Our last day in Carlsbad...at our beloved resort. I'm not going to lie, there were tears as soon as the kids were up! We still had a whole day ahead of us, but it hardly mattered knowing we would be leaving soon. We really do love this place! It is a place of healing for our family, and we love our time here.
We did our best to convince the kids (and ourselves!) to wait to mourn our departure until we actually had to leave. :) Instead, we got ourselves dressed and ready for church, and enjoyed visiting a wonderful ward in Carlsbad. The kids loved being visitors in Primary, and Danny and I got to participate in a special third-hour meeting about religious freedom. It was really interesting! But the I think highlight was when Joey fell through the folding chair and hit is head right on the gym floors. Ugh..
Not only was it our last day in So Cal, but it was New Year's Eve and the last day of 2017! So we decided to head south to San Diego and visit the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. It was amazing! The sister and couple missionaries were fantastic, the center was beautiful, the story was fascinating and interactive and we learned so much. Johnny got to dress up as a battalion soldier and all the kids panned for gold (they even got to keep their favorite piece!), pumped water, and washed clothes on a washing board. :) It was the perfect Sunday tourist activity.
We had grand plans to finish the Book of Mormon for the second time this year on the beach at sunset...but we were counting on being back in Carlsbad and we weren't going to make it back before dark. We aren't really big New Year's Eve people, so as we made our way to the nearest beach in San Diego we didn't take into account that it would be busy and festive at the beach that night! It wasn't the right atmosphere to finish our reading, but we still took the opportunity to wish the ocean goodbye. We sure love to be on the beach!
We decided that even better than finishing the Book of Mormon on the beach would be to finish at the gorgeous San Diego Temple. Unfortunately, Joey was asleep by the time we got there, so instead of finding a spot on the grounds we staying in the car. Nevertheless, we met our goal of finishing the Book of Mormon twice in 2017! It was the absolute best way to end a great year.
And with that, we made our way back to the resort with grateful but slightly heavy hearts. We had to head home in the morning. As we settled into bed for the night, Danny and I reflected on what an amazing year 2017 had been for our family. Truly, it was the year we've been waiting years for! A year with no life-altering event!! :) We did some serious traveling during the year, with our Epic Road Trip across the country, the Eclipse Trip, and mine and Danny's Vegas getaway...then capping it off with our So Cal Christmas! We got to watch our kids keep growing, we had opportunities to feel close to Luke, and we came closer as a couple. We continue to see the Lord's hand in our lives, and we felt extremely blessed as we kissed each other goodnight. We don't know what 2018 has in store for us, but we're excited for the adventure!
Happy New Year!
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