It was great to see all of my siblings and for my sister and brother-in-law to meet Jacob for the first time! He loved his auntie and uncle! We had an enjoyable Christmas with Jacob being spoiled with clothes and toys!

Then it was on to San Francisco to spend time with James’ family…We had one day where the whole family was together (my brother-in-law had to fly home for work) but we used the time to get family pictures and play games! It was also Jacob’s first time meeting his cousins, Melissa and Anthony, and his Auntie Mary and Uncle John! He loved all of them also.

As we head into this New Year I am so thankful for all blessings in my life. We celebrated James’ 26th birthday yesterday and that celebration will continue until Friday night. I just want to say thank you to all my friends and family who love me and encourage me! Sometimes life isn’t easy but know I have such a wonderful support system makes things a little easier!

Leading up to this week he had a week off and this allowed us to get away for a short family vacation.  Since my brother, Tim, has been living up in Big Bear this summer we figured that would be an awesome place to visit and it would allow Tim to see Jacob.  It was only the 4th time Tim had gotten to see Jacob since his birth and James had never been to Big Bear.  We started our vacation at my parents house on Tuesday and had a wonderful time with them.

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa

We spent the night and then headed up the mountain to Big Bear Wednesday morning.  We arrived at Evergreen Baptist Church (the church my brother has been helping out at) around 11:00 am and I was able to feed Jacob and Tim and James talked.  Lunch was the next thing on the agenda and we headed to The Hacienda for some mexican food.  After lunch we took a walk by the lake…

A walk by the lake

this brought us to Jacob’s next feeding so we headed to check into the cottage that the Pastor’s wife had reserved for us.  It was a nice little cottage with a spa tub and a fireplace!

Our Cottage

We enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with Tim.  After Jacob’s feeding we went to play mini golf and James and Tim went down the Alpine Slide… our next stop was Boulder Bay ,which is just a little park by the lake over looking a couple big boulders!  This brought us to Jacob’s next feeding which took us back to the cottage. After this feeding we went to dinner at Teddy Bears in the Village…we then walked around a little bit but most of the stores were closed so we took Tim home and headed back to our cottage for the evening.

Thursday found us back in the Village at the Copper Q for breakfast and then we walked the Village and visited the shops.  SInce we had checked out of the cottage we headed to a park and played some card games and tossed a baseball around…Then it was onto lunch at BJ’s…After lunch we headed back down the hill to my parents house and relaxed there until church.  We visited Lighthouse and then headed home.  All in all it was a very relaxing time! We enjoyed spending time with Tim and my parents.

Tim and Jacob

Our week ended with a wedding on a yacht…this was Jacob’s first time on a boat!

Going on a boat

Our family with the Bride and Groom

This week Jacob is 11 weeks old and growing big.  He has slept 7 hours a few nights and loves giving smiles and playing with mommy and daddy when he is awake!

So we finished off Spring Break with a trip to Sea World…During the month of April Sea World did a promotion on their website for Teacher Appreciation Month. If you are a teacher then all you had to do was register online and print out the form and take it to Sea World. ¬†You also needed a recent paycheck stub, your school ID, and your CA ID, but with this paper work you got a complimentary pass for the rest of the year. ¬†With my parents being teachers along with James and I we all got free passes…Tim joined us and my parents bought him a fun card which has the same free days as us. ¬†We spent Thursday evening and Friday at Sea World…On Friday, Craig and Brenda brought their family down and we had a grand time with them.

Friday evening we had a youth activity…It was a photo scavenger hunt and we had a wonderful time with the teens…I was so tired on Saturday that we did absolutely nothing…

Only 5 1/2 weeks until Baby Jacob’s due date… I am ready!

On Sunday, we didn’t all make it to church…I was once again exhausted from traveling and spent a day relaxing at home.

Monday, we took family pictures at a park close by and did some shopping in the afternoon…We had a great evening playing games.

Tuesday, we all kind of went our own ways…Some went to Tillamock Cheese factory, some stayed home…we played games that afternoon/evening…Melissa and Auntie Ruth played dress-up…

Wednesday was our last day in Portland…We had a wonderful family day playing games, eating, playing with Melissa, watching movies, playing Wii, and enjoying our last day together.

We left Portland Thursday morning and drove the 11 hours back to SF…We were all once again tired.
Friday, we did grocery shopping and recovered from the last road trip. We also celebrated James’ birthday which is actually tomorrow…We watched a movie as a family and then James and I went to bed at 10:30…We were heading home the next day.

That is pretty much my entire vacation in a nut shell…We did have a great time and it was wonderful to see everyone…

I am doing well…I am still really tired and get nauseous every afternoon but other than this I am doing great. My next dr appointment is on Monday.

Along with being pregnant a few other things have happened this week. I was asked to coach jr high girls volleyball again. This was kind of a surprise as I was not supposed to coach and they had a different coach, but due to some circumstances I am needed to cover the season. I am excited but a little nervous as I can’t do all the things I have done the last few years. The Athletic Director at the school gave me some rules to abide by and told me not to push myself. So we will be having practice only 3 days a week at an hour each practice.

Also James and I are planning on traveling to San Francisco for Christmas eve and then traveling with his parents, Ruth, and Daniel to Portland, Oregon on Christmas day. We will spend a week in Oregon with John, Mary, and Melissa at James’ grandparents house. I am so excited about being with the entire family for Christmas…Since I was able to be with my whole family for Thanksgiving!

Well I guess that is all for now…Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

The entry way

The Nixon Library is full of history and interesting things about the family.   The grounds include the house Nixon was born in, the gazebo from the White House that his daughter was married in, and Marine One from his presidency.

Ruth has a thing for astronauts...jk

Cool shot in the garden... Can you spot our family?

After seeing all the sights at the Museum, we decided to make a starbucks stop on the way home.  We sat inside as we drank our coffee and laughed at all of us trying to decide what to do the next day!  We then headed home to enjoy a nice relaxing dinner.  We had grilled rib-eye, potato salad, grilled corn on the cob, and cheesecake for dessert.  We enjoyed the evening playing Monopoly Deal and laughing together.

The guys watching the grill

Playing Monopoly Deal

On Friday, James had to work in the morning again, but we were heading to the RMS Queen Mary in the afternoon.

The RMS Queen Mary

I had never been on the Queen Mary before. ¬†It was very nice and enjoyable. ¬†We once again had lunch at home and waited for James to come home from work before we headed out. ¬†We started our tour of the gorgeous ship with the Ghosts and Legends SHOW! It was hilarious. ¬†It was all about the “ghosts” that had been sited on the Queen Mary, but it was full of dry humor and staged special effects. ¬†We laughed the whole way through and at the end the the tour guide told us we had too much fun! lol Then came the real tour. ¬†We got the audio headsets and heard lots of interesting facts and stories.

Checking out the cool painting

The tour takes you all over the ship and gives you history about it.  It was really neat.

Ruth and I

James and I relaxing on the deck

When we left the Queen Mary we decided to check out a diner… It was delicious. ¬†After dinner we decided to drive PCH home. ¬†On this vacation we ended up driving almost all of PCH from Santa Monica to Newport Beach.

So Saturday was the last full day of vacation.  Dad decided he wanted rent and ride on of those four people bikes,  a surrey.  So we headed to Balboa Peninsula and found a surrey to rent.  We rented it for an hour and within 15 minutes of riding it everyone was tired, except me since I had the middle seat.

Ruth and I riding the surrey with the fringe on top

James and dad taking a break

We enjoyed ice cream and pizza for lunch and then walked the pier just for some exercise.

My Love and I on the Balboa Pier

Daniel was able to come down from Ironwood and join us. ¬†Our house was so full that Daniel had to sleep on the kitchen floor. ¬†For dinner that night we went to Maggiano’s, a wonderful Italian restaurant. ¬†They had a gluten-free menu which is great for Ruth. ¬†The Executive Chef came out and explained some of the gluten-free options to Ruth and then gave her a complimentary appetizer. ¬†Mom and Dad were really happy and impressed with the service and the food. ¬†After dinner we made a quick run to Target for some things that Daniel needed and then headed home for some quality family time.

Sunday morning, dad headed to the Long Beach airport to fly back to Oakland, Mom and Ruth headed out to Arizona for a couple days, and Daniel went to church with us and then headed back to Ironwood.

It was a wonderful week of laughter, teasing, fun, memories, and much more!  Check out all the pictures here

My Granola Pancakes

James' Stuffed French Toast

Our next adventure was over on Coronado. ¬†We drove over the bridge and headed towards Ferrylanding. ¬†We did some touristy shopping and then drove to the Hotel del Coronado…

Hotel del Coronado

Ruth going to touch the water

My Love and I

After wandering around there and enjoying the sites and smells, we headed back across the bridge to Seaport Village.

The Ducklings at Seaport Village

Deciding to head to Point Loma

We enjoyed a short time of shopping there and then decided that we wanted to see the Point Loma Lighthouse, but most of us wanted coffee first. ¬†So we searched coffee houses on our iPhone’s and found Jave Jones Coffee House. ¬†Java Jones makes great coffee and is a cool place… they roast their own coffee beans.

The Entrance

I didn't want coffee so I got a Coke... In a glass bottle

So our adventure continued to Cabrillo National Monument and the Point Loma Lighthouse. ¬†It was nice and breezy out as we arrived. ¬†We enjoyed our walk to the Lighthouse and look out points…

James "sharing" his coffee with Ruth

The Lighthouse

We finished the circle and were getting ready to leave when James spotted a submarine and possible a frigate coming into port. ¬†It was really cool… very far out so I don’t have the best pictures of them but here are the ones I do have.

Can you spot the submarine?

I think it is a Frigate

We left Point Loma and headed to Old Town San Diego… Dinner was scheduled for there.

Deciding where to eat

We ate at Casa Del Reyes and this was an experience all its own. ¬†See James ordered the hottest burrito they had, I ordered bean and cheese. I don’t do hot, EVER! ¬†Well when the food was delivered the server pulled a pick out of a burrito and asked who had the hot one… I pointed to James’ seat and he set it down. ¬†Then he set mine in front of me. ¬†James was not sitting at the table at the moment but we decided to begin eating…yes, you probably guessed by know, I got James’ super hot burrito and took one bit… I quickly grabbed anything in front of me to cool my mouth down. ¬†Chips, beans, rice, Ruth’s horchata, and my water, my mouth was on fire. ¬†I didn’t even get to enjoy my own burrito after that because my mouth hurt so bad. ¬†Well, I guess I will have to do one more post about vacation since this was all day Wednesday. ¬†I will put Thursday, Friday and Saturday in a separate post! ¬†Enjoy and for more pictures click here

Ruth's Spicy Tuna Roll

My parents came over that evening for dessert and just to visit.

On Saturday, we headed out to Ironwood to visit Daniel, James’ brother, who is working there for the summer. ¬†It was a nice day. ¬†We stopped at Ontario Mills Mall on the way out and also had a picnic lunch at a park…

My Love and I

We arrived at Ironwood and it was hot.  I drank a whole water bottle inside the first 30 min, and probably 2 more before we left.

Hanging out at the Homestead

We were given a tour of the property by Sheriff Tom Horton.  It was very nice to see how the property and ministry has grown.

Mom, Dad, and Ruth enjoying the tour but not the heat

We also saw Renae Archer, her sisters and a friend were visiting her.  After our very hot, but nice, tour we headed to Victorville for dinner.  Daniel joined us and we enjoyed a meal at The Original Roadhouse.  They have the best blackberry lemonade I have ever tasted.

My quart of Blackberry Lemonade

After dinner we hung out a little longer and then we headed home while Daniel headed back to Ironwood.

Sunday was church and Mom and Dad joined James and I at Bethel while Ruth went to Lighthouse. ¬†It was a fun but interesting day since James and I only have a 3 seater truck and there were 4 of us…It took a little shuttling but we managed okay. ¬†We walked to Wingnuts for lunch and then went to Target. ¬†For Dinner we decided Yougurtland sounded good so that is what we had.

James was able to take Monday-Wednesday off.  On Monday, we went to the Ronald Reagan Museum.  It was very touching and interesting.

My Love and I with Air Force One in the background

Picnic lunch at the Reagan Museum

Ruth and I

On the way home we decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier and promenade.

Mom and Dad at the 3rd St Promenade

We finished the night out with dinner at Chipotle and an adventure to find a mall!  It was a day full of fun, laughing, and teasing.

Tuesday we traveled to San Diego. ¬†We drove down Pacific Coast Highway for part of the trip and then finished it out on the 5 fwy. ¬†Our first stop was the zoo…

I love this man!

We took a 40 min bus ride around to see the animals and took some really nice pictures. ¬†After getting off the bus, our first stop was the Koala’s,

He didn't want to fall

they were all sleeping so we moved on down Monkey trail to Albert’s where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch. ¬†After stuffing ourselves we headed to see the Pandas. ¬†And for those who know who he is, Brian Regan jokes were a special part of this. ¬†Our next adventure was to see the Polar Bears…

One of my favorite animals!

We also saw elephants (Ruth’s favorite animal), zebras, giraffes, bears, and many other animals… After leaving the zoo we went to the motel 6 where we were spending the night… They had very interesting bedspreads.

The interesting bedspreads

After dropping our stuff off at the Motel, we headed out to a Padres/Dodgers game…It was a good game.

Taking a chance to smile

James was able to explain the game to a family visiting from England… It was very entertaining. ¬†We stayed for the entire game and then headed back to the Motel for the night. ¬†I still have many more adventures to tell you about… And lots more pictures to share! ¬†To see pictures to this point click here