Stef and I made it out to Monterey for a couple of days over the weekend (we left the kids with Emile and Jane).  We had a fantastic time relaxing, talking about life, and rolling around the Monterey peninsula doing whatever we wanted :)

We hit some old family favorite restaurants around town (The Grotto on the wharf, Gianni's Pizza, and  First Awakenings near the Aquarium), and tried some new ones (Latitudes, on Lover's Point).  We also drove the 17 mile drive (beautiful) for the first time in forever.  The weather could have been nicer, but it didn't put much of a damper on the trip.

Anyway, we're back, rested, and happy to be home with the kids.

Yes, yes, as noted by Stef below, we're back from vacation.  We had an excellent, relaxing time (honestly, there's not much to talk about because we didn't do much but eat, walk around, and sleep).  I enjoyed being disconnected from the various sets of work that I normally am wrapped up in, and being able to spend time with the kids without feeling like the clock is constantly running.

Random thoughts from the vacation... 

• The ocean is beautiful.  Sharks are both scary and exciting.
• Visit Gianni's Pizza in Pacific Grove for family fare, and Isabella's On The Wharf for grown-up dinner.
• Avoid Lambert's Ice Cream on Lighthouse Ave. in PG like the plague.
• Online play with Metroid Prime: Hunters on Nintendo DS is horribly addictive, though it can also be difficult to find other players, even around the world.  Not surprisingly, most non-US players are from eastern Asia ;)
• The day of the 20" TV/DVD combo have passed.
• Honking the horn in the tunnel between Monterey and PG is still fun.
• I had more fun at Dennis the Menace park than Ethan (see pix).
• Try the Bison Chocolate Stout beer (obtainable at Whole Foods)
• Pretty much anywhere is much cheaper to buy stuff than Whole Foods.
• When you find a 20 year old collectible PlayMobile dollhouse that you wanted really badly as a child hidden on a top shelf in a toy store, ask about it.  It's just possible that they may sell it to you dirt cheap!

Our vacation is over and we're all home and unpacked. It feels so good to be back home.

Pacific Grove/Monterey were gorgeous! We enjoyed close to 90 degree weather Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then nice, cooler and foggy weather Thursday and Friday. The ocean was a big hit with our kids. They would scream every time we left the house and drove down the street to see it.  Ethan was excited to see where Nemo lives. 

The house we stayed in was absolutely beautiful; very comfortable and on a really fun street in Pacific Grove. Lined with neat shops and cafes. Our time went by way too fast, but we're all glad to be home. We had a blast, stayed healthy, the kids didn't even get boo-boos!

It was a very blessed time and we're so thankful to God for giving it to us.

Hope you all had a good week -- Pictures are coming soon!

Our vacation officially starts on Saturday (or, Friday night when Jase walks through the door), but the actual going away part is Monday morning, until the end of the week. For this reason, you won't be hearing from us until around November 1st. Jason might post a thing or two before Monday morning rolls around, but I won't be able to.

Our weekend looks to be a busy one, with the softball game, a baby shower, family party in Livermore, a friend of ours from Livermore is going to be staying Saturday night at our house and spending Sunday with us and then Monday... we leave!!

So... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and week ahead. Please pray that our vacation will go smoothly; safe travels, good health and just an overall, that it would be incredibly blessed by God. We have a couple tape series we're looking forward to listening to in the car- One on marriage and one on raising children. We also have the book War of Words that we've been wanting to read together and we're excited to be able to get to do that while we're away. Its so nice to step away from it all and enjoy the blessings God has given to us in each other.

Until later then... Stef

We had such a great time away this weekend! The weather started out very stormy, but we ended up with two very nice sunny, cool days. Everything was so bright and beautiful and the ocean, of course, was gorgeous. This time of year it looks very deep blue/green. We ate delicious food all weekend -- I'm not sure if the food is as good as it seems or if it feels good not to cook and clean for a change.

Our time together was so relaxing and fun. We loved having some alone time with Rachel (I think she loved it too) and we missed Ethan SO badly, it was great to get back home to him. He had a very good time with Grandpa and Grandma Arnold and Great Grandma "Nina" (Anita). Thank you guys for taking care of him! Its great to get away and know that he will be well taken care of while we're gone. We took some pictures and will post them sometime tomorrow.

-Stef

My sister and brother-in-law just got back from their cruise to the Panama Canal! We picked them up at S.F.O late last night and almost didn't recognize Trisha. :)

She is very tan and way too relaxed looking. Sounds like they had so much fun on their cruise and if you'd like all the fun details, check out their website -- on the left side bar, Thomas Family. We had a lot of fun with their kids and I know Ethan will miss all the company when they leave, but we'll be seeing them at their house in just a couple weeks for Thanksgiving! -S

This weekend we had the LRBC Men's Campout.  We went up to Del Valle and hung out, had a devotional time, ate some great steak, and burned lots of stuff.  About half the guys went home for the night; the rest of us stayed overnight.  Jeb, Nathan, Bryan and myself went down to the beach and played some laser tag -- we figured out that capture the flag with a couple of battery-powered lanterns works pretty well.  Then, we laid on the beach and caught some of the meteor shower overhead, which was beautiful.

 Anyway, there's some pix in the October 2006 gallery, have a look.

I've uploaded the Tahoe pictures, have a look!  I'm still working on getting the videos right, but as I do that I'll upload some of those as well.

Ethan went running through the sprinklers in Tahoe. Here's the first installment ;)

We're home! We had a really good time in Tahoe this weekend and, as promised, took LOTS of pictures. 

We arrived in South Lake Tahoe on Friday around 5pm and Saturday morning Ethan began throwing up. Seems like we brought the 12-24 hour flu with us. By Saturday night he was fine, but then Sunday afternoon it hit Jason and me. Thankfully it doesn't hang on too long. 

I know it sounds strange, but even being sick with the flu, we still had a great time! It was actually nice being sick in Tahoe - what better place to get sick! :)

The kids did very well; Rachel had one hard night, but we realized the room we were staying in was quite dusty. After cleaning it well, she did great the rest of the time.

Ethan loved all the boats in the harbor. He calls them "buses!" and thinks they are the coolest. We took him out for a ride in the raft on Saturday afternoon and he seemed nervous at first, but within about ten minutes, he was asking to get IN the water. :)

He loved spending time with Grandpa and Grandma and he really enjoyed getting to spend all that time with Auntie Jenny. I think she's become his new buddy (he was calling everyone "denny" last night).

Jason, Ethan, Rachel and I weren't able to go attend the church in Gardnerville (due to being sick) but Ernie, AnaMaria and Jenny went and said they had the most wonderful day. We were sad to miss it, but reminded ourselves... there's always next year! :)

Monday we went to Pope Beach and spent such a fun, relaxing day there. We laid on the blanket and talked, took some raft rides in the water and just enjoyed the Lake. It was a nice way to end the vacation. We all headed home Tuesday afternoon (poor Dad was starting to feel sick) and got home around 3:30pm Tuesday. 

All in all, it was a very nice trip - its fun to make memories with our kids and watch them getting to make memories with their Grandparents, Great Grandma and Aunt.

As soon as Jason has some time (which might be a day or two) he will be posting lots of pictures and also some videos.

Take care,

 Stef