California, here I come!

So in early September, my Uncle Ranger Dave became Uncle Deacon Dave!!  When I first heard that my retired California park ranger uncle was going to be ordained to the permanent diaconate in Sonoma, I hoped I would be able to make it.  And thanks to Mr. Pickles' superhero status, I was!  Sadly we are past the point where traveling by air all together as a family is within our normal means, so only a small representation of the Pickles was able to attend with me.  I decided to bring my bookend boys -- Jojo (oldest boy) and Dominic (youngest boy) -- while Mr. Pickles heroically stayed at home with the rest for the six days I was gone.

The flight west to Sacramento was great -- the baby mercifully slept for hours and hours.  I don't have any fancy electronic devices, so Jojo had to entertain himself the old-fashioned way, with books and coloring and multiple snacks and looking out the window.  He was great.

After saying hello to the giant red rabbit at the Sacto airport (which symbolizes... joy at the moment of our reconciliation with our baggage?), picking up our rental and getting stuck in the requisite traffic on the 5, we made it to our hotel in Sacramento for the first night.  Of course we got to bed super late that night, and of course we were awake super early (babies don't understand the concept of time zones).  Cable TV to the rescue!  We watched lots of Animal Planet until the breakfast bar finally opened at 6:30.

Then after packing up (and inadvertently dropping the baby's jacket in the hallway) we drove down to Stockton to visit my cousin Kristen and her family.  (Kristen gifted us with her beautiful voice at our wedding ages ago.)  Unfortunately my other cousin Katy who lives in San Fran couldn't make it too. :(  But we still had a great playdate and delicious lunch together.

the boys and my little niece were being so cute together -- why is this the only shot I got???

After that we hopped back into the rental (which was terrible for long car trips -- no arm rests!!) and headed further west to WINE COUNTRY!  We must have passed a million windmills along the way.  Restrooms were also few and far between, so at one point Jojo and I had to stop at a crummy little convenience store to use their creepy bathroom because our eyeballs were floating and we were in the middle of NOWHERE.  It's the little moments like that which make a trip so memorable.

That afternoon we headed first to visit Nana (my grandmother) at her new apartment in Sonoma, which I hadn't seen yet.  She had been living in Auburn for so long that it was weird to see her in a new place.  I was gratified to notice as soon as I walked in that her new apartment STILL smelled like Nana's house.  (Sort of a combination of fresh cucumbers and Palmolive dishsoap -- that smell will always remain embedded in my memory, just as the smell of cedar always takes me to my other grandparents' house in Michigan.) :)

Her new home is in a really nice community -- they were really thinking of extended family when they designed the place.  There were lovely outdoor spaces for sitting and visiting, plus a great little play area with a play house, sand pit, and swingset for kids.  All in all it was very welcoming and homey, and a great relaxing hq for in between parties.

So after a good visit we headed to our crappy little hotel about 20 mins. away -- it was closer to where the ordination was going to be, and also cheaper than the hotels in Sonoma.  (However it still wasn't cheap, which burns me up b/c it wasn't near worth what we paid for it.  I left a scathing review -- scathing, I tell you -- on TripAdvisor.  At least the sheets were clean, which is more than I can say for the ratty carpet.  Eesh.)

N-E-way, the ordination was on Saturday morning.  And somehow, despite our intention to arrive 20 mins. early and even though we got up super early (again) and were only 10 mins. away from the church, we still managed to come squeaking in at the last second!  Gotta stay true to form, I suppose.  Who am I to break with long-standing Pickles tradition?

The ordination Mass was beautiful -- and long.  I had to spend a good part of it in the cry room with Dominic, who doesn't do Sitting Still And Observing Quietly.  But Joseph got to stay in the pew and see everything while Grandma Kathy explained what was going on.  The music was gorgeous, the ordinations so moving -- and there were a lot of deacons being ordained!  I had attended a few ordinations back in high school, when we were involved with the Norbertine Abbey in El Toro.  It's always amazing to witness a Sacrament -- the grace flowing is almost palpable -- and seeing someone elevated to Holy Orders is really special.  Especially when that someone is your uncle!

the boys were SO ready for lunch.

I was SO grateful that I was able to be there.

Later that afternoon there was a big shindig at Uncle Dave and Aunt Carlin's house.  We didn't stay for too long, since we were still operating on a different Time Zone (I think we had moved into the Central time zone by then, but still), but we did get to visit with family and friends, and admire Dave and Carlin's lovely little garden.  I was envious of their bell pepper plants.  Nicky helped himself to a tiny one.

I was too busy chasing Dominic and keeping him from grilling his fingers to take many pictures, but here is one we caught with Nana:

Uncle Dave and Aunt Carlin had all kinds of great toys and books for their own grandgirls, so Jojo was well-entertained the whole time

Back in the car for the 20 minute drive back!  We got to know this route pretty well.  And I really didn't mind the drive at all... would you have?

late summer, so everything is golden

WINE COUNTRY!  there were vineyards EVERYWHERE.

We slept well that night, for sure.  The crappy hotel didn't have enough baby beds to accommodate us, so Dominic and I got to share a bed.  Whee.

Where's Mommy supposed to sleep???

On Sunday Uncle Deacon Dave served at his first Mass in his home parish -- doing all the deacon-y things and even giving the homily.  Of course the Gospel that Sunday was about hating your father and mother in order to follow Christ, so he had a good laugh about THAT being the first Gospel he had to preach, with all his family sitting in the front rows. :)  His homily was beautiful (and about the true meaning of Christ's words -- loving God above all).  I was glad to hear him sing so much, too -- I am a little biased towards music in liturgy. :)  He is his parish's first deacon, so they are truly blessed to have him there.

Since it was an older church there were no accommodations for small noisy children so I had to spend the entire Mass parked in some closet in the back.  Mercifully there was a speaker in the back so we could hear, even if we couldn't see.  And anyway, Uncle Dave doesn't really need a microphone -- he has one of those powerful, carrying voices that put the fear of God into you if you've been doing something you shouldn't.  (It's one of the things that made him such an excellent park ranger.)

After Mass there was a reception in the parish hall, so he could celebrate with his parish family.  He told us the story of how he began to think about becoming a deacon, and also gave a very sweet and moving testimony to the support of his wife and family.  Awww.  He had bought some lovely deacon's-wife jewelry for Aunt Carlin, and then blessed it for her right there (I got to hold the holy water bucket!) (an actual altar server could probably tell me the real name for it)  And then there was yet another party at the house, this time to celebrate my niece's birthday!  I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a good picture of her cake -- she had requested a dinosaur eating from a tree, and Aunt Carlin (or Babcia, as she is known to her grandkids) delivered.  The tree was made out of either broccoli or asparagus -- no picture so I can't remember clearly!  But it was awesome.

So it was pretty much partying all weekend long.  I'm sure Dave and Carlin were tired of feeding people by the end of it. :)

It was good to see my cousins all together too -- I had seen each of them briefly in the last few years, but it was nice just being with the whole family.  It reminded me of when our family used to go camping every summer, and we would always visit Dave & Carlin's family (if my kid memory serves, we usually camped at the park where Uncle Dave was stationed).  Family are pretty much the only people that I've kept in touch with from childhood, so to me it's always interesting to see how these people I knew when we were children together have grown up and chosen their paths in life.

On Monday we went back to Nana's for one last visit and the requisite generational pictures.

Nana, Grandma Kathy, Mrs. Pickles, Jojo, and Dominic on Nana's balcony.  Of course she has a mini-garden. :)

Then the boys and I said farewell to Sonoma and made our way to...  the Jelly Belly Factory!!

guess which one is ready for naptime

Because it was Labor Day, the factory floor was quiet, but the tour was still fun.  There were videos demonstrating how the jelly beans were made, so we could see how all the equipment worked.  Jojo was really interested and had a good time.  AND we got free jelly beans at the end!

That night we stayed in Sacramento again at the same hotel, and were joyfully reunited with Nicky's lost jacket.  (I had had to buy him another one in Sonoma b/c it was so cold up in them thar hills in the mornings!)  Then Tuesday we flew home.  That flight was, unfortunately, much more eventful than the one coming out.  For one thing, we had a layover in Arizona, but not a plane change.  So that made the trip even longer and more boring.  Nicky of course slept bee-yew-tifully for the first, short, flight, and then not at all for the entire rest. 

Dominic's playpen -- about 1 cu. ft.

Plus we hit the most horrific turbulence I have personally ever experienced as we were passing the Grand Canyon.  Thankfully I had Nicky strapped to me while he was sleeping (mercifully he slept through it all!), so he was safe -- otherwise I probably would have had to lay him on the floor and surround him with pillows.  It was THAT bad.  I thought for sure the plane was going to be torn apart and was begging the angels to fly us to safety.  Jojo did not enjoy it much either, and after that kept freaking out whenever we hit mild turbulence for the rest of the trip, poor kid.

But we survived.  I've long learned to expect that kind of ending to a good trip -- you always pay for your pleasures in life one way or the other, so if you have a really great vacation, it means you're going to have a sucky trip back or else come home to some disaster like your basement flooding (for instance).

Be the flight ever so long, every trip ends at last.  Home was still standing and everyone was still alive, and no one had any ear infections or bronchitis!  Yay!

So now I could enjoy a nice relaxing half-week of: unpacking, laundry, drama rehearsals, piano lessons, class orientation, church group meeting, mad shopping, and re-packing for... the next post!

*breathes deeply*