Cruising to Santa Cruz

This week we headed down to Santa Cruz on Mally's early day of school. Stephen took half the day off so we could all go together. We figured we would rather go to the beach midweek to avoid the crowds. 

That morning I went to the store in search of durable buckets and shovels for the sand. While there I found kites on clearance, $2.00 each. It was a great investment. Stephen and the girls spent most the afternoon flying kites. That was by far the easiest kite flying experience of my life. The kites almost took flights all by themselves. The constant ocean breeze makes the beach the ideal spot for flying kites. 

It was a blissful outing. There is something about the beach that makes us be on our nicest behavior. It's like the one place on the earth that our girls don't fight. We so enjoy playing at the beach. 

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a space shuttle!

We had the fun opportunity to see the retiring space shuttle Endeavour fly overhead as it did a low fly by over the Bay Area. Stephen took this shot outside his office. 

A 4.5 Earthquake

Early this morning at 6:19 a.m. I was awaken by my bed shaking back and forth. It took me a while to fully awake and figure out what was happening. AN EARTHQUAKE! I knew it was only a matter of time until we would have one here. We are in the Bay Area and it's known for earthquakes. Then I realized the "epicenter" of the "quake" was sitting on the bench at the foot for my bed. A 4.5 year-old "earthquake" named Eva was sitting on the bench kicking her legs back and forth as fast as she could. What a relief! That kid makes "earthquakes" wherever she goes.

Photo Shoot

We did a little photo shoot. She's a beauty. Check out her eyelashes. They are long and thick and reach all the way to her eyebrows! 

Guess What I'm Reading

My very talented friend Stacy Henrie just published her first novel. I've been anticipating reading Lady Outlaw for months. It just came out last week. I preordered my copy and got it on Thursday. I have loved the read. It's a historial novel with love, adventure, and spirituality. It doesn't disappoint. Read it. Enjoy Stacy's talent as a writer and storyteller and then wait for her next publishing. In March 2014 she is slated to publish a three book series of World War I romance novels. Way to go Stacy! All her talent and hard work are really paying off. I am very proud of her and lucky to be her friend. 

What We've Been Up To

One of my favorite places around the Bay is Coyote Point. I love the views of the Bay. No matter the weather, fog or sunshine, it is always beautiful here. The girls and I love to sit on the "cliffs" and watch the planes fly in as they make their decent on the SF airport. It's tradition that we watch the planes while sharing a bag of Famous Amos cookies. 

 We went to Half Moon Bay and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve one more time before school started. It was foggy and the water was cold like always. But that never stops my girls from going in. We were nearly the only ones at the beach and certainly the only ones in the water without wetsuits. 

Lucy stayed bundled that the beach. 

 We join other ladies and their kids from the Ward and took the train to Burlingame. It was a cute city with a charming downtown. It had Parisan-styled sidewalk cafes. Though we opted for Italian food. I think we will have to go back with Stephen for a family date night. There were restaurants with some good looking food I think we will have to try sometime. 

One of the shops in Burlingame had a cute name.

Our new command center. We bought an iMac. No, it's not a TV, though it is almost as big as our TV. Now we have 5 computers, one for each of us. We got the new computer partly because Stephen convinced me we would be able to consolidate our compter files from a few computers on to it to save space. Anyone local want an old computer and monitor? 

Mally started her first day of school at her new school. So far she is enjoying school. 

The girls love their little Lucy. Maybe too much. She looks a little concerned. 

…and breathe

As stressful and overwhelming as this summer has been, it is equally as overwhelming to sit down and try to express in words what we experienced. To say the least, this summer was a blur. I don’t know how we handled having a baby, deciding to apply for a new job, interviewing for the job, getting the job, blessing Lucy, throwing a party to celebrate her blessing, going to many family parties, preparing our house to move out of state, finding and place to live in CA, talking in church, selling our house, selling our car, selling our furniture, getting rid of our junk, packing our stuff, Stephen working full-time and all the time, trying to properly take care of three active girls, going to doctor appointments, going to dentist appointments, living temporarily at Grandma’s, traveling to CA, unpacking, settling in a “new” area, registering for elementary, starting a new job, joining a “new” ward… I guess I do know how we did it all. With help from God. Although it was hard, really hard, I know we received so many miracles and blessings. With God’s help everything just fell into place.

I had a wonderful delivery. Induced. Absolutely no pain. She was born healthy and beautiful.

Her sisters love her. 

Lucy’s baby blessing

For Sale by owner. We listed our house on KSL classifieds and it sold in 1 day! A true miracle.

Look what we unpacked.

Lucy has become a very happy baby.

Check out how California cool she is.