Thursday, July 30, 2009

Summer Fun--Catalina!

We have been having the BEST summer EVER! I think it is because we are spending so much quality family time together:).
Owen is a swimming fool--he also loves to help Daddy with the blower!


This is Jenna on the "Catalina Flyer" on our way to Catalina. We saw dolphins on the way back--too cool! We loved sitting on the top of the boat and feelin' the breeze".


Owen at the beach in Catalina

Dad and Jenna on the kayak
The water was crystal clear
This is the "casino" which means "gathering place" as we found out--not an actual casino.

Owen loved the park in the center of town--especially the fire truck!
Jenna loved the frog :)--go figure




We took our bikes and rode all over Avalon
We also played a round of mini golf.


Owen was examining his next shot
The colors around Catalina were AMAZING



Gotta love Owie kisses



Dad taught Jenna how to use the camera--pretty good shot, huh?

We had a great time! And we needed a crazy face shot of course!
Then it was time to go home:0--all good things must come to an end!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Jenna's Baptism!

We had Bible Blast at our church this past week. It is a time for the kids to have fun, learn about what Jesus did for them, about missions, and crafts. Jenna had been asking us about baptism. She wanted to get baptised, but was a little nervous about what she had to do. We talked to her about it being and outward showing of an inward faith. It is showing others that you are committed to living your life for Jesus and loving others. We wnated it to be TOTALLY her decision, so I told her to talk to Pastor Brian about it. She talked to her Children's pastor, Pastor Brian and Mr. James and came home on Sunday saying, "Mom and Dad, I am going to get baptised. I am ready".
We are So proud of you Jenna! You have such a beautiful heart! We know the Lord is going to do AMAZING things through you baby girl!
'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and HE will direct your paths"




















Miss Katrina has known Jenna since BIRTH! She was the first person to give her a Bible.


The video isn't that great, but we know that Grandma Sue wanted to see it!



The LONGEST post EVER!:)

Our summer has been PACKED FULL OF FUN! I finally had some time to sit down and post some pictures. We started out our vacation with a camping trip up the coast headed to Oregon to see my mom's best friend since high school (Aunt Pat). My brother and I grew up with her 3 girls, so they are like family. Our first stop was San Simeon State Park. It was BEAUTIFUL! The ocean was right across HWY 1, and we could walk there. We also rode our bikes all along the beach. The water was a bit cool, but that didn't stop Jenna! Our camp site was AWESOME and so were the 25 cent warm showers:).


Jenna and I spent one day making castles in the sand--so fun!


This was our camp site










Owen didn't like the sand as much as Jenna. He thought it felt "EW, icky mom"





We went to the tide pools at Moon beach and we saw sea stars, sea urchins, cucumbers, crabs (purple), and the seals were EVERYWHERE!




Jenna was trying to entice her Dad into the 50 degree water:)--she didn't even try me--she knows better!


Our next stop was Half Moon Bay State Beach. Our campsite was RIGHT BY the ocean. The waves lulled us to sleep each night. We went for a bike ride around the small town of Half Moon Bay, and we found a "Jenna St.)--you can barely see the sign in the picture, but we thought it was cool:0.


While at Half Moon Bay, we took a day trip to San Francisco (25 min away). We went to the BEST ZOO EVER! It is so cool in San Francisco that all the animals are out. We were a bit early, so we visited the world famous "Cliff House".



We saw everything at the zoo. We even got to see them feed the Grizzly Bears. They let them into the ponds and they caught salmon right before our eyes--pretty cool!




Jenna and I had a picture like this when she was 4.




After the zoo, we took our bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was cold, but SO worth it! We had a BLAST!






After our bike ride, we just HAD to get ice cream at Ghiradelli!

Then we headed for Grants Pass Oregon to visit with Aunt Pat for 3 days. They have the MOST BEAUTIFUL home. We camped in their back yard! They have hookups for the camper, and a huge grassy flat area right by the rouge river! It was AMAZING. The river runs right through their back yard. The area is full of small vineyards, and beautiful pasture.

Owen's favorite thing to do was feed the llamas.

Jenna LOVED driving the Gator, and playing with Kinsley and Sage (Aunt Pat's grand kids--Kristy's girls)
This is where we camped. The river is to the left.


We went into Jacksonville, an old mining town and went on the Trolley, ate lunch, played, and shopped. Oh--and ate ice cream of course!

When we got back, we all went for a swim in the river. This is right in the back yard. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Sage and Kinsley--Kristy's twins

Uncle Clare--making the BEST hamburgers in the WORLD!--Seriously

Me and Deb--we call each other cousin--we have some great memories together:)
Everyone in the kitchen for dinner. It was fun to be able to get together with the whole family. I hadn't seen most of them in about 15 years.


Jenna and Kinsley. Jenna became instant friends with the girls. It was so great for her!

The girls LOVED Owen too!
We all laughed at how the llamas just came right up to Owen. He loved sharing their food with them too!

This is a picture of Aunt Pat's house

Kristy and pat



Sage had a BLAST playing soccer with Owen
We were sad to leave, but we are going to stay longer next time--thanks SO much Aunt Pat and Uncle Clare. Your hospitality was much appreciated--we LOVE you!

Our next stop was actually our favorite. We stayed at Henry Cowell State Park in the redwoods just above Santa Cruz in Felton. The camp site was Amazing! It was in the middle of Oak trees and redwoods with blackberry and raspberry bushes--we hiked, rode bikes, had s'mores--so much fun!

Owen rode his big wheel EVERYWHERE!
This is a picture of our camp site
One of the days here, we headed for Santa Cruz. We went on the Boardwalk, rode our bike all along the coast, rode the rides, and had a BLAST!






I love this picture that Pat took on the skyway

We decided not to drive all the way home from Santa Cruz, so we camped for a night in Solvang. I love this little town. They had a Farmer's Market, so we got some delicious fruit--and Danish pastry--of course!

Owen loved the Thomas the train store--it was hard to get him out of there!
If you want to see ALL the pictures, you are just going to have to come by and visit us:). thanks again to the Lindberg's for the fantastic gift--we are using the trailer and making SO many memories!