In the Spring we got word from Grammie's church up in Sacramento that they'd be honoring her with a special luncheon in preparation for her retirement from her Children's Director position. We didn't want to miss out on the special day. We knew it's be a quick trip, so flying up was our best option. The kids had never flown before, so we thought it'd be a fun surprise for them. We didn't tell them until the night before we left.
We woke up early and drove to John Wayne Airport which is right around the corner from my brother and SIL's house.
We eagerly awaited the plane's arrival and then we were off!
When the plane started I took a video that made me laugh so hard. Donovan and Emmerson have such different personalities and the video show cased them perfectly. As the pilots accelerated rapidly Emmerson was laughing so hard that tears were in her eyes while Donovan cautiously sunk down in his seat nervously chewing his gum. Sweet kiddos. As soon as we were up in the clouds looking down, they were both equally intrigued by the whole thing.
The flight was super short and smooth. We landed and the pilots asked the kids if they wanted to test out their seats on the way out!
Uncle Devin picked us up from the airport. It was Saturday morning and we thought we'd spend the day with Uncle Devin, Aunt Amy, and cousin Xander, before surprising Grammie at church on Sunday morning. Uncle Devin and Aunt Amy live outside of Sacramento in a very rural and gorgeous community. It looks like a vacation resort. After going out for breakfast, Uncle Devin walked us across the street to go fishing in their lake.
Xander actually caught quite a few fish.
Emmerson was way more excited about the bait. She could have played with the worms all day long. I even had to remind her not to put them in her mouth. I was pretty sure she was going to try to eat one. Our crazy girl!
Dustin showed Donovan how to cast out his line.
In the evening we cleaned up and went to Xander's little league game. Their fields were gorgeous! Aunt Amy barbecued and made a delicious dinner and we all headed to bed early because we had had a very long day.
On Sunday morning we got up early and got dressed for church. The kids ran to Grammie the second they found her in the church quad. It turns out she wasn't quite that surprised. The Hein family wasn't that great at keeping the secret, but it was a sweet moment and day none the less. The church did a nice job honoring Grammie and praying for her. We had a big lunch and listened to Grammie share her heart with the church group too.
After church we went back to Grammie's for a big family dinner.
It was a relaxing afternoon.
On Monday we took the day off from work. We had a lazy day hanging out at Grammie's. Aunt Kristin and Uncle J came over with our little buddy Jadon.
And before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for our evening flight home. The weekend flew by, but it was so worth it. We had the best time and couldn't wait to return for summer in a few months.
