The 9th Move: Empty Houses, “Bees”, and Good-byes

I know you are probably expecting an update on the cross-country move. Well, all I can tell you is that: 1.) We are still negotiating repairs on our new house, which may end up delaying our move-in date. So so sad!! I’m choosing to hope for the best. Moving in July 1st or bust!!! 2.) JD and Dan are having trouble adjusting to the “bees”, and by bees, they mean GNATS. and 3.) The big boys spent their last day […]

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Let the Summer Shenanigans Begin! (With a Sneak Peek at Our New House)

There’s a word we hear a lot around here: “best friend.” JD says that Daniel is his best friend. That is mostly because I drill that into all of my children’s heads from the moment they are born. “Oh, look, he is being so sweet to you. He is your best friend.” “Your brother will always be your best friend.” Positive reinforcement style of brain washing is a good thing to do. Trust me. JD often asks, “Where my best […]

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Darling Photos of Seal Moms and Babies

  Happy Mother’s Day! What better to share on this treasured day than some adorable seal mom and pup pairs from my favorite spot in the world, Point Lobos State Park. This particular beach is not a seal hang-out for most of the year. However, when it comes time to birth babies, late winter/early spring, this tiny beach, completely surrounded by rock cliffs, becomes a true seal nursery. This is NOT a zoo. This is the real world, animal style. […]

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Photos of 17 Mile Drive and the Carmel Mission

You may be tempted to think, “How can you live in California and not be utterly happy all the time from these incredibly beautiful surroundings?” Good question. The unfortunate thing is that I don’t actually live on the beach and see these sights every single day. In fact, I pretty much forget they are there until company comes and we show them around. Most destinations are too hazardous to take on with two pre-schoolers, seeing as how I’d like to […]

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42 Beautiful Photos of Monterey, California

Janet took these beautiful photos of Monterey for us. These include the aquarium, the beach, a hotel, a farmer’s market (where we met some parrots), and Cannery Row. Check back tomorrow! I’m planning to upload photos of 17 mile drive, a scenic route that hugs the coast from Pacific Grove to Carmel! Or maybe I’ll do the seal pup photos next…

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20 More Breathtaking Photos of Carmel Valley and Monterey, California

Right now Daniel is washing his hands after his hour-long worm hunt. All he found was a slug, which he tried to bring into my house. Joshua put a hard stop to that. What would I do without Joshua? JD is upstairs NOT napping. Caleb and Joshua are outside playing with a friend. I’m chugging coffee in a last ditch effort to hold on to wakefulness. A friend of mine is out walking, trying to coax her labor pains into a […]

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A Day at Sea with the Dolphins and the Whales

We’re having Field Trip Week at Pacific Christian School. See, Alan is out on Fall break, so the timing is perfect for maximum family fun. First, let me tell you about Abalonetti! This place has an exciting local’s menu, food that every single one of my children like (as in yes, they have pizza), and delicious sea food. I’m the kind of person that picks a favorite restaurant and then stops going to all other places. I have now picked […]

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Messy is the New Beautiful Photoblog

This is beauty to me: my sweet ten-year-old in his new arm cast. I’m not saying that I’m happy my son broke his arm, but you have to admire his all-in-spirit. It reminds me of that quote from Finding Nemo: Dori tells Marlin, the helicopter dad, “Well, you don’t want nothing to EVER happen to him, because then nothing would EVER happen to him.” Never underestimate the power of beauty. Beauty! “Joy is a net of love by which you […]

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Our Very Own Big Blue Live: Whale Video

So this weekend our Classical Conversations group got together for a beach bonfire over in Monterey Bay. PBS and BBC are also in Monterey filming Big Blue Live, which hits t.v. Monday, August 30. You can bet we will be watching. They are here to film the incredible wildlife that is in the bay this time of year. Can you imagine our excitement when a humpback WHALE decided to join our bonfire and provide the evening’s entertainment? My friend Amy […]

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10 Reasons I Love to be the Hostess

We do something that is a little outside the norm. We love to host out-of-town guests. We practically beg people to come visit. We have hosted friends from high school, college, tons of family, work friends, church friends, and even new friends. We do it a lot less now that we live on the other side of the country from almost everyone we know. When we lived in the DC area, we had a constant stream of people stopping through. […]

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