SNIFF WHEEZE

Ugh...ever since we got back from Cali we cannot stop sneezing. All the trees must be blooming or spreading their pollen or SOMETHING because we just can't catch a break from these runny noses. There was a song we sang in choir when I was in school called "Harmony". I substituted the words and titled it "Allergies"....

"The time has come let us begin.."
With all our sneezes joining in.
To sing of flowers blooming in spring...
and things that make our nose start running.

With all the pollen in the air,
Dust and flowers here and there.
Get me a kleenex very fast!
I don't know if I can laaaast...

Allergies! Allergies!
How I hate these allergies,
I wish that they, would go away
But I know that they are here to staaaayyy."

*Cough, wheeze....sniff*

Here's some funny photos of Nate as a cowboy dude with cowgirl, Shannon. Love those boots!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I am an Air Force brat...born on Luke Air Force base. My dad was a captain in the Air Force during Vietnam and both my grandpas were in the Army during WWII. I am proud of their service to our country and am thankful for all the men and women who have served or are currently serving and have willingly sacrificed their lives and time for us. 

I think the media doesn't show all the awesome things our military men and women are doing and how much they have served...not only during war but also how much they have helped people in America and in other countries. One of our teens recently came back from a missions trip to Trinidad. She had the opportunity to witness our military building a school for children who would not have had that priviledge. One of our young men who served in Iraq and Afghanistan talked about how they handed out blankets, coats and hats to children over there who walked around in the dead of winter with nothing but ragged shirts and pants to cover them. 

THANK YOU..THANK YOU...THANK YOU...for your example, your service, your generosity and your sacrifice!

QUILT SQUARE #12 & #13

I was thrilled to return home from Cali to find quilt squares from two of our China travel families!!

Thank you Taylor family for the cute ladybug/ grasshopper quilt square! I love the card they made and the fabric reminds me of our referral, which we got in the spring and of the two ladybugs we saw right before that.

Thank you Sarah & Scott for the very awesome chinese quilt squares and the wonderful wish! Sarah had to special order this fabric and I think I'm going to have to find out where. It's so cool!

BACK HOME

We left Cali on Friday...good thing too because it was freezing, raining and REALLY windy. I think the high was around 50 degrees! So much for one more day at the beach. I'm glad it held off until we left. haha. We headed back down toward San Diego and stopped at our favorite place for sandwiches, The Seaside Market in Cardiff. It's a funky little market with everything you can imagine. I picked up some homemade crab cakes and other goodies, then headed over to the nearby beach to eat. It was impossible to eat outside during the storm so we huddled in the car watching the pounding surf and the flocks of pelicans flying by. Are groups of pelicans flocks? Not sure what you call them.

On our way through San Diego we briefly considered staying the night but I had to be at the church at 10am this morning so that was a "no go". In our infinite wisdom, we decided to stop at an outlet mall somewhere just past San Diego so Don could use the bathroom. Only bad thing is that is was freezing, raining and the outlet mall was all outdoors! We were cracking up, running to the stores with our hoodies and a plastic bag over the stroller. Finally we decided we'd had enough so we ran back to the car totally drenched.

Nate barely slept at all in the car...even with Benadryl...so that made for a fussy boy for the 8 hr drive home. The weather followed us because it was nice and cool in the 70's today. It was soooo good to fall into our featherbed after a long drive. Aaaahhhh....good sleep at last!

DAY 3 IN NEWPORT

Nate woke up in a great mood this morning and he's been happy all day. Don't ask me why. He will only take 1/2 his naptime since we've been here and we've been going..going..going every day. 

There are some interesting people in Newport and age is no exception. We were eating breakfast at Cappy's this morning and I saw an elderly lady with a bowl haircut like Moe in The 3 Stooges. It was dyed platinum blonde and her shorter hair underneath was dyed black. Then I saw another lady in her late 50's - early 60's with long straight platinum blonde hair, gianormous white sunglasses and tatoos up the wazoo. I don't know how many tough looking guys I saw walking chihuahuas or cockapoos wearing little bling collars. It was pretty amusing to see.

Nate did AWESOME at the beach today. We played in the sand for a long time and then he got bored and decided to "dance" in the sand. So I got up and danced with him. Then I picked him up and decided to give the water one more "go". To my surprise he wanted down and started dancing in the water when it rushed up around his feet! Then when the water rushed back into the ocean, he started running toward it and dragging me with him, squealing the whole time. We played in the water for quite awhile until a big wave came up above his waist and then he decided that was enough. I was so impressed though and glad he ended up enjoying the ocean.

Along the bike path you see people riding bikes, walking, riding skateboards....and today I saw a couple of guys rollerskating, but not exactly. It was really interesting watching them skate since it was like 1/2 a roller skate but in the middle of their shoes!

Tonight we had dinner at my art agent's house, Karen. Yum!! Love that pesto pasta! I also picked up some samples of my work and we talked about several other clients who have just picked up my art or are considering it! Nate did great with her family. He laughed, played with their kids and let them hold him. I was amazed at how at ease he felt with them considering they were strangers to him. We've been prepping him before we do things, telling him who we're going to meet and what to expect and it seems to be helping.

Here's some more photos. Don had an incredible time at the conference. It was very encouraging and eye-opening for him. He said there may have been around 2,000 pastors there from all over the world! Friday we head home but I'm hoping for one more stop at the beach!

HE'S EVEN GOT SAND IN HIS RUNNY NOSE!

"VISITORS" ON THE BEACH

MY ATTEMPT AT A QUICK PHOTO

HE ATE THE WHOLE "DOG"!

YEAAA!! SUN CAME OUT!

Oh man, I am soooo sore. It is quite a sight to see how I manage to get Nate & I and all our paraphanelia (sp?) out to the beach. After the 30 min. walk to get there, I put on the backpack, put Nate on my shoulders, grab the folded up stroller in one hand and whatever beach stuff wouldn't fit in the backpack in my other hand while managing to hold onto Nate's leg so he doesn't slide down my back. Then I lug all this down toward the water. Too bad I couldn't get someone to take my photo. I think I'm actually starting to tone up from this little "workout". haha.

Today was PERFECT! I'm not listening to the weather any more. It was supposed to be colder today but the sun was out ALL DAY and it was warm and breezy. I tried spraying the sunscreen on my back but apparently I missed a big chunk so there's this big light spot right below my neck and everything around it is red. I made sure Nate was covered in it. 

As soon as I sat Nate and all our stuff down at the beach, he started crying...very LOUDLY I might add. I think he had a flashback to yesterday. He was just totally inconsolable and I couldn't even move without him throwing himself on my leg and refusing to let go. And we weren't even that close to the water! Finally I had to put him in "quiet time" (which was not so quiet) so he could vent all his anxiety out and re-focus. After a few seconds I hugged him, told him he was going to play in the sand while I got everything set up. Then I made him shake his head "yes" for a "yes Momma". When he does that, I know he'll be compliant. He did and he was happy and enjoyed the rest of the day after that. 

Here's some more photos below. I just can't get enough of the beach!

BEACH BOY

CHEEEEESE!

WHAT BETTER PLACE TO HAVE A STARBUCKS?

WATCHING THE WAVES

FUNNY SIGNS BY THE PIER

WHAT A HAM!

EATING AWESOME MAHI TACOS!

MMMM! GUAVA/ PINA COLADA/ LIME SNOWCONE!

EVERYONE GOT THE "MEMO" - MEET AT THE BEACH!

NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL

Well today turned out to be not so bad after all. The sun came out for about 2 hours. haha. It was kind of chilly in the morning but that didn't stop a bunch of people, including Nate and I, from having fun on the beach. He LOVED the sand! I dug a small hole and he just sat in it and had a great time. Then, I thought it would be fun for him to "sail" his sailboat in the water. Yeeeaaahhh....that didn't go over too well. He ran down to the water with his boat but when he saw the waves coming in, he got scared..lost his footing and fell down right when the water rushed up to the shore. Our normally fearless little boy...who doesn't think twice about climbing up a ladder, onto a table or on top of the sofa, was totally freaked out. He screamed and would not go near the water without being glued to my leg. The poor kid was literally shaking. I've never seen him shake from fear before. It was so pitiful! 

I don't think I've walked so much since China. It was about a 30 min. walk pushing a stroller, from our hotel to Newport Pier, where all the funky shops and restaurants are. Then I walked all up and down the bike path, played on the beach with Nate and walked some more. It's probably a good thing because I had to work off the doughnut, pizza and ice cream cone that I ate. haha! It was a fun day but now I'm sore & exhausted. Here's some photos from today.

LOVE DIGGIN' IN THE SAND

THIS WAS FUN UNTIL HE LAUGHED AND THE SAND FELL IN HIS MOUTH!

HAVING FUN

MAKING SANDCASTLES

GOING TO SAIL THE BOAT

I DON'T LIKE THIS AFTER ALL!

WON'T LET GO OF MOM'S LEG

I'M SCARED, MOM!

NOT QUITE HAPPY YET

GETTING BRAVER...HE LET GO OF MOM'S LEG!

REALLY BRAVE NOW!

MAYBE THIS ISN'T SO BAD...BUT STAY CLOSE, MOM!

WHAT DO YA MEAN..NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY??!

BRRRR!!

CHILLIN' AFTER HIS NAP

THAT FIGURES

When we arrived, the front desk told us that Newport was having a heat wave (translation...weather in the 80's). Yea!! Perfect beach weather. This morning I got up all excited to spend the day at the beach. Don had already left for the conference and I got Nate ready to go to Cappy's for breakfast. As I stepped outside I was struck by a blast of chilly air and greeted by drizzling cloudy skies. Not worried yet....Cali usually has overcast skies in the early mornings. But after I got back to the hotel to check the weather, I was bummed! Drizzly today and in the 60's all week! Guess it will be a chilly beach week. I can't complain too much though. It's 107 back home. Ugh!!

I was surprised that our waitress at Cappy's remembered us, considering it had been 3 months since we'd been there. Mmmmmmm....did I mention that I love their breakfasts???

ON THE ROAD

LOOK MOM! NO SHOES!



We hit the road at the crack of dawn this morning for Cali again. Don is attending a pastor's conference at Saddleback Church in SoCal for a few days, so Nate and I stowed away in his luggage. That's one great thing about working from home and having a child out of school...you can pick up and go wherever your hubby is headed.

We left early and stopped for breakfast at the Iron Skillet near Casa Grande. We love truck stops. The restaurants are usually friendly and the mini marts are chock full of all kinds of cool stuff. The waitresses at the Iron Skillet and truckers sitting near us were fascinated by Nate's ability to master a spoon. We had a good time chatting with them before heading out on the road again. Our plan was to bypass the Phoenix rush hour and go through Gila Bend, but somehow we managed to miss our exit and realized that..uh...oops! We were heading toward San Diego instead of L.A.! By that point it was like, "oh well, might as well enjoy the scenery". It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it was actually faster to go that route up to Irvine than go across L.A.

Right before we got into San Diego, we stopped for lunch at El Centro at the In-n-Out Burger. While we were there, we ran into a couple of recent college grads from Abilene Christian University! Our college! They were headed to Houston and it was fun to meet them. Of course it takes my husband (who could start up a conversation with a fly) to initiate our meeting. I, on the other hand, would've thought, "hey that's cool...they're wearing shirts from our college" and went back to munching on my cheeseburger. ha!

Nate did ok on the trip. He slept fitfully the entire drive and I was hoping he fall asleep for a good 1-1/2 hours but no dice. That made him a bit crankier than usual. We got to our hotel in Newport...same one we stayed at last time and I love it. It's so roomy, clean and right across the street from the beach! At $79 a night, who's complaining?? The plan is for Don to go to the conference and Nate and I will walk across the street to the beach every day. Sounds like a good plan to me. I'm also meeting up with my art agent while we're hear since she lives just 5 min. from Saddleback Church. She's at Surtex, the biggest licensing gift/ textile show in the nation and I'm hoping some of my new designs will be picked up there.

Well Nate's asleep and I'm heading there myself. We remembered his play pen this time so he doesn't have to sleep in the suitcase. haha!

WEIRD ROCK FORMATIONS NEAR SAN DIEGO

GIANT WINDMILL GENERATORS

NEWPORT CHANNEL INN IN NEWPORT BEACH

AAHHH CAPPY'S! AWESOME BREAKFASTS NEXT TO OUR HOTEL!

LITTLE PARK NEXT TO OUR HOTEL

VIEW OF THE BEACH FROM OUR HOTEL

SUN DECK ON THE ROOF OF OUR HOTEL

QUILT SQUARE #11

Thanks Heather for the cool sparkly star square! Heather plays percussion on our praise team. Her tween daughter was a huge help to me a couple weeks ago when I was having a very stressful day at church. I rushed back into the worship center only to see the praise team getting in their places on stage. I was supposed to play bass and to my dismay I realized Nate was still sitting on the floor in front of the stage! Not to worry though...Heather's daughter was playing with him and she happily scooped him up and toted him off to the nursery for me. What a trooper!

I love this fabric because it reminds me of that Disney tune, "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." Ours definitely did!

QUILT SQUARE #9 & #10

Thanks Jim and Missie for the awesome quilt squares! J&M are college friends from way back in the day. Jim & Don were actually childhood friends and met up again in college. We had some good times with them at Oklahoma Christian University and still keep in touch although we're miles apart. 

The panda fabric reminded them of China and the OK fabric to remind us of our OK ties and to let Nate know that he has friends in many places (I actually have relatives in OK). When Nate saw the panda fabric he immediately pointed at it and said "Ah bah!" (translation, "That's a panda!") 

Thanks Jim & Missie and to Meagan for helping pick out the fabric. They are perfect!! One of these days, we hope to get up that way to see you guys again. But for now, here's a retro photo of our college days. Good times!

1988 - CLUB BANQUET

NIGHT OF CHINESE CULTURE

We just got back from a benefit concert at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center. They were raising money to help the earthquake victims in China and had performances from various local talent. We left before it was finished and they had already raised over $55,000!! Awesome! It was very cool to see the chinese dances, instruments and singers. Nate could've cared less about the singing. He got REALLY squirmy and we debated whether to leave since it was past his bedtime. But then they did a Taiji fan dance and he was absolutely mesmorized. They also did a Mongolian dance that was very interesting. I swear the dancers had to be double-jointed because their arm movements were like rubber. It was fascinating to watch. I would've posted photos but I went off and left the camera at home. In a way, I was hoping to meet or at least see some families who had adopted but I didn't really see many. It was mostly chinese people and I felt a bit nostalgic as though I were back in china again. What a great night!

QUILT SQUARE #8

Thanks Mel for the awesome chinese fabric and the gianormous fabric map! I think I will make that one into a separate mini quilt. It's too cool to cut up. She gave it to me because it had the Philippines on it and we're both filipina. Love the note from little Georgie too. What a great writer. *wink wink*

Salamat! (thanks!!)