We were beyond thrilled when we received the call in June about Mom and Dad Clark coming back to the States. They had been serving in the Philippines MTC for over a year. They had a lot of things to put into place and take care of before leaving due to this crazy worldwide pandemic. They have been sent home until they are able to reopen the MTC. I am sure that in some ways they were torn between leaving what they have come to love and put have so much work into and finally being able to see their kids and grand-kids. After only being home from our Utah trip a few days, we anxiously awaited their arrival. We had quite the memorable trip needless to say. Pres and I took them down memory lane in Walnut Creek, walked through Big Trees Park, went to San Francisco for the day and spent some much needed quality time together.
The anticipation was killing us!
Every few minutes I would be asked, "How much longer now Mom?" We all couldn't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa ;)
Everyone settled in quite nicely with Poppa Clark.
The boys were quick to show Poppa their games, kindles and everything happening in their little lives.
After dinner we took a quick walk to the duck pond.
It was very sunny but the ducks loved the treats we brought them.
In our happy place :)
The kids were thrilled to have Grandma and Pop join us for our Come Follow Me lesson for the night. We had a lot of fun learning more from the scriptures with these two.
Pres and I figured we'd hit the ground running while we had these two with us. The day after they got in the kids and I took them to check out Big Trees State Park. It's about an hour from our home and so worth a day visit. We stopped and grabbed Subway sandwiches for a picnic lunch, a favorite in the Clark home, and headed for the redwoods and sequoia's. It was such a lovely drive. We missed having Pres with us though. He had to work that day but was able to take off the following few days while Mom and Dad were here. I can't lie, it didn't stop the rest of us from having a blast in this awesome park. I was absolutely amazed by the width and height of these incredible trees.
Welcome to Calaveras Big Trees State Park!
We had a nice lunch before we took off on the trail through the trees. Everyone enjoyed reading about the giant trees as we walked through the woods. It was so peaceful and such a beautiful day.
Check out the width of these!
Quick break to pose with one of the fallen down trees. The kids are sitting on just a portion of the roots...YEESH!
How cute are these two?!
Me and my crew.
I think these two were in their element :) We always wondered, "How many Grandma and Pops would it take to reach around the entire tree?" This park was like a big kids playground, haha.
Resting time.
Measuring trees with Grandma.
Looking at these pictures, it still amazes me at the sheer size of these trees. It was truly remarkable to see something so grand.
We found a hollowed out tree for the kids to climb through. Me and the crew doing our best to show the size of this tree. We weren't as good as Grandma and Pop were though. Too many little arms ;)
This is actually a little pathway between two trees. One tree split at the base and grew two separate ways. It was fascinating.
Beckham and Quinn take a turn.
This tree hollowed out over several decades of time. It fell onto the forest floor many years ago and now you can walk through it. There are even windows along the way from where branches had fallen off through the years.
Running to Grandpa.
Peek-a-boo!
This was one of the "windows" along the way.
Where's Les?
How cool is that tree?!
When you got to the other side of this massive thing you saw the roots. It looks like an ocean wave breaking over a rock at shore. So much beauty throughout the entire park.
The kids did an awesome job on the trail. I was really impressed they made it as long as they did. Right towards the end we started taking turns carrying a few kiddos.
One more rest before finishing this thing strong.
Hanging out inside a tree.
That beam of light was so cool but check out the size of these roots!!
We made it!
Making room for a road.
I think it's safe to say that we all very much enjoyed our trip to the park. We ended the walk on this giant slab of a tree. I couldn't get over how huge this stump was. Such a great park with spectacular views and scenery surrounding us. We may have to go back to show Pres one day.
The next day we took everyone on a little walk down memory lane. Mom and Dad actually lived in Walnut Creek which isn't too far from where we live. Preston was born there :) We threw everyone in the van and took off on what became a very memorable day to say the least.
One of the apartments they rented while they lived in Walnut Creek.
It was so fun hearing them talk about stories and memories from their time here. Several things had changed over the years; but there were also a few stores and buildings that were exactly as they left them all those years ago. I love hearing people's stories and it was no different listening to these two reminisce and laugh about the "beginning years". Pres and I were excited to be a part of it.
Coming over a hill into San Francisco.
We couldn't get over how steep these roads are. They are at times, legitimately insane. I'm afraid pictures do not even do it justice.
Masks up :)
Stopping at a favorite of ours...Shake Shack!
San Francisco and Shake Shack with these two.
We grabbed our delicious lunch and headed to Lands End for a picnic outside. The views from Lands End are spectacular. It's a favorite stop in SF.
Mom and Dad and the Golden Gate Bridge.
A picture of the crew!
We had planned to take every one to Golden Gate Park but missed the exit so we decided to head to Lands End instead. We enjoyed our lovely picnic and then toured the grounds. I don't think we were there more than 30-45 minutes when we came back to quite the surprise.
As we headed up the stairs I heard Dad say, "Oh Sandy look at the van." I looked up and saw that someone had broken into our van. We rushed over to find that both Mom and I's purses were stolen along with the kids book bag. We quickly evaluated the damage and started making calls to credit card companies while trying to figure out what the thieves had gotten from us. I NEVER leave my bag and if I do I for sure never put it where it can be seen. I was clearly off my "A" game and completely spaced it.
Pres and I felt so bad that Mom and Dad had to experience this with us on their vacation to CA. Luckily, we were able to cancel all cards before anything was charged or even tried. We lost a little cash but nothing of great importance. You do feel violated knowing that someone out there was literally looking through your life and deciding what to keep and what to toss. We searched the grounds near by hoping they disposed of the purses and bag once they took the cash and left but to no avail.
The kids sat in the back so patiently while we bandaged up the window and took next steps. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of those around us. Once we reached the van and started fixing everything we had several people stop and help us. People were offering us plastic bags, tape, blankets, any assistance they could give. I guess in one way we were lucky it was a rental and not our personal car but at the same time it's not an exciting thing to explain to your kids and go through. I was amazed at how calm both Mom and Dad and Pres and I were about the entire thing. No one freaked out and we were all able to keep our calm, especially around the kiddos. I was more worried about their reactions, thoughts and feelings. Quinn started calling the thieves the "bandits" and it just turned a cruddy situation into something of laughter. The kids would occasionally bring up the fact that the bandits took their snacks and things in the book bag for them. I realized they were just as hurt as we were that someone would do something like this to another human being. They lost personal things just like Mom and I did.
Hold on tight Dad.
Once the van was drivable we headed to the SF airport to trade in our car for another. After settling into our new vehicle we took off towards Stanford. We didn't let the bandits get the best of us! We moved on with our day and still had a wonderful time walking the university's campus and enjoying our drive home.
Stanford!
This place is so awesome! We absolutely LOVE the architecture of the buildings and just the feeling of this campus. We joked that it almost feels Hogwarts like from the Harry Potter books.
The outside hallways.
Love these guys!
The chapel on the grounds.
Our new ride ;)
We stopped for some Jimmy John's and chicken nuggets for dinner.
Enjoying our picnic dinner outside.
Happy Birthday Preston!!
We celebrated this incredible guy on July 31st! It was so fun having Mom and Dad here to celebrate with us. The morning started with presents galore for our favorite guy. Then we headed to the Blue Diamond gift shop and bought some goodies. We gave a little tour of the area we live in and grabbed some delicious Mexican food for lunch. Later that night we devoured baked potatoes and sandwiches from Chuck's Place for dinner. We topped off this special day with a super chocolatey ice cream cake from Cold Stone. Games and Hamilton followed after the kids went to bed making it the perfect finale to a fun day. I think Pres had a pretty awesome birthday this year ;)
My boys!
SPOILER ALERT:
After the bandits took our things I thought about what we should have done and could have done differently so many times. I was frustrated with myself for not being on my "A" game and thinking about the simple things I always plan for and think of. In a way I blamed myself for what had happened. I felt terrible that Mom and Dad had to experience that as well and I hoped it wouldn't put a bad taste in their mouth for CA or coming back. I know it sounds silly but things like this can really rock you. Your mind then takes off and you try to fix the past but guess what? You can't. It's already happened so it best to move on and make the next steps better.
With that being said, I finally opened my heart to my Father in Heaven expressing my disappointment for those stinkin' bandits, my lack of thinking about things before leaving the van and for the inconvenience we all had to go through because of another person's bad judgment. Then I prayed for them, the thieves. I prayed that the money they received went to something good and possibly helped them in these troubling times. I finished my prayer with a simple yet tall request. I asked my Father in Heaven to help me see a small miracle come out of this bad situation. Once I said "amen" I left whatever was to come in His hands. I submitted my will to Him and did what I could to make right the wrong that was done to us.
Meanwhile, I had my own idea of the miracles He could perform as I went about my day, haha. Mentioning on occasion, "Hey wouldn't this be cool... What if this happened wink wink", but I also knew the Lord would not let me down and He would deliver in His own time. He has ALWAYS been there for me so I knew He would be by my side through this as well. Almost two weeks to the day after saying my prayer and loosing my purse, wallet, glasses, the kids bag, dvd's, crayons, snacks, etc. I received a phone call from a woman named Leah. She told me her name and asked if I was Lesley Clark. I said, "Yes." She then proceeded to tell me that she found a book bag on a beach by her house with our things in it. My mouth dropped open as I listened to her. She told me about a few things in the bag and asked if it sounded like my stuff. I told her "Yes! Those are our things." We set up a time the following day to head back to San Francisco to pick up our once stolen things. Pres and I were beside ourselves. As soon as I hung up with Leah, I knelt in prayer and thanked my Father in Heaven for my small miracle which now seemed so much bigger. We met Leah the following day and retrieved our book bag. We got back everything from the kids book bag including, all of the dvd's, crayons and a few things from my purse that apparently they didn't find valuable. Sadly, no other bags or wallets were in the book bag. Unfortunately of Mom's things were found either but we were so grateful to get back something, anything from such an unfortunate situation.
The kids celebrated that we had gotten all of their things back and our book bag! How grateful I am for my Lord and Savior and for a Father in Heaven who listens and cares for His children. He loves us all so much and He is closer than you may think.
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