What a summer, can I just say that? I cannot believe all that has happened this summer. I am so grateful for the growth and joy that I so needed this summer. So many new perspectives and tests of faith that I truly needed. God is so so good.
The summer camps I did for my internship started in June. What an experience. I'm so grateful for those sweet kids who were so patient with me as I tried to figure out what I was doing. I was in charge of a Sports and Wellness camp and Jr. Chef and Creative Craft camps. In the end I gained new confidence in my ability to do things I really didn't know how to do. I also learned that programming is not really what I want to do. Fancy that. It's not a huge surprise to me because I have never known what I have wanted to do. This has been a source of frustration for me for a long time, but I have started to accept it (I am really horrible at taking pictures, so no pictures of summer camps).
In the middle of June Mckay and I experienced some deep sadness, but it was in the midst of so much goodness and happiness too. Such a tender mercy from our tender Father in Heaven. He really is so good.
My dear, wonderful grandma Panganiban came to stay with my parents last month for a couple of weeks. Oh what a treat that was for me and oh how much I love that woman. When I think of my fiery grandma I cannot help but think strength. She has endured some very hard trials, but also experienced some amazing blessings. She, along with my grandpa, forged the way for all their posterity to enjoy the blessings of this great country. I can never thank them enough. Since we live so close to my parents, they brought my grandma up to our little home. It really was such a treat. We went out to dinner and got to visit, just the five of us. Later that week Mckay and I went down to my parents and most of my family came to spend time with my grandma and to enjoy her amazing Filipino cooking! I did take pictures of this because it was seriously amazing!
Jamie, digging in before the picture could be taken!
Mckay is seriously the best. He loves playing with my nieces and nephews.
Our chatting circle. Having both my grandma's together was the best!
Seriously, my grandmother is beautiful!
I just love these people so much! It was so funny. I told my grandma Mckay and I wanted to take a picture with her before we left. She said, oh, okay honey, I just have to see if I still look sexy! Ha! She's the best.
After this wonderful time we headed down to St. George for the Lindsey Family Reunion. Can I just say, I married into the best family. We had such a good time swimming, playing games, chatting, and laughing with Mckay's extended family. And then the rest of the weekend we got to spend with Mckay's whole immediate family (except Haley because she was in ICELAND! She's so cool). Being with Mckay's family is the best. We only wish we lived closer!! We played card games, made homemade ice cream, ate lots of amazing food, and enjoyed the sweetness of our nieces and nephews. I learn so much every time we are with them. I am so grateful I have the teachings of my own parents and then on top of that the teachings of Mckay's parents too! Such a sweet tender blessing.
Shaking our ice cream - Thank you Bryson for buying all the stuff!
Our next adventure from Mckay's house was SAN DIEGO!! Yay!!
This vacation is one I have wanted to take for a long time. I finally convinced Mckay that it was worth the money and it definitely was.
(Just a quick note: I am NOT a photographer. I rarely take pictures because usually I am not thinking about capturing the moment. I just want to enjoy it. So if the quality is terrible it's because I have no idea what real photography is.)
Getting to San Diego was quite the trip. It took a lot longer than we expected! That first night we got to our hotel that was right by the harbor so we walked the harbor. It was such a different scenery than I am used to seeing. Seeing the boats, water, and then the beautiful skyline was really breath taking. We got dinner and then collapsed in bed. The next morning we got up and headed to the temple.
The famous picture of San Diego that everyone gets. We had to. I have told this to so many, but I am glad I didn't know what the temple looked like before I got married or there would have been no stopping me from getting married there. Seriously, talk about feeling like a princess. Beautiful! It was such a peaceful wonderful morning.
From there we headed to La Jolla beach. Unfortunately, it was raining so we didn't actually walk around on the beach. We headed to the Birch Aquarium though. Mckay and I love going to things like this. It is so amazing to see all of the creatures that God has created. God truly has an endless imagination and is brilliant.
Cool Jelly fish - the light in their display would change colors so it made it look really cool.
Humongous eel. Reminded me of The Little Mermaid.
This guy was a sea horse! Seriously the coolest. It's not a very good picture, but those leaves are coming off of the sea horse!
It was a cute little aquarium. The cool thing about it was because it is so close to the ocean they can pump ocean water into their displays. All the sea creatures have fresh ocean water. Outside they also had a tide pool area where you could touch the sea creatures. I don't touch sea things, but Mckay thought it was really cool.
One of the best parts about being in San Diego was being able to see a childhood friend that I hadn't seen in years! After our aquarium adventure we had dinner with my friend and her boyfriend, Jessie and Adam. I am kicking myself because we didn't take any pictures! Again, I am too excited about the moment that I don't remember to document it.
Before heading to dinner we stopped at the beach since it had stopped raining. In my excitement of jumping over waves I accidentally dropped my new phone in the ocean. So it was out of commission for the whole second day while it dried out.
The next day Mckay and I spend the day at the San Diego Zoo!
We LOVE zoo's! This one was incredible. Not only are the animals cool, but the whole park is a botanical garden. Everything was beautiful. I felt like we walked a marathon or more that day. We didn't even get to see everything either! My favorite was seeing the gorillas and the hippo. And even though I got a little sick on the skyfari, it was fun too.
After a quick stop to our hotel we got changed to spend the rest of the night with Jessie and Adam again along with Jessie's younger brother Luke. It truly filled my soul with joy being able to see them again and being able to spend time together. Jessie and I discussed and agreed there is really nothing like a childhood best friend. Those relationships just don't change and they bring out some of the best parts of you. We spent the night at Ocean Beach. Jessie and I walked the beach while the boys played Frisbee and swam in the ocean. We all went to their farmer's market right by the beach and walked around trying to find a restaurant. We finally settled on a Mexican food restaurant. Both nights we had Mexican food with them. It was so good. Again we came back to our hotel exhausted, but so happy!
The last day we spent on Coronado Island. What a beautiful and quaint little Island. We were planning on riding bikes around the island, but the day was so beautiful that we ended up staying on the beach the whole time. What an amazing beach! It was exactly what I was hoping and expecting.
Mckay and I spent the day soaking up all the rays we've been missing while living in Logan, playing Frisbee and picking up sea shells along the beach. We found so many! We found a huge clam. It was so cool/disgusting. After our relaxing day at the beach we headed back to St. George. But of course, not until we had stopped for Little Caesar's (Mckay's absolute favorite).
Can we just go back?? I miss the salty air that made my hair so easy to deal with, the amazing food, the city sky line, and my friends!
We spent a little more time in St. George then headed to my brother's for a 4th of July BBQ and fireworks at my sister's house. It was an amazing vacation and needed more than ever.
One last video. Our little clam.
Until our next update!
Peace and blessings.
Peace and blessings.
