First Fish of the Season

We went up to Payson Lake on Saturday to go fishing for the first time this year. The weather was perfect and the fish were biting!!! Keaton was the winner, he caught two. Marlie and I each caught one. Connor helped me reel in my fish so I have to give him a little bit of credit. He was scared of it when it got close to him. He just dropped the pole and started to leave, he didn't know what to do with that fish flipping everywhere! As you can see in the pictures he was happy to just sit and eat his Doritos.

Our friends, Greg and Gina were up at the lake camping so we had dinner with them. We made tin foil dinners (hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onion, green beans, cream of mushroom soup) They turned out pretty good. We made smores for dessert, of course.

The kids were having so much fun. They found these plants that had giant leaves (luckily not poisonous!). They were tucking them in their shirts and pants and then hiding in the brush, trying to be camoflaged. It reminded us of the Lord of the Flies, all of these kids running around wild wearing greenery. We had a great time. After we were there we wished we had planned to stay overnight.

Joseph and Jessica Spaletta

Last weekend we went to Idaho to go to my neice Jessica's wedding. She married Joe Spaletta on 6/7/08. Jessi looked really beautiful and the wedding and reception were both really nice. It's hard to believe that my first niece, little Jessi is all grown up and married. Jessica was born the day I left to go to BYU my freshman year. Yes that means that my 20 yr. class reunion is coming this summer. I'm really happy for Jessi and Joe and I hope that they will be happy and have a great life together.

This was the first wedding that I have photographed. It was really fun and I got a few that I really like.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARLIE!!!!!!

Today was Marlie's 10 th birthday! It's hard to believe that a whole decade has gone by since she was born. She has always been a happy, energetic, creative little girl. (oh, and don't forget mischievous!) I want to do a tribute to her and each of my kids. Hopefully I will get those posted soon.

Last night Bryce and I took Marlie out to dinner to Chili's. That's where she chose to go. After dinner we went to the movie and saw "Nim's Island". It was fun having one on one time with Marlie and I know she loved being alone with us.

For her birthday dinner she wanted French Dip sandwiches. So that's what we had, it was so nice today that we ate dinner out on the deck. We gave her some presents and had her birthday cake. She got roller skates, Taylor Swift CD, a swimsuit & goggles and a book.

Marlie is a wonderful daughter and we love her so much!

Landscaping Plans

Everyone that knows me very well knows that I get big ideas, sometimes they work out and sometimes I never figure out how to make them happen. Hopefully my ideas for our garden work out. We are doing pretty good so far. We finished building the garden boxes and have started digging out the space for the brick walkways. I didn't know how much the brick was going to cost when I was planning this project, so after I realized that I couldn't afford to buy pavers or new brick I started looking for some used brick for sale or free. I lucked out and found an add on KSL classified for free brick. A guy was tearing down part of his house and I went over and helped him. I chipped all of the mortar off the brick and loaded it all. It is really old brick and has a lot of character. Some of it was from the chimney so it has black markings. I think it will look great as long as I can figure out how to lay it down right. So here are the "before" pictures, stay tuned for the finished project ! Hopefully soon!

Jace's Kindergarten graduation

Jace with his teacher Mrs. Evans

Getting the "diploma" from Mr. Pitcher and Mrs. Evans.

Jace had his kindergarten graduation program this week. It was really cute. The kids sang some songs they have learned and said the first part of the preamble of the constitution. It was fun to watch the kids, they are so cute at this age. Grandma Johnson came to watch Jace's program and then went out to eat dinner with us after.

I can't believe Jace will be in school all day next year! He is growing up fast. He is such a sweet, loving boy. He makes me smile everyday. He always says the nicest things to me and he is genuine. He always tells me thank you for everything I make for him and tells me it is the best food in the world! He is such a gift and special blessing in my life.

A little bit more of California....

I guess there is a limit on how long a post can be because I couldn't add any more to my last post. So I must finish my travel log. After Point Lobos we went back to Carmel for a last walk and sat at the beach for awhile. We had to pick up some macaroons on our way out too.

We drove to a town called Moss Landing. I wanted to go to the marina there to take some photos. I had driven by there before but had never stopped and it looked like a fun place to take some nautical photos. We were there at sunset and it was awesome. We couldn't get out on to the docks because there are locked gates to all of them. I asked the harbor master if he could let us in and I was really surprised when he gave me a master key and said I could go wherever I wanted to. I love boats, especially old ones. I love just walking around on the docks looking at the boats. It was a perfect end to a great day!

We ate dinner in Moss Landing at a great Mexican restaurant called The Whole Enchilada. We got back to Cupertino pretty late, it was another great day!

On Sat. the 4th day of my trip, we went over to the Santa Cruz area and went to Capitola Beach. I was in heaven!!! I had been dreaming of sitting on the beach with all of the sights and smells and I couldn't believe I was actually there. We lucked out and found a parking place right off, the weather was perfect, we stopped and picked up lunch at an awesome bakery called Gayle's, and sat on the beach for about 3 hours! What a perfect day!

On our way home we stopped at Marianne's Ice Cream in Santa Cruz. This is a family tradition for my family so my friends were nice enough to go along with me. Mariannes is the best ice cream anywhere! They have about 50 flavors and some are one of a kind, originals. My favorite is mandarin chocolate, yumm.

We went out to Jake's for pizza and then went over to Melinda's and watched The Great Debaters. We once again had a perfect day.

I was so happy to spend Sunday night at Melinda's house. She has a beautiful home and just like Linda was a wonderful hostess. I felt so at home. I always have a lot of fun with Melinda. She is truly one of the sweetest, most loving people I have ever known.

Dana was so great, she gave me a ride to the airport and took me around on some last minute errands. I'm glad that I got a chance to visit with her one more time. I love these three friends. They are so special to me and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to spend some time with them again. They are more like sisters to me than friends. I love you guys! Thanks for a wonderful time!

My California Trip 2008

I am the luckiest girl ever! I got to back to California again this year to visit my friends ! We had the BEST time, everything was perfect. My sister-in-law Melanie and nephew, Casey were kind enough to pick me up at the airport. I spent the afternoon with them. We ate lunch at Fresh Choice, one of the places I miss, great soup and salads. We did a little shopping and hung out at their place, trying to get Casey to take a nap. When Moe got home from work I took them out to dinner. It was to celebrate Melanie's birthday. We went to a Mexican place that they like. After dinner they took me over to Linda's where I would be staying for a few days.

Staying at Linda's was like being at a bed and breakfast! She really made me feel so welcome. She had fresh flowers from her beautiful yard in the bathroom and kitchen every morning. We would go out in her garden to have breakfast. Her yard could be in

Better Homes and Gardens, it is fabulous!

My second day in heaven Linda, Dana, Melinda and I went on an overnight getaway to Carmel and Pacific Grove. These two places have to be high on the list of the most beautiful places in the world. On our way to Carmel we stopped in Castroville at a fruit stand to buy some fresh strawberries. They were huge! Castroville is the artichoke capitol of the world, but there is a lot of other great produce grown in the area too.

We spent the day walking around Carmel. There are quaint little shops and restaurants. Everywhere you go there are beautiful flowers and plants, they must love the ocean air. We ate lunch at a cute little place called The Cottage. The food was great, especially the artichoke soup.

We went to the Carmel bakery to get macaroons. We discovered them last year and couldn't wait to get our hands (and mouths) on them again!! They are the BEST !!

We like to go to this great cheese shop. They let you sample all of the cheeses. They have hundreds of varieties from all over the world. Some are pretty bad, even for a cheese lover like me!

Day 3 of my trip was another perfect day! First of all we slept as long as we wanted to, which in my world never happens, so that was very nice. We ate breakfast at one of our favorite places, Toasties in Pacific Grove.

Next we went to a state park near Carmel called Point Lobos. I had never been there before and was absolutely amazed at how beautiful it was! We hiked around and enjoyed the perfect weather and ocean breeze. I took a lot of photos. This place is a photographers paradise.

<:atomicelement><:atomicelement>