Alex and I made the (short) trip up to my parent’s house for the weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day and my mom’s birthday which was in April. Both of my sisters joined us so the whole family was there – meaning madness ensued! When you have two dogs, 4 kids, 8 adults and an ice cream sundae bar, suffice to say there will be shenanigans.
The last time we were all together was back in December, so it felt really special to have the whole family there to celebrate. I hadn’t been home since December either, so I was happy to hang out with my parents, wake up a little later, and have a full fridge without having to go shopping.
We started the morning off with the farmers’ market where I got these beauties for SIX dollars. Summer is coming!
Alex and I got a speedy run in – 2.84 miles at an 8:15 pace. I was wondering why I felt so tired! I did some yoga in the park afterwards to stretch and center which felt amazing.
Then we went back and began prepping for a late lunch – and prep we did. We had quite the spread. No one would ever say we don’t know how to feed a family:
My plate included an open faced sandwich with hummus and topped with lots of veg, a huge salad, and some potato salad. There may have been seconds involved.
I realized today that I didn’t take a photo of the ice cream bar but I had Coconut Bliss ice cream for the first time and it was AMAZING! Dark chocolate and peanut butter chocolate + hot fudge + coconut = amazing sundae. Really hot fudge just makes my day. We also had raspberry sauce, butterscotch sauce, sprinkles, cones, maraschino cherries and nuts.
We all bummed around my mom’s house, exchanged a few gifts and generally just caught up on life. I love that we all live close enough that my mom’s house can be a gathering place for all of us to reconnect. I will admit that one of the hardest parts about being in a serious relationship is sharing family time after years of not having to choose; if only I had appreciated it more back in high school instead of being whiny! 😉
I avoid tetherball because I always get smacked in the face – but Alex and my nephew are tougher!
This photo pretty much sums it up – there’s always climbing, singing, pompoms and goldfish crackers when the family gets together!
Sunday we celebrated mother’s day by going on a hike an hour north of my parent’s house! It was beautiful – although a little cold. My parents live in the Sacramento area and since it had been in the 80’s here that it would be warm there. Well no, I was wrong. And then I figured that once we were hiking I would get warm – nope, wrong again! Espeially in vibrams, I find that I’m colder because my feet are colder. I need to get vibram socks!
Action shot!
We saw so many flowers – I took a ton of pictures but I’m editing for your sake! 🙂
Me and the boy.
A vista point.
❤ ❤ ❤
Manzanitas are so cool!
Beautiful backdrop!
So many pretty flowers!
After a yummy breakfast that just may have included scones…
…we drove back to my parent’s place, (I had a second ice cream sundae), packed up and drove home so we could have enough time to get Sunday chores done before work tomorrow.
Going home was the perfect way to spend the weekend. They may make me crazy sometimes, but I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family!
The Sixth Letter 
And it was so fun for me as well!
Wow, that looks like such a fun weekend, and the hike looked so beautiful! Love that your parents have a tether ball pole at their house!