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California

Activities for Kids, Aptos, California, Cher Joy, Family, Felton, parenthood, Phoenix, Santa Cruz

The Summer To Do list

At the start of summer we decided to plan out a monster to-do list for our little family, filled with new and old things we like to do. But looking back a lot of time was spent at our little rental house here in the Cruz, playing on the patio, making pillow forts, having balloon parties, picking blackberries on our street and riding bikes in the neighborhood. Continue Reading

California, Jace, Palm Springs, Pregnancy, Video

Cabazon Dinosaurs

IMG_3065 We’ve been talking about going to see “the dinosaurs” with Jace for almost 3 months. I had found some pictures on my Instagram feed and showed Jace and of course he immediately wanted to go. Since before Christmas we’ve been telling Jace, “yes, we’re going to go see the dinosaurs, but we have to save up enough month first .. ” Even Jace started contributing and putting change in his own piggy bank. So, as you can tell, our baby moon to Palm Springs was also centered around taking Jace to see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. And now that we’re back, he wants to go all over again >D. The day we went it was getting pretty cold, but we still made it out there, through the wind and rain. The video of Jace saying, “Want my sweater, want my sweater” just melts my heart. I know he’s cold, but it’s so funny. Just love him XO

IMG_3070 IMG_3078IMG_3081And I’m officially not letting Rob take pictures. Why he thinks he needs to zoom in, I’ll never understand. He’s definitely better at video, hahaha. Well, for the record, here are some windy shots of Jace and me:

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California, Petaluma

A trip to Lagunitas in Petaluma

Way back in January, before we had even made the decision to move back to Arizona, we took a little road trip up to Petaluma for the weekend. We had been wanting to check out the Lagunitas Brewery for quite some time and desperately wanted to get away for a couple days. Away from the dogs and weekend chores. Clear our heads, get a hotel and relax a little bit as a family.  To my surprise, Lagunitas was jam packed when we got there. Somehow we snagged a parking spot, as we waved goodbye to the tour buses that were pulling out to venture off to the next brewery tasting. We intended to stay as long as possible, to get the full experience. Even though we didn’t have the energy for the tour, you definitely should do it! I was so glad they had a nice lawn for us to play on with Jace, because almost every table was taken. Mr. Rob was treated like a King, with his name dropping and distributor partnership. What a fun day.

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A lady bug on the head is good luck, right? ;)

IMG_4592IMG_4607IMG_0951 IMG_0953After our day at the brewery, we checked into our hotel in Santa Rosa and then went on to have an AMAZING, italian dinner at LoCoco’s in downtown Santa Rosa, which was just a walk away. It was the best night. We ate so much food, and even ordered the limoncello. This weekend together was just what we needed. From the brew to the hotel to the italian to the easy drive. It was the perfect getaway.

California, Life

Saying goodbye to California.

BigSurThe decision to move back to Arizona was a hard one. We both had good jobs in California. Good friends. Good landlords. Good weather. But family won us over in the end. So, we started making all of the arrangements to move, and soon the weekend came for Rob to go back to start his new job, and it was our last weekend in California together. So, for Valentine’s Day we went for a drive along the coast. We opened the moon roof, we put the Summer Mix CD in .. we took in the ocean air and California smells one last time together,  and said goodbye. The ocean road took us to Big Sur for most of the day. We stopped at McWay Falls for an easy hike along the ocean. After, we stopped at Nepenthe to watch the sun set over the water. God must have known we were saying goodbye because he gave us the bluest sky that day. The air was warm, with a small chill around evening. Big Sur was busy with adventure seekers for the long holiday weekend, every hotel along the 1 was occupied. So many people outdoors, enjoying all the beauty California has to offer. The landscape so alive and green, on the verge of Spring. In case you can’t already tell, I’m going to desperately miss California and how gorgeous and grand it is. How green and fresh it is. The air, the jasmine, the grass, the fields of wildflowers, the trees that crawl the ocean cliff and the coastal oaks in Aptos, the sound of the waves. I’m going to miss the slow life and the sunsets. But most of all, I think I’m going to miss the life that we had begun to build. Right now it’s time to be close to family, but this life of mine isn’t over. So, California. I’ll be back. I promise you. And trust me, when I set my mind to something, it happens. Thank you God, and California for a wonderful 3 years of adventures to Tahoe, Sonoma, Napa, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and more.

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