Pictures of the recent fun

Our vacation location: The Plan Sea out of Chula Vista



Plenty of room for 6 adults and 1 baby. As long as most of the time is spent on deck!

Rob's favorite plants appear to be palm trees. He loves taking pictures of them or being photographed with them. This is out along the jetty where there's a park and path. It was a beautiful morning and we passed a couple of groups doing tai chi in the park.



Dad made sure they had a PFD for Giselle on board. Is she conveying an acceptance to wearing it or astonishment over Dad's hair?



Mom also got quality time with Gigi. Here they are, both in their fleece. Although I think Gigi's was footed and Mom's was only a jacket.



Here's the entire Barrera clan: Tony, Kim and Gigi. They got to enjoy nicer weather than what was happening back home in the Mid-West.



Mom & Dad had a kayak moored along side the boat. Rob spent some time tooling about the harbor. I'd hoped to be able to give it a try myself, but the wind was picking up with Rob came back in. Maybe next time.

Where has the time gone?

It's been over a month since I last blogged. Facebook has taken over my life. It's so easy to hop on and see what little things people are doing. And I'm totally caught up in Hatchlings (find an egg! watch it hatch! feed the pets!).

But much has happened in the last few weeks.

March
* I went to Chicago in March and had a lovely time with my newest niece. Since she's only 4 months old (at the time), I also was able to spend time with her parents, my sister and her husband.
* I returned to Vancouver in time to sleep in my own bed and then head out to Ellensburg to visit our daughter. We spent quality time with her in the emergency room where she was checked out for a concussion from a car accident the night before. We went over items for her to do for her upcoming trip to Scotland, paid for Spring quarter and returned to Vancouver on Monday in time for me to . . .
* Teach at bible study that night and again on Tuesday morning
* I vegged out the next two days and then cleaned the house in time for my other sister to arrive with her girls for a quick visit. We had my brother's kids, her girls and our son overnight for a very full house.
* I was happy to return to work for the last two weeks of March.

April
* We went to San Diego to visit Mom and Dad and had the opportunity to see Kim, Tony and Giselle in SD as well.
* We learned first the delay of our daughter's wedding and then the cancellation of it within a 24 hour period
* Rob just celebrated his 46th birthday

I'm looking at the calendar and we still have an upcoming visit from my brother-in-law, 3 more weeks of bible study, another week off in May for me and an anniversary trip for us to Eagle Crest.

All of these things going on and I need to take my health back in hand. I keep going back and forth about doing WeightWatchers again and trying to get up the energy to workout. I need to, but the "want to" aspect is running quite low.

I have pictures. I need to upload and share.

I've been lost in Ravelry with the knitting projects, but seem to be knitting less.

I've taken far fewer pictures than I want to.

I've read far fewer books than last year.

Seems like less is happening but I'm not sure where the big time suck is.

But Erin graduated high school in June with her HS diploma and her AA from Clark College. Here's Rob and Erin on that very chilly June night.


She left for college in September. This is actually two photos side by side to show how small a room she has.


Rob and I escaped to the Oregon coast for 5 days in October. Here's a sunset outside our room.


We kept driving past this window:


Had to take a pic of it for you, Mom!

Vacation Plans

Woo to the Hoo! We have actually booked some vacation for once. There are things to look forward to :)

In April, we'll take a day off for Rob's birthday. Go out for breakfast, head to Powell's, bum around Portland and end the day with chocolate brownies, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

In May, Rob and I have our 10th anniversary. It falls on a Wednesday this year, so we're taking Thursday and Friday off to head down to Klamath Falls. Rob's never been to Crater Lake so we're hoping to see that, go the the Lava Beds, and maybe we'll go to Websters for souvenir yarn.

But the biggie will be in the last week of October when we head to West Yellowstone. Rob's never been there either. We'll be exploring Yellowstone for a week - just the two of us. (note to self - look for yarn store)

Yay us!

Catching up

So, I've been to California and Chicago, finished a couple pairs of socks, read a few books, knit on a gift, had another child move in, changed job functions, rearranged book cases . . . ummm . . . done other things I'll think of later since we last talked.

Below is a photo of the sisters and mom taken in Chicago. We were standing around by the car in the parking lot of a Container Store. 

Why were we standing in a parking lot? Well, Mom & Kim (wearing pink and navy respectively) had gone to put the shopping bags into Kim's car. Chris (in light blue) and I headed to the Office Max/Depot (can't remember which) to look for a couple of things for Kim's apartment.

Mom came to find us so we could call AAA.

Apparently, while loading the car, my sister's purse was placed into the back seat out of the way by Mom. Once everything was loaded, Kim shut the trunk and ended up shutting us out of the car. She had unlocked ONLY the trunk and the keys were in her purse. 

See her purse?

The first guy AAA sent out couldn't unlock the Beetle Kim drives. We called AAA and they decided to send a locksmith. On a Sunday. They said they'd call when one was on the way.

No call.

Eventually one did show up (after we'd decided to cab it back into the city to get the spare keys). He popped it open to a round of applause and we immediately headed out to lunch.

Lurve my AAA.

 
We did manage to exit her apartment (pictures and story to come later) and do a little shopping and sight-seeing. Here's my obligatory tourist photo of the Bean.

 
Kim? This one is for you - the promised picture from Khylee.

And I swear the box is on the way! Yes, I a lame-o and you could have starved to death before getting the promised pasta packages or run out of gas or whatever.

But look at your niece! She loves her Auntie Kimmy! Disney goodness from a beloved niece is on the way!

Forgive me yet?

More knitting goodness on the way! 

12 business days and counting

Vacation!

We're off on Wednesday, Aug 9 and headed here to begin our time off. We'll see some frogs, some scenery and what Rob's looking forward to - trees.

After a couple of days, we'll head to San Diego to see Mom & Dad. Rob's not big on touristy stuff, so we're not likely to see Shamu. However, M&D live only a few blocks from Balboa Park so we'll check it out. Probably go sailing one day. Rob would like to see Hell Week if it's going on.

OK, the main reason to go? Tickets to see the Packers play.

We'll get back, have a day at home and then Rob will go to work and I'll head out to Chicago to see the sis. But this isn't just a regular trip. Nope. Kim will be hosting her mom and 2 sisters at the same time. All four of us together for a few days so we're going to set the town on fire.

Just a brief post, I need to finish a sweater for a niece's birthday. Pictures to come.