Spreading the News to the West Coast

As many of you know, Luke was born in Sacramento, and though his mom and brother live in Tennessee, the rest of his (quite large) family is still on the West Coast. So, every year, as a present from his parents, we head out to visit the crew and get as much visiting in as we can in a week. This year was as much fun as always, with the added fun of getting to spread our baby news to the whole family, and was excellent for taking my mind off morning sickness.

First, we went with Luke's mom, Kathy, and brother, Robbie to visit her mom, Nana in Redding, CA.

Nana took us to the awesome Turtle Bay Nature Preserve to see their famous SunDial bridge, butterfly house, botanical gardens, and nature center. We had such a fun day!

Next, we headed to Lincoln to visit Grandma and Grandpa Leonard, and see their beautiful new home. We had a big dinner with Luke's aunts and uncles, and had so much fun telling everyone our news, and celebrating Grandma Norma's 80th birthday!

Then, Luke and I headed to Patterson to see Luke's dad, stepmom, and sisters! Luke loves his sisters - and so do I - so it's always a special treat to get to spend time with them! (below: Elizabeth, John, Luke, Susan, Laura)

Our cousin Michelle (below left) graduated from high school while we were there and we were so happy to get to celebrate with her -- and we were so proud of her for her fantastic grades and speech!

Luke was very happy to tell his grandparents that they have another great-grandchild on the way.

They were so excited, and Grandpa said "Now you will carry on the family name!" I look very forward to taking a picture of four generations of Paivas next year!

Visiting Luke's family out West is always bittersweet - we love our visits, but leave knowing it will a whole year before we see everyone again rather than the weekly visits we'd prefer. With a baby on the way, this awareness is more acute. We have such a desire for our children to know his family, and it makes us sad knowing they won't see them as much as we like. We will just have to redouble our efforts to make the most our annual visits, and keep our guest room ready for any West-coast visitors this little baby can entice!