Sisters

Muir Woods

I suppose I was hasty to describe Rock City as the highlight of the tip, because the REAL highlight, perhaps of the entire year, was our visit to Muir Woods.  Wow!  This place is amazing, especially if you love big trees as much as I do.  Though it was extremely crowded, we enjoyed wandering the path and looking up in all directions to soak in the magnificent beauty of this forest.  The drive home was enjoyable as well, as we waved to the Golden Gate Bridge and the caught a glimpse of the impressive skyline of San Francisco.

Thank you Cami and Craig for the wonderful weekend.  We love you!

Mount Diablo

From Rock City, we drove 8 miles and climbed over 2,000 feet up a very windy road.  It was such a surprise to find that the road actually ends at the very tip top of the mount.  Once there, you go into a visitors center and climb a flight of stairs where the actually top sits.  This picture shows Joseph and the kids at the top. The Native Americans would yearly climb this mount for worship.  Thanks to modern convenience, we were able to get to the top, look around, and still get back to Cami's in time for Thanksgiving turkey!

Thanksgiving in Danville

This year was a Thanksgiving to remember.  The travel bug finally got to us, so we made the easy drive to Danville, CA, where the Cami and her wonderful family hosted us for Thanksgiving weekend.  We found this trip so rejuvenating.  The kids were doted on by their sweet cousins, we ate amazing food, and spent lots of time outdoors exploring the beautiful scenery of the bay area.  I can see why people are willing to spend big bucks to live here!

Perhaps the highlight was our trip to Rock City, at the base of Mount Diablo.  For kids that like to explore caves and climb, this was heaven!

Sunset at the Beach

These kinds of outings are so good for the soul.

Happy Birthday James!

James is officially 9!  Lucky for him, we took a sick day at school (he really was sick) and researched a few gear bikes on Craigslist.  This one was the winner!

I love James for his easy going personality.  He has taken up some new interests this year, including reptiles, race cars, and sports.  If I hear thumping throughout the house, it is usually James with his football, making passes to himself.  When we take the pass game outdoors, he will never tire.  Being "buff" is important to him, which motivates him to crank out 30 pushups in one minute, arm wrestle every kid at school, and insist on carrying anything I can think of during our family outings.   Despite these accomplishments, James is tenderhearted kid.  I watch him look out for his siblings and empathetically describe some of the challenges other kids face at school. He is very conscientious about making good choices and choosing good friends.  Love you James!

Life Comes Fast

Just as we finally recovered financially from our slab leak in September, another leak hit in early November.  Turns out it was a tiny pinhole leak, literally naked to the eye, that was spewing from the pipe that feeds into our shower.  Rather than pay for the expensive demolition and clean up, we spent an evening ripping out the wet walls ourselves.  I learned why every man needs a crowbar, because ours certainly saved the day.

The great thing about life is that there are always patches of sunlight amid the storm clouds.  Johnny is such a source of joy in our family.  He is an expert at smiles and giggles and will comply with any sibling that wants to entertain him for a while.  It turns out that he is quite the social boy and will attempt to talk to any baby that we come across on our errands.

My Samantha Doll collection came out of the rafters the other day, much to the delight of Ruth and Emmy.  It's been fun revisiting all the playtime that I enjoyed as a young girl.  Ruth now wants a doll of her own for Christmas.  She will have be be a really good girl.