Easter Weekend in Monterey, April 2011

Our Easter weekend was fun. KC had to work the weekend so we made the best of it. These pictures show the Easter egg hunt we had for the kids at the base followed by the pillow sack race (in Ally's honor) and a new game to us, the egg roll introduced by the Draves family. In these photos are also pictures of the City of Marina egg hunt and Easter morning with the kids (KC got to come home for the night before Easter and the morning of). We colored eggs the night before with KC. There are also some pictures of Cali's classroom Easter party that was the Thurs before Easter. So overall, we stayed busy and had lots of fun with lots of friends.

Sports and my kids May 7, 2011

Today was Cali's first track meet and I didn't want to miss it but as luck would have it KC had duty all weekend. So, I did my normal...tried to be in 2 places at once thing. I took Cali to her meet and I was able to see her win the first run for her age group. Then, I got Seth over to his baseball game where I only got to see him stand ready at the third base. I had to get back to Cali's track meet to hopefully see her run again and I did. She got 3rd in that race. Then, me, Cali and Hanna went back to Seth's game where he was waiting for us because his game had already ended. I felt so bad that I had miss the whole thing. He is really enjoying baseball and I love to see him play.
Above is Cali's first run that she won!!

Anderson Grandparents Visit Oct 2010

Grammie and Papa Anderson came to visit for an early celebration of Hanna's 2 year birthday. They got her Elmo jammies (which she loved and had to put on right away), an overnight bag, and lots of other Elmo stuff. She was so excited to get presents.
One of the days they were here we went out to a Pumpkin patch in Hollister. The kids got to feed goats, ride peddle go-carts, sling pumpkins, walk a corn maze and much more. It was a fun, HOT day.....something we are not use to having here. It's usually chilly.
We also just played in our front yard / long drive-way. The kids and papa rode bikes, painted signs and enjoyed time with family. We are so grateful for the visits they have made so far and the time they have had with us.

Adventures with Hanna March 2011

Hanna is now 2 and turning out to be one of the funniest kids I know. She is happy, adventurous, stubborn, opinionated and very loving. She has decided to potty-train herself and that has created some funny stories. Here is one of them:
She decided that she needed to go "poo poo" and so she got on the toilet to do it. She calls pee and poo the same thing so I don't know what she is really going to do. She was sitting on the toilet and asked me to sit in the bathroom with her on the stool by the sink. So, I did and we talked. She ended up really going "poo poo" and I got really excited because it was only the second time she has done it. I kept telling her "good job, way to go" and other encouraging phrases. After getting her cleaned up and off the toilet I needed to go "poo poo" myself. At first she went to watch a movie while I was in the bathroom but soon enough she found her way back in with me and sat so we could talk. She then realized I was going poo and got really excited. She started patting my leg and telling me "good job mommy".
THIS is why I love my kids....it's the constant smiles they can put on my face.
*The pictures are not from this day but a couple of her funny days in the last couple of months

Williams Family comes to visit - Sept 2010

Barb, Dave and the kids came to visit us for a long weekend. We showed them Monterey and stayed in the Coast Guard Santa Cruz house for a couple of days. We did the boardwalk rides and games, visited the Bigfoot Museum in Felton and just enjoyed our time with friends. It was good to have them here.

Fun Family Times - Aug 2010

This was a fun day of exploration in Monterey. We had only been here for a few short weeks and we were learning about our new city.

Happy 40th to me.... Dec 5, 2010

Wow...it's weird to say "I'm 40". I can't believe I have been around for 40 years. I have seen bell bottom pants, used Aqua Net for my hair, listened to Depeche Mode, visited Europe, graduated from college in the 90's, got married at 30 years old, had 3 kids and much more. I have certainly lived a memorable life so far. I have traveled to some great places, made lots of good friends along the way and have a wonderful family to share my joy with.
The kids and KC made my "big" day very special. They made me breakfast and while we ate I opened their gifts. Seth gave me some chocolates and Cali had cut out tons of snowflakes for me. It was so sweet of her. I even strung them together to made garland. KC got me an iPhone and I am wondering if it is for me or him?!?!? I'm not very techy and simple is better. However, a good friend told me that sometimes the gifts we get from our husbands may be things we one day can't live without. I am excited to learn my new phone and see what it does.
The next day we went to dinner at a new restaurant to us....Hula's in Monterey. Some friends from here came with us and that made it more fun.
So far the first 40 years have been pretty good and I know the next will be even better.