Disneyland

We had such a great time at Disneyland this weekend with our friends. If only we didn't have to come back. We drove up Saturday with Lenny, Amy and thier daughter Abby. We checked into our hotel and just hung out for awhile. You know, checked out the pool and the workout room. Then we went and walked around Downtown Disney and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Evan really thought the gorillas were real and he was completely turned around looking and pointing at them. He was actually a bit scared. Awe, he's just a little guy.

Anyway (one of my fav words), on Sunday we met up with Jason and Rachel and their 4-month old baby, Taylor. They were in OC for a wedding and only had Sunday to hang out before flying back to Seatle early Monday morning. It was good to see them but way too short a visit.

I know Evan won't remember it but he really did like it. And that made it so much funner for us. He pointed at everything and it's so funny because I really think he thinks everything is real. Like animals and cartoon characters. He was also very intrigued by the firework show. As was I. It seemed like Taylor was interested in all the people and the lights. And Abby, who is 5, had the best time of all. She's familiar with all the Disney characters and has all of thier autographs in her autograph book she brings with her. She's so funny.

Sweet Taylor

About the Fires

Well, it turned out to be worse than I imagined. Sunday night there was talk about fires on the news but I didn't think it would be a big deal. The next day, Matt called and said, "Dude! I don't think you should go to Stroller Strides today... there's fires and all the roads are closed and I don't think you should be breathing in the air." I happend not to be motivated to workout anyway and so that was just the excuse I needed but Matt tends to be overprotective and so I just thought he was exagerating.

But sure enough, I turned on the TV an it was pretty bad. Homes in Rancho Bernardo were burning and it was getting worse. Friends were evacuating all over the place. Fortunately, no one I know lost thier homes but so many others did. I imagined that so many were like me. I always downplay serious things and I would have left so many valuable things behind.

Some people had to evacuate at like 4 in the morning and barely had time to escape.

We spent the rest of the week indoors. We did go out briefly to buy water and food to drop off at the evacuation centers. We live in Mission Valley, far from the fires, but my eyes got watery and Matt got the worst headache.

It seems like most of the damage has past. Last I heard, there were over 1400 homes destroyed in San Diego. I'm not sure how many people died.

At our church (one of the Evacuation Sites)

Our church Drop Off Table

Someone Seriously Laoded Up at Costco

He Did it... He Walked!!!

Evan totally walked today. He's been taking a few steps here and there for awhile now. It seemed like he didn't even notice when he was taking a few unattended steps and when he did, he would immediately drop down to crawl. I'm so glad Matt was home to see it too.

I was in the kitchen cooking and he just started walking. I yelled for Matt and we both made a big fuss over it and he kept walking. He's so cute.

Too bad we have all those fires though. It's so crazy. So many people have been evacuated and it just seems to be getting worse. Please remember to pray.

Anyway, here are some pics... i grabbed my camera so fast I didn't adjust the settings (shutter speed) and they are tottally blurry.

It's Holiday Time... and Stroller Strides

I can't even remember what we've been up to this month. All I know is that it was just October and suddenly its almost Halloween. Which basically means it's November and when it's November, it means Thanksgiving, which means it's Christmas and then New Years.

I'm really super excited about all of the holidays!!! We just bought Evan's Halloween costume this past week. A few day's before halloween we're going to Disneyland with Lenny and Amy and Jay and Rachel. Then in November we're going to Oklahoma to visit family for Thanksgiving. We'll fly back home just in time for my 10-year high school reunion on Saturday. Then Roxy and her entire clan of 10 will be here in mid-December to stay for a month! I always love Christmas. And Finally, on New Years Eve we're having a huge family reunion on my Dad's side of the family. We've got skits and singing and dancing planned out. It's going to be sooo much fun!

Anyway, Evan and I joined Stroller Strides this week. It's really great and I'm just bummed I didn't come up with the idea. Yeah, another one of those simple yet brilliant ideas. They're all over the country now. In fact, my good friend Stephanie bought a franchise for one in Knoxville a few months ago. I wrote about thier trip out here a few blogs back. So she was here for a training, I picked her up after it was over and I was so lucky to have her stay with us before going back home. I miss them and can't wait to see them again.

Anyway, back to Stroller Strides, I get to work out while Evan is in his stroller and I get to meet new people too. And moms happen to be my favorite kind of poeple to meet right now. After our workout, which by the way is pretty tough, we let the kids just roam free and play, so it's good for both of us.

My Absolute Favorite Picture

We've also been taking Evan to the beach quite often to get dirty and play around

Our New Car

Here is our new car...

Lot's of September Birthdays

Wow, we had a busy birthday month. Matt's was on the 16th followed by my brother on the 18th and then my tia Nieves on the 20th. On the 25th was my aunt Nancy's birthday and then my cousin Cassie had her birthday party on the 29th. Whew!!!

Here's what else is going on...

I started a photography class last week and I'm really excited about that. I just love taking pictures. I've also been working a bit part time trying to get back on track with our real estate investments. We've had such a crazy year with all of that with the market being the way it is. So many times it felt like we were holding on for dear life and we still are. But we've embraced the challenges and we've sort of regrouped knowing that at the same time there are lots of opportunities out there. I'm just thankful for all that God has done and is doing in our lives. He always provides and He is always faithful.

Which reminds me, that I'm thankful for our new car. We got a family SUV in which, Evan's jogging stroller now fits in the back, along with a lot of other things. It's so exciting when you get a new car. I actually couldn't wait to go run errands. I'll even admit that I sat in the car for over an hour while it was parked in the garage reading the manual. Yes, I read the manuals... I don't know if many of you know this but I wrote user manuals for a short time in my life.

A Little Girl at the Party, Holding on to her Mommy

Photography Class Assignment

Cassie (far right) & her Friends

Naunt's Cake (I made)