Biking at the Beach

Last weekend was beautiful. We decided to load up the bikes and head to the beach. The weather was amazing. It was a little cool but perfect for a day in Balboa. We ate lunch at Ruby's on the pier, rode bikes all through Newport and Balboa, took a ferry over to the island, then made our way to McD's for an ice cream on our way home.

Waiting for lunch at Ruby's

This crazy character kept stealing the fish from the fisherman's lines. It was the funniest thing to watch. Then he just stopped and posed so I could take his picture.

Taking a break and enjoying the amazing weather.

I Tried!

I had every intention of keeping my blog up-to-date. However, life continues to let me know that sometimes I'm not in charge. School is my biggest reason for not keeping this updated. I am happy to report that I am down to two weeks. Two weeks until I am free from essays, reports, and endless math problems. Needless to say I am just a tad bit excited. Student teaching will not start until September so I will have an entire summer to do.....well...I'm not sure yet but I know there will be many things I can do. It has been a challenge at times but I am so thankful the end is this close. I am so anxious and excited I can hardly stand it. I have a really, REALLY bad case of Senioritis. Scott and the kids have been amazing though. They are the ones I lean on when I am tired and need extra support. It is still hard to believe that my time as a student is almost finished. I know I have more to learn with student teaching but that is so different from what I am doing now. The interaction with the students is what I most look forward to.

Fresh Start

Where to begin....

Many people think we are crazy for considering a relocation. For us...it is something Scott and I have thought long and hard about for a very long time. California is a beautiful state. We are located in such a great area; 45 minutes from the mountains and 35 minutes from the beach. The problem is not the beauty, the problem is the economy and the direction of this state.

We know the move will be a challenge and I'm sure we will question whether we are making the right decision. We just know in our hearts that we do not want our children to struggle in a state that is going no where. To give you an example, California has the second highest unemployment rate in the country! That explains why Brandon has been looking for a job for over one year!

So the question remains...where will we end up? We have narrowed our selection to three places; North Carolina, Virginia & Tennessee. Each place has pros and cons. The benefit is Scott has a job option in each place. North Carolina and Tennessee top our list for me because of my chances of getting a good teaching position. We are still weighing our options.

To be continued....

Hiking...How I Have Missed You

January 1st 2011....hiking new trails! Our new New Year's day tradition is searching for new and exciting places to hike. This year we found a beautiful trail that led to a waterfall. It was a gorgeous day. The air was cool but the sun was shining bright.

The hike took us deep into the Cleveland National Forest. The waterfall was a special treat to see. We do not have many of those so close to our house. With all the rain we had in December and early January the falls were flowing pretty good.

We stopped to eat lunch at the top.
View of where we were headed...the top!

The water was frigid!

Mady found out the hard way...with her foot!

2011....REALLY?

Is it really January 2011? Is it really almost February 2011!?! They say time goes by a lot faster when you get older. Whoever said that wasn't kidding!

It's been so long since I have updated my blog. Between school, kids and life I simply haven't had time. I decided to try and keep up on it now that the new year is here. Yes...I'm a little late into the new year to decide this. We'll see how it goes.

Here's some family pictures I took in December. We decided to save money and take them ourselves. We had so much fun. Laughed til we were in tears many times!

As you can see, my babies aren't babies anymore. 11 & 16! Scary!!

More Hiking Adventures

Spring is a wonderful time to hike. We went back to one of my favorite hiking spots in Murrietta. There is a beautiful preserve located there. There are so many different trails. The wildflowers were just coming out. Some areas were just covered in wildflowers. We packed our lunch and headed out to enjoy some outdoor time!

The bright colors of wildflowers was amazing.
When kids find water...they must throw rocks in it!

More beautiful wildflowers.

Isn't it funny that if these grew in our yard we'd call them weeds!

It was a chilly but fun day!

Mady's Lifeskills Awards

Mady's school has a Lifeskills program. Throughout the school year, students work to earn their stars. The stars are put on a certificate and displayed in the classroom. The first star you can get is red, then white and blue. From there you move to the patch. Then a silver and gold star. If you earn all of these the last thing you can get is a pin. It's a great program. As the kids get older it's a little harder to get to the pin. This year Mady has gone as high as her patch. With only four weeks of the school year left she'll probably end here. No worries though. In past grades, she has gone as high as a pin! I thought it would be fun to see how much she has changed over the course of 4th grade.

Red Star - Beginning of 4th grade
White Star

Blue Star - I love this picture of her!

Patch - She just earned this last week!