{CALIFORNIA // DAY FOUR // NEW BRIGHTON STATE BEACH}

 After the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Nate, Mason, and I decided to explore the area a bit more. We drove around Santa Cruz, visited some thrift stores, and then decided to find a beach. 

 

{CALIFORNIA // DAY FOUR // SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK}

On day four of our California trip, we headed over to Santa Cruz for a day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! 

{CALIFORNIA // DAY THREE // PROSPERITY'S SWEET 16}

 Day three was a day dedicated to our Prosperity girl for her sweet 16 birthday celebration! We spent the day getting ready together in the Airbnb before heading over to the venue. 

{CALIFORNIA // DAY TWO // SHARK TANK, SF STADIUM, WINERY, MONTEREY}

On the morning of our 2nd day, we went our separate ways again. The family of the birthday girl had party things to take care of. So, we got out to explore some more. We started out at the Shark Tank (SAP Center) where the San Jose Sharks play hockey. 

{CALIFORNIA // DAY ONE // TESLA, SAN FRANCISCO, GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE}

 We arrived in California mid-morning yesterday. After a stressful couple of hours in the rental car line and at the desk, we got our rental and were on our way. Long story short, they were low on cars. The original car we rented wasn't available so they upgraded us to a Tesla at no extra cost to us. We didn't tell Mason because we wanted to surprise him. He's always been a Tesla fan! 

 

{California, here we come!!}

 California, here we come!!! 

{Mason // Open Hockey}

 Warning!!! There will be tons of hockey posts on this blog from here on out. :) I think it will be so fun to look back at these posts a year or two to see how far Mason has come in his hockey journey!

Mason joined in another open hockey session at his rink. These are such great developmental sessions for him. Kids that have been playing for years come to these sessions and they seem to take the newbies under their wings. They've been so kind and have helped Mason so much.  

{Carson's baseball game}

Our nephews play baseball and we love catching as many games as we can. We are a baseball family, through and through. Nathan played from like 3 years old through college. Unfortunately, Mason didn't care much for the sport. We are happy that we still get our baseball fix through our nephews. 

{TEXAS A&M VS TCU HOCKEY GAME}

Our hockey rink is the home ice to a couple of different college teams in our area. After the parent/child open hockey, we stayed to watch the Texas A&M vs TCU hockey game. The college games are so excited and we have enjoyed watching them when we can. 

 

{Mason // hockey game}

We had a busy Saturday! It kicked off with Mason's hockey game. Mason played so well and might have even earned himself a penalty! I mean, it's a right of passage for hockey players. Right?? You can see the penalty in the video below. Oh boy! This is going to be a fun season. 

{PARENT / CHILD OPEN HOCKEY}

Another neat thing our hockey rink does is "parent/child open hockey" sessions. It's a block of time where parents can take the ice with their kids. Mason tries to talk Nate into it every chance that he can. Nate is always happy to oblige. It's fun to watch them on the ice together and it's such great bonding time for them. 

{DRIVEWAY HOCKEY}

If Mason isn't at the hockey rink, he's usually outside in the driveway practicing. This kid has been known to spend 6 hours a day outside practicing. Nate and I are so proud of his determination and his drive! 

{HALL FARMS // CHICKENS AND EGGS}

No matter how long I've had chickens, collecting eggs will always be one of my favorite things!! Especially when you finally have a flock of hens that leave you beautiful eggs!! 

{OPEN HOCKEY}

In between practices and lessons, Mason likes to go to open hockey at the rink. They have scheduled blocks of time where you can take the ice and practice whatever skills that you want. They have nets set-up at each end of the rink, other training equipment, etc. We try to attend these as often as we can. 

{A SWEET SATURDAY WITH THE NEPHEWS}

This morning we went to our nephew's soccer game. That's always a fun time! After the game, Nate's parents had the boys over and since we live right behind them, we got to visit with them too! We had a sweet little time playing outside, holding the chickens, gathering eggs, and even a little frog catching. 

{SUIT FITTINGS}

We were invited to a very special event in Northern California later this month. It's a formal event...which means my boys will be in suits! After searching many places, we ended up having to order Mason's suit. It fit okay, but there were some areas that needed taken in. I couldn't believe how grown he looked!

{A TRIP TO THE HILL COUNTRY // KERVILLE & FREDERICKSBURG}

We traveled to the Texas hill country for Labor Day weekend and had so much fun! Nate's parents booked a VRBO and invited our sister-in-law's parents to join. It was such a sweet time with tons of precious memories made!