Terrific Tuesday: Vacation Edition

Our second to last day in San Jose was packed with fun. It started off with breakfast with friends. After breakfast we headed to one our favorite parks. This park was within walking distances of where we lived. We often walked to the park after dinner so the kids could play. We had Eliana's 1st birthday party there. We have many happy memories there- and the kids were exited to go back.

After the park, we went to Los Gatos to meet with up with some friends at the fountain. We had lunch and the kids splashed in the water. Simple things like this are things that I miss the most.

The kids aren't the only ones who like to play in thefountain- I do too!
I love chasing them around- I just try to stay somewhat dry!

Reagan, Maddy, and Eliana

Next, we hit the road for Watsonville. We were thrilled to find out that Gizdich was still picking strawberries. I convinced Luke that I had to take some home with us. We arrived and the fields were practically empty. But the strawberry bushes were full of huge, red, juicy berries. They were so good! In a half an hour, we picked 10lbs of strawberries. Luke looked at me like I was nuts and I know was silently wondering how we would get all of them home...

Yep! The strawberries were delicious!

The strawberry fields of Watsonville... 

Now how are we getting to get these home!?!?

Next stop was Capitola! Capitola is a little town south of Santa Cruz, right on the beach. It has a cute little downtown with shops and restaurants. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was where Luke and I had our first date... Anyways, we grabbed pizza at Pizza My Heart, and walked down to the beach to eat. A cool breeze was coming off the ocean and it was a beautiful start to our evening...

Our final thing for the day was the Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take Two. We met our Boardwalk friends (Brian, Marny, Maddy, and Reagan). It was basically a repeat of the last week. Lots of rides. Time for the adults to talk. Fair food (cotton candy, corn dogs, soda, ice cream). You know, healthy stuff. I thought that Silas might enjoy going on the sky ride from one end of the park to the other. When I suggested it, he was excited. And so were all of the other kids- and me! But Luke, Brian, and Marny weren't particualarly thrilled. Luke took one for the team and went. Luke rode with Reagan and Silas. I rode with Maddy and Eliana. Maddy was screaming at the top of her lungs at Luke- just calling him name- for no particular reason. Half way through the ride she looked at me and said, "I'm so funny!" It was so innocent and cute; it cracked me up.

Maddy and Reagan on the airplanes!

Silas driving the Pepsi truck

One of the rides that is the kid's favorite is the race car ride. The cars ride around an oval shaped track, and the cars whip around the end of the track and the kids go sliding in their seats. Their expressions always make us laugh!

Eating ice cream at 10PM before heading home! 

When we go to the Boardwalk, we always intend to leave at a reasonable time. And that never happens. We are lucky to leave by 10PM- and then we will have an hour drive home. This night was no different. We quit the rides at 10PM and then went to ice cream. Who sugars up their kids before bed? We do! Because that is what vacation is about!

Goodbye Boardwalk! Can't wait to come back again!

Our time "Back Home" in San Jose

When we left Redding, we drove back to San Jose, which is where we spent the rest of our time. I failed in the picture taking area, and don't have photos of much of what we did. But let me say, we had a fun time! Here is a list of some of the fun things we did, but I have no pictures to prove it!

I attended a bridal shower for a friend, Cassie, and was able to see Heather and Maeve, two other girls from my days of working in the youth group at LGCC.

I had lunch with my former co-worker and dear friend, Anne. She is like another grandma to the kids- and we all had fun seeing her.

I had breakfast with some friends from church, Hillary and Kaitlyn, and Kaitlyn's new baby, Logan. Levi and Logan are just a few weeks apart. It was a fun breakfast, but a little crazy with so many kids! (I'll be honest, the babies were perfect. It was more Eliana and Silas- why would they want to sit and eat breakfast when they can run around in a restaurant?!?).

We had lots of fun with our friends, Brandon and Sarah, who we stayed with. We were up many nights talking until the wee hours of the morning. I think once it was 4AM. Yep, we were all tired the next day.

Luke had a day to go down the coast and take pictures with Brandon.

We had dinner with my former boss and great friend, Diane, and her husband, Brian. It was a double date at Santana Row- and a perfect evening of food, ice cream, coffee, catching up, and laughing. 

We ate at In-N-Out 3 times! Yes, it was wonderful. Our second time was in Fairfield, on the way to Redding, and Silas had his first hamburger ever! Memorable. :)

We had more CCC's at the Great Bear then I can count. We shopped at Trader Joe's a couple of times. We ate at Willow Street, one of our favorite restaurants (and a place I worked for many years). We shopped. Luke had Phil's Coffee. We had Sprinkles cupcakes again. We went to our favorite parks. We had a picnic at Vasona with friends and road the train and carousel. We spent time hanging out in Los Gatos. We went to the fountain to play. We visited friends and former co-workers at our old church. We were able to attend the service and worship at our old church- and see many friends and familiar faces. We had Manley's Donuts- more then once! We went and drove through our old apartment complex and tried to explain to Silas why we couldn't go in our old apartment. We spent evenings with friends. We played at the Children's Museum. We picked strawberries at our favorite farm in Watsonville. We went to our favorite grocery store with "the little carts" and got sugar cookies. The kids played with Mr. Mark and Mrs. Patty- friends of ours and surrogate grandparents for the kids. We ate at Pizza My Heart- and got t-shirts. We went to La Villa in Willow Glen and picked up dozens of raviolis to freeze and bring home to Colorado. We went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk- again!

We did so much on our trip and came home needing a vacation to recover from our vacation. But it was SO. MUCH. FUN. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Because even though we were in California for 13 days, we still didn't get to do all we wanted do and see all the people we wanted to see.

The next few posts will be filled with the pictures we did take of our adventures!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take One

One of our favorite things to do in the summer during our last year in California was go to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Every Monday and Tuesday night during the summer, all rides are $1. Sodas, hot dogs, and cotton candy are $1 too. Warning: the hot dog tastes like $1- not good. On the other hand, cotton candy?!? Delicious. I always get a bag (or two).

Our Santa Cruz Boardwalk pals are some of our best friends, Brian and Marny, and their two girls, Madison and Reagan (also known as Lala). (Side story: Silas and Reagan are the same age- and best friends. When Reagan was little, she couldn't say "Silas"- so she called him "Lala." Silas evidentally thought, that was what they called each other- so they both call each other "Lala"- and I think it's adorable.) Brian and Marny were high school friends of Luke's- and friends of mine since Luke and I started dating. They are like family- and their girls are like nieces to us.

We had one day in San Jose before we went to Redding to see Luke's family. So we went to Santa Cruz! We met Marny and the girls downtown, and when they kids saw each other, they ran to each other. They hadn't seen each other in over 8 months- and yet it was like no time had passed. They reconnected immediately. We met Brian and grabbed dinner before heading to the Boardwalk.

Our evening at the Boardwalk was great. The kids had a blast going on ride after ride. And the adults had a great time talking and catching up.

Maddy and Levi at dinner

Brian and Marny 

Silas on the Whale ride...

Maddy and Eliana on the Dragons... Maddy
was Eliana's ride buddy for the night.

Reagan and Silas on the Helicopters

Please pray

UPDATE: Madison is out of surgery. Thank you for praying! The doctors were able to remove the mass. It will be a few more days before they know more about what the mass is. Thank you so much for praying for her and her family. Hundreds of people joined in prayer today for this sweet girl. And I know God heard every prayer.

* * * * * * * * * *

When we were in California we were able to spend time with some of our best friends, Brian and Marny. Luke has been friends with Brian and Marny since high school, and I have been friends with them since I started dating Luke. They have two daughters, Madison (9) and Reagan (4). Silas and Reagan are best friends.

A week ago tonight, we were at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with them- and had a great time. I rode on the sky glider with Madison and Eliana. Luke, Reagan, and Silas were on the chair in front of us, and Madison kept yelling, at the top of her lungs, up to Luke. She was just being silly, and she looked at me and said, "I am so funny!" I totally cracked me up. We were sad to good-bye to them on Wednesday on our way to the airport. 

On Thursday, Marny noticed a bump on Madison's stomach. She took her into the doctor. The doctor told them to take her into the hospital on Friday for an ultrasound and CAT scan. On Friday, after taking her to the hospital, they were told that Madison has a 14cm mass in her stomach and were referred to an oncologist. "Oncologist" is a word that a parent never wants to hear in regards to their child. 

Today they went to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital to meet with an oncologist and have more tests done. Madison was admitted after her appointment and surgery was moved from Friday to today. The results of the tests are not back yet, but her stomach is become more swollen from this mass. She has also lost her appetite.

Please join me in praying for Madison as she has surgery today. 

~Pray that the doctors will clearly see everything that needs to be removed. Pray that they will be able to quickly diagnose what is going on and figure out what needs to happen next.

~This is the first time Madison has had surgery. Pray for peace for her. Pray that she will be brave. Pray that she would not have any negative side effects to the anesthesia. 

~Pray for Brian, Marny, and their family during this difficult time. Pray for peace and comfort.

~Pray for supernatural healing from God. God is still in the business of miracles!

One miracle has already happened. In the morning at 7:30AM, eight different specialist will be meeting to discuss Madison's case, review her tests and CAT scans. The doctor that informed them of this meeting said that it was very unusual for these eight doctors to be here the same morning and all be able to meet about this. Some may think, what a coincidence! I say, thank you Jesus! And thank you to the many of you already praying for her. 

Here is a picture from last week at the Boardwalk

Top: Madison
Bottom: Silas and Reagan

Students turned to Friends

May we had a girl from our church in California stay with us for one night. Aimee is someone who I have known for quite a few years. I was her counselor one summer at camp. She volunteered in Children's Church with the elementary students at our church along with her friend Cassie. They were responsible, fun, and just all around great girls to work with. I loved the weeks that volunteered when I worked because they were reliable and did a great job with the kids. Anyways, Aimee was out in Colorado for a quick trip and stayed with us for a night. We had a great time having breakfast with her and just talking about life and how college is going. She is half way done with college and after hearing how things are going, I can say I am very proud of the woman she is and the choices she is making!

Having her here made me think of the many great students I have had the chance to work with over the years. I volunteered with our Jr. High and High School group in Minnesota for about 5 years, and with the High School group in California for about 3 years. Being a part of the lives of these kids was so fun! I loved working with youth groups over the years- lots of great memories of retreats, missions trips, camping trips, and the regular every week get togethers. One of the reasons I love facebook is that it gives me the opportunity to easily stay connected with people. I love seeing what lots of these girls are doing these days. The girls I worked with in Minnesota are all grown up now. Most of them are married, many of them are moms, some of them are involved in full time ministry themselves now. The girls I worked with in California are growing up too. One of them got married in June and another one is getting married in September. Some of them are still in college, and some of them are working full time in some sort of ministry.

I am so thankful for the many years of volunteering in youth ministry. I met Luke at church while volunteering with the high school group. Some of my best friends are friends that I made while volunteering. And now that these "kids" that I worked with in youth group are growing up, they are not just kids I used to work with; they are friends that I love. People who I hope will always be a part of my life- people who I am so thankful I had the opportunity work with years ago- and so blessed to call them friends today.

I wrote this post in May and never posted it because I wanted to dig up some pictures to post with it. I finally found some pictures and scanned them (sorry for the poor quality). Today I am so happy that we are in California and I have the opportunity to attend the bridal shower of one of the girls I worked with at Los Gatos Christian. Cassie is an amazing young woman- and though I am sad I will be missing her wedding day, I am happy that I can celebrate with her today. Cassie, I am thankful you are a part of my life! I loved being your leader in the high school group- and love being your friend today. It's been a joy to see God work in and through your life. I am excited to see how God uses you and Bart in the future!

The first girls I worked with at Grace Church...

Me and Katie

Breanna and Heather

Grace Girls: Round Two

Shannon, Rachelle, Lizzie, Vanessa,
me, Jackie J, and Becca

Me and Jennifer

Me, Cassandra, Shannon, Kelli, Lizzie,
Vanessa, Becca, Ashley, and Melissa

Los Gatos Christian Girls

Maeve, Cassie, me, Lindsay, and Heather

Cabin at Hume from 2004

Cabin at Hume  from 2006- we were "Mad about Plaid"
I miss summers at Hume Lake!

Gluten and Dairy Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Tonight we had dinner with a family that I knew from my trips to Guatemala. They were missionaries there years ago when Guatemala was a country I visited frequently. (True Story: I visited enough times in one year that I was stopped and questioned at immigration when returning to the U.S. because they suspected I was smuggling drugs). I went to Guatemala on mission trips, as well as to visit my friends the Ellers, who lived there as missionaries. Their teammates and neighbors were the Stiff' and I got to know them during my time in Guatemala. The Stiff's now live in Colorado, literally 5 minutes from us. Last week I ran into Nell and we made plans to have dinner this week. So tonight we went to their home for a BBQ and I volunteered to bring dessert. I made brownies and cookies. I found this recipe for gluten free and dairy free peanut butter cookies on numerous websites and the reviews were all very good. I was skeptical, but thought I would give it a try. And I am so glad I did. They. Are. Delicious.

The recipe is very easy:
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda

~Mix the sugar and peanut butter together first. Then add the egg and baking soda and stir until creamy. Roll the dough into small balls, about 1" in size. (I also rolled the balls in sugar before putting them on a cookie tray). Then press the dough down with a fork to flatten the cookies. Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes. I pulled my cookies out at about 9 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely while on the cookie tray. (This is important because they are essentially still cooking a little more).

~I am sure you could add chocolate chips to this recipe to make them even more delicious. I might try adding mini chocolate chips next time.

So there you have it! Simple and delicious. And perfect for people that have food allergies. Enjoy! :)