An impromptu day at the beach

We were deciding how to spend our Saturday and decided to check out Half Moon Bay again, this time with Nate. It's a neat area for beaching along with kite flyers, BBQ grills, and beach volleyball to boot. Katelyn was braver this time and we got soaked. I sort of had to hold her back in order to wait for the smaller waves that came up to her armpits. She was fearless. Then Nate took a turn with her and afterwards they made nice sandpiles. Sarah enjoyed her view from the stroller and eating bananas. We sampled some great nachos and quesadillas at the little Mexican restaurant and they were delicious and cheap.
WetSnuggledBuriedWetSnuggled and Buried

Sarah grew!!!

So some of you may have followed our scares with Sarah's weight(oh and Katelyn's too). At 4 months Sarah was a mere 9lbs 7oz (waaay below the charts)--considering she was a full-term baby and 6lbs 6oz at birth. Happy day today though when she sauntered on the scale. At 6 and a half months she's 14lbs 2oz (10th percentile) and I couldn't be more proud. Way to go little peanut. She's still in the 3-6 month size but at least we were able to stow away the newborn diapers and clothes. I am completely in love with our new pediatrician...okay I mean she's great with Sarah, thanks Heather Y for your recommendation.

Happy day. We wanted to celebrate so when we heard the doot doo doo dooda outside we ran to catch the icecream truck. Sorry I didn't get a photo op but my couch is nice and peachy from the push up popcicle. Ah well that is what childhood is made of. Please excuse me while I run damage control.
Sarah Before-4 MonthsAfter-6 MonthsKatelyn Before 4 MonthsAfter 6 Months

Hiding and Fighting

Where's Sarah?

Sarah is quite the roller these days. I came in the room to check on her during some tummy time and found this.

Oh here she is!

Daddy tickling Sarah

Katelyn defending Sarah

Grrr....

Rarrr...

Hmmm....

This one was taken after Nate and Katelyn's first Daddy Daughter Date. They went for a shopping trip to get Katelyn some new shoes.

(Thanks Aunt Becky for the box of new clothes!!!)

Happy Half Birthday to Sarah...

Sarah's First Meal!


Hmmm...I am not so sure about this.

Ooh this is sweet!

Bring on the next course!

Brownies for Auntie Sarah's Birthday on the 13th as this was a double Sarah birthday.

Half Moon Bay and Sarah Meets Sarah

My awesome friend Sarah had a tiny break before her P.A. clinical rotations started and she decided to spend some time with us out here in Cali (sorry that you were expecting warm, sunny California life...I certainly appreciated this little patch of 70 degree weather). We've been living it up talking, shopping, eating, reading, watching movies, and hanging out at the beach. Auntie Sarah has been heaven sent helping me with the day-to-day things and spoiling our girls rotten.

So Half Moon Bay is only about 30 minutes away and we just decided to drive over to the beach for the afternoon. On the way back we found a fruit stand and fields of flowers. It was really breathtaking. There are lots of camping spots along the drive because there is a Redwood Forrest patch of trees right there. I am amazed at the diversity of activities in this area. It's really so beautiful.


Katelyn getting re-aquainted with the sand.

Awesome waves--we saw some surfers down the beach.

Baby Sarah trying to get out of the breeze while the rest of us watched the kite flyers.

Katelyn wanted me to put my feet in the water and then I would dip her toes in as the wave receded.

Sarah's Namesake-we do actually have a wide variety of clothes for little Sarah but this one just keeps showing up in the photos...

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.