A White New Year!

After celebrating Christmas with family in Pittsburg, CA, we headed east on Highway 4 into the Sierra Nevada mountains to spend New Years with some dear, long-time friends, Scott and Amanda Ferreira and their kids. Their family has a cabin at 5,000 feet elevation in Dorrington/Camp Connell (above Arnold) which is near Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County.

When we got up just past Arnold, I put chains on the good old DGC...

...and we went about 6 more miles up Highway 4...

...to Camp Clayton!

The kids all enjoyed lots of great snow play! (Front to back: Grace, Kaylin, Clayton, Trevor and Ben)

T.J. and Amy making snow angels:


T.J. and I built/created this snow man that he promptly named "Frosty:"

It snowed ALL day on Saturday and Sunday... and while our kids had played in the snow before, this was the first time they saw it falling! (Kaylin and Grace pictured)

This is how Trevor spent much of his time when we were all outside... fully snow-geared up, reclined in the snow and feeding himself snow! (here his is pictured with Ben)

BIG THANKS to the Ferreira family and to Amanda's parents for sharing the cabin with us again!

Merry Christmas!

We are so thankful that God came to be with us... Happy Birthday Jesus!

Here's a quick look at a few of our many Christmas celebrations:

Christmas with Amy's side of the family...

Starbucks and driving around looking at Christmas lights with Micah and Colleen...

Christmas with Derek's side of the family...

"Jungle Bells" - Christmas at the San Diego Zoo...

Christmas Day...

Christmas Eve...

2009 Summer Vacation/Anniversary Trip - Part 2

What a blessing it was to drive up into the Sierra Nevada for our 10th anniversary getaway! We are really thankful to the Claytons for allowing us to use their cabin and to the Ferreiras for helping us arrange for our time there.

The cabin is on highway 4 near Camp Connell, CA (above Arnold). It is a beautiful cabin surrounded by God's amazing Creation! We stayed two nights and really enjoyed our time up above 5,000 feet!

Enjoying dinner on the deck


We went to this nearby state park...


... and took a 5-mile hike out and around a grove of Sequoia trees






This particular tree is the 2nd biggest Sequoia in the world (I think =)

From the website: "The largest redwood in Calaveras Big Trees State Park is the Louis Agassiz tree. It is located in the South Grove. This tree is "only" 250 feet tall, but it is over 25 feet in diameter six feet above the ground!"


Same tree, opposite side.
It's diameter is the size of the length of our rec room... Now's that's a BIG TREE!


After the hike, we went into town and enjoyed a Giant Burger


Then, we went back to the state park and as the day heated up, we cooled off by playing in the river... one of my favorite pastimes!

2009 Summer Vacation/Anniversary Trip - Part 1

In July we took a trip to NorCal for vacation and for Amy and I to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We drove up to Pittsburg, CA (where my parents live) on the day of our anniversary, July 17th. It was great to great to visit with them for a few days!

My parents surprised us that evening by sending Amy and I out to dinner while they hung out with the kids. Thanks Mom and Dad! Here we are at dinner that night:

Then, on the 19th, Amy and I got to head up to the mountains for an anniversary getaway! Kaylin and TJ got to have more special time with Grams and Papa. Amy and I really enjoyed a chance to be alone together to celebrate our 10 years of marriage! HUGE THANKS and LOTS of LOVE to Mom and Dad for making that possible!

Grams is a photographer... so she always gets great shots to document our visits and special occasions. The next three pics are just some of the ones she took while they watched the kids for a couple days:

Cute shot of the kids down at the dock on the Delta


Kaylin showing off moves she learned in her dance class


TJ as "The Hulk" - He loves that gift from Grams and Papa!

The kids also got their chance at being photographers. Here's one that TJ took:

And here are three photos that Kaylin took:

We all enjoyed our visit with Grams and Papa... we love you both very much!

Santa Cruz!

We got to spend the first few days of August up in Santa Cruz! On Friday, we had a beach reunion day with many of our Santa Cruz (or former Santa Cruz) area friends... it was a blast to play in the ocean, play in the sand with the kids, and hang out with old friends! Special thanks to the Hughes' family for sharing their house with us for a few days! I didn't get pictures of everyone that we got to see... but here are some pics to give you the idea...



On Sunday, we had the pleasure of attending Holly & Andrew's wedding! We've known Holly since our camp days and she was a bridesmaid in our wedding. The wedding was our first chance to meet Andrew but we know he's great because Holly loves him! =) What a great day... we're so happy for them... and we pray that the Lord will bless them richly as they begin married life together!

2 Days, 3 Lakes!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Amy and I were able to get away for a couple nights for our anniversary! Thanks Mom SO much for taking good care of our kids and allowing us to celebrate and get some time together! Plus, we were blessed with financial gifts (thanks to all!) that allowed us to enjoy good meals and fun activities... for details, just keep reading! =)

Our friends Jim and Nancy live in Green Valley Lake, CA and had offered awhile back that we could come up and stay in their "guest suite" anytime. Jim is the pastor of the only church in Green Valley Lake and a long-time family friend. Green Valley Lake is the highest community in the San Bernardino mountains (over 7,000 feet elevation), it's where Amy's parents used to have a cabin, and where we've taken the young adults on a weekend retreat... so it's a place that has lots of fun memories! Anyway, for our 9th anniversary celebration, we finally decided to take Jim and Nancy up on their offer. They were AMAZING and GENEROUS hosts and we appreciate their hospitality so much! Jim and Nancy, thanks so much for sharing your place with us and we enjoyed spending time with you both and Justin!

Jim & Nancy

First, some pictures of our "Bed & Breakfast," Jim & Nancy's beautiful mountain "resort." =)

Jim & Nancy's home, the white door is a separate entrance into their guest room, where we stayed.

Jim & Nancy are great people, great decorators and great cooks! What a great combo for hosting our unofficial bed and breakfast! Below are some pics of the room. They had gone above in beyond in creating a welcoming place for us and made us feel very loved. Special touches included fresh flowers, a bottle of sparkling cider, a personal note, and candles. Plus, the room had everything a very nice hotel would!

Now, on to pics of our anniversary getaway adventures... 3 lakes in 2 days!

Our first afternoon, we took a nice walk down to Green Valley lake.


The second day, we enjoyed an excellent brunch at a waffle house Jim had recommended in Lake Arrowhead.


The cute couple in Lake Arrowhead village


Then, the highlight activity of the trip was kayaking on Big Bear Lake.


What a cutie! As you can see by looking at Amy's shorts, we got wet while on the lake but we never tipped over! Amy was glad for that... I wouldn't have minded a swim! =)


We also visited the Big Bear Lake Discovery Center where we met this guy.

It was a great trip! As we continue to trust and follow the Lord, keeping Him at the center of our relationship, I look forward to many more years loving my best friend Amy!