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Santa Cruz

Rodoni Farms

You guessed it. Rodoni Farms! I promised Rob I wouldn’t go crazy with the photos, but we did snap a few. What a selection Rodoni has. My goodness. They had every breed of pumpkin available. Even the Cinderella pumpkins {which I love!}. This year I’ve particularly been drawn to the white pumpkins. What I also love about Rodoni is the field sits on a hillside, overlooking the ocean. And boy is that ocean breeze intoxicating. The perfect end to a Fall day in California.

{the ocean air doesn’t allow for the best hair.
But it doesn’t get much better than smelling the ocean and kissing my baby’s cheeks.}

And there you have it. A baby sitting in a field of pumpkins. A very pale baby but a baby at that!

October 21, 2014 by cherjoy

Half Moon Bay, Halloween, Santa Cruz, Video

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival + a video

This last weekend we went to the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival. We’ve been so caught up with moving and work that I wanted us to take a little road trip somewhere close by and near the ocean;) So, we headed to the little town of Half Moon Bay. Their annual festival was packed with pumpkin everything – pumpkin macaroni & cheese, pumpkin chili, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin ice-cream – pumpkin you name it! There were giant pumpkins every where you looked, different craft stations for kids, a pumpkin pie eating contest, world class pumpkin carvers and a festival parade {which we missed because we were eating something pumpkin-y}. It was such a fun day of music and art and pumpkin eating! After the crowd got the best of us {really, I was starting to get claustrophobic}, we said goodbye to the festival and headed home. On the way back into Santa Cruz we stopped at Rodoni Farms. Rob insisted that because Jace won’t necessarily remember any of this pumpkin fun, that we didn’t need to go overboard on the pictures, or actually pick out a pumpkin, so we enjoyed the view and smell of the ocean, obnoxiously put Jace in the piles of pumpkins and giggled over his obsession with the hay. More pictures on Rodoni next!

{the pumpkin-tini was delish}

{not sure Jace is a pumpkin fan just yet.}

{broom anyone?}

{for being quite the pumpkin pie fanatic, I must say their “famous” pie was pretty good.

And why have I never put cinnamon on my pumpkin pie before?! It’s delicious!}

{babies in flannels kill me.}

October 20, 2014 by cherjoy

Marriage, Santa Cruz

Date night at 515 Kitchen & Cocktails

This summer is seriously flying by, and so has our time with visitors. But with visitors also come the opportunity of a date night! Which we don’t get much of with it just being us out here. So, when Rob’s Mom and Stepdad came out {more on that later!}, they offered us a night to go out. Rob and I were so excited to have some time together. It’d been too long. We’ve had our eyes on this cute, vintage house in downtown Santa Cruz for a while, called 515 kitchen & cocktails. It has a rooftop deck, with seating and lights – a dark romantic inside, a hipster crowd and a great happy hour. We had the best time. Rob and I love talking about life and work and friends and things we can’t wait to do, and what’s next, where to go. . and how much we love our son and California. He’s really my most favorite person to talk to that man. From there we hopped over to the bookshop {so I could pick up Divergent}, then to a great new sushi restaurant we heard about. Really, one of the best date nights we’ve had this year. Thank you, Teri & Paul. And for those Santa Cruzans out there, if you go to 515 Kitchen & Cocktails during their happy hour, order the Le Pamplemousse. It’s amazing and pictured below {with Rob’s old fashion}.

August 1, 2014 by cherjoy

Jace, Santa Cruz

Dedicating Jace

This past Sunday was a really special day for us. Not only was it Father’s Day, but it was also the day we dedicated Jace at our church. We stood in front of our closest friends in California and church community and voiced our commitment to raise Jace in a Christian environment. We promised to be role models by word and deed, by instruction and example, and by correction and encouragement, as we lead him in the ways of Jesus. We promised to whole-heartedly seek God’s love, grace, and wisdom, recognizing our dependence on him as we raise Jace.

{the little baby girl to our right was also 4 1/2 months old. Same age as Jace and half his size!}

{Robby joking that Jace was going to be a future power forward}

We also commited to praying the following prayer for him throughout his life. As we prayed we anointed his little body parts with oil {in which he tried to eat}:

May his mind have your wisdom. May his eyes see your glory. May his ears hear your voice. May his mouth tell your truth. May his heart be your home. May his hands do your work. May his feet follow wherever you lead. And may his knees only bow before you, his loving Lord and God.

A big thank you to our friends who came to share in this day with us. We are truly so blessed, every day, in so many ways. Thank you God for watching over us and continuing to pour your love onto us.

June 17, 2014 by cherjoy

Family, Holidays, Jace, Santa Cruz

Easter Sunday at Vintage Faith

On Easter Sunday we went to church for the first time as a family. It was so special. Our church brought together all 4 gatherings for one big service at the Civic Center downtown. Not only was it resurrection day {he has risen!}, but we got to celebrate together as a whole church, no split services. It was a pretty awesome morning — the Civic Center was bumping with great song, prayer, worship and performances by Wanda Jackson. The message of the day? God is the light. May we continue to follow him and learn from his teachings and share his love with those around us. Lately I’ve been feeling like the world is coming down on my shoulders, so this message hit hard. No bad day or insecure thought is really that big a deal when you have God by your side. There is always light, thanks to what Jesus did for us. Hope you all had nice Easter with your loved ones!

John 8:12 — Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”