Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

This weekend we decided to checkout the Drive-In Theater in San Jose (thanks for the tip Selways). We asked our new friends the Adamson's to join us for Wall-E. As you can see Sammy and Katelyn thought it was awesome! The drive in is situated below the San Jose Airport and near some train tracks. In one part where the spaceship is landing Jeremy pointed out we had amplified surround sound from the plane flying overhead. It was nice to be able to take the kids to the movies for pretty cheap (they were free).

Also at 5 months Sarah sat up for the first time (Monday night). Way to go Sarah.

Memories...

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

This can be memories of me, Nate, or the girls...

Why Blog?

I have a personal journal of sacred experiences so why would I need a family record generated via the internet?
1. I am awful at scrapbooking.
2. I live far away from friends and family and this is more organized than a massive email.
3. It isn't until I write about our experiences that I recognize the presence of the Spirit in every endeavor and the many blessings we enjoy.

I would hate to lose these thoughts so I have started printing our blog annually. I am sure there are plenty of ways to do this but we went through lulu.com. Just open an account. Copy and paste you blog into Word. Upload the document into a project and design the cover. Here is an example from 2007.

Katelyn Feeding Sarah

Katelyn has decided she enjoys being the helper these days. She's more than happy to grab me wipes, diapers, and the occasional toy in order to help me with Sarah. In the bath she relishes dumping the water bucket on Sarah to wash away the bubbles (I'm not so sure this is simply to help Mommy)and just this week she's decided she would like to help in the feeding department as well. Here are some photos of Katelyn holding and feeding Sarah. Pretty cute, huh?

Potty Training 101

Okay friends. We have decided to move beyond diapers and would like some wisdom from you. Any tips of what did/didn't work for you? Or just plain old funny stories?

Fisherman's Wharf

We headed down to Pier 39 this weekend to check out good ol' San Fran. We indulged ourselves at Boudin Sourdough for a soupbowl dinner and on to Ghiradelli Square for dessert. Yes Lis I had one in honor of you. While we were hanging by the fountain this violinist started playing and Katelyn decided to jam out. She created a crowd of onlookers so I am sure the street performer forgave us for not having any money. I can't believe how good she is at dancing. She definately didn't pick that up from her parents. Afterwards we walked down to the beach to wade in the chilly water and build sandcastles. I just love hanging out with our little family.


Jammin'

Katelyn's Admirers (look to the left)
-Sarah also received many adoring looks. Life with kids is great!


Testing the Waters

Such a girl...Dirty fingers Daddy!


Oh I forgot to pay tribute to the seagulls. We had a great time feeding them the tops of our soup bowls and chasing them on the streets. Oh you're not supposed to feed them...oops. These lovely birds were making sure nothing happened to the parking garage.

Moving, more moving, more moving

So as promised I am journaling our adventures these last few weeks. Well our little caravan left on Sunday, June 22nd and ended up unloading on Friday the 27th (or you could count the move start date as May 20th if you want to be specific). We re-loaded everything in the Penske attached the Jeep and the girl's and I followed in the Corolla. It's supposed to be just shy of 12 hours from Ogden to Palo Alto but well...we were travelling with kids. We made a stop by the Salt Flats and used it for a stretching photo op. I guess the land speed record was clocked out there.


After several more short stops we made it to Lake Tahoe. It's so beautiful! We couldn't quite manage the 8 foot limit with the Penske at our hotel so we parked it at a larger place down the street crossing over to the Nevada side. So there you have it, we parked in Nevada and slept in California. We found a great breakfast place and waded in the lake before we set out for our final destination.


We got up from our hotel in Fremont on Tuesday morning only to discover our 'dream' apartment was gone. So were our backups. I was truly heartbroken looking at the darling fenced toddler playground outside the patio. Ah well. So we drove around looking for balloons and the such to announce vacancies. We found another place only to have it not work out either.

My cousin Tyler and his wife Melanie came to cheer us up that evening with a list of 6 or so other leads. By 8 am the next day they were gone. All of them. We sort of listlessly drove to the area of the first and Nate caught sight of this beauty. We called and they even knocked the rent down $100 a month. When the landlord heard we were staying in a hotel she said we could move in earlier for free and not have to pay rent until the 1st. We were actually going to have a place to live--besides the hotel! It's amazing how life throws us trials that seem senseless only to see that something even better awaits at the end.


So that's our story. Oh and thanks Ty and Mel for unloading.

Once we got situated we realized things weren't quite ready for us. The oven wasn't working-oh wait the knobs were just reversed--oops. The stove was sitting inside the cabinets while the counter tops hardened. But the best part (or worst) was the re-painting/stuccoing of the entry balcony. The Bay Area had record level heat so our apartment has been a scorching 92 degrees inside. Yuck! We were creative with our makeshift swimming pool in the bathtub and grateful for our new friends, the Adamsons, that took us girls in for days and days. Our new A/C came in the mail today and in a few short hours we were basking in the cool air. Needless to say it was an interesting start here.


It's really not been TOO stressful. We BBQ'd at the Selway's/Cortese's from Baltimore house in Fremont for the 4th. They have an awesome pool and the girl's were so excited to see Timothy and Anthony. We were most impressed by Elizabeth's sisters. They were more than happy to hold our little ones while we relaxed. Thanks guys.

Last night we went to the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Palo Alto with Nate's co-residents. It was really nice to get to know them and their spouses. This area is so beautiful and charming, I can't help but fall in love.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Okay this is belated because we moved to California on our anniversary (June 22) and have only recently been connected to the internet. I will also have a move post but I thought it might be nice to comment on some of the experiences we have had as a couple.

Honeymoon:

Puerto Vallarta Resort for our week long honeymoon. Including snorkeling, massage, hike to waterfall, and our first cooking experience in the cocina in our suite.

1st:

Vilacayma, Bolivia for humanitarian trip with the fam and vacation to Machu Pichu, Peru and surrounding areas. Yes, we did climb the largest peak.

2nd:

Yellowstone with the fam and move to Baltimore, Maryland.

3rd:

Trip to La Push, Washington to celebrate Dan's graduation. We learned driving all night from the coast to Seattle airport on Nodoze is not the best idea.

4th:

Celebrated the birth of Katelyn with trip to Utah to visit family. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant Dai Enko Tei now known as Kobe.

5th:

Fancy dinner at Bone Fish Grill in Maryland which I subsequently regretted due to 'morning' sickness (Pregnant with Sarah).

6th:

Night in Tahoe City, CA breaking up our cross country move from Maryland to Utah to California.

Each year we celebrate in a different way but one thing is always the same, Nate's my best friend. I am grateful everyday that we are together.

Happy Birthday Nate!

Nate turned 29 today...old man. We were lucky to get together with a few of our pals from Maryland; the Hale's and Wade's were in town. We had a splashin time in the pool. Okay enough with the corny stuff. Nate and Katie threw Katelyn back and forth in the pool and she got some awesome air. See pictures. Thanks you guys for making the effort to come celebrate with us.

Nate is always asking the girls if they want spankin's like it's candy so his sister's gave him this t-shirt:



'the beatings will continue until morale improves'

Carver's Cove Petting Zoo in Eden

We had the best time at the Carver's Cove Petting Zoo today. You can check it out at www.carverscove.com. All of Katelyn's cousins went with Grandma to see the animals. Katelyn even had her first horse ride. She was very brave and held out a handful of oats to feed the goats, sheep, llamas, horses, and donkeys. She held a new baby kitten, watched piglets, had a baby calf suck on her hand, and petted the daddy bunny. It was so fun and right by our house. It's amazing how these animals were so entertaining to all the little kids.

We have a new addition for our family...

We have a new car! Hooray! We decided to try to save a little moola each month in rent by expanding our commute radius. Even with monthly installments, insurance, and gas we will end up saving more than living inside Palo Alto. Hopefully our friends at Craigslist don't let us down and we are happy with our recent finds. Oh and we have a Toyota Corolla. We just wanted twinner cars with Nick and Amanda, right?

The real life...

Okay so Kate tagged me with this little real life diddy. The rules are you have to take ten pictures of the following things. And you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping the snot from your child's nose. Then you tag five others. Unfortunately I am no longer living in my own home so I feel it unfair for my mom to suffer the consequences of a peek at her house at 1 AM. I therefore hedged on the rules and grabbed some photos from the past. Hope ya like em.

1. Laundry Room-well you get a glimpse of what our laundry room looks like in the sink photo and I thought this was fitting of how I fold my laundry. Love packing don't you?


2. Favorite Room-honestly this was a toss up. I love my art corner, the kitchen cabinet I built, AND the winner is...the girl's room. It has the most natural lighting in our apartment and I felt like it was the funnest to clean. Go figure.


3. What the kids are doing...Tummy Time! Actually they are sleeping but this is from today.


4. Favorite Shoes-the only ones I could find at the time


5. Toilet/Bathroom- Sorry no porcelin queen today.


6. Kitchen Sink-You really have to look hard in the background...


7. Refrigerator-don't have a photo but it was filled with lovely magnets we have collected from all our vacations...

8. Self Portrait-Hey there beautiful!


9. Closet-Also known as Suitcase...now you understand why I can't find anything.


10. Dream Vacation-I loved our trip to the outer banks in North Carolina. Nate and I have been to many places together...Puerto Vayllarta, Bolivia/Peru, La Push (It really exsists all you Twilight fans), but the best time for me has been hanging out at the beach house and swimming as a family. I guess our Atlanta City trip is a close second...


Now I am supposed to tag 5 of ya to make a post yourself...
I tag Amanda Long, Katie Hale, Amy DeWaal, Kristen Lundberg, and Becky Johnson. I can't wait to see the unbelievable places you call home.