Gardening

When we were visiting family in Oklahoma on our way out here, my dad gave Joshua a packet of "Magic Beans" to plant in our new backyard. Joshua waited, not necessarily patiently, until planting day finally came. I think it was on July 2. Here are some pictures of our progress so far. Just one month into it.

Joshua got to help water after he helped plant. He still loves to water those plants most days of the week.

This picture is just about 3 weeks into the process... sorry I don't have up to date photos here. This is a picture of Joshua's feet as he inspects the magic beans. They sure seem to be doing well so far. Hope they give us some food soon.

This is a mound of cantaloupe.

And here are the carrots. I think they need to be thinned a bit. We planted awfully late in the season, but we're hoping that the magic soil of California will help in this process. Wish us luck!

New Brighton Beach

On July 1, Peter had a holiday, so we decided to take the kids to the beach. Peter's mom told us about New Brighton Beach where they would go when she was growing up, so we figured we'd try that one out. I was surprised to see bonfire pits all over the beach, but apparently, people like to gather there in the evenings, and they need the fires to stay warm. It's definitely a different experience here than back in Florida, but it was nice to see and hear the ocean again.



Peter and the kids heading down to check out the water.

Jessie had a great time running away from the water as it would roll in. Then she chased it on the way back out.

Part of every good trip to the beach includes a well made castle in the sand with a great moat to protect it.


Did you know that the current here comes down from Alaska? When you step in the water, it feels like sticking your feet in a cup of ice water. Brrrr! So, my take on the Pacific vs. the Atlantic.... If you like to surf, and are willing to wear a wet suit, the Pacific is the right choice for you. Apparently, the waves are bigger here. BUT, if you are like me, and like to play in the water and sit on the nice warm beach, the Florida Atlantic is the way to go. I will miss the Atlantic, but I know as soon as I figure out how to handle cold, I will learn to love the Pacific too.

The kids didn't seem to mind the cold one bit, and had an absolute blast the whole time.

Our New Home

Here we are, in California! Who'd have ever thunk we'd be living in the bay area? Not I, that's for sure. But it is a very nice area to be. Except that they are sorely lacking in several of my favorite brands at the store. I guess that's the culture shock I'm supposed to get used to. Other than that, the weather is generally very nice. Today was hot, up in the 90's. Which doesn't seem so bad, until you realize that most of the older houses around here, which is what we live in, do not have air conditioning. I guess the excuse is that it always drops to the 50's or 60's at night, so your house cools down anyway, so why pay to do it? Anyhow, the highs are typically in the 70's or 80's right now with lows in the 50's or 60's. You really couldn't ask for nicer weather.

Now on to our house. When we got here on June 1, we had no idea where we'd live. On June 2, my wonderful cousin Beth came and watched the kids so we could look at houses. The house we're in now, was the last house we looked at that day. So, by the 2nd day we were here, we knew where we were going to live. That was very nice. Now for some pictures.

This is the view of the front of the house. It looks tiny, but it's not.

Here is the view from the drive way. We live on a cul-de-sac which has been very nice for the kids. They understand that they have to look for cars, and get out of the street if they see any coming. They tend to do pretty well with this rule, and since it's the cul-de-sac, there's not much traffic to worry about. Wonderful.

View of the living room from entry way. It's a bit narrow, so our couch and chairs are a bit awkward, but that's okay. It works. I love the large window with the view of the cul-de-sac.

Another angle of the living room

Back of Living Room from Entry Way Looking into Dining Room. You can kind of see in this photo at the top that the ceiling in the living room is vaulted, so it feels really quite big in here. The door goes to the garage. Nice to finally have one of those.

Kids Play Area in Living Room. We have too many toys. I don't know how we ever fit all of it in our smaller apartment. Funny how that is. It fit there, but not here... hmmm.... And here's Jessie making good use of the play area as well.

Here's the kitchen. The peninsula is super wide so we really have a lot of counter space.

And the dining room. It's supposed to be the family room, and our kid's play area is the dining room, but a dining room with carpet doesn't work with little kids, and a family room with linoleum doesn't make a ton of sense, so there you go. We have a fire place in our dining room. :)

Joshua was jumping in front of the cameras. He's right. Pictures of him are more important than picture of the house. Here he is in the hall back to the bedrooms.

Emily needed a turn to jump in front of the camera then. Too bad she's not as tall as Joshua, huh? This is the girl's room. The two kids' rooms were made a little small to accommodate a very large master bedroom.

Josh's Room

Master Bedroom, along with the all important level. ;)

More master bedroom, and more all important level. Thank you Joshua for making sure we didn't miss that.

Backyard. Note: The wall behind the banana tree is the wall of our neighbor's house. I told you they were close here.

More backyard. Josh was having so much fun. Can you tell?

Garden Area in Backyard. Too bad Josh was a little too slow on this one.

So, that is our house. We love it here and look forward to living here for at least a few years.