My birthday always kicks off the new year. In 2024, we decided to stay local and go to Disney California Adventure Park for the day. S really had a blast for my birthday, haha.
I love the beach in the winter, the sunsets are always spectacular.
On a weekend in February, we went sledding in the local mountains, had a bonfire at the beach and installed a firepit at the Airbnb in the desert. I love CA.
For E’s birthday, we made a trip to northern CA to revisit Redwoods NP. See a separate post here.
In March we were ready for some warm weather so we flew to Oahu, HI for a few days. This time we stayed in Makaha Valley on the north-west side of the island and even though the community where we rented the house was brand new and nice the shore leading north was full of homeless people. It was a sad sight.
In April, we ventured to Dallas, TX to see the total solar eclipse. We extended our stay and went to a bunch of kid’s museums and explored Dallas and Fort Worth nearby.
At the end of May, we scratched another national park off our list, New River Gorge NP #62. See separate post here.
During the 4th of July break, we flew everyone to Pensacola, FL for a few days in the hot and humid Florida weather.
In August, before S started kinder at TMA, we had a health scare with my dad. He suffered a stroke and had to be taken to the ER where they administered a medication that got him back on his feet in no time. With him still waiting to get his green card at the time, it was a bit stressful not knowing how much the hospital bill would be. Luckily, at the beginning of the year CA expanded medi-cal benefits to everyone regardless of immigration status, so he was able to get coverage. In between hospital visits, I managed to take S to Disney for a day right before his first day of K. How is he in kinder already!? He loves his new school and teacher so much. We are so grateful!
At the end of September, over a long weekend, we ventured to Tucson, AZ to see Chiricahua National Monument and revisit Saguaro National Park. See separate post here.
For Halloween, S wanted to be a skeleton, so we obliged.
At the beginning of November, we all flew to Sacramento to vote in the Moldovan presidential elections.
In December, S turned 6 and we celebrated with all his friends at Candeeland. We also did various Christmas activities and enjoyed the holiday season. What a blast!
We spent the winter break in between the home and the doctor offices, most of us got sick and we had to cancel one of the last trips of the year. We managed to have a staycation in Temecula in the last days of the year. Stay healthy everyone!
