Mt. Shasta

 As I mentioned earlier, Kyle met up with 7 others from May 12-16 with the goal of summitting Mt. Shasta. He and my dad drove down on the 12th and met up with the others at a lodge. (From there, Dad went off on his own adventures and came back to pick Kyle up for the drive home.) 

They had two guides, spent two nights on the mountain, and had an incredible time. Seven of the eight guys were able to summit and the pictures are breathtaking. Obviously, pictures don't do justice to the beauty of everything they saw, but they are amazing nonetheless. For the most part, the weather was great. They did have some gusts of wind, but otherwise, the conditions were good.

On the day they arrived, the guides looked through everyone's packs and made sure that everyone had the right supplies. The first day was a pretty easy hike. They set up camp and were able to hang out and enjoy the scenery and the time together. The next day they hiked up a little bit further and then practiced some mountaineering techniques and safety things. On Sunday, they woke up around 1:00am and headed up to the summit. They made it to the top, enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then headed all the way back down. They purposefully slid down about 2500 feet, making the hike down more exciting (and quicker!) 

Adam...he planned this whole adventure to celebrate his 40th birthday!

The 11th Gillette-Prentice-Feffer Get together

 Part 3 of our California trip was out on the central coast. We left Jay and Kelley's house on Thursday morning and headed to San Luis Obispo for a long weekend with the Prentice's and Feffer's. We've been getting together with them annually since before Annaliese was born! 

Saying goodbye to Grandpa

Kyle planned on meeting Jack and Karen (from the pet resort) so we dropped him off for lunch and then went to a park. Once he was ready to be picked up, we took a quick tour of the pet resort and then headed to Pismo Beach for a little while before going to Russ and Jenn's house. We all enjoyed to sandy beach beneath our toes!!

Lydia

Annaliese

Haleigh

Thursday evening we arrived at Russ and Jenn's house and Adam and Ashlie arrived shortly after. They set up a tent in the backyard for the kids to sleep, and everyone started playing together as if they were best of friends! It really is remarkable how well all the kids get along. 

Holden and Malachi

Josephine, Haleigh, and Eden

 

Friday morning we started off with a hike through the Pismo Preserve. We had amazing views overlooking the ocean and even saw a few 'spray's' from some whales! Jenn and her boys had their last day of a summer camp they were participating in so they weren't able to join us on the hike. 

There are whales out there!

In the afternoon, we packed up and headed to the beach in Avila. It was a bit windy, but the beach is in a little cove and was protected. It didn't stop us from playing frisbee, soccer, or taking out the paddleboards!

Kyle taking out the paddleboard

Kyle and Eleia playing frisbee

An epic game of soccer!

Saturday morning Russ, Adam, and Kyle went to the park to play pickleball. Once they came home, we decided to head out to Baileyana Winery for some wine tasting and bocce ball. Once again, it was rather windy but everyone still had fun. 

We had quite the spread!

Malachi

It's always amazing how quickly these sorts of trips come to an end. We wrapped things up with our own church service Sunday morning, praying together and singing worship songs. I think we all realize how unique it is to have a group of friends who don't talk that frequently throughout the year but are still committed to each other and to traveling across the country to meet up.

Eleia and Haleigh

Kyle took the girls to the beach Sunday morning while everyone else was still waking up. They were all still in their pajamas and enjoyed their time with Dad!

We didn't have to be at the airport until 4:30, so Sunday afternoon we went to the beach one more time. Jenn and Russ joined us for a little while. I didn't take any pictures though. This California trip was a good one- lots of family and friend time, with a good amount of relaxation and conversation. We are blessed to be able to travel like this and cherish all the memories that were made!