Zoo with Uncle Aaron ~ August 12, 2010

For Christmas Aaron got our family a Zoo membership and we finally got the chance to take him with us.  The three of us had a great time, the weather was pretty nice and the zoo was quiet.  I think Abi's favorite thing was Sting Ray Bay and the Reptile House.  She was able to touch the sting rays and in the reptile house she loved walking along the windows to get a closer look.

Pismo, July 2-10th

For the past 10 years or so, almost every summer Josh and I spend a week in Pismo.  We have only missed two summers, the first when we were remodeling our house and the second was last summer when our close friends got married on the 4th.  Thirty-five years ago Josh's grandfather purchased a share at Pismo Coast Village, a resort where people take their RV's, travel trailers and tent trailers and "camp", well we like to call it "fancy camping", anyway the share get passed down to Josh's dad and we get to enjoy it too!  We have all the comforts of home, fridge, washer/dryer, wireless internet and what makes it a real vacation is cable TV.  We spend lots of time outside by the fire, the beach and this time we brought our bikes and the bike trailer so we went riding a lot!

We got the car packed up Friday morning the 2nd and hit the road.  While packing Abi was going through things in her room and wanted to wear a winter hat.  She was being sooooo goofy running around the house in her PJ's and her hat. 

We couldn't get to the beach fast enough!  This year David and Denise joined us for the weekend and we all got to the trailer at the same time.  Josh's parents were staying in a hotel for the weekend, and Randy, Monica and the kids were at the trailer all week but then stayed in Santa Maria for the weekend to make room for the rest of us.  We spent some time at the trailer then drove to San Louis for dinner and a trip to BevMo to get some good stuff for our vacation.

We took it pretty easy on Saturday, went to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner, and just spent the afternoon relaxing at the trailer during nap time.  I made chicken tortilla soup for dinner and it was nice to enjoy soup in the summer but since it was only 65 degrees that day, soup hit the spot.  Below are a few pictures of our home away from home, at 38 1/2 feet long it is pretty roomy but can get a little cramped when a lot of people are there.

Sunday morning we went for a bike ride to the outlets.  The outlets are not that far and it was a nice ride.  After lunch we again stuck around the trailer during nap time and prepared for our yummy dinner of grilled pizza.  Everyone else joined us that afternoon and spent time together before the fireworks started.  In Pismo on the 4th, you don't drive anywhere if you can help it and if you do you can't find anywhere to park.  In Pismo Coast Village there is very limited parking so the days leading up to the 4th we try to move any cars that are staying into other parking stalls in the park to free up space at the trailer.  This year we had no luck finding other parking but we were successful in fitting 5 cars at the trailer, I think that was a record!

Around 9:00 the "official" fireworks started but before that all the illegal ones were being launched from the beach.  The pre-show was pretty good and Abi got to enjoy it, but once the fireworks started from the pier Abi was fast asleep in my arms.  She slept the whole time, it was great!  Denise, David and Aaron all said that they plan on being in Pismo for the 4th next year and we're working on getting my parents there next year too!
Monday morning Josh, Abi, and I wanted to take Denise, David and Aaron to Montana de Oro State Park to hike around and enjoy the beautiful coast line.  We parked the cars at a trail head that follows the cliffs and takes you down to a cove with tide pools.

Abi had so much fun riding around in her backpack and spending time with her daddy!  The tide pools were pretty cool, I found lots of crabs and quite a few sea stars.  The rock formations around Montana de Oro are really unique, it's amazing to see what God has created for us!
After hanging out at the tide pools we went to a burger joint that Josh and I were introduced to 10 years ago called Sylvester's in Los Osos.  It serves up great, huge burgers and is a local favorite!  Everyone else enjoyed it too and I think we'll all eat there again together.  Denise and David headed home after lunch and Aaron went back to Pismo with us.  Aaron stayed for dinner and drove home that night.  It was so great to have some of my family around this year but was also nice to enjoy part of our week just Josh, Abi and I.
Tuesday morning we went to Availa Valley Barn to see the animals and enjoy browsing the farmers market.  After wondering around a bit we drove to the beach and spent some time at the play gound at Avila Beach and ate a picnic lunch.  That night we walked to the pier and watch the sun set.

Wednesday we went to San Louis and just enjoyed walking through downtown.  That night we drove to Santa Maria to see Josh's cousin Paul and his wife Allison.  They were getting ready to move to a new house and we thought it would be better to go to them since they were busy moving.  We had a great dinner, time hanging out and talking about their upcoming baby that will be coming early next year.

Thursday we spent time on the beach in Pismo, Abi LOVED the beach.  We have taken her to the beach a few times in her short life and most of the times she hasn't truly enjoyed being on the sand, but this time was different.  I think she is the right age, the weather was perfect and she wasn't in need of a nap.  We played in the sand and tried to build a sand castle, ran in the water and just had a blast as a family.

Thursday afternoon my Mom came over to spend the last 2 nights with us before heading home.  That night I finally got to eat at a restaurant that I have wanted to eat at for the last 10 years, The Cracked Crab.  We haven't eaten there before for 2 reasons, first Josh doesn't like seafood and second it isn't the cheapest place to eat.  We finally got to eat there for 2 reasons, first, my Mom came and second she was treating.  I have always wanted to eat somewhere that serves food directly onto the table, no plates needed!  They served awesome snow crab legs, jumbo shrimp, muscles, sausage, corn on the cob and red potatoes all steamed together in a huge pot and dumped onto the table ready to eat!  It was delicious, my Mom and I shared the bucket of seafood and Josh ordered a steak.  Abi had lots of fun watching us crack crab that she decided that she wanted to "crack" her face.

Friday morning my mom and I set out for the outlets to get some shopping done while Josh stayed back at the trailer to get some work done.  We got some great deals and had fun, just us girls!  We met Josh for lunch and he took Abi back to the trailer for a nap.  Then my mom and I headed to Morro Bay to shop at The Cotton Ball.  It is much easier to look at fabric without Abi and it was nice to hang out with just my mom.  After an afternoon of shopping we went back to the trailer and enjoyed a yummy pasta dinner and a night by the fire.  It was a great last night of vacation!
Saturday morning we packed everything up and drove home to the HEAT!!!  We had a great time in Pismo and it was so nice to spend some as a family but also spend it with most of our extended family too!  Can't wait for next year when more family will join us there.

Yosemite, June 18, 2010

To celebrate Father's Day with Josh's family we took them all to Yosemite.  It had been a while since they had been to Yosemite and no one on Josh's side had ever been to Glacier Point, plus it was Cara, Chloe and Micah's first time.  We made good time getting up there and decided to made a detour and see the big trees at Mariposa Grove.  It had been a while since Josh and I have seen the trees and it was a nice chance to get out and walk around for a bit, Abi sure liked running free.  Need I say more, the trees are BIG!!!

After Mariposa Grove we headed to Glacier point.  Because of the high elevation (Over 7,200 feet) there was still snow on the ground.  Once getting to the parking lot we found great spots at the front of the lot and got unpacked and ready to walk to the point.  I had told Cara and Chloe on the way up that they were going to see some huge rocks and a valley that we would soon be driving in.  They were so excited to get out of the car and see the huge rocks and waterfalls!

The above picture is the first family picture we have with the four grandkids.

We all enjoyed a picnic lunch at Glacier Point in the back of our Traverse and Randy and Monica's van.  After lunch we drove back down the mountain to Yosemite Valley.  There was a lot of construction on 41 so it took a little longer than usual to get to the Valley.  We were stopped before the tunnel for about 30 minutes and towards the end of our time there Abi got delayed car-sickness and puked.  We were stopped but i knew if we got her out then traffic would start moving again and there was no where to pull over.  So we waited a few more minutes and was able to find parking at the Tunnel View parking lot (which was a surprise since it was the middle of the afternoon).  Stopping gave everyone else a chance to take pictures while we got  Abi cleaned up.  After that she was much happier and was very chatty while we drove around the valley showing everyone different sights.  Cara and Chloe were excited to see the huge rock that we were just standing on over 3,000 feet above us.  Our last stop before heading to dinner in Oakhurst was Lower Yosemite Falls.  Since the park service removed the parking lot finding a place to park is very difficult especially in the spring and summer months.  We got lucky and found a spot in the lot of the Yosemite Lodge right across the road.  We got the kids out and walked to the base of the falls, it was very wet and really beautiful!

Overall the day was great, the kids all had a great time, as well as the adults!  The weather was perfect and so was the company!

Happy Father's Day Josh!

Last Monday Jolie and I were on a secret mission to surprise the guys for Father's Day.  Jolie had seen this great idea of having the kids hold letters that spell "daddy", so we got to work last week and tried really hard to get the kids to pose with the letters.  We were pretty impressed and the kids did pretty well, despite the distraction of the pool.  The bottom picture is the framed finished product that Abi gave to Josh this morning.

Yosemite, June 12, 2010

My birthday was June 11th and to celebrate I wanted to go to Yosemite with Josh, Abi, Jon, Jolie and Ethan.  But this trip I wanted to hike to Vernal Falls instead of just walk around the Valley.  Let me start off by saying that we had a fabulous time, the kids did great and we all had a blast, but oh were we all tired!!!!  We started the day early, leaving around 8:30am.  Josh and I decided that we would drive thru Mariposa figuring that the line into the park would be shorter (since it was the first weekend after school has gotten out).  Good thing we went through Mariposa, the line there was super long and we had to wait 20-30 minutes, I can't imagine how long we would have had to wait at the main entrance.  Once making our way through the valley to Curry Village we found the last parking space and got packed and ready to embark on our journey.

From Curry Village you have to walk or take a shuttle to Happy Isles where the Vernal Falls trail head is.  We had to wait for the second shuttle to arrive because the first one was too full, and the second shuttle was standing room only, gotta love summer in Yosemite!  While waiting for the shuttle a dear walked through the crowd of people, random.

We arrive at Happy Isles and started to make our way up the trail.  It has been many years since I have done this hike and I didn't remember how steep the trail was.  This wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that we were hauling two 21-month old toddlers!  If I was just carrying the camera the hike would have been fine but Abi is heavy and so was all the supplies and lunch that was also packed in the backpack.  About 2/3 of the way up Josh had to take over and carry Abi the rest of the way.  It was a tough mile hike up hill, but the views were awesome!!!

We got to the bridge where we planned on having lunch and decided that the bridge is as far as we would hike that day!  We found a level spot to set up a blanket and enjoy our picnic lunch.  When the kids were done eating they desperately wanted to get out of their backpacks and walk around.  Mind you this is not the safest place to let toddlers wonder around, more than half the deaths that happen in Yosemite happen on the Mist trail, so with lots of hand holding the kids got to walk around a bit.

The kids even wanted to hike up the Mist Trail a little past our lunch spot.  It was so cute they held hands the whole time and managed the trail pretty well too.

The hike back down the hill was much better and faster, we thought the kids would pass out on the way but I guess there was too much to see.  We got back to the shuttle stop and decided to walk back to Curry Village after seeing 2 full shuttles.  It is about a mile back but flat, so much easier than up hill!

After getting back to the car and having a snack we headed for the park exit.  I had no idea that it would take us so long to get out of the park, traffic is so congested and with no parking the roads are a mess.  Good thing we didn't hike to the top of Vernal Falls we would have gotten home too late.  We had our traditional dinner at Carl's Jr in Oakhurst and got home about 8:40.  As we were dropping Jon, Jolie and Ethan off at their house Abi was throwing a fit and we figured it was because she just wanted to get out of the car, she got so worked up that she puked all over her car seat :-(.  We decided to just drive the long way home and take care of the mess there.  I had to take the car seat apart, again, we went through this in December when she threw up on the way to Yosemite, we had to get her in the bath and into bed.  This was not in our plans for when we got home.  After talking with Jolie later that night it turns out Abi was probably throwing a fit because she didn't get to say goodbye to Ethan.  When Jon and Jolie were trying to get Ethan ready for his bath he took off running to their front door and was trying to pry the door and window open to look for Abi.  I guess we underestimated the strong bond between those two.  New rule: let the kids say goodbye, unless they are asleep.
Despite the icky ending to our day we had an amazing time with the greatest friends we could ask for!  I think I might have been crazy to suggest physical exercise as a way to celebrate my birthday, I am still sore!  But it doesn't matter what you do for your birthday as long as you spend it with those you love!

Morro Bay May 2010

Josh's cousin Lindsay got married on May 22nd in Avila Beach.  Instead of just going over for the weekend we decided to spend more time at the coast.  Jolie and I along with the kids drove over Wednesday, which gave us time to do what we wanted before the guys came over Thursday night.  We spent some time on the very windy beach, walking around San Luis, and relaxing at the beach house during nap time.  Next time we want to go even earlier than the guys.  Abi loved the beach this time despite the wind.

Abi and Ethan have so much fun together as you can see:

The wedding was beautiful and so was the location.  It was at a farm in the hills above Avila Beach, old rusted buildings and barns, beautiful gardens, grass and hills.  Josh's cousin Lindsay was beautiful and we just loved having an awesome place to take pictures of Abi.

Sons of Sylvia & Carrie Underwood Concert, May 18th

Two years ago almost to the day we had to opportunity to attend a Carrie Underwood concert for free!  This time when she came to Fresno we wanted to go again and were very willing to pay for tickets, especially when we heard that Sons of Sylvia was touring with her.  Sons of Sylvia is a group of 3 brothers that won 1st place on the show "Next Great American Band".  They were known then as The Clark Brothers and took awhile to produce an album (in my eyes) but we think they are pretty awesome!  The 3 brothers are Ashley, Adam and Austin.  Ashley is the lead vocalist and plays the guitar and fiddle, Adam plays the mandolin (amazing), and Austin plays the dobro and lap steel (both instruments that we had never heard of before).  You put the three together and you get an awesome sound!  We purchased our tickets months ago right when they went on sale.  The seats I bought were not the best but we wanted to be there anyway.  But I was told by the guy at the ticket window that we should check back the day of the concert to see if any other tickets free up, especially if the band gives up seats (which happens a lot, I was told).  So we arrived at Savemart Center about an hour and a half before the concert and made our way to the box office hoping for better seats. . . and we were in luck!!!  The band had given up seats in section 1, row b, which is floor seats!!!  The best part was it was only $10 per ticket to upgrade, and the couple we were sitting next to had paid $600 for their tickets!  We had a blast, Sons of Sylvia was great, Craig Morgan went on before Carrie Underwood and was ok.  We had heard one of his songs before but since we don't listen to too much county we were not familiar with his music.  His fiddle player looked like he could have been Neil Patric Harris's brother and his bass player didn't seem to fit in, he looked too much of a rocker with long hair and lots of tattoos.  Carrie Underwood was great, she puts on a awesome concert and she has a voice that is so powerful but very easy to listen to.
Here a few pictures of our evening:

 The bottom right picture is of where we would have been sitting if we hadn't gotten floor seats.  Where the "1" sign is, is the section we would have been in.  As you can see from the pictures Adam is very energetic about playing his mandolin.
Carrie Underwood was exciting to watch, you don't know what she's going to do or what beautiful outfit she'll come out in.  One song she performed on a swing, another was in the back of a 50's ford pick-up that was rigged to the ceiling and made its way around the floor hanging above the crowd, so cool.

One of our favorite parts was when she was singing the song "Jesus Take the Wheel" she ended the song with  a worship song "How Great Thou Art", so awesome!!!
Overall it was a great evening, even if it was the night before we left for vacation.

Road Trip 2009 Book

Road Trip 2009 by Stephanie Mikow | BOOK INFO

Cute Video

A few weeks ago my Grandpa was in town and was able to spend some time with Abi, I love this moment they had and wanted to share it with everyone!

Easter, 2010

WOW, I am pretty much caught up!
We are now at Easter, and where do I begin?  Easter was not necessarily as it should be, Sunday was busy and tiring.  Before church I wanted to capture a picture of Abi's pigtails with ribbons so before getting in the car i got a few.

  
We got to church and got The Cafe set-up, and then we launched our second Cafe service during our 3rd hour, and to add to all the business I was working in the nursery.  And after all that we headed to Josh's parents for lunch with the whole family.  Abi was tired and didn't want to eat lunch or hunt for eggs, plus there were soooo many people that she was a bit overwhelmed.  We did get some time in the front yard with just my family so we could get some pictures taken.

The picture in the lower left is the first of its kind!  First family picture of all of us.

Abi had fun playing with her eggs once she was able to get some peace and quiet in the front yard, I think we got some great pictures of her!
We got home and all went down for naps, we were all exhausted and needed a good rest.  After naps Abi got to open her Easter basket from us and play with her new goodies, then we enjoyed a yummy dinner from Panda Express, and to top it all off Abi tried shrimp for the first time and LOVED it!!!!!!  I knew she was my daughter!!!

Next year I think we are going to do Easter a little different, maybe smaller and concentrate on the real meaning and significance of this day, Christ's resurrection!!!  Without any of it we would not be here and able to enjoy the life we have.

Abi Eating Spaghetti

Need I say more, I think Abi enjoyed dinner.

Abi and Daddy Playing Outside

Since the weather has been so great we have been spending a lot of time outside.  Josh has even let Abi use his camera to take a few pictures.

A Few Backyard/Frontyard Pictures

Abi and I have been busy is the yard the past  few weeks.  We have been planting flowers, pulling weeds and taking lots of pictures.

Shaver Lake Sno-Park, March 13, 2010

Along with Jon, Jolie and Ethan, Josh, Abi and I all headed to the mountains for a day in the snow.  We packed the car with all the necessities, lunch, snow toys and changes of clothes for all.
The sno-park we went to had a very small parking lot but we managed to find a spot where we couldn't be blocked in (good thing, a lot of cars were blocked in when we were leaving).  We got things unpacked and headed into the snow.  The park was pretty busy but we found a good spot to start sledding.  Josh and Jon took on the task of carving out a good sledding route, they were pretty funny when they would look at how they came down the hill and how to make it better the next run.  Once it started to get a little crowded we moved camp to the other side of the parking lot on top of a hill.  It was the perfect spot for our picnic lunch and more sledding.  Jolie and I had to make sure we got our turn too, the guys were hogging the sled, but they sure were having fun.  The kids even joined us on our runs down the hill. Abi didn't like being cold and wet and eventually gave up on the fun so I took her into the car to play.  She was much happier is dry, warm clothes.  Ethan on the other hand didn't care about being wet and cold and wanted to eat and play in the snow all day.

On the way it started to snow, it was beautiful and it felt like we were driving through a snow globe.

We had a great day and we all look forward to visiting the snow again next year!

Abi Playing Outside, March 7, 2010

From the picture I don't think Abi is ready for a "big girl" bike.  Abi loved blowing bubbles too, now she always wants to blow them herself, such an independent girl!