Fun Weekend...
The Chun's, our friends from Camarillo, came up and visited Friday morning till Saturday evening. We had a lot of fun and were glad to see familiar faces. On Friday we scaled the rocks on the coast at Lover's Point and had a blast! We saw a lot of sea life including crabs, anemone, star fish and several seals. Saturday, we went to the aquarium and the Warf then came home for awhile so everyone could visit and the boys could play the Wii!

I am grateful for: Friends :)

Hee...Hee

By request, here is the picture when I got off of raging rapids... I just loved walking around D'land like this ;-/

Summer Vacation 2008
We have been fortunate enough to spend time during the summers with our family for the last few years... regardless of how chaotic it may get we all come away with wonderful memories and are all ready to do it again! This year we went to stay with my Dad and Cheryl in Dana Point who are amazing hosts and made this a great week for everyone. My sister Susan and her family rendezvoused with us and it was a blast.

We visited the beach a couple times and went to Disneyland for two days and powerhoused our way through 22 rides on the second day jumping back and forth between parks with fastpassess (for anyone familiar with D'land in the summer, this is an accomplishment to mention!).

Here are a few pictures from our trip I thought I'd share!

Taylor's Summer 2008

"Splashed" on Splash Mountain
Jenna, Cheryl & Jesi waiting outside Ariel's Grotto for lunch so the little girls
could see the pricesses.

Ironically, Jesi didn't want a pix with the pricesses, but my nephew Jared and Josh did... hee, hee! So, here's Josh and "Cindi".

Josh and I managed to catch the big man himself, "Mickey!"

I usually don't like to ride Ragging Rapids because I hate getting soaked and walking around soggy but my sister insisted.

Jenna & Jesi in a Tea Cup

Josh & Jared in Toon Town

Jesi at the beach.

Josh at the beach

Josh and G'pa kayaking in Dana Point Harbor.

G'pa & Jesi out for a walk.

Father's Day was great and it was so fun to have all these wonderful men together. Ken, My Dad and Fred were all there and I can't remember the last time I spent fathers day with my dad? Cheryl made an amazing meal of lamb chops that we all really enjoyed!

Jesi & Mom kayaking in Dana Point Harbor

So.... I am now suffering from PVD (Post Vacation Depression). I don't care how chaotic it gets I always miss my family after we've been together and struggle for a couple days to get back into life's routine.... which frankly, I don't have one right now because I was only here in Monterey long enough to get unpacked and do a little exploring.

I am grateful for: My Dad and Cheryl, Susan, Fred, Jared, Jenna, Lily, Ken, Jessica and Joshua and all the wonderful memories they give me!

What a beautiful day in Monterey!
The weather was about 80 degrees and the kids were just dying to go swimming in the neighborhood pool, so of course we did. It is so quiet here and relaxing. I read and soaked up a bit of sun while the kids swam and enjoyed the water.
I am grateful for: Pools I don't have to clean!

Presenting The Great Berry Detective!
On our walk this evening Jessica proved to be "The Great Berry Detective!" I was all excited when I found 2 berries and then she found bushes full.

My meager 2 little berries...

One of Jessica's bush full finds...
A few blackberries we brought home for a taste... yummy!
A few post back I shared a story about blackberries and my sister Susan. It is memories like this that take me to that place in my heart that reminds me of home and childhood. I hope that I can provide some of the same wonderful memories for my children that I was privileged to make.
I am grateful for: My family and the memories we are making together.

A cool picture I caught of Josh on our "walk" down the

Huckleberry Hill at dusk.

I am grateful for: Silly little boys in shorts and black socks!

What goes down... must come up!

This evening we took a stroll... that turned into a hike! We learned that when you go down a really steep hill, you most likely will have to come back up so pay attention to how far down you are going... we were all out of breath and took a short break when we got back to the top!

I am grateful for: Air to breath, benches, and bums to sit on!

ALL DONE... pretty much anyway. We finished up last night and it was so nice to come home from church today and relax! Yeah!!

I am grateful for: The end to overwhelming task!

Daily Walks on 17 Mile Drive

We just love where we are living and are trying to take daily walks on 17 Mile Drive (one of the most scenic drives on the west coast). Huckleberry Hill is really close by, the kids and I love to go hike down the trails there.

Some of the trails down Huckleberry Hill.

One of the overpasses on our walk. Spanish Bay in the background.

The trail from our neighborhood to 17 Mile Drive.

Accomplishments...

Jessica was the first one to complete a room, unpacking the whole thing and putting everything away the first day! She's so excited about her new space and I am so proud of her.

I have found that unpacking the kitchen is the first thing that should be done... everyone needs to eat regardless of the mess. This pantry is so cool, the kitchen is small but the pantry is fun and I was able to get everything in and love the fact that the inside doors swing in and out so I don't have cans stacked really deep.

Where's the... who knows?

Waiting for our stuff in Monterey!

We all slept on cots while we waited for the movers to deliver our stuff, it was actually kind of fun but we were all really happy when everything got here.

Our make-shift kitchen table
Kitty likes the view