Here is how we spent our summer-Part One

Summer 2013 Date Night.

I can’t believe how quickly the summer of 2013 came and went. I’ll be starting the fall semester at HPU (as an instructor) and Bryce will begin his second year at Arizona State Univ (as a student). It’s nice to take this time to reflect on all the fun we had this summer with family and friends.

CALIFORNIA LOVE

We got to spend some time in California this summer for Jordan’s nuptials. Prior to getting down to wedding business we were able to spend a little time with our friends. We love the Garretts and since they live in California now, they drove down for the weekend preceding the wedding and we played games, had delicious food compliments of my bestie and got to go to Knott’s Berry Farm theme park together.

It was especially wonderful to see our dear friends the Garretts and go to Knott’s Berry Farm with them for the day.

The Jaguar ride wasn’t too extreme for Parker Garrett, who typically doesn’t do roller coasters.

Of course no California trip is complete without a trip to Disneyland!

Yes, it’s true, Disneyland is always a must whenever Bryce and I visit California. Disneyland also goes hand in hand with our dear friends the Art and Zoila. Back in the day, before we were all married, the four of us went to Disneyland on Bryce and my first date. So naturally, we enjoy spending at day at the happiest place on Earth with the couple that has been there from the beginning. Momma G also joined us that day.

We enjoy our Disney trips with the Soto family.

Photos with the characters is one of my favorite parts of a Disneyland trip.-Rachel

Happy birthday Bryce!

We spent the first part of Bryce’s special day at the La Brea Tar pits. Bryce wanted to go see that cause he vaguely  remembered it from his childhood. For lunch we had Five Guys Burgers, they don’t have Five Guys in Hawaii so that was a real treat and worth mentioning in this instance. Momma G spent the day with us and took us to see the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles too as part of Bryce’s birthday celebration.  The space shuttle was at the California Science Center, next to the USC Colosseum. That was a neat thing to witness, as it was the actual vehicle that took men and women into space.  It was a long day but I think Bryce enjoyed seeing and trying new things for his birthday.

The space shuttle Endeavour was built-in Pasadena and is once again home.

Quite a sight to see, and quite a handsome guy to see it with.

The Jenks’ Wedding

So the main reason for the California trip was to witness my younger sister get sealed to her now husband. My sister asked me to be the matron of honor and I got to wear a stunning dress (she picked it out) and have my hair did (thanks Sara). Bryce was the resident photographer at the reception, which was also at Aunty Agnes’ house just like mine was three years ago (with slight differences of course). It was a lovely time and it was so fun to get dressed up and look fancy for the day. Congrats to the Jenks, who against all odds and opposition, stayed close to one another and to the Lord, and came out victorious.

Mr. and Mrs. Jenks

LOVE

Just the fabulous brides maids and matron of honor!

Fun times were had by all on our California trip 2013. I always enjoy going home and look forward to the next time we get to see Momma G, family and friends. Part two of our summer 2013 still to come…

Maui for the weekend

Maui has some beautiful photo opp places.

Our Turks and Caicos getaway

It’s always fun to reflect back on a wonderful vacation, even after you come home and have to go back to the daily routine. Our vacation this summer was fantastic, and so it is a joy to be able to share it all here.

(PS, I uploaded a lot of photos to the slideshow, and you don’t want to miss any)

Now all along while planning our trip people would say, “Why the Caribbean, don’t you live in a tropical paradise?” It’s true we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but every place is different and every island is different for that matter. So we ignored all the raised eyebrows and went ahead and planned anyway. This year we traveled with our dear friends Jana and Stephen Wood, so the four of us narrowed down all the places in the Caribbean we could go or wanted to go and after a few weeks of the process of elimination phase, we decided on Turks and Caicos. It was less frequented than the Bahamas, and less expensive than Cayman Islands and I think looking back we were all very pleased with our choice. What most people don’t know about Turks and Caicos is that they are separate for example there are the Turks Islands and then the Caicos Islands with lots and lots of tiny cays or keys situated all along side them, some of which you can kayak or boat to. We were in a place called Providenciales on one of the Caicos Islands.

There is so much to report about our vacation but to save time I will explain some of the highlights and let the pictures do the rest. We rented a house for the week from a guy named Island Man Wayne, if you ever go to TCI you need to rent from him too. The house was awesome, clean and cozy and Wayne was just a wealth of information having lived there for many years already and we were so happy with our accommodations. We rented the bottom living area complete with two bedrooms and full kitchen.  We had so much fun cooking together, eating tons of candy, and playing Monopoly after our long days spent in the water or on the beach. Everyone had a wicked tan by the end of the week, even Bryce believe it or not.

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Of course on of the main reasons we all went to TCI was to dive! Since Jana, Stephen and I all certified together, it was only natural that my first dive in the Caribbean be with them. We booked a two-tank dive with Flamingo Divers. We highly recommend them for the friendliness and professionalism but also because Jayne and Mickey were most accommodating and knew so much about TCI. I can’t say enough good things about them, you can read my review on Trip Advisor. The water in Turks and Caicos, although very salty, is like floating in a giant bath tub. It’s warm, it’s clear, and it was incredible. Of course the sea life didn’t hurt either when we did our dives, so many fish, so much coral, and sharks! Did I mention there were sharks in the water when we dove, that is my favorite part to tell people about. Needless to say it was a very good time!

I have to mention Sunny, our car for the week we were there. In the Caicos, because it is a British Colony and part of the British West Indies, everyone, well most people, drive on the left side of the road. And so, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, talk about awkward. Bryce and Stephen did most of the driving.

Next I should probably mention the shells, yes I think I will. So many lovely shells everywhere. Now I’m sure everyone has seen shells before but not like the ones in TCI. They had conch shells (pronounced conk) as big as my head. Conch is said to be the delicacy of TCI, and it is even said to be an aphrodisiac. The government or the customs will allow three conch shells per traveler, so we brought some home as souvenirs for family, because it isn’t every day that you get to see a giant queen conch shell just hanging out on any of the beaches on the West Coast, or even Hawaii for that matter. Jana was relentless in her quest to find beautiful and rare shells, that was pretty much her mission on the trip and wouldn’t you know, she made out very well by the time we all left for home. By the way, we ate the conch, it was tasty, we went to this place that is pretty well known and talked about a lot in all the travel books called Da Conch Shack and it did not disappoint.

We had such a lovely vacation, admittedly I got tired of the sun and sand after a few days, but overall it was a lot of fun and it was a wonderful place to go. Thank you Bryce for working so hard so that we can go and see the world and thank you friends for making it such a memorable experience. Until our next adventure!