One of My Favorite Places...

To stand at the Ocean's Edge... Where do I begin...This summer has been filled with so many new adventures! We have traveled to new places and seen Mother Nature at her Best!!! Yet, for my family and I, the Call of the Ocean is Strong! We love and our humbled by the sites at Yosemite. One cannot give words to the feelings as you sit on the laps of the Sequoia trees. Still, for us, it is the ocean that we dream of and escape to whenever life allows! Each beach holds for us new treasures and dreams. The sounds, the smells, the taste, the feel! So many textures await as you descend down to the water. We spent an amazing day in the fog by the water's side and I remembered back to years gone by when the four of us laughed and squealed as we ran from the tide on a beach just north of here. A morning when the children could not bear one more second in the car! We stopped to walk the beach and spent hours playing. That day was filled with fog as well and the calm that comes over a beach as the fog rolls in makes you stop and stare in pure awe! This is how it was again this weekend as the fog covered the beaches of Carmel. Such simple pleasures! How awesome to find our family living near such pleasures!!

The Ocean Continues to bring Bliss

For Brit it is a continual squeal of pure pleasure as she runs to and away from the waves! The water here is cold even in July and it is endearing to listen as she tries to bring to words the feeling she gets as the waves rush towards her!

The Sheer Thrill of the Waves!

For Bry, there is always the open pleasure of running straight into a wave and then turning last second to run as fast as possible to beat it to shore! The temperature is never a concern to him when experiencing the power of the ocean he tries to explain as he notes that he has lost all feeling in his feet!!

Special Moments In Carmel

Exploring

Wayne has claimed amazement at the fact that no matter how many times he treaveled with my Father, he was always spending half the drive listening as my father would point out one coyote after another. My Dad could spot wildlife miles away and this always shocked Wayne, as he says until traveling with Jim, he had never seen a coyote in the wild. Wayne too, has this skill even though he does not realize it at times. For Wayne, his sightings come by the side of the ocean. For my 41st birthday, we spent the weekend at the ocean. I had said all I wanted for my birthday was a sand dollar. Wayne with the help of the children was able to find not just one, but 41 sand dollars to present me for a breathtaking gift! As he strolls the beach, Wayne's head is often down and you can sit and watch as he searches for hidden treasures. Some are special finds of shells, rocks, gold flecks,etc. Then there are those of live crabs hidden way beneath rocks in crevices. His explorations bring back that pure, childlke grin so many of us have been priviledged to see spread across his face as he is filled with pure joy!

The Beaches of Monterey

The Pure Beauty of Nature

The Cyprus Tree that grows in Monterey is like no other tree! It is truely amazing to drive among it's groves. To see it's textures, smell it's scent and wonder at it's shape fills much of the time you travel the 17 Mile Drive. I have fallen for this tree. It's appearance, blended with the fog as it rolled in off the ocean created a fantasy land for us as we drove on Saturday. What a true blessing!

Father and Daughter Enjoying the Sounds of the Ocean

AHHH...To be Free to Dance at the Ocean's Edge

My Rock Boy

Got Rocks... Must Climb!

Wherever there are rocks, Bry must climb and conquer! This has been the case since he was very young. He has always had a love for rocks as do the rest of us in our family, however his true love seems to be the tallest and climb. It does not matter if it is at shore or perhaps farther out! This thankfully takes place with his Father while I am off wandering and exploring other parts of the beach. There are some things Wayne says are better for me to see later on film. I must agree as I sat viewing these pictures for the first time last night upon our return.

There are Moments I do not Always Need to See

YES!!!! I must Conquer!!!

Happiness

July has Brought with it the Arrival of Old and New Friends

We have been luck this month to have the house filled with teens. It has not been the usual teens that have been in and out of our home over the last several months however. We have had fun hosting visiting teens! July, for my children has been filled with the fun of making new friends as well as sharing time with old friends from back home! Lara traveled here to do an intern at the company my husband works for and we were lucky to be able to sneak her away at times. It has been a wonderful experience for all of us to make such a wonderful new friend as well as to share stories with a teen from across the ocean. These types of experiences and friendships are so very important for all of us to make. To get to know and understand another person's culture is wonderful! Having moved to an area with so much beautiful diversity in the people all around us has been such a blessing. To have the opportunity to take classes, shop the markets,attend religious activities, serve in communtiy service activities, and share Holidays with people from all over the world has been a wonderful experience for our children as well as for us. The questions shared around our campfire this month have been fun to sit back and listen to. Brit recently wrote a paper on a specific group of people she enjoyed studying. It was such a blessing to read her words as she spoke about the fact that "it is extremely important to know the people we share our streets with". I wonder if we would each take the time to get to know more of the people we share our streets with and our world with, how much less anger and war there would be filling our communities. May all the teens of our world learn to know more about each other and the world they are apart of and work towards making it One World!

Bry & Brit have been Happy to Share time with Lara who joined us from across the ocean for a few weeks.

The teens have spent evenings in the heat enjoying pizza and ice cream! What a combination, but they are young.

We have Experienced Airport Reunions!

At Last!!!! To reunite after ten months! Words are not enough and so I give you this pic which says it all!!!

Sharing Times with Friends from their Old Community has been Wonderful!

Brit could hardly wait as she counted down the days for Bekka's arrival. These two have shared a lot over the years and now it was time for Brit to share her new world and new friends with her childhood friend. The two B's have grown up together as we moved next to Bekka and her family when the girls were both less than two years old. They have shared everything over the years. They have laughed, cried, fought, baked, danced, and much much more! I believe they know all there is to know about each other. I will never forget the day Bon and I had to push Brit to tell Bekka we were moving. To seperate these two was like seperating sisters and more! They have been such good strong friends and amazing young women however through this last year. They have supported each other over the miles. Their reunion was as it should be with screams and giggles and hugs and laughter!!!! What a wonderful experience to have friends, especially ones that are with you for a lifetime!!!

Brittany Enjoyed Sharing Her New World With A Dear Friend

San Francisco was a must see! What amazing fun to explore this city.

Spending Time Searching for Treasures

For these two, it has been like old times. Richie and Bry have been friends forever. For us to move, seemed unbearable to two buds who had shared everything and who had plans to go on to college, etc. together. To top it off, we left on Richie's birthday. Not a memory a teenage boy wants to have! These two however have workede hard to stay close this last year. This is not always as easy a task for guys as it is for girls. Guys often times appear to keep their feelings closer to them rather than openly expressing their feelings. This I can imagine makes it hard when during those teen years especially, a friend moves so many miles away. To succeed in keeping this relationship strong is quite a showing of how important their friendship is! It has been fun seeing them fall right back into their old routine. The conversations are the same as they always were. They laugh and tease the girls like old times! The inside jokes are still there. The sharing of dreams for their futures are constant. To be on that verge of leaving home and becoming a man! To have a friend to share the excitement and fears with! To have the time to escape from it all and remember when...as you run through the waves, search for rocks and sand dollars, and drool over cars!!! This is what friendship is all about and these are the times they will remember for a lifetime!

The Guys Have Spent A Lot of Time Cheering on Lance and Dreaming of Their Trip Backpacking Across France Someday!

For the Girls there was Shopping In China Town

And of Course More Shopping!!!

Hitting the Beach was a Must

Can It Get Any Better Than This!!!! Reuniting with old friends and playing on the beach! This foursome is back at it and having fun! They have plans to fill every moment together making the most awesome memories here and then for a few weeks in Illinois to keep them fueled until their next gathering. What fun it is to have friends!!!

The Teens spent Hours Playing in the Rocks Along the Beaches

There Was of Course Plenty of Sand Time

The Girls Remembered to take their Friend Flamingo Joe Along!

More Than Anything They have Had Time to Just be Friends!!!