting but we had so much fun! We started out the trip by visiting the city I was born in and where my parents grew up, which was San Jose, CA. My mom's sister, Becky, still lives there so we stayed with her. The picture below is a park in San Jose by my grandparents' house that we used to always go to. They had cement slides that we loved to go down. You sit on a piece of cardboard, and you just fly down! I really don't know how we did it as kids so often! It was pretty scary. In fact, I finally convinced Kent to go down with me. He went once, and wouldn't go again. So unfortunately I don't have a pic of him going down.

Then we went to our favorite Pizza place- House of Pizza!

And of course, the main reason we went to California..... Oakland A's Game!!! My dad is a HUGE A's fan. He looks up their ranking and stats Constantly =)

 This is Big Basin near Monterey. Red Wood trees are Amazing!!!

 This is Carmel. Some of my best memories of California are at this beach. It was Beautiful and the sand was so soft!! Some of these pics show a little bit of our goofy side. We were trying to get a good pic of us jumping and kicking our heels =)

This is at Dennis the Menace park near Monterey. We used to go to Monterey quite often and we would almost always go to this park. We used to be able to play on the train, but now it is fenced off =(.

 Lover's Point at Monterey. So Romantic =)

 Eating clam chowder bread bowl on the warf in Monterey. It was DELICIOUS! We used to Love this place!

This is where we used to go camping in San Jose. It was really pretty. We even saw a deer!

After this trip, we got pretty good at taking Selfies!

 My parents thought they were pretty tough after climbing up the mountain to the waterfall =)

 My dad wanted to take a picture underneath the bridge. All the blood was rushing to his head so I didnt have much time to snap the picture. And I was scared I was going to drop my phone in the water!

Our last day in California was spent in San Francisco. I was pretty excited because there was a huge earthquake just outside of S.F. just a few hours before we got there. I was hoping we would feel some after shock. Unfortunately, we felt nothing =( But we got to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge!

 This was a day tour cruise. Went underneath the G.G Bridge and the Bay Bridge and also circled around Alcatraz. It was REALLY windy and cold. And it was kinda scary going underneath the bridges. Especially since there was just an earthquate.

 Here is Kent being goofy again!

 Overlooking the Crazy city of San Francisco.

It was a fun trip. Im glad my parents let us tag along with them!

Last night we went to Paige's birthday party. She turned 1 this weekend! I can't believe its already been a year since we first held her in the hospital. I'm not sure if I have mentioned yet, but we have 15 nieces and nephews just on my side of the family (there are 6 kids in my family. 5 girls and 1 boy). Everyone except my little sister live here in Thatcher, and that is definitely one of the main reasons I love living here. We all get together quite often for birthdays, the kids sporting events, and sometimes, just because. It is just so much fun seeing all the kids playing together and everyone getting along. That's what life is all about. Its about family. I'm not going to lie, at times, it does get a little crazy with that many kids, but in the end its all worth it. To walk into a room full of crazy kids that are distracted playing with new toys, screaming and having fun, and then all of a sudden feeling little arms wrap around my waste giving me the sweetest hug. It makes all the craziness worth it! The kids definitely love Uncle Kent too. Brooklee, the little blonde 5 yr old with the braids is always asking about Uncle Kent. One day I showed up alone and Brooklee quickly asked, with a very concerned look on her face, " Where's Uncle Kent?". I told her that he was at work, and I could tell she was sad. Later, as I was getting ready to leave, she followed me out to my car and said, "Auntie Amy, tell Uncle Kent that I said Hi". We love our nieces and nephews so much and we are definitely enjoying our short time here in Thatcher.

Today was a particularly difficult day. I don't typically share things like this, but for me, it reinforces the fact that my infertility is real. It is something we will continue to struggle with, but it helps me realize how grateful I am for the adoption process. It strengthens me and gives me hope every day. This last week I had been showing signs of pregnancy. I have been on pins and needles hoping for a positive test. However, deep down inside, I felt like it was too good to be true but I couldn't give up hope. But I had to stay positive. I was going to do a blood pregnancy test tomorrow so I would know for sure, but all the signs were there. And then.... after 7 days of hoping, I found out I was not pregnant. I guess, ultimately, I knew I wasn't but wanted it so badly that I kept telling myself that this was it. Every day that goes by, makes me more and more grateful for the steps we are taking toward adoption. We may never be given the chance to have a baby of our own, and honestly, it is the hardest thing to comprehend. But I know that through adoption, we will be able to raise a child we can call our own. I know without a doubt that we will love that baby more than anything in the world. When we hold that baby in our arms, we will know that these 7 years of waiting, were worth it!