Our Family Blog

Our spring was filled with volleyball tournaments, a trip to the Sierras, and a total solar eclipse over Texas. The kids are social, active, creative, (mischievous at times) and thriving. We enjoy watching them grow.

We are another year older and hopefully wiser. The past few months have been busy with school, outings, and holiday festivities. We are grateful for our families, friends, health, and this beautiful life we have together.

The kids are back to school, feeling mature in 4th and 7ths grades!

We took a trip to San Diego to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Hayley spent hours looking at old family jewelry and Grandma’s fabrics, RJ spent hours diving into and jumping over the waves. We were fortunate to catch up with extended family and friends.

Aligning with fourth grade history, we explored a well preserved gold mining town, Columbia, CA. We cheered for a small parade, dipped candles, mined for gold, tried a variety of candy, climbed rocks and had a great day. The evening was complete with a spectacular lightening storm and power outage.

Our third week of our Italian vacation was spent in the countryside of Umbria among the rolling hills dotted with crops and small towns. We were so happy to have friends from California join us!

The drive between Rome and Florence was breathtaking with castles, medieval towns set on cliffs, rolling hills covered in grape vines, and fields of sunflowers. Our lodging for the week was a rustic Tuscan farmhouse outfitted with small apartments.

After a long day of travel, we arrived in Rome and our apartment in a small castle. We spent the first day recovering from the travel, then started exploring! Morning outings, daily gelato, and afternoon pool time was the perfect balance for our family.

Our spring was packed with sports, school, work, and kittens. We had so much fun fostering a litter of kittens from 3-8 weeks of age before they were adopted out.

We went to Monterey for spring break and took Hayley to Reno (twice) for volleyball tournaments. The kids are doing great academically and socially and we are so proud of them!

Chris and the kids wen to New York and had a great time with friends and family!

Our most recent rainstorm brought heavy winds.

Between storms we went on adventures to Alcatraz Island, Dodge Ridge, and took 10 tweens to a virtual reality escape room for Hayley’s 12th birthday. Time flies as we are busy with school, work, swimming, and volleyball. We are grateful for all that we have!

2023 is off to a rainy start with storm after storm rolling through Northern California. We are grateful for the water and indoor cozy time.

Our family traveled to NY to spend Thanksgiving with family. The kids played in crunchy leaves, hid lego dragons in the trees, explored the field beyond Nana and Grandpa’s house and we all had a great time eating turkey and pop-overs with family on Thanksgiving.

December was spent preparing for and celebrating Christmas. We decorated the tree and gingerbread houses, baked cookies, viewed Christmas lights, wrapped gifts, and enjoyed time with family. We especially enjoyed trips the movie theater and saw Puss in Boots and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Hayley started playing club volleyball. The team had a great time at their first tournament and are learning the sport in leaps and bounds.