Our Turn

This weekend was our turn to have mom and dad and do some show-and-tell of Loma Linda and the surrounding area. Somehow we did so much and yet not once did we feel like we were over doing it or wearing ourselves out. We had SO much fun. It started Friday with a classic vegetarian lunch from the Patio Pantry at the University, then the girls went for a shopping spree while the guys toured Redlands University and Prospect Park. These pictures are a little out of sequence. This was from dinner on Saturday night at the Mission Inn. Best Italian in the area for sure!

Here's mom and I after dinner at Mission Inn

A view from the inside of the Mission Inn into the courtyard. This resort/hotel is amazing- it's like a castle from 17th century Spain- it would be so fun to stay here and play hide-and-seek. :) So many cool nooks, patios, courtyards and balconies.

Looking down into another courtyard at Mission Inn. After dinner we roamed around for a long time- every corner of the Inn has it's own character including a really neat roof-top herb garden. Mom and dad loved this place!

Mom and Dad outdside the Inn

Saturday we drove up to Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains (about 40 miles from Loma Linda). It's about 20 degrees cooler up there any given day and the Lake Arrowhead village is a bavarian-themed village full of shops, restaurants and resorts. We also went into the Lake Arrowhead Resort which is a rustic luxury resort famous for for the many movies filmed there back in the 30's and 40's. It's beautiful up there and we feel like we're back in the Northwest, which is why I think we enjoy it so much.

Not too far from Lake Arrowhead Village is a fire lookout that we visited out of curiosity and it ended up being such a fun and educational experience. You are at the top of the mountain and on a clear day you can see all the way to the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. It was pretty hazy yesterday so we couldn't see the ocean- but you can still see 3 lakes and all the way down to Loma Linda.

On the fire lookout tower

Dad and I

Mom and I

A view from the boardwalk at Lake Arrowhead

Sunday we drove out to LA so mom and dad could go to church with us at Reality. What an encouraging morning- it's been several weeks since we've made it to church with all the business right now, but what a refresher to be at church this morning. Mom and dad really loved it and we felt really blessed just to be standing with our parents, worshipping and praising the Lord. God is so alive in LA! We came back to Loma Linda after that and went to the Drayson Center (the University's work out complex) for a bit to relax by the pool. We love the Drayson Center and wanted to share it with mom and dad since we are there so often to work out or swim in the pool on the really hot days. We had fun watching the diving board contest that seemed to be going on between about 10 guys that all were one-upping the other with what trick they would do when they jumped off the diving board.

Mom and dad just left a little bit ago- I'm a little sad they are gone already, but will look forward to seeing them for one more weekend when we get together next weekend for Patrice's birthday. I kind of forgot how much I miss my parents, having moved away from Spokane, but I know that God has strengthened and tightened even more the bond we have with our parents- all of them! Time spent with them now is always so priceless, genuine and quality. We are blessed so much by our parents!

The baby sister turns 21!

Well, the littlest "Pike girl" turned 21 last week and this past weekend we all got to celebrate it together. My parents are down in Cali for almost a month to visit us and it's been very fun getting to spend as much time with them as we can. So to celebrate, we all stayed in Dana Point, CA which is this beautiful beach town just south of Laguna Beach. It's not so commercialized, it has white, sandy beaches, and it has cute shops lining the streets to stop into and look at. Here are some of the highlights from the weekend...Aunt B and Uncle Wayne came down Saturday night for dinner at Hennessey's Fish Bucket- a fun fish n' chips place with a great atmosphere. The drinks were big enough to share between 4 people and the food was awesome!

All together again...it's been since Christmas

Uncle Wayne and Aunt B. Wayne is the proudest darn Texan I have ever met. By the way...did you know true Texas chili has no beans in it? Only meat...

We spent the afternoon Saturday at Strands Beach...it was the perfect beach day! Here's Nina and Patrice.

We took a walk down the beach just to two of us to sneak in some "alone" time.

Dad, Mom, Alla and Ryan getting their tan on...

This family does not do anything without stopping for a coffee. There is a cute coffee house in Dana Point where Jared and I like to go and this time we got to enjoy it with the whole family. We all like different things- Mom, Alla and Jared love their Americanos all fixed up, Ryan and I love a good iced vanilla latte (soy milk for me please), and Dad, Nina, and Patrice go for the granita/blended drinks.

Fun, fun time we had. It really doesn't get any better than being at the beach with your family. I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend. This coming weekend mom and dad are coming to Loma Linda to stay with Jared and I. On the agenda...shopping for the girls, introducing my parents to frozen custard at Therons (soooooo good!), Lake Arrowhead on Saturday and dinner at the Mission Inn in Riverside. Should be a good time!

The 5th on the 10th

Friday, July 10th we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!!! We went for a night over in Rancho, enjoyed a nice dinner, and relaxed as much as we could until we had to check out on Saturday.

What an incredible journey these last 5 years have been- with so much adventure and fun in between it all. We are so blessed to have each other as best friends and "life-mates" and we're excited for what lies ahead. One thing we know for certain...God is so faithful!

Now...

Then...July 10th, 2004