Road Trip Summer 2012

Last week we kicked off our summer with a little road trip.  "Little" like over 20 hours in the car in 4 days.  The girls were troopers (thanks to 3 DVD players) and we really enjoyed getting away and seeing family and friends.  We headed up to the central valley and spent time on the Walking Lazy M farm.  A favorite place of the girls and mine.  My good friend Steph lives in her grandparents' old farmhouse surrounded by vineyards and orchards, just like my grandparents house used to be.  We ate farm fresh eggs, spent hours on the trampoline, gorged ourselves on Superior Dairy ice cream, and even got in a country road run (to combat the ice cream of course).  I love the simple farm life they live, and just sitting around her table sipping coffee and catching up is pure bliss for me.   

Then we headed up to Madera to celebrate Brett's parents' 40th anniversary with their family.  We did manage 4 drive bys on the way...my grandparents' house and my former homes in Fresno.  Kerkhoff, Balch, and Angus to be exact.  So strange to look at a house you spent so many hours and made so many memories in and think another family lives there now.  The curious cat in me was dying to knock on the door just to get a peek. 

We also managed to squeeze in a day trip to Yosemite with Brett's parents. They honeymooned in Yosemite 40 years before.  It was neat to be with them and think about all the time that had passed between then and now, and how their family had grown to include the five of us.  Yosemite holds tons of memories for me and just the smell of the trees took me back to family camping days when I was a kid.  The girls loved the tunnel that opened up into the amazing view of half dome, putting their feet in the cold water, and the ice cream cones that rewarded hours of walking.