We're Back!

This last week Ryan had training all week in a hotel in the Bay area. Since I couldn't tag along, and I wasn't too enthralled with staying in our oh-so-interesting little place by myself 24/7, I hopped on a plane to Arizona! I had the BEST vacation. Mary and Tom and Corey and Sally treated me like a princess. I just loved doing what they do and playing with the kids. My favorite part was all the talking we did. I love the connection and closeness I feel with all of my family! Thanks to the AZ bunch for being so sweet to me. Ryan appreciates it too. (He was so jealous when I showed him all the pictures! He wishes he could have been there.)


Can you believe what a cutie she is?! She is smiling and crawling like crazy. She can keep herself entertained for so long.



I was her mom during swimming lessons. Well, her substitute mom. I loved it. She makes all kinds of noise when she's in the water. And you should have seen her kicking and splashing in the pool at Corey and Sally's.


I couldn't get over how beautiful Ashlyn's eyes are. Good genes.



Can you tell we did a lot of swimming? I'd almost forgotten how hot AZ is in the summer! Corey and Sally's new house is fantastic.



Goregeous!



Landen could stay entertained forever just with a squirt bottle! It was so cute to see how Madilyn liked having him squirt it in his mouth.



And this is us reunited! Ryan had a great time at his internship training. He really likes all of the people Ernst & Young recruits and hires. (But of course he missed me madly.)

Our latest and greatest news is that while we were gone, the woman that we're renting the place from moved in. Yep. I was pretty surprised. I guess she'll be moving back out after this week, when she'll fly home to Germany for the rest of the summer. (The cheese now chillin' on our counter is dated Dec 5) Nothing about this sublet is quite turning out how I expected, but at least we've got each other!

Apples, Grapes, and Nectarines

Yesterday we discovered the tortures of California traffic as we were driving back from the vineyards in Sanoma. We vowed we would never again leave our lovely Palo Alto. But when Ryan got off work early today, we hopped in the car and once again headed for the beach. (We've also discovered that we are a beach family.) We just stayed for a couple of hours, came home (miraculously avoided traffic), and walked downtown Palo Alto.

Our roommate is incredibly nice. I wish she were staying for the whole time, but she'll be leaving in a week or two. Then the German man is moving in. And by the way, we met him, and he seemed very, very nice as well. (It still may be a bit weird sleeping about three feet and a thin wall away from him, but it's all good.) Anyway, Karen, our roommate, even offered to let us use her 25% employee discount that she gets once a year at Apple. Isn't that sweet?

These are the vineyards. They reminded Ryan very much of Chile.

Here we had the juciest nectarine I've ever had.

Half Moon Bay and Pacifico

Today we drove down to Half Moon Bay. We ate at a local Mexican joint off the beaten tourist path, and we both loved it. We learned that Half Moon Bay is always cloudy and foggy but that driving just miles north or south up the coast leads to blue skies. So we drove north toward Pacifico, where we found this absolutely beautiful and sparsely populated beach. We'd definitely recommend it.



I guess this is how I like to have fun. And the next is how Ryan likes to have fun. (That water is FREEZING! Everyone else in the water was wearing a wet suit, but he had some weird compulsion to swim.) Which looks better?






Isn't that gorgeous? I didn't know Northern California had such nice beaches. (Cold, of course, but very pretty)

We're excited to see Dad tomorrow and are waiting for our next visitors--who will it be?? Natalie, want to skip across the country to come see the view from this side? Alaina and Kurt, Mary and Tom, Corey and Sally--need a second honeymoon? (But you won't want to stay at our place. It's no place for honeymooners. haha) Kendall, Mallory, Rachell--road trip??

We love you all and hope you don't get bored of our pictures. We're just so excited to share! And Launa, if you see these anytime soon, we're so glad you're doing better. We're still praying for you! You're amazing!

Home Sweet Home

Hello from California! We hopped in the car after church this afternoon and headed for the ocean. We put our feet in the water and met some nice people. We're excited to be here and to see every site we possibly can in the next eight weeks.

Our new home in Palo Alto isn't quite the same as what we were living in before. We are more grateful every moment for the fantastic living arrangements we enjoyed for the last year and a half. We like to say we're offically newlyweds now that we're living in a place that suits the term.

Lucky thing we brought our own linens even though we're subletting. It adds a much-needed homey touch.

Those are our windows up there on the second floor. I love the light in our room. The down sides would have to be the spiders, the brown sink that should be white (I'm tackling it with clorox tomorrow), the stained shower with a shower curtain that doesn't extend far enough to cover you, and, of course, the beer. The fact that a European man is moving in in a couple of weeks doesn't help...but I'll keep you posted on that.

Ryan especially would like our readers to note the fine art above the toilet. What a sight to wake up to.

Uh, we don't have a lot to say about this. I just hope our home teachers don't notice it.

Our closet is literally 1/8th the size of our old one.

This is where I'll probably be spending a lot of my time. The view from the windows is nice in the day, as the house is shaded by some trees.

I have to get out of the car before Ryan pulls in. Otherwise I'd never be able to get out.

And the up side--it's beautiful here! This is going to be an adventure (the extent to which we weren't quite anticipating), but we're enthusiastic.