Exploring

I think I've pretty much figured out the city streets and how to get from here to there without directions! We found Walmart, Target, Safeway, Trader Joe's, Costco and all our usual pit stops.

Sunday, Ryan and I each tried a church (we don't want to drag the kids along until we figure out where we are going to be). They seem to be a little different here, encouraging the kids to go to the service....not my idea of a productive listening experience. They have a separate time for Sunday school. Ryan didn't even make it to the service because he went at the Sunday school time and the parents were attending classes and no one was in the sanctuary. My experience was just as strange. The church was huge (probably could hold a few hundred) and I was one of 15 people there, including kids. I also had a surprise when I took communion and discovered it was real wine and very strong! Needless to say we were both dissapointed and missing our home church and missing our friends and family and all the activities we were used to. At least we were able to get on-line and listen to a sermon from Scott :o).

Last night I decided to look up the Mother's group in Livermore and they meet at a local church, one that didn't come up on any of my yellow page searches. The church had a great website and you can actually watch the service. The music, format and speaker were great, so I think we found a church! Maybe that's why no one was at the other churches!!!

Yesterday, Reggie started swim class and as usual struggled to participate (he has to observe awhile before feeling comfortable). He is in a relatively small class, 6 kids with 2 instructors. Half the kids were very comfortable in the water and the others not so much. So, today, they split up the kids and he did everything they asked!!! One of the boys won't even get in the water, so he and one other girl had the teacher's full attention. It couldn't be a better environment for him :o).

Today, we visited the local library and it is awesome! I guess that is one good thing that came out of my church visit, I passed the library on my way, so it was fresh in my mind to check it out :o). They have a huge wing just for kids, so we didn't really have to be that quiet. They had several computers and rooms for crafts and story time. We are going back tomorrow for crafts and Monday for a story.

We've had more fun exploring the backyard...Ryan and I have been trying to figure out the sprinkler system and we tested it again and realized none of the fruit trees or planters were getting water. They came and fixed it, but I wonder how long it has been going on. Ryan planted a couple watermelon plants and green beans last month and they shrivled up and died. Now that we have water, I think the beds will take off. The trees are somehow producing lots of fruit, so I guess they must be o.k. Reggie really likes to water and since we weren't sure they were getting water the past week, he has a big job to do. Now we'll have to find something else for him to do. We have a lemon tree, plum tree, orange tree, peach tree, some grape vines and a mystery fruit tree. We thought it was a yellow plum tree, but the fruit is fuzzy, maybe apricots? Anyone know what it might be? Here's a picture of the mystery fruit:

If the plums and things are ready, we'll bring bags home when we come :o)!

The weather has been beautiful these past few days. Low 80's, so we've been outside a lot. We went to the park last night and the kids are spending lots of time in the sandbox.

Getting settled

We survived....what a crazy week. Has it only been a week???? I'll try to re-cap. The truck was loaded up on Thursday and that's when the real craziness began. Ryan and I had to clean our house from top to bottom and do all the little things we haven't done for so long to get the house ready for our renter. Cathy watched the kids a lot and it was so great to be right next door at Laura's house.....thanks again guys!!! But, never put it past children to put a wrinkle in the plans. Ainsley wasn't so lucky to escape the bug Reggie had. She started throwing up on Friday and had a fever most of the day and even dry heaved on Sat. morning. So, it made it a little more difficult to get things done. We had lots of late nights and early mornings!

Sat. evening we had a nice Father's day dinner at Liha and Wade's. It was a nice time and good to see them before we flew out. Sunday we awoke at 5:15 and had to go get the cat, Riley, from our house. He wasn't too happy in the car and at the airport, but did pretty well on the plane. Maybe it is because we were so distracted with Ainsley...she wasn't so happy. Kept yelling "out" and "poop". She didn't want to go on the plane and it made for a very long flight. We did run into an old high school acquaintance, Sheri Godin. She was our flight attendant and it was fun to catch up...small world!
Sunday was really nice-the calm before the storm. The truck came early on Monday and they were done unloading around 2. Reggie got to sit in the cab and honk the horn of the semi truck-it was pretty cool. We had a team of unpackers coming on Tuesday, but I couldn't wait, so I started unpacking like a crazy woman. I got the kitchen and bathrooms done and bits and pieces of the other rooms. The garage was completely full of empty boxes, so full I couldn't put anymore in there! It was a good thing we worked so hard because the unpackers do just that, unpack. One of them started in Ainsley's room and asked if he could put stuff in her crib. Shortly after, he announced he was done and started on Reggie's room. I peeked into her room and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her crib and the floor was completely full of stuffed animals, toys, dolls, play food, etc. It took awhile to get the mess under control. I'm finally feeling pretty good about it now. We did the garage yesterday, so I can park in there now.

We did manage to leave the unpacking for a little breather. We went to Bill's house (Ryan's boss) on Wed. and swam in their pool and had a nice dinner. Reggie is getting much more comfortable in the water, swimming around with a noodle. He did fall off the stairs and was underwater for a bit, which scared us all, but the good news is he held his breath and I think he understands the importance of taking swim lessons, which start next week. Ainsley played with the girls and got her nails painted. She thought that was pretty neat. In the car, Reggie asked if he could stay the night there sometime, so I think he had a good time!

Last night, Ryan and I even had a little fun. He had a work softball game and I figured I better go while Peggy is here because I'll probably never get to relax and enjoy another game. It was 100 degrees, but there was a nice wind and I was in the shade, so it was quite enjoyable. Ryan went 4/4 and had some great diving catches. Now that we're older, i was a bit worried he was going to come up gimpy. That didn't happen until today when he could hardly walk-he has had issues with his feet :o(.
We set up the pool in the backyard, but it has been so hot, that we haven't really used it much. Ryan also hooked up the slip and slide which was a big hit. We really like our neighborhood (it is really quiet) and have met a few of our neighbors and hear them splashing in their pool! Haven't found any playmates yet, but when it cools off a little, we'll walk down and look for stollers and toys! We did manage to get on the bike trail and take a little ride. It was fun to explore and Reggie really enjoyed the bridges :o).

We also squeezed in a quick trip to San Francisco with Peggy. What a nightmare! It took us a bit to figure out what we were going to do, but finally decided to follow Reggie's lead. All he wanted to do was ride a cable car. The first 20 minutes were great, until we reached the end of the line. We had to get off and catch another one heading back. They were so full and after a half hour of waiting, we decided to walk in the 95 degree weather. Let's just say we were all a bit cranky and very happy to get to the car!

Tonight we went on a bike ride (just Trina and I) and it was still 85 degrees!! As we were motoring through the trail, we started to smell horses. As we rounded the corner there were two horses trotting on the trail!! It was very cool. Pictures are starting to go up and our house is starting to feel more like home. Only one more full work week and then we take off for a long road trip with the family back to home on Wednesday the 2nd. Things are starting to slow down a little and slowly but surely we're starting to feel a little more relaxed. Thanks to all of those that have sent their prayers, we really appreciate it....

Busy, Busy and a little wiggy

The move date is almost here and we're freakin' out a little. We've had multiple to-do lists and things are getting crossed off, but it seems other things are added almost as fast. We're feeling pretty good about things, but this week is going to be CRAZY!!! Our house is going to be packed up on Wed., and the moving truck comes Thursday morning, so our house will be empty Thurs. night, but we don't fly out until Sunday morning! It is beautiful timing that our friends, Laura, Kevin and Abby are going on a trip, so we have a place to go to where we can sleep in beds...thank you so much, guys :o). We're hoping the rest of us don't get the bug that Reggie has, he threw up last night and had a fever of 103+. Nice timing...

Saturday was our going away party. It was great to see and visit with everyone. Ainsley was in heaven-so many babies! We had so much fun chatting that we only remembered to take a couple pic's :o(. Oh well, we will miss you all very much! Thanks for taking time out of your day to say farewell. Don't worry you North-end friends and family, we'll have a big birthday celebration for Ainsley and farewell on August 9th at the lake.

T-ball, cousin fun and ?

Reggie's baseball ended this week. He seems to really like the games, he gets all giddy and giggly (kinda out of character). Strange since he doesn't get juice until after the game. They had a nice party where they got little trophies and he thought that was pretty cool.

Fun with Maggie at her new house!!!



Someone found something tasty in the pantry....

Vegas, baby!!!

As if we don't have enough going on, we hopped a plane to Vegas on Friday and got home tonight. It was our first time leaving both kids and things went very well. The grandparents took very good care of Reggie and Ainsley.

We stayed at the Worldmark Resort, which was a few miles off the strip. It was an amazing facility, 5 pools (one with a lazy river), 3 hot tubs, shuffleboard, basketball, ping pong and lots more....we were in heaven!! We weren't really jazzed about its location because the shuttle to the strip was only every hour and a half, but all I wanted to do there was relax, so I think it worked out better :o). However, all Ryan wanted to do was eat at the buffet's and since we were out in the middle of nowhere, that didn't work so well. We decided to head to the strip for our dinner on Friday and after a lot of walking, we ate a lot of food. We both felt sick from eating so much and my back was acting up, so I barely made it back to the bus, grrr. I had to stop for a break, so Ryan took that opportunity to play blackjack. He was doing well until I walked up-I am the worst for luck. So, I left and he walked away with an extra $35 :o).

We did a lot of lounging by the pool, watching t.v. anytime we felt like it and playing basketball and ping pong-Ryan kicked my butt, but I finally won one game before we left! We even went to the movies and saw Indiana Jones. We were very rested and refreshed and ready to come see the kiddos. They were very excited when we got home and we had a very nice evening running around with them. I'm glad we were able to do this before our lives turn chaotic with the move.

Thank you grandparents!!!!!!

It is hard to take pic's when it is just the 2 of you, but here's a few: