Birthday trip to Sacramento and San Fran

Virginia invited me to come out to Sacramento the weekend before my birthday. She was there for a conference and extended her stay over the weekend. I flew in on Friday and we stayed with her long-time friend Libby. Friday was mostly raining and so we spent time indoors -- shopping. :)

Saturday, we drove into San Francisco and met up with Grace, her boyfriend Clayton and a friend from the American Cancer Society, Justin for dim sum. The dim sum was amazing as was the rest of the day, which was spent wandering around Chestnut Street, soaking in the sun, ambiance and people. We visited our favorite jewelry store Partita and ate gourmet cupcakes from Kara's Cupcakes. It was wonderful and a balm for my soul.

We returned to Libby's house that night, watched some chick flicks while eating pizza and having girl talk. Then I returned on Sunday. It was a fantastic weekend getaway. Below is the dim sum crew - from left, Virginia, Justin, myself, Libby, Grace and Clayton.

Boys on a bike ride

Shane taking Ander for a ride around the block.

We usually have the Hawk parked in the garage and Ander will climb up on it whenever we enter the garage and "ride" it. He thinks it is his bike. I keep telling him it is mommy's.

Visiting the Tucson gem show

Dad had his collection on display at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, so Ander and I travelled down there in February to see it and hang with the parents. Ander is in front of the display in one photo and insisted on taking a photo of the grandparents, so this is them from his height.

Painting the firehouse

At Christmastime, Ander received a large firetruck from Aunt Jeanette. A large box of presents also arrived in the mail from Aunt Teri. Lo and behold, the box is just the right size to hold the firetruck, so Ander and I built a two-story firehouse to hold his truck and the firemen (still have to get those...).

No firehouse would be complete without painting it red, so Ander and I spent a few hours on a Saturday painting his firehouse.

Today I am 40 – and I feel fantastic

Posted to Facebook on 3/17/2010.

Today I am 40 – and I feel fantastic. New life is blossoming within me – figuratively and literally. I have friends of amazing qualities and interests, each one a jewel and treasure. My husband is generous, attentive, caring – a good cook, a good lover, a good father. I have been blessed with a son who beams God’s love in his outgoing spirit and my life is much richer as I watch and help him grow. I have family whose love encases and embraces me. I enjoy my work and have time for play. I have good health and enough wealth to not worry each day. I have had a rich life with small town and big city experiences and the opportunity to see other countries. Deep sorrows and exuberant joys have all been mine. Were I to pass tomorrow, I would consider my life well-lived and blessed.

Baby's room revised

With the approaching arrival of our next boy,we began to take a hard look at revising what would be his room. The room was a bright blue with lots -- and I mean lots -- of shelves.

I approached Jeanette and Aunt Hazel to spend a weekend with me taking them down and repairing the wall and then painting.

But Jeanette had other plans. She worked with a contractor friend of her's and hired some of his workers to do the entire room. They took down the shelves, repaired the wall (they counted 64 holes), repainted everything -- trim, closet, walls, shelves -- and then replaced the carpet which was damaged.

It was an amazing transformation and took so much work off our hands. Jeanette's gift to the baby has been a relief for all of us.

To come, the crib and dresser are to be moved in shortly. And I'm working on the crib set and a wall hanging that will bring baby soft blue into the room and light browns for the wood.