Returning to My Roots

When I think of growing up, I think of the beautiful Temecula valley--the way the air tastes misty with a hint of ocean, the frost covered winter mornings, the penetrating heat of summer, the green rolling hills cluttered with large boulders, the Native American history, the simpelness of Old Town, the California ranch feel, and the occasional pour down of rain. All of these memories were collected over my first sixteen years of life there. 

It has been twelve years since I called the Temecula valley home, but returning to visit my parents for holidays and trips gives me nostalgia of the place I called home longer than any other. On our occasional trip to CA, it is so fun to show Ben visuals of my memories. And the truth is, Temecula, will always be where my roots are.

We were able to spend time with my family in CA for Christmas. We experienced beautiful weather, fun family times, and good bonding time!

The view from my parents' deck

I sometimes forget I grew up in a semi-tropical place! Here are the flowers at my parents...

 We had a fun date day! Ben and I got in a day before everyone else arrived because my parents had attended my brothers' graduation at BYU-I--congrats, Mike and Seth!

I got to finally show Ben around Old Town. Temecula has sure boomed in the last ten years; it no longer has a small town feel and has the traffic, stores, and tourism of a bigger city!

My parents' Christmas tree!

My parents' new, snazzy deck!

After our fun date day, we had so much in with the family! It was our first Connors Christmas with grandchildren involved--so fun!

These little nephews love each other!

Everett fell asleep holding my arm :)

Then we had family pictures! We still haven't received the professional ones back yet, but here's what was taken with Ben's camera!

The above picture makes me laugh so hard. This is the true chaos of pictures. 

I can't get enough of Chase and Everett!

We had lots of fun Spot It rounds! 

Christmas morning!!

All of the Connors girls' Christmas trees! In case you were wondering who lost, it was me!

After a fun few days with family--talking, eating, singing, and playing games, we ventured to the Newport Beach area!

Chrystal Cove--one of my new favorite beaches!

After some beach walking, we went to the Newport Mall, all bundled up!

Newport Temple!

After such a fun week, we came home to this:

And, ironically, two days after we arrived home, Temecula was hit with a snow storm (only the third time in twenty years), and the snow stuck six inches! Now that would have been a sight to see! Luckily, I was able to live vicariously through family who all were still in town :)