From the Beach to the Lake...From 70 Degrees to 119 Degrees

Have I mentioned how much I love my friends? I have great friends. Couldn't make it through life without them. My friends also have some of the world's cutest children. I am not biased or anything. A great example of what I just mentioned above would be my friends Kevin and Tara and their daughter Ella. They invite me to go camping and other places with them often. In this particular post, however, I am specifically referring to camping in Carpinteria and then heading to Laughlin the next weekend for some time on the lake. In Carpinteria, the temperatures were lovely and even more surprising, there was virtually no overcast skies in the mornings.

We woke up to bright sunny blue skies. Ella enjoyed the sand, even to the point of putting some in her mouth and chowing down.

Laughlin was very different. Still bright blue skies and lots of sun...but the first day we were there it was 119 degrees. I thought it was hot at my mom's house. Truly, I cannot remember ever feeling heat like 119 degrees. It was pretty miserable outside, so we were thankful for air conditioning, the cool lake water, and even the lukewarm pool. Boy did we get treated to a spectacular sunset as we headed back from the lake! It was fun to stay in the hotel, enjoy the dinner buffet (HELLO, crab legs...so nice to make your acquaintance!), and just continue to soak up every moment of summer.

4th of July in Arizona

Fourth of July was spent in Arizona with my mom. On the actual day of July 4th, we traveled to Goodyear (about half an hour away from Surprise) and spent the day with the Gutwein family. Rich and Pat actually live about a mile from my mom, but their son Rich, daughter-in-law Julie, and the grandkids, Abby and Wesley, live in Goodyear. We have known the Gutweins for years and years. I went to grade school with Richie and their other son Tom, and then I went to high school and college with Richie and Julie. Julie and I even roomed together (my senior year, her freshman year) at Master's and had so much fun. As you can see from the picture of my mom and Julie below, we worked really hard celebrating Independence Day. It was definintely hotter in Arizona that I was used to. Many days were around 110 and the 4th was no exception. So, we spent a lot of the day in the pool. When I returned to Palmdale, I felt like I almost needed a sweatshirt for our 90 degree temperatures. With pools and air conditioning, however, it was manageable.

Abby and Wesley decided to have a cannonball contest, so we were entertained by their creative cannonballs--and with temperatures so warm, we didn't even mind getting splashed! It was so fun to spend time with friends who are more like family to us. It was also good to contemplate how blessed we are to live in a country that allows us the freedom to be able to do so. Hope that you all had a great 4th of July too!

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

For Memorial Day Weekend, I enjoyed two fun adventures. The first part of the weekend I spent in Ladera Ranch with my friends Monett and Brian and their adorable little girl (who recently turned 1!), Milanna. It was fun to spend a couple of nights with them and just relax. We went to the park near their house, walked around the mall a bit, and just enjoyed hanging out. It was fun to watch Milanna since the last time I saw her, she was just 3 or 4 months old. Now she is walking around and has the cutest personality. As you can see from the pictures, she clearly has good genes--and aren't her blue eyes amazing? I enjoyed getting a chance to use my new camera while I was there. Just so you all know, I am going crazy with my new camera and take pictures every chance I get, so if you are hanging out with me, prepare to have your picture taken--a lot.

For the second part of that weekend, I got to spend the day down in San Clemente with the Davidson clan. Their family camps at the beach in San Clemente every Memorial Day Weekend, but this was my first visit while they were down there.

You'll have to forgive me for being a bit one sided with my camera, but sweet little Samuel Andrew Davidson had my attention for most of the day. The weather was perfect and Sammy was just too cute for words. He turns ONE just a few weeks from now and I can't believe how quickly the year has gone. I feel like it was just yesterday when he was born. However, he just gets cuter with age. It's so fun to watch his personality develop. He is a joy.

Hmmmm...not so good at keeping up my blog.

I don't even know where to begin. Here is this swell (and yes, as my friend Joanne mentioned, I probably have been watching one too many episodes of "Leave it to Beaver," but I like the word "swell," so I am going to keep on using it!) way to keep friends and family updated on my life and I don't actually do much updating. It has nothing to do with ease of use, for this is an incredibly easy website. I think my problem is when I get so far behind I feel overwhelmed and it's easier for me to just ignore it rather than dealing with it. I am sure none of you care, but here is a run down on the last almost year of my life.

I will start with Thanksgiving. Not sure why, but I am too lazy to check the last post I wrote on here and Thanksgiving seems like a good place to start. (I find it a teensy bit ironic that I was willing to take the time and trouble of making sure there was Christmas music on my blog at Christmas time, but couldn't be bothered to actually take the time to add pictures and write a little something about my life!) On to Thanksgiving! For Turkey Day, I got the chance to head out to visit my sister and brother-in-law in lovely Idaho. There is something so serene about where they live (Donnelly, to be exact) and I really enjoy the beauty of the creation around me. Of course, getting to ride the quad and spending lots of quality time with my sister and brother-in-law also figure prominently in the fun I had. It's just a very different pace than what I am used to and it was (and always is) a welcome break from the life I normally live. There was lots of poker playing, puzzle putting together, football watching, and oh yeah--cooking! Steph (my beautiful and incredibly talented sister) even put up with me suddenly deciding I wanted to try my hand at baking from scratch. The lemon bars and pumpkin tarts actually turned out well, I am happy to report! Thanksgiving dinner was delectable and the table looked so picturesque. Steph has a way of making simple objects look extraordinary, as demonstrated by her centerpiece with the berries, leaves, pinecones, candles, etc. Fun was had by all and it was a joy to spend time with family and friends. It helped that Dallas won the football game that day too!

One of the coolest things to happen here in Palmdale between Thanksgiving and Christmas...IT SNOWED! In fact, it snowed enough that we even ended up with approximately (because I can't remember specifically now--yep--it was that long ago) 2.5 snow days. When I think of snow days, I think of places like Minnesota or even Idaho...not Palmdale. It snows here from time to time, but this was pretty incredible.

Good times! I would be more than happy to have that happen again every year. It was a great way to end the last few days before Christmas break. For me, the best part (in addition to the extra vacation days) was waking up the next morning to see a white winter wonderland. It was beautiful.

Now for Christmas! I love Christmas. I spent Christmas with my mom in Arizona, so I left the snowy white, err, I mean slushy muddy brown mess aftermath of the snow, scenery in Palmdale to head to the desert of Surprise, Arizona. I still think it's funny that my mom lives in a city called Surprise. The climate was a tad different, but I welcomed the warmer temperatures. One of the best parts about visiting my mom is getting to spend time with our cousins who reside in Scottsdale. John and Julie Caviness and their kids John Justin, Vanessa, and Donald are all so much fun to be around and boy do those kids have energy. The Energizer bunny has nothing on them. Once again, I was reminded how blessed I am to have such an amazing family. Christmas, after all, isn't about all the gifts you receive. Spending time with family is such a good reminder of that!

A very exciting thing happened on New Year's Day. I got the privilege of attending the Rose Parade! I didn't even have to camp all night in the freezing cold! My dear friends, Dan and Elaine, invited me to go along with them, their 2 kids, and Dan's mom. It was an early morning and very chilly, but definitely worth it. Such a difference seeing the floats up close as opposed to watching them on television. I still remember as a little girl when my mom and dad would make getting up and watching the parade a huge deal. Mom made mouth-watering coffee cake and it is one of my favorite memories growing up. I don't even think I have watched the parade for the last several years, so getting to see it in that capacity definitely brought all those memories back. So, maybe next year I will get up early, bake myself some coffee cake, and enjoy the hard work and artistry from the comfort of my living room. I highly recommend everyone taking the opportunity to enjoy the experience of seeing the parade in person at least once in your life. It was a feast for the eyes! I think the Sesame Street float was my favorite. All the floats in the parade were beautiful, but the Sesame Street float had that extra element of nostalgia since I loved that show as a little girl. Plus, Bob from Sesame Street was on the front leading the crowd in singing the theme song. He has definitely gotten older, but hey--I am no spring chicken myself.

OK--so I know that only brings it up to January 1. Things have obviously happened since then, but nothing particularly exciting until I got my new camera in March during Spring Break while I was visiting my mom in Arizona. So, I am tired, but will work more on updating tomorrow.