Mabel goes to California

Last week for Mabel's 6 month birthday she got to go on her first airplane ride and travel all the way to California (securely attached to me!).  Jason had kindly offered to watch Luke for part of his school spring break so that I could have a getaway to California, introducing Mabel to the rest of my family and meeting my newest niece. Mabel was a great traveler and the trip now seems like such a speedy blur, but we had a great time. California was so alive and green and blooming and WARM (by comparison to Idaho). Having not been home for nearly two years and not for Spring in ten years, it really was fabulous.

My sister, Bonnie met us at the airport on San Jose and we quickly made our way to Santa Cruz for a walk along the ocean. Do I look happy or what?
























Waking up the next morning to my parents lovely front yard ... and my Dad entertaining Mabel with his glasses :)

Cousins, Emma & Mabel together :)

Beach time in Cambria --

Family nearly all together for the first time in almost four years -- only Jason and Luke were missing :(

One last afternoon at the beach in Morro Bay with my parents and Bonnie's family -- not exactly a super warm day there, but not knowing when I'll be at the coast again I wanted to soak it UP!

Our next {summertime} adventure!

This summer Jason & I will be doing something we have never done before in our nearly 9 years of marriage ...

... we will be staying PUT for the summer  ... in Moscow, Idaho.  This is the first time we will ever have stayed this long in one place without at least a summer full of travel in between.

Sorta weird and boring and a bit anticlimactic. Agreed. But a welcome change for us in light of the anticipated challenges of moving twice again this summer with two children in tow.

I do find myself wondering if we'll be going a bit stir-crazy come June with all this stability ;-)

Jason's been blessed to find an internship about 45 minutes from where we live, so we'll get to enjoy our little home and Moscow in a warmer season (and without the 10,000+ college students running around). We're working on planning a few small adventures for the summer so things don't feel too boring, but all in all, are of course incredibly thankful that God has provided Jason with an internship which will give him the variety of experience he needs and that we'll get to make some summertime memories in our home/community, skipping out on the crazy stress of a move. (We'll save that for May 2017 when Jason hopefully finishes his program!!!)