Lucky Us!

It's official folks--we get to move to one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

Where we can get our thrill fix.

And our fog fix.

And our fall fix.

And our winter fix.

And our boats and sea-food fixes.

Not to mention all the Dyers (or Dyuhs) Mike has been dying to meet.

For what it's worth, I have really enjoyed living in the Bay Area. It's beautiful, even if summer in the east bay lacks weather. And the people here have been so friendly. California is not at all what I thought it would be--namely, tons of snobby rich people with kids who did nothing but surf and flunk classes. BUT, I would be outright lying if I didn't say I am thrilled to be leaving apartment life behind us, hopefully for good! Things I won't miss:

Smokers

Pot smell

Chihuahuas

Stinky Pakistani food

Trash in the playground

Older kids at the playground leaving their trash

Things I will miss:

Sweet old women I hardly know dropping off their stinky Pakistani food

Walking to church

Blackberry picking 10 minutes from home

Yosemite

Karin and Oliver, Jessica and Ryan, Aurora and Josep, Talia and Casey--all such awesome neighbors

The Paradises, the Cheneys, the Atheys--all our other great friends who have made us feel so welcome

Sitting in the car with Jennifer Daily after RS presidency meetings being sarcastic and cracking ourselves up

Dinners with Allison and Gabe--two words: food heaven

Things I might miss:

Drunken women shouting outside their apartments in the middle of the night and getting pushy with the cop who comes to tell her to settle down.

Over-weight men in Speedos throwing their curtains wide open when I am in the living room facing their windows.

Old women from the assisted living down the street tossing bread crumbs everywhere--seriously, everywhere--even though it's plain to see no animal has touched them since the day before.

In the words of Mr. Bennet: 

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?"

Pictures:

I love this woman's blog.

And Acadia Magic is beautiful!

At Last

  This past year, it seems like we had see nearly everyone in my family except for my brother, Tyler. Back in late February my oldest brother BJ and his family, as well as my sister and her husband Holly and Jeff, and Mom all came out for a visit for various reasons on the same weekend. It was a nice little reunion. Dad came out for a friends wedding a few weeks later. Around that same time a company booked me on a flight to Flagstaff, AZ for a job interview. I finally thought I would have a chance to see Ty and his family. I thought wrong. The company just happened to book me to arrive the night that they left for vacation. Well, we finally got to meet up this past week. I couldn't believe how much the girls have grown!

Tiff and Lexi with Finnegan.

Lexi was pretty excited to hold Finn.

We enjoyed some Morgan Hill strawberries. Sadie especially.

We even got to see some horses.

All of the girls were really good with Madie, she warmed up to them quickly. Kylie was a good sport for letting Madie drag her around by the hand.

Mal and Finn.

Madie and I even got to ride a horse. It was my first time, EVER.

Madie was pretty scared at first, but we convinced/forced her to get on with me. You can see her reaction.

Nice little reunion, looking forward to the next one.

New Years in Aptos

 For New Years, we were invited by the Atheys to Shaine's family beach house in Aptos, CA. There were some other friends from the ward there as well, which made it fun for games, chatting, etc. We stayed for two nights, but wish we could have stayed another because apparently we missed some humpback whales that came within 20 yards of shore! Still jealous about that...but what a great getaway weekend. Thank you again Atheys!

I got to test out my new camera some more to be sure I want to keep it. I was able to get up and make it onto the beach right at sunrise our first morning. It was pretty chilly out.

The sand pipers were enjoying breakfast in full-force.

Madie was thrilled to have her own little table at breakfast.

Enjoying coffee cake with fresh fruit with Kevin and Shaine.

We took Maggie out for a walk. The coast felt so warm. I'm going to let you in on a little secret; the winter is the best time to visit the coast in Northern California.

Madie was kind of freaked out by the waves at first, which is how she reacted in Saipan and when we went beach camping for Labor Day. She finally warmed up to it when we got some water buckets and shoves to dig around the sand with. Also helped having Rion and Amelia to play with.

Bethany and Mal.

More photography...this just shows you the fog rolling in at sunset.

Sunset.

The crew decided to come out for the sunset. Madie kindly dismissed me by saying "Bye bye Dadda. Go away" multiple times. I didn't think I would embarrass her in front of her friends this early in life!

For this one, I simply said "Show me your bellies." They both happily obliged.

This high chair was a hot commodity for Madie. She was pretty jealous if anyone looked at it.

Water was spilled three or four times at this dinner alone.

What would a New Years be without sparklers of some sort?

Happy New Year! We are excited for 2012!

Labor Day Weekend Part 2: Danish Serengeti

Sunday we found a ward in Morro Bay to attend Sacrament Meeting. Afterward, we made a last-second decision and decided to drive two hours down to the Danish town Solvang. I had been here once before with my family when I was 9 or 10. We came for New Years and stayed at a hotel in town. I remember my brother Ty playing his bongos in the park and people gathering around him to listen, and threw him a few coins. That's about it. We figured we are this close to Solvang, we mine as well go! Who knows if or when we will ever come down this way again?

Madie had so much fun playing with Nana and Papa in the car, that she forgot to take her nap. She almost immediately fell asleep in the stroller when we toured the town.

Had she been awake, we could have tried on this dress. If it was less than $42, we might have considered it.

Lots of the original Danish families still live in the area.

Mal & Mom loved checking out the little stores.

We had to get some ice cream & stroop waffels.

I've decided I want to build a Danish home.

Madie was getting antsy from all the driving, so we stopped at the beach to let her run around a little bit before we went back to our campsite for dinner. Anybody looking for a toddler model?

And she of course went to her rock-throwing creek.

Food always tastes better when you are camping.

"Oh, this is fun."

"Hey, why are you guys on the other side of the fence?"

"Ya know, I don't know if I like this anymore..."

"Stop it! Stop the ride!"

Wild Californian Zebra.

W.R. Hearst literally brought over Zebras, and Giraffes (just to name a few) to graze his property. They were used to attract celebrities to stay at the Hearst Castle to get some stories out of them for his newspaper publishing (like Rupert Murdoch, without the phone tapping). Most of the animals were sold off to local zoos after Hearst died. Some stayed. Hence, the California Zebra.

Before we headed back to the Bay Area, we drove up the coast to check out an elephant seal reserve that we saw when we drove in.

These guys were all over the place! Some males were sparring, most were just laying out in the sun.

Thanks for coming to California Nana & Papa.