7.12.2013

Family Photo

Ashley, Skye, me, Zach

Zach and Ashley came over and took care of our house and pets while we were in San Diego. We ran down to Mesa to see them on July 4th to take them the souvenirs we purchased for them. Skye is growing so tall and she is very verbal. She still has those huge blue eyes and a sweet, sweet smile. She just doesn't like to show it when Gramps is taking a picture! haha

7.07.2013

San Diego

Last weekend we drove over to San Diego for a weekend away from the heat. We couldn't have picked a better time to go as the temps here in Phoenix hovered around 120 degrees. It was so funny to us that over in SD they were all complaining about the heat with temps in the low 80s. It was heavenly for us!

JD and Janel celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary on July 3rd. Their celebration of choice this year was to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Washington State. They asked all of us to meet them in SD as they started their trip for a fun family weekend.

Dan and I went over on Friday. We headed straight to Ocean Beach upon arriving and spent some time enjoying the ocean. We then headed over to the Embarcadaro and toured the aircraft carrier Midway. That was so awesome. Then we were off to Seaport Village for some shopping before heading to Anthony's for dinner.
Here's an example of the highs and lows of our trip!


First stop: Ocean Beach


Midway

Flight Deck

View of San Diego from flight deck



On Saturday, we went to Sea World with Katie, Gabe, and the kids. I'd never been before. It was such fun.
Waiting for the Dolphin Show

Katie and Thunder

Shamu... of course!


By the time we finished at Sea World, JD and Janel and Jessica and Adam had arrived so we all headed back to Seaport Village for dinner, to ride the carousel, and to enjoy the shops and entertainment. When Katie, Gabe and kids headed back to hotel for bedtime, the rest of us headed back to Ocean Beach. We walked the shore and the kids walked the pier while Dan and I sat and people watched.

Sunday morning we all headed to the San Diego Zoo. Dan and I had not been there since our kids were still small enough for strollers. It is such a great vacation destination. After seven hours at the Zoo, Jessica and Adam headed back to Phoenix while the rest of us headed to Mission Beach for dinner on the beach and sand castle building. I just can't get enough of the sights and sounds of the ocean!

Adam and Jessica

JD and Janel

Dan and Vicki

Dan and Jessica

Thunder and Sunny

Dan, Adam, Jess, Katie, Thunder, Gabe, Sunny, Janel, JD
Janel, Vicki, Katie

JD, Sunny, Janel

Vicki, Katie

Dan, Thunder, Gabe

Dan, Vicki

JD, Janel

Gabe, Katie, Sunny, Thunder

Sunny, Dan, Thunder, Vicki

Sunny

I can't get over how much more relaxed we all look on the beach!

On Monday morning we headed back to Phoenix while JD and Janel headed up the PCH. It was a great weekend and Dan and I are already planning a return trip in September...


7.02.2013

Christmas in July

I am celebrating Christmas in July over on my Christmas blog. My goal is to post a Christmas themed article for each of the 31 days in July. That may be a tad optimistic, but I'm going to do my best!

So, if it's hot where you live like it is where I live (116F forecast for today), take a cool break and check out my Christmas blog!

Patriotic Santa, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

7.01.2013

SSMT #13

July?! I can't believe it's July... My verse this time around is:

I constantly trust in the Lord;
because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.
Psalm 16:8


6.23.2013

A Very Cool (new to me) Blog

I am planning 31 days of posts for Christmas in July on my Christmas blog. This requires a lot of searching on the themes I've chosen for each day. While I was searching yesterday I came across the most beautiful blog I've seen to date. It's called "a quieter storm" and you can find it here. I also added the link to the right side of my blog page under the heading "Check Out These Great Blogs".

If you check it out, let me know what you think of it!

6.21.2013

It's Beginning to Look...

... a lot like Christmas! As you know, I am obsessed with Christmas. I have a Christmas blog. I Christmas shop all year round. I listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, and read Christmas books throughout the year. I really enjoy Christmas.

So you can imagine my excitement when I walked into Hobby Lobby last night and saw this:


Yes! The Christmas decor is here! Only 187 days to go...

6.17.2013

Father's Day

This year we had two Father's Day celebrations for Dan. On Friday, Jessica had us over for dinner and a swim. Yesterday we met Zach for lunch. A good time was had by all!

 Gramps provided free rides on his back



Dan and Zachary