At "Home"

Sometimes I forget what it's like to be at home. Kate and I often take off and go explore whatever we may find interesting within a short driving distance. This weekend has been nice. Mainly because we have been home. This morning I joined Katie in her biweekly Yoga session. More than the work out (and it was!) I wanted to experience her experiences.

Backing up, I enjoyed studying last night while Kate took off for a couple hours after work to join the girls in a Wii fit thing. This morning we finally woke up to sunshine and blue skies and a quick walk down the road we were left wide eyed at how low the snow level was. The mountains were covered all the way down to 2,000ft. We are at 1,100ft. It almost snowed here! Snow on the mountains always magnifies them. It makes us feel like we are closer to them than we really are.

In between studies we took our usual walk around the neighborhood. I've always enjoyed looking at mailboxes. Haha. I have no idea why. So I've decided to start taking pictures of the ones I see. Here are a few from our midafternoon walk and some of the snow on the mountains, which had melted since the morning.





After our walk we cut into a couple pieces of fruit off our trees. The grapefruits are ready and the tangelos are not too far behind.
The grapefruit were the size of softballs.

Our backyard is the ultimate little kid backyard. Could you imagine playing G.I. Joes back here?!
Katie always joins me for the picking but I always seem to end up doing the picking. I guess she likes to watch but I think she if afraid of bugs.
We picked three paper bags worth. I didn't even pick the whole tree! I'll bet I picked 60 grapefruits.

Next up, oranges and tangelos!
As I write Katie is busy in the kitchen. Cabbage soup, homemade artisan bread and later, brownies with ice cream and a movie. Ahhhh...it's only Saturday night.

Winter on the Bay.

This past weekend we took a quick trip up to Washington to visit Katie's family. Breaking up the redundancy of regular life here in Loma Linda is something we need often. There was nothing fancy about this weekend. And capturing the events of the days on camera weren't anything to brag about. Simple walks, tasty home cooked meals, going undefeated in ping pong and enjoying each others company made it a quite refreshing weekend.


Below, the beach where all the summer festivities take place is underwater. In the spring it will be a group effort to reposition these logs back to their normal location. Ha, now that I think about it, I spent plenty of time this past summer reshaping that beach. Now look at it!



"The Point." Shon, Ben, Peter and I took a hike on this old farm road that eventually overlooks the ocean.

We had a great time visiting family. Now, it's back to the grind of school and work. Come June, Kate and I will make our way back to Washington to visit with good friends in Spokane, Yakima, and Of course 4th of July in Birch Bay.

Our new wheels.

So, we got a great deal on a vehicle. Here it is. The paperwork has been a hassle but it will be worth it when all is said and done. Now the toyota will have some company in the driveway.

Contentment to bring in the new year.

Kate's asleep on the couch, the sun is doing it's job, and all I hear is birds. Wow, what a week. Lot's went on-rough housing, competition, laughs, conversation. What a great way to end '09 and start '10. After 8+ days of community with North westerners, Kate and I will spend the weekend together enjoying each others company. Tonight will be date night. Dinner and a movie perhaps. Monday I start school and am looking forward to learning again. 2009 was good for the two of us. Memories, challenges, growth and with that comes the growing pains made this year colorful. Lots of photos painted a nice picture of our adventures in '09. I must admit blogging is a great way to journal.

Well, time for lunch. Maybe a run or even better...a walk...with Katie.