Getting mom ready for her wedding we were grateful for the Internet. We ordered this dress online and when she got it and tried it on she loved it!
We also found a hairdresser that was willing to work out of her garage during Covid and mom was happy with her new haircut which allowed her to style it again instead of just having her hair in a bun every day.
Ashley contributed by helping grandma do her nails for the wedding in a beautiful purple color, and she did a pretty good job of doing her own nails.
I spent time making paper flower table decorations that could be thrown in the car and not wilt on the way up.
Once we were all packed up and ready to do to the wedding the car was filled to the top and we were ready for our long drive to Reno.
Once we got to Reno we found a nice BBQ place to eat and checked out the downtown Reno area. There was a beautiful riverwalk but a lot of the businesses were closed.
The riverwalk was nice to walk along just as the sun was setting...
The next day we arrived at Jim's with the Uhaul shipment of mom's furniture. We all worked together to get it into Jim's house and ready for mom to start her new life in Loyalton. Jim was nice enough to clear out a lot of his furniture to make room for moms stuff.
We lost the key to the padlock so luckily they were able to use Jim's tools to cut it off.
After helping at the house we went back to Reno and relaxed a little. The sisters took a walk around the lake some and enjoyed the view while the kids hung out in the hotel.
After we rested a bit we had the idea to go to Virginia City. We took whoever wanted to and raced over before things closed. We were able to check out a few things from the outside but by the time we were done walking around the cemetery pretty much all the food places were closed except a bar. We ended up driving back almost all the way to Reno before we found a place to eat that we wanted.
Once we got to Loyalton Jim’s family had made all kinds of arrangements for the wedding. They were able to find a venue in the middle of Covid after lots of jumping through hoops. There was a cake and Sally did beautiful flowers. The bishop officiated and we had some family and a few friends as guests
The wedding venue ended up being perfect and it was in a great spot.
The kids drove up to Loyalton a little later than us with grandma‘s car. The air conditioning wasn’t working so it was a little toasty but they enjoyed not having to be in adult car ;-) We were so glad they could be there too.
Mom and all of us girls.
All of our family. We were grateful for the couple months that we got to spend time with grandma and get to know her better. We wish the best for her new life.
The Olesons (Jared was working)
Janell was even able to fly out
Angela and Robert and family
Granddaughters
All the grandkids
Mom and Jim were so happy the day was finally here.
Walter celebrated his birthday the same day as the wedding. He was a good sport about it ;-)
After the ceremony we had a light lunch.
Cutting the cake
Once the wedding was done we went to an Airbnb in the Lake Tahoe area. The Oleson’s, the Zook’s and us all stayed in a great cabin that was plenty big for all of us. We spent the day exploring Lake Tahoe, hiking and enjoying the beautiful views.
At night we had fun playing games like Jackbox and tellestrations. You never know what you’re going to get when you play with kids ;-) It was Fourth of July but they weren’t doing any fireworks so we just watch them on TV instead.
The next day before the Taylor’s, and Jacob flew home we went to The Donner Pass area to explore. We checked out some of the historical markers and walked a trail and then had a picnic and did a bit of kayaking before we had to take the kids to the airport.
Once our time at the cabin was done it was time to start heading south. Our next stop was Mammoth Lakes. I’ve never been there before and we rolled into town with enough time to do a little bit of quick hiking before the sun was setting. Angela and Robert stayed north so just the Oleson‘s and Jeff and I and Ashley we’re on this part of the trip.
Joel Jeff and I went and did a couple hikes. I wasn’t prepped for it and I ended up hiking in sandals the whole time but I made it and it was definitely worth it!
I was amazed at how beautiful it was. When we came to a valley we saw a family of four who had been backpacking and living off the land for three weeks. They were the end of their journey. Mom was ready for a hotel in a hot shower but it look like they had a good time.
The next day we kept driving until we reached Yosemite. Again I’ve never been here after all the loot years I’ve lived in California. It was the perfect time to visit since it was so empty because of Covid. You had to reserve a spot and luckily Jeff had jumped on it while it was still available.
We got to see half dome, waterfalls, beautiful views and valleys. We were so grateful that we were able to enjoy it.
At the end of the day Joel and Regina had to continue on home since they had other obligations. Jeff and I and Ashley stayed another day to enjoy Yosemite. Before we drove home we got to enjoy the giant redwoods. Definitely wanna go back in the future!
Some snapshots of life back at home. Zoom church is nice because you don’t have to travel but then it’s a little bit easy to fall asleep , ha ha.
We got to have Morgan and John and Galileo over for a swim day. It’s nice to have people to enjoy the pool with!
Jolene came over and gave Ashley the super cute graduation present!
My good friend Penny Smith had a heart transplant surgery. The story is a miracle and from the time that she was told she needed a heart transplant to the time she got the heart transplant was like three days. She’s doing well and recovering.
So New York Life canceled its trips and all the events and so they did a paint night. I was excited to do a paint night but the subject was just a New York Life picture. It was still fun to paint but I gave it to Jeff to put his office.
