Day 1:
We were excited as we headed to the airport. Tyler, Bryn, Ailey, and I all flew to CA from Spokane. Reilly, Hunter, and Karson drove from Spokane. Kameron and Erin drove from Utah and Luke drove up from Sacramento where he has been working for the summer.
Our flights were great! Some of us got bumped up to first class....
And one of us did not...
The weather in San Francisco was stunning! Sunshine, warm, and not a cloud in the sky. We flew in early that afternoon and our Airbnb wasn't quite ready yet so Tyler, Ailey, Bryn, and I got some lunch nearby. We ate at the most fantastic Middle Eastern place. Wow! I love being back in a city with all kinds of different cuisines. Then we did a little sight seeing. We explored Pleasanton which I've heard so much about and it was just as charming and lovely as advertised.
We saw that there was a little lake on the way to Erin's house, so having time to kill, and being the lake lovers that we are; we went to check it out. It was cute.
By then it was time to check into our Airbnb. Kameron and Erin had gotten to town the day before and were staying at Erin's parents' house which was about 15 minutes from our Airbnb. We rented a house...4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms...for our group. We all met up at the house. Luke got there at the same time that we did.
Erin's parents invited all of us over for dinner. It was fun to visit with her parents and siblings and also meet some of her extended family. Her parents and her aunt and uncle all live on the same cul de sac.
This lemon tree is in Erin's front yard. Seeing citrus growing on trees never stops being miraculous to me. No matter how many times I see it! I'm still like "Look! There are LEMONS growing on TREES!!" Our Airbnb had a grapefruit tree. Very cool!
While we hung out with Erin's family...Reilly, Hunter, and Karson drove in from Spokane and Kirk and his family arrived from Salt Lake. It was fun to have everyone all together and to catch up and to try to wrap our minds around what we were all in town for...KAMERON'S WEDDING!!
The house had a pool table that the kids put to good use:
Day 2:
The next day was Erin's Birthday!! She turned 22. Kameron had some birthday plans for her so he was out the door early. Luke got up and made all of us breakfast. He made us breakfast burritos. So sweet! We are really lucking out in the in-law kids department!!
After that we all met up with Erin's family at their church to set up for the reception. Kirk and his family drove to Berkley to meet up with their nephew who goes to school there for lunch and then came back to the church later that afternoon to help finish setting up. This was the big set-up day. Erin's aunt and uncle were absolute MIRACLE workers. They draped the cultural hall and strung lights. They were amazing!
The process begins...
The transformation was pretty amazing! We set up tables and did as much decorating as possible. We were there all day and it was fun to be involved and getting things ready for the wedding!!
That evening we went back over to Erin's parents' house for her birthday pool party. Her parents made her favorite smash burgers and the kids all swam in the pool. It was fun to celebrate her birthday with her family. They are enjoyable! Erin has a niece who was born on the same day as Karson. She is about half his size. Ha ha! She is a petite little cutie! It was another late night!
Day 3:
We were up early and back at the church to finish decorating. We had such a huge crew that the job was done by about 11am and then we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day.
Of course there always has to be some kind of snafu before any wedding and this one was no different. Poor Erin! Due to some kind of chemical reaction between her hair dye and the chlorine in her pool...she woke up with green hair. NOT WHAT YOU WANT THE DAY BEFORE YOUR WEDDING!! I felt horrible for her. She was in tears...as you can imagine. She and her mom tried everything to get the green out and nothing worked. She had to try to get a hair appointment that very day...which is never easy. Thankfully she ended up getting in last minute at a salon. She got her hair fixed in the nick of time. There is always something that goes wrong right before a wedding that looking back on *might* end up being a good story years down the road but is horrible and traumatizing in the moment! Green hair might be one of them! But thankfully her hair color was fixed and she looked beautiful for her wedding! Can you even imagine thinking for even one minute that you might have to have green hair on your wedding day? She was a trooper!! I love that girl!!
The rest of us...our crew and Kirk and Meki and their kids... decided to head to Half Moon Bay for the rest of the day. This is a special place to me and Kirk. It was where we celebrated my mom's last birthday. My mom, my siblings, and I all flew to SF and stayed in Half Moon Bay. Kirk and I wanted to share some of those places and memories with our kids.
First up was a late lunch at Dad's Luncheonette:
We love this place! It's owned and run by a 3 Star Michelin chef who wanted a lifestyle change so he moved from SF to Half Moon Bay and opened this luncheonette in an old train caboose. It is so good! Kirk and I went there with my mom. My sisters were too hung over to join in. (They were fun to travel with...) It was fun to have our families there with us this time.
After we ate we went to go check out the tide pools at the JV Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Another place that we went with my mom the last time Kirk and I were here. It was so fun to explore and look for sea creatures.
Going to bed that night, Tyler and I were both pretty emotional as we contemplated the fact that KAMERON was getting married the next day. Our first kid to get married!! We were so excited and happy for him but at the same time another chapter in our family was closing. Kam's childhood was officially coming to an end. So many emotions for sure! Thankfully we were able to finally fall asleep! Because next up was...THE BIG DAY!
