glad he raised his paddle

That November night I didn't think it was such a great idea, but now I'm thankful.  Our little getaway is a trip we "won" at the school auction.  It went for a good price, but at the time with Christmas ahead, I was a little wary of bidding.  

Today we will use the tickets included in the package to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The little suite at the Inn with three rooms and a fireplace is very nice, however it was cold last night so Rod lit the fire.  After the fire didn't warm us enough we turned on the heater.  Still wasn't quite cozy enough at bedtime so we turned down the heater a few notches and went to bed.  At 1:00 it was roasting.  I got up turned the heater completely off but after about 15 mins we just couldn't stand it, so Rod opened the door for awhile to let the cold air in.  It felt like sitting in front of the fan on a scorching day with the added creep factor that anyone could see the door open.  

This morning the kids woke up saying it was cold last night.  After a filling breakfast left at our doorstep with the paper, we prepare for a day at the Aquarium.  

The Charm of Carmel-by-the-Sea

An evening stroll in downtown Carmel.  Taking in the character and charm.  

stopping to smell the flowers, relax and enjoy our little stay

love the picture inside this gallery

Our Inn.  Headed back to light a fire.

Walk for Life

The Walk for Life in San Francisco on Saturday was very successful.  We attended Mass at 6:00am and then loaded the charter bus for SF.  The bus ride was very pleasant with the rosary and movie.  We arrived about 15 minutes before the rally, so just in time to get in the long line for the porta-potties (thankfully, the most unpleasant part of the day).  We had a pre-rally and then began our 2 mile walk.  The uplifting bagpipes-drum ensemble marked the start of our journey.



All of the protesting activity came at the very beginning.  One woman from the other side was collecting donations in a bucket claiming to be Pro-life.  They announced before the really that no one would be collecting from Pro-Life so do not give any money.  The woman was quickly removed by police.  The start of our walk was the only time we hit protesters.  They chanted to some familiar children's tunes (ironic) so it was disturbing.  They soon puttered out and it was a peaceful walk the rest of the way.  I have to say because they were drag queens and shouting ugly profanities, who would ever find them credible?  32,000 people marching together peacefully was very effective especially in the most crowded tourist areas of SF.  

The most impressive thing of the day is that it was so organized.  We kept thinking how do they allow all these streets to be blocked off for us?  All these police officers protecting?  The bus organization itself was remarkable.  I'm very happy we went and stood together.  The day, a blessed one.  The cause, the most important one.  As one speaker said, "the time is now."

To read more about the event, go to Walk for Life West Coast.

Out of Town Wedding

We traveled to Santa Cruz this weekend for a family wedding.  It was one of the most fun weddings we've been to.  For the kids it was hands down the best time they've had at a party.  All the settings were very beautiful - the Church, the reception overlooking the ocean, the beachfront hotel and the very happy couple.  Kaye and Cee had the honor of standing by the front table directing guests to their seat assignment.  (Kaye had outgrown her dressy sweater so she had to go for the full jacket)

These two cousins couldn't have been more excited to catch the boutonniere and bouquet.  They certainly gave it their all which I hope sat okay with all the adults in their way. (shriek) 8.5 - 9 must be the optimal age range for the wedding toss.

They had a photo booth for the guests.  Once your photos were printed they gave each person a copy and put one copy into the guest book for the guest to sign.  It was  a lot of fun.

These were views outside our hotel the next morning.  That is Santa Cruz Municipal Pier.  

This is Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, taken from our hotel balcony, which we successfully avoided.  Surprisingly not too much attention was given to that.

Great weekend with a little bonus day off the next day for the girls.  It is surely one wedding we will all remember. 

A Weekend Away

Rod and I were a world away this weekend on a little pre-anniversary - with some business, trip.  We had never been to Las Vegas together and it was about 20+ years since each of us had been there seperately.  As you might expect, the city itself has energy exuding from everywhere.  The trouble is it's a deceiving energy.  Realizing that very early on we took advantage of our time alone together (thanks to my sister who took care of the girls) and enjoyed the grandeur for a few short days.

We stayed at The Venetian, which is a vacation in and of itself, and lived like different people for two days.  

We had some really nice, quiet, romantic meals together.  Here's the starter (olive tapenade - my new favorite) from the appropriate named Olives by Todd English in the Bellagio.  

Of course the city is amazing at night with all the lights.  This is the walkway in front of the Bellagio.  A water show dances to music every 15 minutes.  

If you could only hear the energy in the water and music - it's amazing.

We ended our night with a romantic gondola ride on the top floor of The Venetian.

The sky is painted and it looks like daytime all through the night (my camera made it look dark, but it's not).  The clouds look like they are moving but it's only an illusion.  A bit confusing at midnight.  We walked in a little tired and left with a confused alertness.  

Wonderful trip to do once in 20 years.  Very luxurious and romantic but I would say the two words that best describe the city are illusion and energy.  Maybe an energetic illusion or illusioned energy - one of those.

~I was trying to beat my low number of posts in August - wonder if I can still do it.  

A Big Surprise

After we arrived at our destination and set up the trailer we walked into town to have some chowder.  We arrived back at camp to a big surprise.  Around the corner behind the trees was Rod's sister and family.  They asked their children where they wanted to go on their vacation (Sea World being one of the choices) and they chose to be with their cousins and grandparents (I guess it's okay that their uncle and aunt are here too).  

We were all surprised (except Grandma who kept it a secret), to see them travel from down South.  We had a lot of fun yesterday afternoon with the kids playing, adults talking and a classic bbq and campfire.  




We're so happy we didn't cave to the pressure of packing Wednesday afternoon.  We were very close to canceling this vacation.  If we had we would missed out on a lot of fun.  A good lesson in perseverance :)

They'll Never Know They're Homeschoolers

Long couple of days.  The girls had to get their reading assignments done.  In 2 1/2 weeks Kaye and Cee had to read two books, write book reports and Cee had to make puppets for each book.  Kaye was tested today at school.  I had to laugh when I saw the girls trying to figure out the drinking fountain, bent over looking for the lever.  I thought "oh dear look at the poor homeschoolers having trouble with the water fountain."  I took a picture with my phone so I'll post another time.

Meanwhile this afternoon and evening we have been packing for our trip to the Coast.  I tell you if we didn't have other people relying on us we would have canceled.  ...and these reservations had to be made 6 months in advance so we couldn't just reschedule.  Just the thought of the book reports, testing, hair appointments today, preparing for Cee's birthday, packing for Coast trip, back on Sunday for school bbq and swim party, and starting school on Wednesday (after 4 yrs. of homeschooling) with Cee's and my Dad's birthdays that same day, makes me feel queasy.   This too will pass and I know eventually some type of routine will save us.  And I know we'll have fun at the Coast celebrating our last Summer hoorah.  Right now I'm just going to celebrate that 95% of the packing and loading is done.   

Cabin Weekend

We had a great weekend at my Dad's cabin.  Lots of quality family time.  No computers, tv or restaurants to pull anyone away.  We had a small bump in the road on the way up when we had to pull over on the dirt road to let Kaye sit in the front seat because of car sickness.  Within minutes our dog Nutmeg, who also needed to be in the front, threw up on Kaye's leg.  (I dodged that one :)  Seeing and feeling the ickiness that is dog throw up is definitely not a remedy for car sickness.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.  We hiked up to 1st and 3rd Falls on Sunday.  We had another dog mishap on our way out the door (neighbor dog on our deck was bothering Nutmeg) so I forgot to grab the camera.  It was beautiful at 3rd Falls.  It started to rain on our hike back.  As we heard the thunder overhead it was both awesome and alarming being so far off the road.

We're back to computers, tv and restaurants (athough trying to restrain ourselves).  Tomorrow I'll be getting a new blog design.  Come back and see.

Lemon Tea Cookies - Check

Packing up today for a trip to Papa's cabin this weekend.  Looking forward to a relaxing weekend without too much technology.  (There is a vcr up there - we're not crazy!)  Since there are no stores around we make sure we have the required snack categories; salty, sweet, sour, chocolaty.  Had to do a taste test this morning to make sure these passed the sweet category.  They did.  

Cee is looking forward to a birthday party this afternoon so we'll leave after we pick her up.  Now I must find the mosquito repellent and marshmellows.  Enjoy your weekend.

Home - Good to be Here

It's good to be home!  We had a great vacation.  For me I appreciated the vacation from worry.  Even if I'm not tackling a to-do list at home I'm worried about the to-do list.  The kids loved the beach, riding bikes, walking on the pier, fun places to eat, and just having new things to do every day.  I think DH enjoyed the break from "work-work," the weather and sleeping-in.  By the 6th day though I was starting to feel the walls closing in a bit.  Starting to think of home and the space there.  Although we were a little sad to be leaving we looked forward to home.  Here's a few pictures from our fun trip to the Coast.

A Great Day

We had such a nice day today on our camping vacation.  For traditions sake we woke up early and walked on the beach to the pier where the best cinnamon rolls are made.  Along the way the girls collected shells and sand-dollars while Nutmeg loved every minute of running on the beach.  After we walked through the small beach town back to our camper we took showers and prepared for a day away from camp.

We ate lunch at the Apple Farm and toured the cute gift shop and grist mill.  Loved the home-made ice cream and boysenberry pie.  (as you can see we're doing a food tour)  We spent a fortune at the gas pump and then rode out to an amazing area called Montana de Oro.  We had a small hike through a wooded Eucalyptus area.  At the end of our short hike a beautiful rocky beach appeared.  It is a great tide pool area.  We collected tiny shells and found three vertebrae we think came from sea lions?  (picture to follow)

We rode back to our little beach town washed our feet near the pier and went to a restaurant where they pour buckets of crab, sausage and potatoes in the middle of your table to crack open.  The girls had a blast with bibs and mallots.  Cee even said next birthday she was going to come there for her birthday instead of having a birthday party.  Hmmm - sounds a lot easier.  Lastly, we came back to camp and enjoyed a camp fire with s'mores and Pioneer Woman's Marguerites.  It was a full, delicious, fun, day - now off to sleep!

When I re-read "camping on the Central Coast" in my last post I thought it may sound like we were in tents on the beach.  We're not roughing it entirely, although quarters start to get a little tight with five people after several days.

Good To Be Here

After last weekend's temp reached 110, it's good to be in cool, upper 60's.  We're camping on the Central California coast this week.  It's good to be here.

My Favorite Walk

This is a place I love to come.  I don't go there very often but when I do I always feel at peace and sense God in the beauty I see.  This is a walk near my Dad's cabin where old cabins sit in the shade of tall pine trees.  It begins with a  narrow dirt road and splits in two.  Little brooks trickle in the middle of the two roads and along the outer sides of the cabins headed for the creek below.  Most Cabin Owners come up just for Summer vacations while a few can enjoy the Winter beauty with the help of snow mobiles.   Here are just a few of the cabins along my favorite walk:

When I return from my walk I head up the hill to the cabin my Dad built (picture below).  In that cabin time and memories stand still.  A place spent together playing games, questioning bizarre words used in Scrabble, eating, listening to some record-breaking snoring, laughing, and waiting in line for one bathroom.  As I would climb up the hill I would long for that cool drink of water waiting for me in the orange thermos on top of the counter in the yellow kitchen.  

 

This is our little spot in the big world God gave us to enjoy and find rest.  I hope we can enjoy His gift more often.

First Day in San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco yesterday for a little promised trip for the girls.  They were very disappointed when they couldn't go with us January so we promised we would take them this Summer.   We're taking advantage of the three day weekend and our continuing celebration of completing another year of school

Our Hotel is across from the entrance to China Town.  We did a little shopping before our special dinner.  The girls were impressed with the bargains.

We're back at Farallon.  The girls wanted to see "Uncle Slugs restaurant."  DH's brother is Chef de Cuisine.  He sent over many first time dishes for the girls, caviar, lobster, soft shell crab, octupus and squash blossom.  (pictures to come)

 
Here's Uncle Slug with his three proud nieces.  Jae said "Uncle Slug is the best cooker in the whole world."  I didn't tell him she said that to me once when I brought home KFC.  They noticed they were the only children in the restaurant and said it was because their uncle was the chef.

The most popular thing of the night was when Chef sent over three glasses of GRAPE JUICE to the table.  Boy, did they think this was cool.  More pictures later, we're off to Mass and the Exploratorium today.  Love this City!