As soon as I get back from my Alabama and Florida trip, we have company arriving!! We LOVE hosting our friends and taking them sight-seeing. When we lived in DC, we hosted about 7 families/year. California is so far off from most of our friends and family that this happens a lot less. We are all so pumped to have friends come! Joshua has a countdown going. There are endless things to do, right here within two hours of my […]
» Read moreYosemite is so beautiful, and yet it’s like the Grand Canyon: there’s no way for pictures to do it justice. This is a place you really should go and see yourself! We are attempting, with these photos, to show you why people love Yosemite National Park! I also want to tell you about an immaculate place to stay that we found. Now, if you are trying to see Yosemite without spending any money, I have good news for you. You […]
» Read moreDay One: You know we love a road trip. Today we did something wild and crazy. We left our children with Alan’s parents, and got ourselves out of town! Does Alan have big, important projects due on Monday? Yes. Do I have important things to do Monday? Yes. Do we have children recovering from illness? Yes. Do we have a wonderful life that we are thankful for and don’t actually NEED to RUN away from? YES! We just needed REST. […]
» Read moreToday I took all the boys to the beach, by myself. Yes, it was a bona fide foolish thing to do. I might not try it again any time soon. It’s been warm here, and I just really wanted to go to the beach! The boys very excitedly dressed in their swimming trunks and packed in the van. We’ve never gotten ready to go somewhere so quickly! Do you have a soundtrack to your life? I am one of those […]
» Read moreOn day four of our vacation, we went to the San Diego Zoo. I even managed to arrange to meet my college roommate and her family there. I was so excited and nervous to see them! I haven’t seen Jason and Heather since 2002! They don’t know Alan! Weird, huh? Many of you know that I met Alan in college, where we began dating. Most of you don’t know too much about my life before Alan, and digging up all […]
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LegoLand theme park in California: Day 1 On day 2 of our San Diego vacation, Alan woke me up at 6am to tell me he was going to eat at the hotel and then head to the grocery store to buy breakfast. Did the hotel have free breakfast? Why yes, it did. Is there any way that our whole family of 6 will be dressed and ready before the thing closes at 9am? No, not really. Getting myself and the […]
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San Diego Day 1: I have never been so badly in need of a vacation as I was this Spring Break. Actually, I’ve lived in need of a vacation since June 2013. I promise I wasn’t always this tired and whiny. There were actually lots of years where I felt relaxed and happy. I was busy, but it was a healthy level of busy. I want to get back to that healthy level of busy, but happy again!!! Forget […]
» Read moreAs you can see in this picture, when it comes to my husband, I have no room for complaints. The man is clearly dressed to work. Meanwhile, he’s also wearing a kitchen towel on his shoulder. He’s trim and fit, helpful, kind, funny, and a wonderful Christian example for all. My grandfather gave me only one piece of advice my whole life: “April, never marry a man who doesn’t work.” Good advice. Alan does work hard. I wouldn’t even mention […]
» Read moreThe best way to experience Monterey Bay is to grab a paddle and board a kayak. This place is amazing!!! Sea otters, seals, sea lions, pelicans, kelp, and divers are things you are guaranteed to see first hand. Would you believe that some of the Monterey Bay locals actually don’t appreciate this at all? Many of them put these sea lions, that I find so exciting, right into the “nuisance” category!! It surprised me too!! See, on the Eastern U.S. […]
» Read moreA couple of months ago, a new neighbor moved in. They have a boy Caleb’s age, and a girl in kindergarten. We’ll call this little boy New Friend and his sister New Friendette. Creative, I know. New Friend and Friendette have a glorious treasure of elementary school childhood right in their backyard. A thicket. Actually, it’s a large thicket that runs down our street a piece, so we call it “the woods.” Joshua, Caleb, and their new friends have spent […]
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