The Beauty of Home

As a teenager, I wanted to see the world.  I couldn't wait to go to college and move away from my little corner of Northern California.  Now that I've lived in the desert for almost 8 years, I see the ordinary beauty of my hometown with new eyes every time I go home to visit.  This park was always the source of negative memories as a teenager... I worked a summer job here that I hated, and my track coach liked to make us run up the hills here for training.  Needless to say, I didn't have fond memories of Pena Adobe.  

Cousins

My brother-in-law is now raising his family in my home town, so while we were visiting, they suggested hiking together in Pena Adobe.  Not only was it fun, but gorgeous too.  Early winter rains had turned the hills green and it was beautiful. 

There's many fire roads and trails that lead to the tops of surrounding hills, so we tackled one my nieces   and nephews are particulary fond of.  There's a super big oak tree with lots of low branches for swinging, climbing and playing.

          

             

 

               

   

Almost done with our hike, we made the kids pose on these rocks for a photo.  

 We had so much fun, I'll think we'll make hiking Pena Adobe a regular addition to our "must do" list while we are home visiting.  Maybe next time it will even be a bit warmer.  ;-)

As Seen By My iPhone

There were certain pictures from our trip that I only got on my iPhone.  Just wanted to share these random, sweet moments... in no particular order at all!

Dinner in Dublin with our dear friends, the Daytons.  I think Max wants to kiss Jared!

Taylor teaching Maris how to text.  

The view from our bike ride on Christmas Eve morning.

The stockings were hung at grandma's house, ready for Christmas morning!

Thankful for my handy hubby who helped my dad fix the microwave when I blew a fuse trying to cook B's lunch.

Hiking with Jeff and Molly's family in Pena Adobe.  I never appreciated this place when I lived here.

My mom trying out Taylor's airsoft shotgun.
She certainly looks like she knows what she is doing!

Maris at the museum.
It was so hard for her to be trapped in a stroller while all the bigs kids got to roam free.

My Temple at Christmas Time.  LOVE.

Brayden and my nephew, Dallyn.  They are three weeks apart and have all the same loves... swords, nerf guns, and Ninjago!  What a surprise it was to find out they both got the exact same pj's for Christmas.  When they had a sleepover, I had to mark B's tags with his name so we didn't get them mixed up and accidentally leave them behind.

These girls hide from my Nikon, but they love getting their picture taken on my iPhone.
Love my neices... they are amazing!

The celebratory cake for the wedding anniversaries.  My mom has a friend
who can make amazing cakes gluten free and dairy free (just for her).
It was beautiful and didn't taste half bad, either!

Ian playing the Wii with Kate and Matt.  Love these cuties!

Max hanging with Charlie.  You'd never know they are the same breed.  Max is so big next to his "uncle Charlie".

Skyline Park

We were so thankful we stayed two weeks in California, because the first week was wet and rainy.  Week two was much nicer!  We were looking for a place to go for a day trip with the family... something family friendly, cheap and fun for all ages.  We were originally thinking about Muir Woods, but then my brother-in-law suggested Skyline Park in Napa.  Seriously brilliant.  Cheap, no crowds and only 30 minutes away for all of us!

Ethan, Brayden, Matt, Kate and Dallyn finding swords  sticks while we ate lunch.

Lots of beautiful picnic areas everywhere!

I could have admired this view ALL day.... sigh....

How nice of the park to provide a port potty.  It looked attractive, but the smell was horrific.
Given it's location along the trail, it probably doesn't get a lot of maintenance. 

Megan and Kate

At first the road was surrounded by oaks and scrub brush, but the deeper we walked into the canyon, the prettier it got.

Ferns, rocks and a waterfall... what more could you ask for?  Is this really just a few miles from downtown Napa?

Moss and lichen were growing on EVERYTHING!

Nine cousins made this hike.  Lyndi was missed, but stayed home sick with a 24 hour flu bug.  

This lake was our final destination for the day.  It was absolutely gorgeous!

Proof I was there.... I often have to ask people to take my picture or I won't end up being in any at all.  I'm so glad all my kids have a love for the outdoors.  I love spending time with our family!

20 Years and Counting...

I'm not sure if it was fate or not, but we ended up being home visiting during our 20th wedding anniversary.  This beautiful LDS temple was where we were married in Oakland, CA. 

This is the view of the Bay from terrace on top of the Temple

This temple has always been my favorite.  It's the temple I grew up going to for baptisms, and it's the temple I vowed I would be married in.  I was lucky that Eric was also from the Bay Area, so there was no debate about our wedding location when the time came!

Pictures like this make me Sooooo homesick for my Bay Area.... 

There is a beautiful christmas light display at the Oakland Temple.  We were lucky that the night we picked to go was pretty quiet.  We really did have the place to ourselves.  (Maybe because it was COLD and windy....)

Every year the temple has been closed during Christmas vacation for one of it's bi-annual cleanings.  They will open up one day during that time to accomodate live sealings.  So, we've never been able to go back to the temple and do any work there for our anniversary.  Since I knew we'd be there for our 20th anniversary, I decided to check the schedule again, just in case, and guess what... they were open! We were able to take some family names and go do proxy sealings for some of Eric's ancestors.  It's been too long since we've been in the sealing room, and I was super grateful to be able to go back and be reminded of the special blessings that come with a temple marriage.

This was the only picture I managed to get of Eric and I in front of Our Temple.  I'm so thankful to have him in my life.  Best decision I ever made!