Hello, friends!
Most of our trip was spent in California with my parents and my siblings. However, that wasn't the whole show. Even though there was one day back in Omaha between trips, our vacation actually started July 3, when we went to Watertown, South Dakota to see Megan's side of the family.
We're out in SoDak every Fourth of July and the trip usually looks the same. We'll head to SoDak on the 2nd or 3rd, celebrate the 4th by heading out to Megan's Aunt Mary's house, grill up some burgers and dogs, play some corn hole, let the kids splash around in the hot tub, then at night, set off some fireworks on Aunt Mary's property. The past few years, I've graduated from "bystander" to being one of the fireworks lighters, which has been tons of fun (if not VERY dangerous). =0). The next day is all about Ezra as it is his birthday. It's usually a chill day but the important thing for Ezra is that he gets to open some gifts and eat some ice cream cake.
This year, things looked a little different. Megan's cousin, Aunt Mary's son, picked July 5 as his wedding day! That meant that there would be no 4th of July at Aunt Mary's (since she'd have the rehearsal and such), and no real celebration of Ezra's birthday on the 5th since we'd be in wedding mode. It was definitely going to be a new experience.
Honestly, the 4th was a little bit rough. We tried to celebrate both the 4th and Ezra's birthday but it was a bit of a bust. Ezra knew that things were different and he didn't like it. On top of that, the weather wasn't super cooperative. We were able to see the Watertown parade but had to cut our little fireworks show short because of rain (Megan and her sister bough sparklers and such for the kids). I wasn't sure how the 5th was going to go.
Thankfully, the 5th was actually pretty great! The wedding was tons of fun and it was so good seeing Megan's aunts, uncles, and cousins. I bought Ezra a button that said "Birthday Boy" so a number of folk wished him a happy birthday. The dance party was kickin' (I solidified my spot as best dancer in the family, despite what Ezra tells you), and there was a hayride for the kids, which JoJo enjoyed thoroughly. There were even fireworks!
Oh, and a little girl asked Ezra to slow dance... =0).
We stayed in a hotel so on the 6th we were able to do two of my kids' favorite vacation things: eat waffles and swim in the hotel pool. From there, we went straight back to Omaha to get ready for California.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
Did I mention that Megan's uncle lives in Southern California as do his two daughters? I didn't? Well, now you know!
While we were in California, after we got back from our National Parks trip, we were able to spend a dinner with Megan's cousins. Her uncle was still in SoDak so it was just our three families. We went to Megan's cousin's house and pulled "a Horner" (Megan's mom's maiden name), which is when we sit in the same place for hours on top of hours just chatting while the kids get themselves into various forms of mischief (in this case, it was the kiddie pool). We used to meet at restaurants but since Megan's cousin got married and moved to Orange County, now we now do it at her house, which is WAY better for all of our kids. This was the longest that I'd spent with those cousins and it was great. Many sliders were consumed and laughs had.
So, that was the vacation spent with the "Other" side of the family. I'm so glad that I married into a family that genuinely cares about one another and enjoys spending time together, just like my side of the family. It's good to see family, no matter the side.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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