Christmas Day 2009

It's been a while since I was awakened at 6am - teenagers tend to sleep in and know their gifts will be there no matter what time they get up. Nathan came in at 6am this morning, so excited to open his gifts... he said he had been up since 4am trying to kill time. (We went to bed at 1am after movies!) So I finally crawled out of bed at 7am, Tones at 7:30am, and we started working on Kelsey... who has no interest in mornings whatsoever. Finally at 9am we ate breakfast and THEN started opening gifts... the longest Christmas morning on record.

Kids are happily playing new video games... husband is happily re-configuring wiring, I'm off for a well deserved nap.

Merry Christmas!

Even Shadow had a good time

Kids created their own campsite

Some quiet time with a good book

Camping Trip at Lake Georgetown

Ahh Rain at last

We prayed for rain, we got it! almost 3 inches yesterday, more today... it's been raining all day. The only bummer was this weekend was our last chance for Schlitterhahn... darn it. Hope this is the beginning of change though, it's been a long, dry, hot summer.

A Sad Day

Today the lake levels at Georgetown were too low for us to safely put our boat in the water. We knew this day might come... the public ramps on Lake Travis are all closed due to lake levels. We had to settle for a day on the beach instead while the boat stayed parked in the lot. A sad, sad day. All we can do now is pray for rain! It's ironic, the same park was closed only two years ago due to flooding...

First Day of School

Has always been a mixture of sadness and sweetness. This year, Kelsey chose to spend the night at a friend's house so they could go together on the first day. Won't even see her this morning... Nathan was up and ready... unsure if friends would be at the bus stop, not wanting to go alone. Asked for a ride. I said "Let's drive by the bus stop just to see who's there". Sure enough, the whole posse was there. Drove back home, knowing it was better for him to be there w/ friends but also missing the chance to be the one to take him. Back home, it's quiet, peaceful. It feels good to know they are beginning another year of learning, and at the same time, sad. We had a great summer as a family -- I know those are numbered. I will miss having them around, with all their friends.

Maybe I'll actually bake some cookies today. We used to do cookies and milk after school when they were little... to talk about the day. I know they'll laugh at me, but also will not mind a few minutes with mom at the end of their day. I can't hold their hand and walk them into their classroom anymore -- but I can still be there to hear about their adventures.

Going home...

Stopped at Kartcher Caverns in AZ on the way home... we've seen a few caverns and these were not the most amazing, but they were cool. The most amazing part was they were pretty recently discovered, so not as many people have seen them. The state of AZ has done a good job of protecting them, only allowing visitors to view certain sections by private tour.

Headed home 8/9/09-- always good to be home, but not nearly as fun. Texas is a huge state. We cross the "Texas" state line and it feels good. You think "Almost there". Only another 8 hrs to home....

Nobody's as excited going home

Picnic at Kartcher caverns

Last stop Escondido

On the way down we always stop at GG's for a last visit in Escondido... and one last trip to Trader Joes before leaving California! GG could not believe how tall everyone was getting, well, the kids anyway.

Visit with GG

Night out with Kelly and the girls

Mark had a meeting but we spent one night downtown in HB checking out the scene. We had fish tacos for dinner and browsed the local artisans. The kids had souvenir money and were anxious to spend it... and Katelyn and Madison only wanted whatever Kelsey wanted. Kelsey finally chose a red sweater... and so did the little girls. Nathan chose a sweatshirt from Jack's Surf shop, and I have to wash it when he's sleeping, otherwise he refuses to take it off.

Girls in red sweaters

A pile of crab legs!

We always stay a few days at a Ramada which is right on the beach 5 minutes away from Grampa Dave's house. It gives us some free time to enjoy the beach as well as an opportunity to visit more with Grampa Dave without feeling like we have to rush off somewhere. The view is awesome- this year was so clear we could see Catalina from our balcony! Nathan in particular enjoys the free continental breakfast- all the bear claws he can eat!

Grampa Dave shared his prized macadamias with us... kids gathered as many as we could fit into ziploc bags to take home. We also got rides in Grampa's cars- his famous collection. Our last evening there Grampa Dave took us out to eat at Captain Jack's where we all had king crab legs- and stuffed ourselves silly.

Grampa Dave showing off macadamia tree

Kids enjoy breakfast on the patio

Our view from hotel in Huntington Beach

Visit with Kelly and Mark

Some friends of mine from HB were having a beach party and we got invited. The kids had a great time playing on the beach by day, then roasting hot dogs and enjoying the beach by night. Katelyn and Madison worshipped the ground Kelsey and Nathan walked on, and they all had a great time. It was great to catch up with Kelly and Mark, and see what good friends our kids are, despite the fact that they only see each other once a year.

Nathan challenges Katelyn at Wii boxing

Roasting hot dogs on the beach

Yum Yums at Richard's

Our first stop- Las Cruces

Our friend Richard lives in Las Cruces, NM and he offered us a place to spend the night the first night of our drive. We arrived around 3pm, ate a wonderful mexican food dinner at the famous La Posta restaurant. In the morning, Richard made us breakfast tacos and the promised "yum yums" for the kids for breakfast (a half a cantalope with vanilla ice cream and strawberries on top.) We leave early, so the kids needed to get up early to be able to eat before leaving, and they surprised me... Both were up and dressed in plenty of time to enjoy some "yum yums" before hitting the road again at 6am.

The 2009 Trip to California

Our annual trip to Ca began on 7/26. We normally leave about 6am so we can get a jump start on the day and make it all the way to New Mexico. This year, I suggested to the kids they could stay up all night and make us breakfast in the morning at 5:30am, then sleep in the car all day. They thought that was the coolest! I was sure they'd conk out sometime in the night, but when my alarm went off at 5:30am, I smelled cooking... the kids had made breakfast tacos. It was a fun start to the trip. They insisted they weren't tired, but within an hour of driving, they were out cold.

How the Trip to Calif begins

Tuesday, June 9th... a slower morning by choice. Kids wanted to do the Lexington after lunch, so I hit the beach by 9:30am. It was so quiet and peaceful. Kelsey and Tones joined me and we went for a walk, as we got back, we saw Nate was out working on the sand castle! We enjoyed some time to read, relax, and play before heading in for lunch and showers. We walked to the Lady Lex. We split up for a while to explore, watch IMAX movies, then met up later... very cool. Headed out for ice cream at "Big Daddy's", then some shopping. We decided to stay close and eat at the local hang out, Pier 99 for dinner-- delicious seafood on the beach, live music, witnessed a marriage proposal! Tones really liked his Rum Runners! Kids had Crab legs for the first time- loved them!

That night after dinner, we walked along the beach back to the house. I stepped on a jellyfish, luckily, no sting! We hung out and watched some TV til bedtime.

Wednesday morning, Tones and I enjoyed coffee on the deck one last time. We spotted some dolphins playing in the surf! It was sad to have to pack up and leave, but we'll look forward to our next trip there.

We arrived in Corpus Christi around 2pm Sunday. Kids were so excited we were staying right on the beach! We ate a quick, late lunch... Nate and I hit the beach while Tones and Kelsey went for a walk. It was pretty crowded and VERY WINDY! The waves were awesome, and Nate had a great time on his boogie board. We stayed in for a simple dinner, watched some movies before heading to bed.

Monday we woke sleepy kids to get to the Aquarium! I think I enjoyed it more than the kids... we saw several demonstrations, and a dolphin show! By 1:30pm we were hot, hungry, and tired. We walked back to the house, grabbed lunch. The kids and Tones got sleepy in front of the TV but I hit the beach! It was nice and quiet- got some reading and relaxation in before Nate showed up eager to hit the water again. Waves weren't quite so great... and he got stung badly by a jellyfish! After that, he was a land lubber. That afternoon, we found two more jellyfish on the beach. Kelsey and Tones joined us later, starting the massive sand castle. Quiet dinner again, a ferocious game of Pictionary- boys vs girls. (Boys won) Movie, then all crashed!

Dinner on the Beach in Corpus

Visitng the Lady Lex in Corpus

Summer 09 is here!

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Nate- Kelsey is going to Emily's sister's graduation instead. Hard to believe summer is here! Kelsey will be a sophomore officially, Nathan an 8th grader. Wow! We went to the lake last weekend-- Tones is deliberating whether to keep this boat or buy a new one. It's an 85- we've had a lot of fun with it but he deserves a newer one. So I said, "Let's look around, if we find the right one, we'll buy it". I can't imagine not having a boat-- oi would he br cranky! Both kids wakeboarded like they've been doing it their whole life... way cool. The lake is low, but now so low we can't safely play. We will need some rain soon to keep it from getting too low.

I am enjoying my "break" away from birth clients- I attended 10 births from March, April and May! By the time my July moms roll around, I will be itching to attend another birth, but for now, I'll enjoy not being on call for a while. So much fun ahead of us this summer!

Pictures were taken at Landa Park in New Braunsfels... intended as a gift for Norbert and Dot for their 50th wedding anniversary (shhh) but we all got some individual and family pictures taken too. Photographer John Albright was awesome and very patient with all our ideas!

Kelsey and Nathan

Father and Son

Mother and Daughter

20th anniversary

Nobody blinked!

On the rocks?

Family Pictures in New Braunsfels