Summertime comes to an end

Summer ending means school and internship beginning. We have been referring to this summer as our last summer as kids. We have had such a great time, really enjoying each and every moment. The funny thing is, though, is that we are so excited to move on and begin our careers. Ok, I won't get too ahead of myself. But for Chris, he graduates from nursing in May, and I finish my Dietetic internship next August. So, we are almost there, and so thankful to have some wonderful people to support us!

Me, Court, Nicky, and Karli at a Southern Living Party.

Our new second Cousin Jack Lowery was born this summer! He lives in New York.
















The Grandparents took us out to The Olive Garden for Chris's Birthday.
















Chris and Court pose after a dinner at Mom's. We were laughing so hard all through dinner that I felt like I was having hot flashes! We enjoyed a walk around the circle before heading home.

















Court, Robert, Chris, and I went for a cycling jaunt around Lake Natoma. We got our sweat on, and then headed for lunch at Mikuni.


















This is the adorable Rylee Rudnicki. Her mom Kim is who got me into this blogger thing! Kim works with Chris at Kaiser, and Chris even sees John come into his work as well. They are a fun couple, we always have a lot in common with them. (Featured below at Sutter Street Grill in Folsom).




































I consider my greatest accomplishment this summer to be:
getting Lily to be excited about eating spinach! We made carrot sandwiches with spinach for "bread." She was into it, and she still asks me to make them for her!!


Chris's greatest accomplishment this summer:
Re-modelling our floors, baseboards, and door casing. This picture is before!
















Before......


















After!! Our house feels so much cleaner now, with the wood floors. Chris did it all himself, and refused the help of a few friends! He wanted to do something on his own, and it sure looks great.
Cheers to an eventful and blessed summer, and hope that our school year goes strong, healthy, and happy.
Will be interesting to see what we blog about when in school....Tune in!

Off to Ashland, Oregon

Well, we figured it was time for a girls getaway. Sadly, we were without the Aubin ladies, but we still managed to have fun, missing them all the way.



We enjoyed gelato at a local sweet shop, shopped til we dropped, walked all over town, ate at some really yummy restaurants, and also relaxed in the hotel room watching season 1 Grey's Anatomy DVD's.





The view from our hotel was beautiful, and there were two ponds in the courtyard. The hotel had a late night snack of PBJ sandwiches, cookies, and milk. There was also an endless supply of tazo teas for us to consume. MMM. The last night, we went to an awesome dinner at The Peerless Restaurant. None of us had ever been there before, but we will go again! We each got our own salad, and then split an entree and dessert, just the way we like doing it! We then hustled it 5 blocks in heels (or boots for Court) to the play. We saw On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard. It was a cute show about people living their lives to have a past since they had otherwise boring lives. So, we were also on our own Razzle!

Happy 86th Birthday, Gramps

Gramps really doesn't like birthdays, but we celebrate anyway. He wanted ribs, and Grammy made a delicious apricot pie. He is always ready and willing to give a backrub, even on his birthday. [Can't say that I am the same way... :) ]
Relaxing in the backyard, the evening couldn't have been better.
Austin, Gramps, and Bryce, all posing together.
Lily had fun on the swingset.. Er, so did the adults. (Note, no 3 year old in picture!)
Nothing like a night with the family. Their yard is just amazing, here is another picture of Gramps clearing some brush.

On the Boat

Lily was the happiest tube-er, "I wanna do it again!"
Ava was happy just sitting and relaxing with her huge life vest on.
Just getting some late-day sun!

Chris as usual got worked on the tube, but so did Wynter and I. I flipped over backwards and she skillfully ducked underneath me. Not to say that we were unscathed--water went up her nose so far, and I think I had whiplash.

Havasu Trip #2

This time it was monsoon season. We were enjoying a day out on the pontoon, and then the sky suddenly turned gray. Then, numerous boats were headed away from the darkness. We were meeting some people who had rented three units that day. By the time that they got there, we figured that we had waited out the wind and rain long enough. The way back to the launch ramp it was raining and the waves were like ocean waves. Chris was running very low on fuel, and I was getting some lessons on how to ride a jetski in the ocean. We waited quite a while at the launch ramp, since everyone felt the need to escape the weather. Janet and I were chilly, but the lake water was what kept us warm while on the ski with the rain and wind. Paul and Shari were waiting on the boat, and they had some huge waves too.
The boys had fun trying to knock each other off of the ski. Good thing that they know the owners of the rental business.
We stopped in Adelanto on the way home to visit Shannon and her new baby Anaya Marie. What a doll!! Since her shower in April, their new home looked great with new paint and a new couch.

It was great to see you, Shannon! Being a mommy has treated you well!

Santa Cruz Day, July 12th

Chris and I decided to offer Bryce and Austin (our cousins) the option of a few "fun days" for their birthday and Christmas presents (last year!). They decided on The Mystery Spot and a day in Santa Cruz. The ride down was only about 3 hours, and Bryce provided free entertainment. During the first hour, he was able to get 10 honks from truckers. After that, he was only able to score 2 total. I think it was the glasses that the truckers liked!
How beautiful the fushia were. Everything just seems to grow so well at the ocean. We waited to enter with about 3 busloads of kids.
Once inside the Mystery Spot, we all had weird feelings in our guts. Whether it was our mind playing tricks on us, or the theorized gravitational pull, we still felt it. Everyone took on a 17 degree lean.
It was a gorgeous day on the ocean. The boys are used to semi private beaches like in Mendocino or Bodega Bay where there may be only a few other people out. Santa Cruz was a different story. We went on a few rides, and ate some junk. Then we decided to head over to Aptos, to Cafe Rio.
Cousin Jackie and Jeff own Cafe Rios. It was a delicious treat. We asked Garrett (5) what was good to order, and he responded "Steak and Calimari." Chris took him up on the steak offer. I enjoyed Organic chicken with herbed polenta. We had a great time catching up with them, and fell in love with the neighbourhoods as well. Their restaurant is right on the ocean, with a large dining room. Thank you for your hospitality, Jackie!

A Trip to The Bay Area

We went down to Redwood City for a visit with Dad.





We rode both days, one day through Portola Valley, and
The next day on the Bay Trail. Dad was in the lead, as
it was his 5th day cycling that week. Kinda crazy when
your Dad can kick your butt going up hill!

Our weekend was full of laughter and also very good food. He made stuffed french toast, turnovers, ribs,
and a delish tequila chicken. MMM! He had a menu all planned out and on the fridge!

Also, I can't forget to mention our stop at La Azteca for some authentic Mexican cuisine post ride.

Pictured across ---> Who says you can't play with your food?

We also went miniture golfing. Dad won, Court got second, Chris third, and me last. Oh well.















Here we are posing on our break. We ended up cycling around 23 miles each day. There was one hill that was about 2.5 miles long, and the wind was strong. I could only go about 8 miles an hour into the wind! That is not a fast way to get anywhere! But, at the end of that ride, there was a mile long downhill that we got up to speeds 35-40 mph. My forearms were sore from braking, but it was a blast to say the least!