Going Back To Cali

One day in mid September I got a call from my Dad asking if my sister & I wanted to go with him to a CAL football game. It was the next weekend. In California. Hmmmm...I need to think about that. 1.002 seconds later...Yes, Please! :)

It was a super fast weekend but we all had a blast. I can't remember the last time I spent a weekend with just my Dad & sister.

It started off a little crazy with a 5-hour delay, which got us to my aunt's house at 1:00 a.m. CA time. But all of that frustration was quickly washed away with the next three days of GORGEOUS weather in one of my most favorite (if not the favorite) cities on the planet.

After sleeping in, we headed to meet my cousin Becca & Mike for brunch. So fun to get to see her with a baby bump! :)

And then we headed out to CAL. First stop was the alumni water polo game. Dad even ran into some old swimming friends.

CAL + a pool = My Dad's Happy Place

 Lunch at Top Dog

Getting close to Game Time!

A serious pre-game workout!

The siblings/alumni.

This pic during the warm-up should've been the first clue. Wow...that's A LOT of red. I've been to several CAL games and had never seen anything like this before. It was like the Ohio State fans were multiplying somehow.

Wait. I thought this was a CAL home game???!!!

 Tightwad Hill was hoppin.

And just a few rows up from our seats was this view!

The game did not go our way...at all...but we stayed until the bitter end and still enjoyed watching the Bears! My home game record got its first loss,  3-1.  :(

 And what do all CAL fans do after a game?

The next day we headed to the city. Last time I was in California, my cousin Amy had just had her first daughter, Audrey. So it was great timing for us that we were there a few weeks after her second daughter sweet Gemma was born. She had to spend some time in the NICU, but she was able to snag a great window view.  :)

And we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the adorable Audrey as well. (Paul, how do I have no pictures of you???)

From there we started the drive out to my uncle's house. I was able to talk everyone into stopping at the Lookout Point on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Never a disappointment!

From there we took a pit stop in Sausalito. Right on the water was one of the most impressive street artists I've seen. I have no idea how he did it, but the rock stacking was both incredible and stunning.

Charming Sausalito is another one of my favorites!

And then off to Santa Rosa for a fun birthday dinner for my uncle. If we had enough time, we probably could've spent an entire afternoon going through all of the vineyards. So pretty!

Then sadly, it was the last day. We said goodbye and thank you to Aunt Barbara, our lovely hostess. But a trip to northern CA wouldn't be complete without a drive by Dogwood Drive, my dad's childhood home. We tease him about ALL of his stories, but they are always good to hear!

Grandma Ellie's infamous trees that I always thought were dogwoods (hello, it's on Dogwood Drive) until maybe a couple years ago. :)

Luckily we had a late afternoon flight, so we had a few more hours in the city on an absolutely gorgeous day. We explored the new Bay Bridge, Coit Tower, the pier where the 2013 America's Cup was happening, saw a mystery prototype car, and shopped and ate some good food at the Ferry Building.

The weekend was over before we knew it. So thankful to my Dad for making this happen for us and for providing some pretty great memories!

Misc. August

August was another fast and furious month getting all of our summer fun in before school started. The boys discovered a fun little outdoor Music Park right by the pool we swim at.

And Will became a tad obsessed with his "dots."

The Belton cousins were in town for a week staying with my parents, so we got to have a lot of fun outings with them, including Mallory's first-ever Rangers game, movies, eating out, a giant waterslide, and lots of fun.

This picture from the backseat conversation cracks me up. These two are hilarious together. I'm sure the conversation was very deep. 

I think they enjoy each other's company just a little bit. :)

I went to a kids' consignment sale in August and found this book for $1. He couldn't put it down and is officially obsessed with all things Titanic. Tate is definitely NOT the person you want to talk to if you are going on a cruise anytime soon. :)

 We celebrated a major achievement of our good friend Mario...or Dr. Mario as he is now called.

August marked the end of Music Therapy lessons for Will. Going to see Ms. Debbie was truly a highlight of Will's week. He LOVED getting to sing songs and play instruments. This was my view each week. :)

Kid's toys are so funny to me. We have a playroom full of toys they barely play with. But then this $20 clearance schoolhouse "back-to-school surprise" got played with for several days in a row non-stop.

August News:  And there was a pretty big story in world news in August. Edward Snowden went into asylum after leaking NSA confidential information. I still don't fully understand all of the implications, but this was a biggie. It will be really interesting to see even 10-15 years from now where he is and what has happened.

Horseshoe Bay

Another Labor Day Weekend at Horseshoe Bay was lots of fun! Between the 10 of us there, we covered swimming, skiing, wakeboarding, tennis, golf, cycling, shopping, treadmill, pilates...and several episodes of Thomas The Train.  :)  Clearly fun was had by all.

One evening we enjoyed a nice (and really hot) dinner out at a restaurant on the lake right at sunset.

And we were able to celebrate a pretty big milestone. Trip turned 16! I still can't believe the little baby I got to hold in the hospital right after he was born is already 16. So glad that at that time I was just the girlfriend, but that I've been part of this guy's life from the beginning and am officially in the family now as a proud aunt. :) We all love Trip, but there is a certain little boy in our family who pretty much thinks Trip hung the moon. And that was confirmed when Trip picked a "Turbo theme" on his own birthday cake because he knew Tate would like it. That just sealed the deal. :)

No one had a lighter for the candle, so we did what any 2013 family does in such a situation. We used the iPhone birthday candle. :)

It's such a fun weekend with lots of time out on the lake. I love it because there's a tennis court as well, so I get to throw in a few drills. But the hit of the weekend is definitely being out on the boat.

And this little guy fell in LOVE with the boat this summer. He seems to have no fear out on the water, which is a little worrisome. But nonetheless, he loves it all, jumping off the boat, tubing, and floating around in the lifejacket.

Trip has been rocking the wakeboard for a couple of summers now.

Over the weekend, Mary Tish decided this was the year she wanted to learn how. Wakeboarding is not for the faint at heart and is hard to learn. But she was determined and did it! Not sure who was more excited...her or us??? :)

It was a great couple of days that unfortunately ended on kind of a scary note. Wade & Tate were in one car pulling the boat back home. I was with Will in the other car. We were on a 2-lane road going about 70 mph when all of a sudden Wade (in front of me) has to swerve to miss a huge concrete whoknowswhat that was in the middle of the road. He can't swerve much because of the boat. I'm right behind and him and barely saw it coming. I tried to swerve but didn't have enough time, so I had to drive right over it...at 70 mph. First time in my life I've "flown" in a car. It was the weirdest/scariest feeling.  

Obviously the car didn't appreciate that and the tire AND wheel were destroyed. We were in the middle of nowhere. Amazingly, Tisha & Ford just happened to be driving back by. The next hour was an ordeal including a bad spare tire and "Fix-A-Flat" exploding. But low and behold, Trip's crazy idea worked. 

His bike's air pump and some serious elbow grease saved the day.  :)

So I made it home on a spare and had to go less than 50 mph the rest of the way home. I now have a whole new level of compassion and empathy for anyone driving slow with hazards on.  SO thankful the tire was the only thing that was damaged. I know there could've been much worse outcomes.

And so thankful for a super fun weekend with sweet memories made with a pretty great family.

2013: My Year In Books

My annual reading recap from 2013. I love hearing what others read and am happy to share as well. I seem to average about one book a month. My time of day to read is right before I go to bed, so that means it ends up being maybe a chapter a night. Takes awhile, but I still love that feeling of when you're in the middle of a great book and can't wait to read it.

• Wonder by R.J. Palacio ~ Absolutely loved it! It usually takes me weeks to finish a book. I finished this in 3 days. I never do that but seriously couldn't put it down. Every kid should read it before they start junior high. Really every adult should read it at some point. "Show kindness more than necessary."

• The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom ~ This one took me a few chapters to get into because of so many character names to keep up with. But once I figured it all out, I loved it. It is set during the time of slavery, so there are very difficult parts. But the stories and characters are powerful.

• Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham ~ I wasn't crazy about this one. It is a really long book with a story that goes on a really long time. I wanted to like it, but was just ready to get it over with by the end.

• Generous Justice by Tim Keller ~ One of my favorite non-fiction books I've read in a long time. It was a powerful read of how the Bible promotes justice and compassion for those in need.  I love the reminder and encouragement of living out faith by serving those that need it the most. 

• The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls ~ This is my third novel to read by Wells. They have all been stories of young children struggling thru and rising above really hard circumstances. Hard to read at times, but great stories that keep you reading. This one reminded me a lot of The Glass Castle, which is one of my favorites. 

• Grace by Max Lucado ~ This was the book in one of the group studies I help facilitate up at my church. Another beautiful read by a wonderful storyteller. I loved the parts about the God who stoops and about sustaining grace. "When grace happens, generosity happens. Unsquashable, eye-popping bigheartedness happens."

• How To Raise Selfless Kids in a Self-Centered World by Dave Stone ~ Really short, but a good read. He had some neat, practical ideas. But the overriding theme was that kids have to see their parents living this out to ever believe it for themselves. That is both daunting and motivating. 

• Charlie & The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ~ This was part of the SSC with Tate. I'm not sure if I ever actually read the book as a kid, so it was fun reading this together over the summer. Best moment was when Tate ran out to exclaim to Wade, Daddy! Charlie Bucket found a golden ticket!"  :)

• Astronaut's Wives Club by Lilly Koppel ~ I found the stories and content of this book absolutely fascinating. I was constantly telling Wade about the stories I was reading of the wives of the Mercury & Apollo astronauts. It was really pretty incredible and kind of turned me into a space junkie for awhile. But I will say, I was not thrilled at how the book was written. It was hard to keep up with who was and and got confusing. But the content made it worth powering thru. 

• The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton ~ This was the first book from the online Book Club I'm in. I always enjoy the time era of the 40s and 50s. This was written from several different character perspectives, which I always like. It has a mystery element to it, which is pretty interesting. It was a little on the wordy side but still held my interest. 

And I always prefer to read books recommended by someone else rather than a completely blind pick. So here is link to my 2012 books along with links from several previous year. Funny that I didn't read one single book that I listed as to-read. I finally discovered Goodreads, and that has helped me keep track of what I've read and what I want to read. 

Any books you have loved?

Happy Birthday Wade!

Tate's favorite thing to do when it's someone's birthday is to come up with a theme. So Wade's birthdays in the past have been Cowboys, Rangers, and this year...Star Wars. :)

 Tate helped with the decorations and the entertainment...light saber fighting.

Wade's birthday was on a Sunday, so that afternoon he went out on the lake with a group of guys to ski & wakeboard. Since it is best for all parties involved that I don't try to drive the boat, Wade is usually the one pulling other people. He enjoyed having a friend out there that could pull him and actually  wakeboard himself. Once he got home, Tate & Will had the party ready. :)

It was a great day celebrating everyone's favorite guy. And he got to enjoy the day out on the boat...his happy place. We love you Wade!

And of course he managed to find a bowl on Blue Bell & Magic Shell that day as well. :)