It's Friday! Such a lovely day. Friday afternoons fill me with anticipation. What fun awaits, which chores will be done, a whole morning to sleep in. I am planning to take Emma to the symphony tonight. Her violin teacher will be performing with the orchestra so it will be extra special. I am going to try to find a sitter for tomorrow so Bob and I can do something alone together. How lovely that sounds! We also have the washer to fix........

It's late and I am so tired! I can't get my brain to turn off. Maybe some warm milk and some soothing classical music will help? Buenas noches all!

Rachael and I decided to swing by the beach for a quick lunch before picking Emma up at school. Don't be a hater, this is our compensation for living hours and hours and hours away from non-humboldt civilization, friends, and family. OK, you can hate me, I love living so close to the ocean!

I am in a mellow mood! I have been working on relaxing today. Rachael has been on a tear the last few days. I went to vacuum the box of kosher salt she dumped all over the kitchen, but the vacuum canister was full of the cloves and the sugar puffs the she recently decorated the house with. Of course, as this was all happening the neighbors came over to ask us to check to see if our washer was leaking because their garage was all wet. Yep, leaky hose. Luckily there was no damage, just a little water that is now dry. Emma's fish also died. She came running into the living room to tell me that "Jeanette is dead because Lisa (the bigger fish) ate her and all that is left is eyes and bones." Yes, it was an awesome night.

So Emma had her violin recital friday night. She did a great job! She got really nervous and had to start over again. She said "I can't do this" and the whole audience started telling her "sure you can" and were so wonderful and supportive. I love how loving and encouraging people are here! Well, she started over and did a great job to lots of applause! Bob was supposed to take pictures for me but took video instead (I was busy trying to keep Rachael from screaming the house down). I don't know how to upload video yet, but she looked beautiful.

Nice that my "whatever I am in the mood for" playlist got mixed up with my "80's church dance mix". Enjoy

Yesterday was HOT! Many of you will tell me to stop whining, "it's much hotter where I am...." blah blah blah. I know all of this, still......It was so HOT! It hit 91 degrees here! Now, let me tell you why this is so bad!
I live on the North coast! Way up north! A mere hour and a half from the California Oregon border. I live on the coast. My house is about a mile to the ocean. We have only had 1 really bad day in the 4 years we have lived here and it was 84 degrees. You still say "why are you whining" Well, it is so nice here that no one bothers with air conditioning. Nobody could cool anything off! Still not convinced? Try adding up to 80% humidity! Yeah, IT WAS HOT! Where was my blessed marine inversion layer? OK OK still not convinced? Well, ok, we survived no worse for wear. Enough whining already.

Here's our baby! She is so funny. She is obsessed with animals. Her dollhouse has never seen a doll.

I am going to play catch up. Bob and I got married in 1999. Before we got married Bob went to the Ecuador Guayaquil mission. He earned his bachelors degree in Civil Engineering at BYU and then earned his masters degree at University of Colorado in water management. I went to the Spain Las Palmas mission (Hermana Crabe) and pursued my education as well. I am working on finishing my degree in psychology at Humboldt State here in California. Who knows how long it will take as I am fully entrenched in my present career as "mom" to my 2 precocious daughters. I fit in a class where I can (it has been awhile, I will admit) and can't wait to wear my cap and gown.


We have 2 daughter: Emma who is 7 and in first grade, and Rachael who is 3.5. We stay busy with school, ballet, and violin lessons.

We love living in Humboldt county! I never thought I would live so close to the ocean after the mish, so I feel doubly blessed. It is an added blessing that we live among the Redwoods as well.

Life with a tween! Here's Emma taking a nap listening to her mp3 player and hugging her american girl doll. Truly the tween is a complex creature.