California here we come!

A couple months back we decided we needed a vacation before life got too crazy. So, at the end of May we spent a wonderful week in California. We started our time out in Los Angeles where we stayed with my cousin Nicole and her family. We had such a great time visiting with Nicole, Jeremy, and Sean. It was great to reconnect with them and see L.A. with people who know how to get around the area (we weren't about to attempt to drive there). We were only with them 2 days, but wow, did we do a lot! We visited Downtown Disney, Hollywood and Santa Monica!


Another highlight was driving out to Long Beach and to have dinner with my other cousin, Jen and her boyfriend, Dave. The rest of the time was spent relaxing at Nicole and Jeremy's place. We had amazing weather the whole time and even spent an afternoon lying out by the pool. A huge thanks to Nicole, Jeremy and Sean for their hospitality and friendship!

Nicole and I in Long Beach

With Jen and Dave

Jeremy, Nicole, Sean

After L.A., we flew to Sacramento, where we met up with our friends, the Sander family. The Sanders are missionaries in Colombia and they are in the Sacramento area for a few months. It was a perfect time to hang out with them, visit some Covenant churches and connect with friends. The Sanders made us feel right a home and we loved reconnecting with them! In Sacramento, we stayed with a great couple, Kim and Alan, and enjoyed our time getting to know them. Julio and Kim had been friends back in Colombia, when she worked there as a short-term missionary years ago. So, a lot of time was spent reminiscing and catching up on what’s been happening in our lives.

It was the perfect time to see other friends in the area as well! We met up with my good friend Kathy at the Sacramento jazz fest. How fun to walk around Old Town Sacramento and hear jazz music everywhere. Of course we had to stop and buy some yummy taffy! We also got to have breakfast with another friend of mine who had recently moved to the area. Basically our time in Sacramento was spent seeing friends and reconnecting. Again, the weather was perfect and we were very sad when the time came to return to Chicago. We hope to visit again in the future!