Visitors, School and Football Games

Hey there! I thought I'd get on here and post something in less than two month's time! Aren't you so very proud (and astonished) with me?! ;) I'm trying to be more consistent. That and I feel like we've been so busy since we've moved here and we're going to be even more busy the next 3 months with birthdays, holidays and visitors. I'll try to keep up with our busy-ness, so I don't end up writing a long rambling monster post three or four months from now! You know what kind of post I'm talking about...the long rambling kind that strike fear (and boredom) in even the bravest of souls!! ;) So here we go!!

August 23 - we picked up Jason's sister, Sarah, from the airport. She flew out from Virginia to go to her marine boyfriend's (Robbie) graduation from some linguistics school about an hour south of us. We had a couple of days with her before he came and picked her up and drove her down to Monterrey to spend a few days with him and his parents. The day he picked her up, I realized that I had met his parents before - Jason's Mom and I used to go to bible study with his Mom in Turkey and his parents both came to Jason's and my wedding! Man - I felt horrible when I said, "Nice to meet you" to his Dad...and his Dad quickly responded, "Oh - we've met before...at your wedding." How embarrassing...but hey! It wasn't my fault! The wedding details were so overwhelming and I was really busy...and embarrassed to have so much attention all at once. When I went outside to say hello to his Mom, I recognized her right away. See! I haven't lost it altogether!! ;)

Katie and Caleb at the hair place where Sarah was getting her hair done. This is where Jason always goes for his haircuts and the kids LOVE it here because the employees give the kids unlimited lolipops! Maybe I should have them pay for all the cavities they're going to need filled! ;)


August 27-29 - Jason went to Baltimore, MD for a weekend conference. His Mom had planned on driving 1.5 hours with a couple of his little sisters from Virginia to visit him for dinner on one of the nights he was there, but Jason's Grandma past away and his Mom had to fly to Florida for the funeral. :( Jason will never say, but I think he was really bummed out that he was so close to his parents' house and didn't get to see anyone. His Grandma had had Alzheimer's and dementia for a few years and all of the sudden her health seemed to deteriorate recently and she finally lost the will/energy to eat anything. Jason and I never had many opportunities to visit with his grandparents too often because we've always lived so far away, but I'm sad that I couldn't have been there for Jason's Mom. I felt so sad for her. :( It's times like these - when I hate living so far away from family. :( I hate not being there to support and encourage family and friends during hard times and I hate not being there to celebrate happy times - like holidays and birthdays or when our someone gets engaged or has a baby. :( It really stinks to miss out on everything! At least we haven't missed any weddings, but still! I hate living so far away from the people I love - because I miss out on everything!!! :(

So anyways, while Jason was gone, I spent the rest of the weekend searching for tailgating gear to use for the upcoming football season at Stanford. I also finished up the rest of the Army Wives seasons on Netflix while Jason was gone (so he wasn't there to witness the hours of my life I wasted away while the kids slept) - I can't wait until the 4th season comes out on DVD because I spent the whole last season getting caught up on the first 3 seasons!

During this time, my cousin Derik came down from Oregon with his daughter, girlfriend Tracey and her son to do some traveling along the Oregon and California coast. They stopped by one day for a couple of hours to say hi, so we could catch up while the kids played together. I can't believe how long it has been since I've seen him! I think the last time I saw him, I had just had Kristin!
We don't make it up to Washington and Oregon very much, so we go years between visits with family - it's horrible! Anyways - it was a great visit! Derik's kid and Tracey's kid were so sweet! I wish we lived closer to them - because I would totally hire her son to babysit my animal children! He was so great with kids! Especially Caleb - who wouldn't let him leave his sight! Sure he was only 12, but he was the most mature 12 year old I'd ever met - especially for a guy! Man - we really need to get out...does anyone know a good babysitter I could borrow? ;)

Avery, Kristin and Katie/Tracey and Derik/Me and Derik/Devon and Caleb


I've also continued my plan to make new recipes...but I think I'm going to switch back to cooking healthier recipes again because ever since I started cooking out of normal unhealthy-type cookbooks, I've gained 3-4 pounds. Coincidence?! I think not!!! ;) Since I'm SO tired of any of my old healthy cookbooks, I underwent a mad search for healthy cookbooks on Amazon until I came across two that looked REALLY good and had amazing reviews! I just received them both, so I'll get started on some of the recipes. If they turn out to be as good as everyone says they are, I'll reveal their titles...if you're looking for a good cookbook with healthier recipes!

Kristin with one of her two favorite recipes so far...Breakfast Bowls and Gumbo



Robbie brought back Sarah after their weekend in Monterrey came to an end and she stayed for another week before heading back to Virginia. Did I mention they also got engaged as well? Yay!! I'm so excited for them! They've set a date for July 2, 2011 - I guess I'll have to start looking up ticket prices! Can anyone recommend a good website for buying tickets and how far out is the best time to buy? I don't ever seem to buy at the right time and I'm SO tired of it!!!

Top: Robbie and Sarah - newly engaged! Bottom: Caleb loved spending time with Robbie!


A few days after their first visit, my cousin Derik and his girlfriend Tracey and each of their kids stopped by again to say hi on their way back up to Oregon. We went out to the closest deli place and bought some lunch (that was way overpriced I might add) and brought it back to our house where we had a picnic across the street at the park. We visited and let the kids play for the next 3 hours or so and then they headed out.

Devon and Caleb (thinking he's all grown up and making guy friends) ;)


Sept 3 - Jason's brother, Mike, came out to visit for the weekend while Sarah was still here. That afternoon, we went out for lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Cafe Yulong. Mmmm...yummy! We've been there quite a few times now since we've moved here. We never did find a favorite Chinese place while we were in San Antonio, so we've been making up for lost time - not that I need the extra calories!!! Eek! ;) That night for dinner - as if we needed any more food, we went out for pizza and Jason couldn't resist getting the largest pizza he could buy...the King Kong size pizza with pepperoni and jalepenos!! It was HUGE!!! And really yummy!!! It was really good - I don't know if it beats the taste of our favorite pizza place in San Antonio, but it's close! Later that night, Jason Uncle Doug (who lives 3 hours south of us) and two of his kids came up to stay a couple of nights, so they could go to the football game with us and also visit with Mike while he was here.

Caleb is reunited with his Uncle Mikey/Mike and Jason with the world's largest pizza box - the pizza place had small, medium, large, x-large...and King Kong...guess which one Jason had to buy... ;)


The next afternoon, we hosted our first tailgating party prior to our first Stanford football game! I bought way too much food...and then Uncle Doug bought even more (I guess he wanted to make sure we didn't run out)! ;) Sarah's fiance was also able to make it back before we left the house - the more the merrier!!

Our first time hosting a tailgating party...Success!! :) L to R Top Row: Mike and Uncle Doug, Jason/Uncle Doug/Mike, Uncle Doug and Mike L to R Middle Row: Jason and Mike, Me and Jason and Robbie/Sarah/Katie L to R Bottom Row: Me and Kristin, Kristin and the twins Jackie and Sophie and Me and Jason


First football game of the season at Stanford!


Caleb and his Uncle Mikey after dancing with the Stanford tree mascot...and some wolf-man-thing


Early the next morning, we took Sarah and Mike to the airport for their flights back home. Uncle Doug and the girls headed back home and I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house and also visiting next door at the neighbor's birthday party.

Sept 8 - Spent all day cleaning and getting things ready for my parents and Grandma's visit. We also went to a nearby park to let the kids feed giant ducks and play on the playground. As we were leaving the pond, we noticed a huge sign that said, "PLEASE DO NOT FEED WATER FOWL." Oopsies...

At the forbidden duck-feeding pond and playground


We also found this war memorial in the middle of nowhere at the park. It had an emblem and some wording for each branch of the military. I thought it was nice...


Sept 9 - my parents and Grandma arrived for their week-long visit. Not as long as their usual 3-week stay that they used to do when they'd visit us in San Antonio, but that's okay. My Dadroo had to get back to his demanding job. Boo! Oh well - it was a great week and I loved visiting with them! The girls were crushed when they left. Kristin was the most upset over their leaving. She cried and cried...and then cried and cried some more later on. It was so sad. :( Just another reason I hate living so far away from loved ones! Argh!

Caleb spending some quality car-playing time with his Grandpa Neil and having a hard time warming up to Great Grandma...or even Grandma Christie for that matter! I don't know why, but he is much more willing to go to boys than he is to girls...it's as if he knows who really appreciates a good car or ball... It's really funny! By the end of the visit, he had finally warmed up to Grandma Christie and Great Grandma.


We spent most of the week visiting at home and going out to yummy restaurants. Chinese one night, 2 nights of Turkish food and one night of pizza...King Kong-sized of course! My Mom cooked on two other nights - Turkish food one night and teriyaki skewers and watermelon another night. A couple days before they left, we tried a partial tailgating BBQ before a Stanford soccer game, but we ended up leaving halfway through the game because it was so cold out and we forgot extra jackets and blankets. :( We spent the day in San Francisco on one of Jason's day off - where we ate at Bubba Gump's. Mmmm... It's no surprise that I gained 4 pounds during this visit. Ugh. Oh well - it didn't take long to lose it afterward. I'm just not used to eating that much yummy food in one week's time! I'm usually only somewhat bad on the weekends...not the whole week! But when I'm visiting or on vacation - I somehow lose control! Eek!

In San Francisco with my Mom and Dadroo


Watching the soccer game after a little tailgating BBQ


We spent a good chunk of my parents' visit at home and a lot of our visit involved staying up late watching movies or playing games. One of those nights, we played monopoly. One by one people started to either lose or drag themselves off to bed...which left only me and my Dadroo...who of course beat me in the end. I was perplexed...how could I be losing so badly?! How had he become such a monopoly master?! I later figured out that he had been playing monopoly since he was in elementary school! He said he and his friend used to play almost everyday!! I didn't have a chance of winning!!!! By the end of the game, I only had only 4 properties left and no money. Sheesh Daddy-man! You need to go more easy on me next time!! ;) Hahaha!! Oh well - he seemed really excited about having such unbeatable monopoly skills. He's so cute!!

Dadroo - the monopoly master/Caleb spending time with Grandpa Neil


Sept 15 - My parents and Grandma headed back home much to Kristin's disappointment. Poor poor Kristin. I was sad enough as it was to see them go - it only made it worse seeing Kristin so sad!!! :(

Time for some going away pictures (Can you find the picture where my Grandma cut my Dad's head out of the picture? Not because she's crazy mind you - but because the sun was in her eyes and she couldn't see the camera screen.) ;)


After my parents left, I spent the next few days getting back into our normal routine...which included some much-needed gym time, gymnastics and getting ready to start school! :)

Sept 18 - we had our own tailgating party before watching our second football game. It was a little more difficult for Jason and I to set everything up and watch the kids at the same time, but we still had a good time and then enjoyed watching Stanford win another game.

Our little tailgating party before the game


Sept 20 - We finally started school! Yeah - we started almost a month after everyone else in the school district did, but I didn't feel like starting school when I knew we were going to have so many visitors back to back. Even with the late start and holiday breaks, we'll still be finished by mid-May, so I'm not worried about it. I love being able to make our own schedule!! Just one of the many reasons I love home schooling!! :) Sure it's stressful and I don't get time to myself like I would if my kids were away at school, but the pros of home-schooling far outweigh the cons!! Yay for home-schooling!! :)

Me and Kristin/Kristin and Katie (Katie doing pre-K work)/an apple that Kristin gave to me on our first day of school - is she cute or what?!/Me and my little women


We surprisingly started up our schedule of after school activities...so far we've made a pinecone bird feeder (that no bird will even come near - dang blasted ungrateful birds!), I talked Kristin how to thread a needle and stitch (which she loved by the way), she made a birthday card for one of her aunts and we went to the Palo Alto Jr. Museum for our first field trip. By the first day of school, we figured out that in order for us to not go crazy when we're doing school, we'd have to start waking up REALLY early, so Kristin and I can work on school before the younger two wake up. Then by the time they wake up, we'd be done and starting on our daily activity. So...that's what we did the first week. After Jason left for work at either 530am or 6am, I'd stay up and take a shower, read my bible and then Kristin and I would eat breakfast and then we'd start school. I don't know what happened the 2nd week, but for some reason we weren't getting up as early, so we ended up doing a lot of school with Katie and Caleb awake - which makes the whole school day last even longer because of all of the distractions and interruptions. Hence - we didn't have time to do our projects this week, but we plan on getting back on schedule next week, so we can enjoy our school day more and have more time for fun projects afterward.

Defintely wasn't our favorite activity so far - maybe it would have been more worth it...if some flippin' birds actually ate it!!!! Ungrateful birds!! ;)


Kristin also started riding her bike without training wheels a couple weeks ago! It's so sad that she hasn't had the chance to learn sooner! She had a bike in San Antonio, but it was always so hot out that we never really wanted to go out unless it was to a water park or under some shade somewhere, so she just never got around to it. :( Then we got rid of her old bike because it was too small for her and then we only just bought her a new bigger bike about 3 weeks ago. Jason decided it was time to take off the training wheels and off she went! She did it without us even running behind her. She's only fallen (quite gracefully) a couple of times and that's it! She's a natural! It was a lot like potty training. We didn't start early, we just waited until she could understand what we were trying to say to her and she did it within a couple of days! Who cares about meeting big milestones at the same rate as everyone else?! Well...I still do somewhat, but really in the big scheme of things - who cares?! :)

We went to a women's soccer game last weekend - Stanford vs. University of Portland (Jason and his brothers' James and Mike's Alma mater). Much to our surprise - UP lost!! We couldn't believe it! Of course Jason (or traitor as I like to call him) was rooting for Stanford, but I was rooting for UP (I'm no traitor!)! ;) UP has always had such an amazing women's soccer team...I don't know what the heck happened?! :(

So that's it for now. We've just been busy the last couple of weeks with the usual - school, gymnastics, diapers, cooking and cleaning - nothing too exciting... Jason will be out of town again next weekend for another conference - this time in Denver. That same weekend, Uncle Doug and his family are coming down to visit me for a day or two.
And a week after that, Jason's sister, Rachel, will be in town to visit us for a week with my sweet baby niece Charlotte and I can't wait!!! Eeeee!!! Mike may also be coming to visit that weekend, so it should be fun! The day after Rachel leaves, I'm planning on driving up to my parents' house in WA with the kids to visit for a week while Jason endures a rough rotation here (one in which we probably won't see much of him anyways). We have a pretty busy month ahead of us!!
Well - I'm done for now. I'm exhausted and need to get to bed, so I can wake up for church tomorrow! Goodnight!! Zzzz Zzzz

P.S. Oh - one more thing! If you ever happen to be in California...stop at every yellow light! I think the lights here are rigged, so this bankrupt (yet beautiful) state can scrounge up money any way it can! We just paid a HUGE traffic fine for Jason running a red light (one of those lights with the blasted camera on it)! $460 folks!!! $460!!!! Eek!!! Is that crazy or what?!?!?!
Okay - on that not-so-happy note, I'm off to bed! ;)

Blogger Slacker

I hate that I'm getting slower and slower at this whole blogging thing! There are a lot of things that I'd like to accomplish...many of them I don't ever get around to. Things I'd like to do regularly. You know - like sewing/quilting, playing the piano, gardening, going to a women's bible study, planning weekend trips and on and on the list goes. Then there are those things that I wish I could do at least monthly...like post something of worth on this dang blasted blog of mine! Argh! It has ended up becoming one of the many things I'd like to get done that doesn't get done. You know you're a blogger slacker when the beginning of each post begins with a list of excuses for why you're so behind in your blogging. Sniff sniff. I feel like such a failure! Okay okay - well I don't really feel THAT badly about being so behind. But still! I hate being so behind! It's aggravating! I keep wondering if I should just be done with this thing - to lighten my load of burdens, but I can't! I know I'd be upset with myself later on for giving up on it, so for now - I'm going to try and keep it up...I just hope that one day I'll learn how to prioritize my time, so I can be more consistent (so I don't have to do so much back-blogging...like I'm about to do now). ;)
Oh well - there could be a lot worse things to be sad about than just being extremely slow at blogging! Am I right? Yeah, so what the heck am I complaining about?! I'm just going to embrace my unbelievable slowness and accept it! I'll still try to be more on top of this thing, but I'm going to try and not get so overwhelmed with it either - I do have a lot of other things that need my attention more...like our crazy kids...and that even crazier hubcap of mine! ;) So do be patient with me! I know all two of you readers out there are always on the edge of your computer chair just waiting for the chance to read about my oh so glamorous life, but hey - I'm slow alright!! Just let me be me!!! ;) Hahaha!
Okay, so where did we leave off...I think it had something to do with Kristin's gymnastics pictures and getting ready for our trip to Virginia, so...that would be sometime in May. Whoa! So diary-type entries it is!! ;) It's my lazy way of getting caught up. Enjoy! :)

May 2010
- May 15th we packed up and headed to Dallas to visit with Aunt Shell and Uncle Jim and spend the night before driving out to Virginia.
- Drove 26 hours to Virginia (with a stop in Nashville) to visit Jason's family for 2 weeks (the drive was long and horrendous, but the aggravation was worth seeing family...I suppose). ;)
- Met our newest little niece, Charlotte (Rachel and Nate's 1st baby). She is extremely cute!!!
- Celebrated Mommy Capra's birthday and Rachel's/Charolotte's Baby Shower.

Rachel and Charlotte's Baby Shower


Mommy Capra's Birthday Party


- Went to WA National Zoo (once you've been to the Oregon Zoo - no other zoo compares...except for maybe the San Diego Zoo, but I've never been there). But hey - the D.C. Zoo has free admission, so what can you expect?! My favorite part about this zoo though - is the Panda Bear! It was so cute! That and spending time with family made it worth the visit. :)

Left to Right/Top to Bottom: Nieces Tori and Anna, Jason's sister Joanna with Caleb, Jason and Tori, Caleb and Tori, crazy panda bear, me and Tori, cute little Charlotte, crazy Katie and pooped out Caleb next to Emily


- Said goodbye to Rachel, Nate and Charlotte (or as Rachel calls her Char-latte). Oh just a side note: Charlotte was about 5-6 weeks old when we met her and Rachel was already back to her tiny-sized self. I hate you Rachel!! No I'm just kidding - I love you! But I can't help but loathe and despise you at the same time!! You little wench you! ;)


- I finished my very first quilt!! I had originally started it WAY back when I was pregnant with Kristin (under master quilter Mommy Capra's tutelage). I really enjoyed learning to quilt. It's one of those things that is much easier to learn when someone shows you how to do it in person - than trying to learn it out of a book! Anyways - I got a little busy after I had Kristin...and then even busier after I had Katie and then Caleb, so I never got around to completing it (mostly because I was too scared to move on to the next step without having help from anyone). After I found out that my best friend Laura was having a baby boy - I was determined to finish it and give it to her as a baby gift...along with a purchased gift (it's not like I was trying to be cheap or anything - okay?)! ;) I decided to bring it with us on our trip and finish it with Jason's Mom's help and guidance (which made me feel a whole lot better). She got me going...and then she left for France with her Dad for a 2 week trip! I was totally nervous about finishing it without her, but with Rachel's help and encouragement - I kept working on it...and then Rachel left!!! I was left with an almost-finished quilt and nobody! So I did what any desperate person would do - I looked up video clips on youtube on how to finish the binding and I finished it myself!! I was so excited to finally finish it! Whew! One accomplishment down - a million more to go!! ;) Anyways - it was only slightly difficult for me to put my very first quilt in the mail and send it to my friend, but I kept reminding myself that I wouldn't have been as determined or motivated to finish it if it hadn't been for wanting to finish it for my her...so I mailed it (with a tear in my eye - just kidding). I was so excited to hear how happy she was when she got it - and even happier that she noticed how much detail and hard work went into it!! :)

Here's my very first quilt...and here's me having a hard time mailing it at the post office... ;)


- Went to Angie's house to celebrate our nephews Jared and Shawn's birthdays. We had fun visiting, eating pizza, cake and ice cream and watching the boys open their presents. Katie loves Angie's youngest kiddo Anna. They're less than a year apart and they were so cute together!!


It appears here that I was desperately trying to get into more pictures. I'm usually the picture-taker and I've had enough I tell you!! I need some sort of proof that I was somewhere too!!! ;) Hahaha! L to R/T to B: Me and Jason's sister Danielle, sketch of Jason's brother Tony, rare photo of me AND Jason, Caleb with Jason's brother Jake, Jared and Shawn, Angie beating Jason...I'm sure he probably deserved it ;), me and Jason's sister Sarah, me and Jake...this was taken the day before I got a hold of his hair and gave him a real haircut :) and me and Tori.


- The next couple of days Jason and I helped clean his parents house to get it ready for a family BBQ. Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelly were going to stop by to visit after going to their son Doug's graduation from the Naval Academy up in Annapolis. We were supposed to be at the graduation too and I'm sad we missed it!! We were nervous about our animal children disturbing the ceremony. That and we really wanted to help out Jason's Dad by getting everything ready for their visit. :) I really don't like cleaning, but I LOVE to help make life easier on someone else!! It makes me feel good to help out...so is that really just me being selfish or what??!! Man - I'm a wench! ;) And Uncle Lou and Aunt Lynn came up (and down) for the visit too - we rarely get to see Uncle Lou and Aunt Lynn, so I was really excited to see them there! They're so sweet!
-We had a great time BBQing with Jason's Dad, siblings, Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelly, Uncle Lou and Aunt Lynn and all of the cousins. I love spending time with family over food, drinks and lots of loud talking and cackling...oh and there's always the traditional dance-off to finish the evening!!! :)

Danielle, Doug and Mark all taking turns to push Caleb (a.k.a. Dogbone) around the yard on a toy ATV...oh and then a random picture of Jason, Mark and me doing who knows what. ;)


BBQ time! L to R/T to B: Jason mixing everyone overly strong drinks for his uncles, my two boys, Aunt Lynn, Rissy and me, me and Jessie, Jason, me and Aunt Shelly, Uncle Lou with Caleb, me and Becky, Uncle Lou, Daddy Capra and Uncle Jim, me, Jessie and Becky, Josh and Caleb, Doug and Kiersten, me and my silly Aunt Shelly. :)


More BBQ fun! (Look at that "more manly" haircut I gave Jake!) ;)


- We somehow convinced Jason's Dad to let us bring Joanna back to San Antonio with us (without a return date even), so we packed up the car and our little String Bean (Joanna's nickname) and we began the long wretched drive back to Texas. Poor poor Joanna...I don't know how she did it! She was in the back of our "then" Highlander with no rear air conditioning and 3 crazy animals...or as some nicer people might call them - our children. ;) I'm not surprised that Joanna wants to be a Kindergarten teacher when she grows up - that Bean is one extremely patient girl!! But if I can remember correctly...I was once very patient with other people's kids. It's when you have your own (the kind that you can't hand over to someone else at the end of the day) that your patience tank starts to deplete and you go a little crazy! ;) But it's worth it I think! Does anyone else agree? Anybody?? ;)
-We met up with Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelly and all of the cousins at some point on the road and we spent the night in the same hotel and ate our continental breakfasts together the next morning on Memorial Day. Sniff sniff. All this talk of Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelly is starting to make me sad! I miss them!!! It seems weird not being in the same state as them anymore!! :( We drove behind them for most of the day and finally split up not too far from Dallas and we continued our drive down to San Antonio...5 more long hours...

June 2010
- Spent the first few days in June doing the usual as well as preparing for our upcoming move to CA.
- Jason graduated from his Anesthesiology Residency on June 4th (even though they still had to finish out their program the rest of the month). It was a long graduation because it also included every other residency program and internship program. Jason's program starts with an A, so it was the first to go and Jason's name is pretty close to the beginning of the alphabet, so his moment was over very early on in the ceremony, but we still had to sit and wait and wait and wait until it was finally over. :)
- That same night, there was a graduation dinner for the Anesthesiology program provided by the staff anesthesiologists. It was really nice and it was even nicer that they invited Jason's brother Mike to the dinner as well (since they had heard he'd be in town and that he had just gotten back from his 4 month deployment to Haiti). Two of the residents - both chief residents - received achievement medals for excellence, professionalism and job well done. Of course Jason was one of those two residents! :) Good job Jason - I'm so proud of you! I don't call you Big Head for nothing!! ;)

Graduation and dinner


- The next couple of weeks in June, I spent A LOT of time getting ready for our move. Very exhausting!
- Joanna and I overdid it with netflix this month! We decided to watch the first couple of shows from the first season of Army Wives and for some odd reason, Joanna and I couldn't stop watching it! We got through 2 seasons before she had to go. Quite pathetic...we know. :) Now that Joanna isn't here, I've had to start on the 3rd season all by myself. I have 2 more discs to go and then I'll come back to reality...just in time for school to start. ;)
- We had Joanna with us for 3 weeks and her parents started to miss her, so we bought her a ticket out of Dallas, so she could fly nonstop back to Virginia (since she's underage and flying alone for the first time). We drove her up on the 17th and took her to the airport the next morning and stayed until her plane left. We spent the rest of the weekend visiting Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelly for our last visit. :( We miss youuuuu!!!

We miss you Aunt Joanna!


Last trip to Dallas to visit Aunt Shelly and Uncle Jim's :(


- I got a 0% offer on one of my credit cards with convenience checks, so I wrote myself a big check and paid off Jason's little work car and paid our horrendous Highlander loan down to the best trade-in price we were offered.
- The next day we traded in our Highlander for a '11 Toyota Sienna...yes...a minivan! Gulp! We have been resisting the inevitable for quite some time now and we finally decided to give in and just do it! Our highlander almost had 100,000 miles on it (after only 3 measly years) and the value of the car was going down fast, so we felt we had to do something soon since we eventually wanted to trade it in for something bigger anyways). I was really nervous about having something so dorky, but we were pretty impressed with the Sienna (Toyota had just redesigned their minivan and tried making it look a tad more sporty - if that's even possible). :) Anyways - I was afraid we'd regret it later, but I haven't been happier (with a car anyways)! It's SO nice to finally have space for the kids and even more space to fit stuff inside it without worrying about having to tie anything to the roof rack or hang the trunk door open! It's great! The huge DVD screen, dual moon roof, usb ports and electrical outlets are all super nice and of course the size...the list goes on! Honda is also coming out with their new redesigned Odyssey in the Fall,...so hopefully I won't regret not having waited, so I could have compared the two... Oh well - I'm still very happy with our purchase!

Our new minivan! It's not too dorky...right?? ;)


- Our movers came on the 23rd and 24th to pack and pickup our stuff. They did a pretty horrible job, but what can you do? I brought our irreplaceable things with us - like pictures and important papers, so that's all that really matters to me. Although I DO NOT enjoy going out trying to find replacements for all the things that were either broken or lost in our shipment. Argh. Thankfully, the military has switched over to making the carrier responsible for loss and damages, so they sent us checks to reimburse us fairly quickly, so that helped some of the aggravation.
- We moved into base lodging and stayed for our remainder of time at Lackland AFB. We lived just a few doors down from some friends of ours (Cami and her kiddos), but we rarely saw each other except for a couple of times. I cannot believe how busy I was those last few days! I was picturing us not having anything to do but relax after we moved into billeting, but that didn't happen! Anyways - I'm totally jealous of Cami because they moved to the beautiful state of Alaska...where my best friend Laura is currently living! Hmph! We might have a chance of moving there next summer when Jason is finished with his fellowship - if the AF wants him to open a Pain Clinic up there! We're trusting God will send us wherever He wants us, so we'll see!! For right now - if they don't have Jason open a clinic somewhere, we'll be headed back to San Antonio for what would probably be a long long long time. :( I definitely don't dislike San Antonio, but moving around to new places is one of the many things I love about the military - so it would be sad to stay put in one place forever (especially if it isn't at a base I desire to live at forever). You know? Anyways - we'll see. I'm excited to find out! Hopefully we'll have an idea sometime in December!!!
- We spent the day at Sea World and ate Rudy's BBQ for dinner on our last weekend in San Antonio.

Last day at Sea World


- Jason decided the day before we left Texas that we should stop by Disneyland on the way to our new home in CA, so I ran out and bought us one-day passes at the tickets office on base and made reservations for 2 nights at the Paradise Pier at Disneyland - Disneyland Hotel was all full. :( Even with a military discount - the Disneyland Resort is SO overpriced!!! But it's so much more fun than to stay on the Disney grounds!! I could probably settle for going back to the old Best Western like we did when we graduated college, but I don't think Jason will ever agree to it. ;)
- We packed up the cars (which were both totally full by the way) the night before and left San Antonio July 1st. It was a LONG LONG LONG drive... It felt so much longer because Jason had to also drive his work car, so we didn't get to take turns driving. Ugh. Oh well - it wasn't horrible. We traded off kids every now and then. One of the kids would ride with Jason and they'd all switch off. So I only had 2 kids at a time which helped keep some of the fighting down...a little anyways. :)
- We spent the first night in Arizona at Ft. Huachuca and then we got to Disneyland the next afternoon. We ate a small dinner at Crocs Bits N Bites at the Disneyland Hotel and then we spent the rest of the night walking around Downtown Disney, eating beighnets for dessert and watching fireworks from our hotel room window.

Lego Store in Downtown Disney and watching fireworks from our hotel room


- After we ate the room service breakfast that Jason ordered us the night before, we spent the whole next day racing from one thing to the next in Disneyland with only a 2 hour break in the middle of the day back at the hotel. It was totally exhausting and not relaxing in the least! Did I mention I was so exhausted because I carried Caleb around ALL DAY LONG?!? We came into the park on the monorail, so we didn't have a chance to stop at the stroller check-out stand at the park entrance! I think we meant to make our way to the entrance at some point, but we just kept running and running and sort of forgot! Jason held Katie pretty much the whole time and I trailed behind him with Caleb for most of the time while he sped-walked a million miles an hour!!!! I was pooped! I'm positive that I fell asleep the split second my head hit the pillow that night!!!! I definitely recommend doing what we normally do - which is spend 2 or 3 days at the park AND rent a stroller!!!! Much more relaxing if you do it that way! Then you don't feel the pressure to see everything because you can space it all out over a period of days. We watched the beautiful fireworks and then headed back to our room to pass out.

Room service breakfast, Nemo's submarine ride and Dumbo ride


Dumbo ride, train ride and carousel


Sleeping Beauty's castle, Me and Kristin on Splash Mountain and meeting Tinkerbell and Terrance


Meeting Star Wars characters, Pluto, princesses and Mickey and Minnie Mouse


- The next morning, we checked out of our room and then ate brunch at the over-priced Goofy's Kitchen where all of the characters come out to meet with you at your table. The food is always oh so yummy!! Afterward, we drove 3 hours north to Jason's Uncle Doug's house to celebrate the 4th of July. We BBQ'd, swam in the pool and then watched Uncle Doug, his friend and Jason light off fireworks in the cul de sac (or however you spell that).

Goofy's Kitchen


- The next morning we headed farther north 3 more hours to our new base (or closed down base that's now owned by NASA - that just happens to still offer housing to military members). We checked into base lodging and then we signed the papers for our new house the morning after that. The movers came and delivered our stuff a couple of days later and I ran around like a crazy person for most of the month of July buying things and replacing others and trying to get us all settled into our new house. Did I mention that the house is only 5 years old?!?! A HUGE difference compared to the 60+ year old house we had been living in the last 4 years in Texas!! It's so nice not to breathe mold, asbestos and lead paint every time you step into your house! It makes a world of difference! :)
- So July was VERY busy - mostly with me running around like an insane chicken with its head cut off. Not pretty. Not pleasant. ;) We also found all of our usual places - like a church, a gym, Kristin and Katie's new gymnastics place (which is even better than the last place they went to!), Jason's jujitsu place, grocery stores, favorite restaurants and stores.
- Jason was also very busy this month studying to get ready for his Anesthesia board exam which he took on August 2nd.
- We also squeezed in a day here and there to visit the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Monterrey.

Fisherman's Wharf - Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, crazy sea lions and lunch at Bubba Gump's


We spent a couple hours in Monterrey looking at overcast waters...and we also walked around and saw all of the local stores and candy shops


Our crazy kiddies on an average day... :)


- A week before Jason started his fellowship, we had to go out and buy him a wardrobe of suits, shirts and ties for his one year of working as an active duty civilian-clothes-wearing doctor. Ugh. Wearing a military uniform and scrubs everyday for work is much more affordable and convenient! Just another of my favorite things about military life! ;)
- We also went back to Uncle Doug's for another visit at the end of July and we're planning to visit one another every month or so. They need some Capra lovin' - they've been so far away from the rest of the Capras living way out here in California!

Visiting Uncle Doug and Aunt Gala and cousins (Uncle Doug's caption for the picture of him and Jason in their swimming trunks: "It's like looking in the mirror!") Hahahaha!!! :)


August
- Jason took his Anesthesia board exam. We'll find out in October how he did. I'm sure that Big Head boy did great. :)
- Jason started his first day of work at Stanford University Hospital. He is going to be one REALLY busy guy this next year!! This fellowship is intense!! Yikes!

Jason's first day of work (of course he couldn't be all serious!) ;)


- Finally finished getting everything in its place and everything hung up and decorated exactly one month after moving into our house. Sheesh! I'm getting REALLY slow! It used to only take me a couple of days to get settled in! This whole kid thing is really slowing me down!! ;) It's still worth it though - even if I am slowly going crazy.... :)

Front and backyard of our new house (it's kind of like a townhouse/row housing - our front door is the one with the flag and the building at he end of our backyard sidewalk is our detached 2 car garage)


Front door entry/Powder Room/Dining Room and Office


Living Room and the awkward space between it and the Dining Room :) I miss having painted walls, but I am not about to paint all of these walls just so we can move 11 months from now!


Kitchen/Laundry Room


My storage closet of hidden (yet somewhat organized) junk. It also doubles as my home school and crafts storage, board games closet and office.


Girls' Bedroom


Caleb's Room, Kids' Bathroom and Hallway


Master Bedroom and Bathroom


- I've also been busy planning out our schedule and our first month of school and activities. I think we're going to start school August 30th. Kristin is starting 2nd grade! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! I'm going to do some little things with Katie as well - with ABC's, numbers and shapes. Now I just have to figure out what to do with that animal boy of mine in the meantime... ;) I also think we're going to add more stuff to the end of each of our school days. Like arts/crafts on Mondays, Sewing on Tuesdays, Hospitality (of some sort) Wednesdays, Cooking on Thursdays and Field Trips on Fridays. Hopefully that all works out according to plan!!
- I'm determined to try a new recipe for each of our dinners. As much as Jason will probably hate it - I really want to find new recipes before I die of boredom!! ;) I've already tried a few and I'm going to keep it up! So far - I haven't been amazingly impressed with anything, but I'm still determined to keep trying! There's yummy recipes out there! I just know it!!! :)

2 of the new recipes I've tried (they were both - eh - okay)


Testing out our new chimnea with some s'more roasting!


More S'mores another night


- Brought a blanket and some snacks and went to a Stanford soccer scrimmage match. The first of many Stanford sports we'll be watching this year.

Stanford soccer scrimmage


- Jason's sister Sarah is coming out to visit for a week. Well - she's actually coming out for her marine boyfriend's graduation from some linguistics thing in Monterrey, but we get a few days with her before and afterward. :)

So now that we're settled in, we're back to the usual. One of those usual things being the girls' gymnastics classes. I spend 3 days a week standing and watching the girls for 2 long hours each day whilst trying to hold/control a crazy 18-month old boy. Ugh. There has to be a better way!! These kinds of places need a sectioned-off place for younger toddlers to play while they wait for older siblings. Then I would actually look forward to gymnastics! I could watch the girls and maybe read a book. Ah....now that would make these overpriced CA gymnastics places worth paying for! As for the time being - they're just costing me a lot of money and a lot of headaches!!

Oh - just as a side note: Here is what I posted on my facebook status a little earlier today:

"is thankful to have gotten all of the Play Doh out of Caleb's ear that he so happily stuffed in his ear while I was getting our lunch ready! The girls were never interested with putting anything in their ears or noses, so I wasn't prepared for this! Boys are animals!!! He can already open baby-proofed door knobs (Jason can barely even open them)! Eek! It's time for me to up the baby-proofing! But how...?"

On that happy note, I'm off to work on some more baby-proofing!! :)

P.S. Here is a quick video clip that Jason took of our dear baby boy banging his head on our car steering wheel while I was inside Ikea returning something. I've been a tad bit worried about all of the head-banging he's been doing lately, so I told my Mom...only to find out that I used to do the same thing as a baby... Uh...I think I turned out okay didn't I?? Uh... Besides the insane amount of rambling I do when I'm writing...or talking... Oh no...this isn't good!! ;)

I wouldn't call it a proud day... ;)