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Friday, May 31, 2013

A big project

Upon arriving home we were greeted with our sweet friends with smiling faces who were at the airport to chauffeur us home again.  We were also greeted with only 50 degrees.  We had acclimated to the warm, 80s of California quickly and were missing them immediately!

It did feel so good to get home to our familiar farm, to sleep in our own soft beds, and hear nothing but an occasional frog or owl.  {Very different from the constant traffic on the Boulevard where our home away from home was located.}

BUT - no rest for the weary.  The next day amidst piles of laundry, we started that HUGE project I mentioned a few months back.  The thing I have been dreading.  The job that is worse than moving! 
This...


Because of this...


A dishwasher leak, that was slow, and steady, and undetected until the vinyl flooring started to bubble up.  Since our carpeting was in very sad shape, we decided to replace everything with wood laminate. {Requiring the emptying the contents of each room, finding a place to put it all, and shuffling it around to make room to do the next place.}


Eric's work crew


It's gettin' there

They worked five solid days with very late nights, but it's almost done.   I'm working on painting the trim.   We still have our master bedroom to do, but it is a bit overwhelming to see everything everywhere so we decided to focus on getting the trim back on and the rest of the house put back together before we add more chaos. 

I am going to sneak in a project {after the molding but before the bedroom}.  I am FINALLY going to paint the kitchen cupboards.  It's the perfect time since the molding is off.  I am using the same kit from Rust-Oleum.  It is called Cabinet Transformations. It requires no stripping or sanding.  It's so simple to use.
We are painting the kitchen cabinets an antique white to brighten it up a bit. 

Stay tuned...



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Cali- Day 7

I can't really say that we saved the best for last because each day of our vacation had something unique and memorable, but we couldn't very well travel all the way to California and not get at least one day at the beach!

Ahhh, the beautiful beach, our most favorite place to be.

We chose to go to Seal Beach because it's a charming little beach town with super cute shops, one of our favorite little restaurants, and it was where Eric used to run the crew/supply boats from the pier out to the oil rigs.

The BEST fish tacos!


I want to live passionately, love deeply, pray faithfully, and surf DAILY!


Hittin' the beach




Checkin' the surf




Eric was telling Dan that he used to ran a boat much like that red one from the pier to the oil rigs. 



My favorite super hero!


Searching for sea shells...little ones are everywhere








Coffee fix



Playin'








You can't very well go to the beach and not stay for the beautiful sunset. 
Sort of fitting way to end our vacation.

Did you know that there is a Scripture reference on the bottom of their cups? 
Did you also know that at every In-N-Out there are two intertwined palm trees?
 
Our day at the beach was just what we needed. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Cali - Day 6 - Sun, Fun, and Friends

Mom and Bill came to check out the place we called "home" for the week.   They are busy and always on the go {as are we} so it was nice to be able to see them one more time while we were there.   Saying Good-Bye is always hard and often tearful.  Self timed photos make a good laugh!


In the afternoon, we went to the Harasick's home.  We had been looking forward to this day -  to be able to spend time with them and not have to share them with anyone! 

The pool was so refreshing and enjoyable.



Soaking up the sun {but trying to keep previously sun-burned parts covered ;-) }


We enjoyed Italian sodas and snacks poolside.  For supper Rich grilled tri-tip to perfection, and Karen made roasted red potatoes and a couple of delicious salads to go along with it.  {This just two days after the wedding...they have an AMAZING gift of hospitality!}

Some where in there Emma had the idea to make a Target run with the Olders to buy the game Quelf.  Eric also wanted to pick up a pair of Flojos so he went along too.   Emma not only bought the game,  but a pair of shoes too.  They stopped in at Tilly's where Hannah bought some darling sandles, but sadly, Eric had to settle for plain flip flops.  Flojos were not to be found on this trip. On their way home, Emma impulsively thought they all needed Krispy Kreme donuts.  Eric chimed in that if they were hot, he'd buy....
the HOT NOW sign was on!

 Enjoying a game of Quelf with coffee and Krispy Kremes...with whipping cream on top.
{Because donuts alone are not sweet enough! ;-) }  The later it got, the sillier they got!



  Others of us enjoyed the Jacuzzi. 


This trip created more great memories with super special friends!!
  

Monday, May 27, 2013

Cali - Day 5

We were looking forward to going to Grace Community Church and hearing John MacArthur preach, but wouldn't you know, he was on vacation.  We were blessed by the message we did hear.

After church we had plans to go to Griffith Park.  It's a huge park with a Carousel, Travel Town, Griffith Park Observatory, and even the Los Angeles Zoo all located within different parts of the park. 
When I was a kid I used to enjoy going to Travel Town.  It has all sorts of old train cars that you could climb up in and check out.  The Los Angeles Live Steamers club also operates small scale live steam engines that you can ride on around a small track. 
Mary wasn't big enough to ride, so I stayed behind with her and took some photos.


Travel Town is free and the Live Steamers are donation only, however,
when we were greeted at the entrance window, the "suggested donation price" was stated in such a way that we didn't feel like we had much say in the amount.  That was a little disappointing as we had hoped for a frugal day at the park.

A lot has changed since I last visited.  They no longer allow you climb on the trains, except a couple of them.  I was hoping to get some fun, artsy photo shots of the older kids.   I did get a few fun ones.  
 
 





















There was construction on the road which leads from the Travel Town area to the Observatory area so we had to take the long way around.  So did EVERYONE else.  Beautiful, sunny, mild weather beckons everyone to enjoy a day at the park.  The parking lot for the Observatory was full and the nearest parking from there was about a mile away up a narrow, winding, sloping road.  It would have meant carrying the little ones and all of us were pretty worn out.  We opted to skip the Observatory.  I was bummed because from there you get a terrific view of the Hollywood Sign {for free!} .
We never did find where the carousel was.

We decided to show the kids where we met some 26 years ago.  You can read our story here.
Yep, the Mobil gas station is still there. 

 
He will forever be my Knight in shining armor!

We headed back to the condo for an early supper.  That was the first evening that we chilled in front of the T.V.  We were all pretty happy to hit the sack early!