Thanksgiving

Russ and I spent Thanksgiving in Oroville. We try to go up there as much as we can; however, I've never been there during Thanksgiving. I always hear stories from Russell telling me about the amazing food/feast they throw up there and I am so glad I got to experience that this year. It only took us 10 hours (yay?) to drive up there during the dreaded most-traffic-on-the-road day of the year.

The feast was on the ranch. There was crab, oysters, ham, and of course turkey. I got to try American Thanksgiving side dishes I've always heard about but have never eaten like green bean casserole. Aunt Linda brought the wine she makes. We brought up beer my brother-in-law made. My mom-in-law brought her infamous homemade pies. We feasted like kings.

Afterwards, we took out the four-wheelers to explore Grandpa's ranch. Curtis and Lauren were with us and I got lots of cutesy photos of them like this:

Here's one that Lauren took of me and Russ:

We went around the ranch until the sun started to set. I love exploring Grandpa's ranch and watching the cows just chilling and eating. I don't know the land that well but it seems endless.

Boys being boys

With cousin Jimmie after we couldn't restart the 4-wheeler

Besides that I also played with the little cousins on a giant trampoline. I don't know where little kids get their energy but they are so much fun.

Uncle Pete and Aunt Maureen's house with the giant trampoline and an awesome view of the pond.

We will be back in Oroville later on this December! Till next time...

Thankful for this goofball.

Oroville

Over the New Year's holiday, Russell and I were able to road trip up to Oroville and get a few more wedding chores done. 

While we were there, we saw lots of sheep on Grandpa's ranch:

There were lots of baby sheep around!

More pics:

Oroville Trip

The view of Oroville and Oroville lake.

This past weekend, I went on a long-driving trip with Russell and my parents to Oroville. If you haven't heard of Oroville, it's about one hour north of Sacramento. It's a fairly small town but it's beautiful, quiet, and at night time you can see the stars. It's definitely a nice break from Orange County.

Our goal in Oroville was to look at Grandpa John's ranch and decide where we want the wedding ceremony and reception. He has a beautiful lake in the middle of his ranch that I liked ever since I first saw it. However, we ended up settling on doing the wedding on Russell's aunt's property. She has a vineyard and a cute barn. Overall, Oroville is exactly the kind of location I would like to have an outdoor wedding in--scenic, garden-like, calm, and homey.

We arrived in Oroville on Saturday morning and left on Sunday morning. It was a quick trip but we got a lot of things done.

• We saw Roxy:

Roxy loves being petted, rubbed, and loved.

• There was a salmon festival going that weekend so we were able to witness the salmon travelling upstream to lay eggs.
  
  
  There were windows you could look at to watch the fish migrate.
  
  
  
  The Oroville dam. We stood here awhile and watched the fish try to jump the stream.
  
  
• We found a reception location and great hotels for guests to stay at. (No pictures, it'll be a surprise)


• We were able to tour my parents around Grandpa John's ranch. My dad was in awe of Grandma Alice's backyard mini-produce farm. We were able to take home figs, a giant zucchini, small tomatoes, and squash. We also ate some pears and berries straight from the tree/bushes. (Sorry, I wasn't able to take a picture of her beautiful vegetable and fruit garden)


• We had dinner on Aunt Linda's patio.
  
  
  
  Neither my parents nor I had ever had dinner out in a patio so we were in for a treat. We were able to chat and eat dinner while the sun set. Moments like these make me love Oroville even more.

Overall, I'm very excited and glad to be getting married in Oroville. It's home to many of Russell's family and it has such a nice welcoming feel. I've been bugging Russell to plan our next trip back to Oroville already 'cause I miss it so much.