Fourth of July Holiday Weekend...

It's a trip to be able to post a blog about a really fun holiday weekend!

It almost felt normal again!

So the last two years I have been able to tag along to the Hernandez Family's trip to Lake Gregory for the Fourth of July weekend.  Sadly those have come to an end so I found myself home again for my least favorite holiday.

One thing I was thrilled about - the place we currently live the fireworks were nothing.  We heard them in the distance but it was so quiet here.  Yay!!!  Let's hope wherever we find ourselves living next year will be just as quiet.

So - the weekend!

Friday I met dad for breakfast, ran some errands and did some shopping for myself!  I also met up with Libby and Hailey for lunch but sadly failed at taking photos.

The Orange July 3rd Celebration was able to happen this year, so mom has a few of us over for a BBQ and to watch the firework show.  We kept it small, as we're still easing back in.  But it was super fun and super chill!

Was stoked to make a festive treat!

Mom and Justin

Justin doing Tree Tarot Card Readings for everyone

Chillin

Seymore gave 0 fucks about fireworks

Danelle was not having Justin's long hair...

Elise found a new friend

This is Grandad proceeding to kick all our asses at rings

Shane's reading

Watching the show!

Justin is leaving me and moving back to Missouri.  I will miss him so damn much!

Firetruck and police ready to crack down

Sibs

Later in the night...

 July 4th was a super mellow day.  Finally actually used our community pool.  Then had a delicious sushi dinner at new spot!

This roll had mango in it!  It was such an interesting delicious combination of flavors!

We also had Monday off.  So the 4 day weekend was so nice!

Pat and I decided to go hike Crystal Cove.  It was beautiful but hot.  I forget how much of Crystal Cove isn't shaded.  But we did have a lovely ocean breeze that helped keep us cool, and we took a side trail called Lizard Trail that was shaded and just beautiful!  I of course also did a bit of geocaching!

I wish we could have hiked all the way to the water, but it was too hot

So pretty!

Love my trees

A really cool weird rock

Hiking Couple

Pretty much always my view

Pat spotted a geocache!

My first find of the day!

It was a lovely long 4 day weekend!

Joyfully Geocaching...

So - I think this is going to be my last blog dedicated to just Geocaching.

Don't worry - I am still a caching maniac! 

But alot of these now are starting to be kind of similar and I"m sure you're all tired of seeing the same posts, so I figured I'll just post weird/unique/interesting ones from now on.

Of course most of my adventures (now that we can really start taking them again) will have geocaching in them and I'll tag them as such.

But for now - you'll see less of these geocaching only blogs but that doesn't mean you won't see many more of my finds!

Enjoy!

One weekend my littlest bro was in town, so we went out to dinner in DT Fullerton - well I was of course going on and on about geocaching and there's a few down there I haven't found - so I introduced him!

Love this guy

A mini magnet! (He called me a nerd)

One Friday Date night Pat & I used a gift card of his and hit up Taps in DT Brea.  Of course I checked for any caches and low and behold - one at the top of the parking structure we parked in!  Yay!!!

Date Night

The trinket inside the cache matched the necklace I was wearing!  Didn't take it though.

I see you!

Pat on the hunt

Mother's Day after a wonderful brunch we made for the moms - we decided to take a long  hike in a new spot since the kiddo was with her mom for the day.  We hit up Santiago Truck Trail.  I was so excited for a new adventure!  Pat had done this a few times and was filling me in on the way the loop worked, there was some sort of luge at the end and his goal was to get us to the flag pole.  1st off the walk up the grate of a street to get to the Trail Head is no joke!!!  We didn't do the whole trail, but we did about 6/7 miles out and back.  We took a couple of side trails up some pretty steep hills that were pretty tough.  We ended up at a different flag pole but none the less a great hike.  We plan to hit it up again, skip the side trails and try to make the other flag pole and maybe the Luge!  There were of course tons of caches.  Alot had DNF's for a while so I didn't even attempt those but I did find 4 out of 5!

Hot Hike

This one's hint said spikey!  Can you see it?

Pretty little flowers

The wrong flagpole

Up up and friggin up

A lady bug joined me for a bit

This cache was cool!  The hint said man made and it was called Wing and a Prayer.  Check out the tube that holds the log!

Pat said a plane crashed up here...I wonder if this is part of it

The boy finding cache #2

Trailhead cache!

Can ya see it?

 Was thrilled to re-start up happy hour with a girlfriend, got there early and thought..."maybe a new cache?!"  YUP!

Over the holiday weekend we had dinner at a sushi restaurant we hadn't tried yet.  I thought - maybe there's a cache over here?  There sure was!  We had to drive across Weir Canyon and it was in the back of some business complex.  Luckily it was a holiday so no one was around.

I see you!

Elise was very excited to find this one

So there we are friends!

Still loving it.  Still caching.  Still huge nerd.  

Keep an eye out for more "finds" within the blogs!