Maya's 1st Birthday!!

October 21st, my niece Maya turned 1 year old. Man time sure flies! anyway... here are some pictures from her birthday party.

Playing with Abba

I Love this.. it looks like she's telling it off!

This is my favorite! She was trying to get at my camera!

Prayer Request

This weekend Alex left for a dirtbike riding trip. i don't have the details but the result was a broken collar bone. please keep us in your prayers as we look into medical options. we will be needing to go to a physician for a conceltation and possibly surgery and will be needing to figure some things out. Thank you everyone!

Random thoughts and interesting facts

a while ago i went for a walk with my sister and neice around Lake merrit, on this walk i noticed that there was a pelican. Later i walked with alex and noticed the same pelican in a similar area. After seeing this bird i then decided to go back and take a few pictures of it, so today on my walk around the lake i found it and took this picture.

this bird was for some reason, fascinating to me. the way it dived for fish and the size of it's wingspan. turns out it is the brown pelican, the only one of it's species that dives for fish and the most common pelican in north america. Watching this bird as i walked around a lake that was filled with many different people, from the business man to the homeless man who is talking to "himself" and seeing the beautiful scenery that i call home it made me realize that even though things might not be "perfect" according to my standards, and right now there's things i don't understand, that we are blessed to live in a place so filled with evidence of God's grace and that i have so much to be thankful for. thankful that i don't have to find a warm place to sleep, or that i don't have to fish for my food in a limited supply. if God takes care of the sparrow (or in this case, the pelican), how much more will he care for me.

Fleet Week...our day on the bay!

as promised... i have photo's. On Saturday, Oct. 11th we took bart over to the city with Alex's parents, Grandma and family friends, Bill and Kim Bussell's. we walked from embarcadero to peir 45 where we boarded the Jeremiah O' Brien, an old Liberty ship that was used during world war II to take supplies over to our boys. The O' Brien then sailed us out past the golden gate bridge and then back to a spot between treasure island and the shoreline, where we could watch the air shows. on board we got to see many cool things, the engine room (where they filmed a part of the titanic), lots of wild life and a jazz band called Natural Gas that was made up of old navy men. they also served us delicious food. The first show up was at noon and was the canadian snow goose air team, representing the canadian forces. then at 2 we watched the Blue Angels. the show was amazing and we were fortunate to have them fly right over the ship several times, giving us a clear shot of the planes from underneath. It took us both several tries but we got some good photo's and video of them flying over the plane and some of the canadian goose team. here's some pictures from the trip:

Alex got a pretty clear video of the Angels flying over the ship and also of the Engine room of the O'Brien. The Pistons moving is pretty cool to watch! it's one of the only ships remaining that uses these huge pistons to move the ship.

Mid week Vacation!

Hi Everyone!
So unfrortunately we forgot our camera... so sadly, no pics., but tuesday this week Alex somehow got the day off and upon the suggestion of his uncle we went down to the Monterey bay aquarium. It was awesome! there were lots of cool exhibits including hamerhead sharks and these weird looking birds that dig in the sand for bugs. there was also a really cool touch pool section where we got to touch a bat ray. it was soo weird, "kind of velvety, and slimy in a way." after spending four hours in the aquarium we walked along cannary row a little and then had dinner at a seafood/steakhouse called the hopper, it was really good food and great service! i think that had to be the fastest we've ever recieved our food and check, and every now and then someone would stop by to see if we needed anything or refill our water. I was very impressed!
it was definitely a blessing, just to have time together. This weekend we'll be going on the Jeremiah O'brien an old naval ship, and cruise the bay to see the blue angels, So excited! hopefully we won't forget the camera this time so i can post new pictures!

back to the grind

just an update,
not much has happened these past few weeks, no exciting trips or events yet, were kind of in a lull as far as that goes (which in a way is nice). Alex started classes at DVC, he's taking plumbing code and building code so he can get his certifications to be an inspector. Alex is busy with work, as ususal, and i've been trying to figure out how this "being at home" without kids thing works.. not making much success yet, but working on it. We're looking forward to fall, but missing the freedom of summer.

Weekend in Oklahoma

Our latest adventure was our trip to Oklahoma to visit Mark and Rachel DeMann. we flew out on friday the 31st of August and arrived in the early afternoon. Rachel picked us up, because Mark didn't know we were coming (we decided to keep it a surprise). The weekend was really fun, we spent one night in Enid, Oklahoma at their house, and then decided to spend the rest of the weekend in Oklahoma city, which was about 2 hours south. Saturday, Mark gave us a tour of the Air force base where he is stationed,

These are the planes Mark is flying. The rest of the weekend was filled with fun times exploring the city, shopping, swimming, and eating out at different "local" spots. It was a much needed time of relaxation and time with dear friends. Here are some more pics of our trip.

There were tons of crickets and the clouds there were amazing. while we were there, there were at least two thunderstorms, God's creation is nothing short of Amazing!!