The Year in Review

How did we get to here ?

January 16th it was 1 year since we left our native land in the midwest and moved to the west coast ( a foreign land to us)! i had a hard time composing this post because soooo much has happened in 12 short months. It made my head spin looking at all of the events that made up 2012. So this is a pictorial description of our past year. I wanted to show all the people we left behind but there were so many. Trust me the good byes were painful and many. Sit back and prepare for a travel back in time.

Saying goodbye to my mom who I would only have one more visit with in Feb.  

My last day of work at Froedtert after 30 years. 

Some last head rubs with Shane!

Leaving the children was the absolute hardest part of the entire move.

Leaving this wasn't quite so hard!

The view from our temporary 1 bdr apt in Carlsbad.

Home for now

All we brought for 2 months.

My first hike and first inkling of what an active lifestyle CA  encourages.

Found a home to buy after looking at lots of houses.

Yup we might like this new place!

Ross and Marilyn who made us feel welcome.

John and Julie who have become great friends.

Jeanie and Brooke, Jane and Keith and all their wonderful hospitality

Bill and Sherry who welcome us into their home every Sunday.

The big move from WI to CA.

Our Fallbrook friends!

Guess we are really residents now.

Welcome home!

In April, Shane and Nikelle came to visit.

Tristan came a few weeks later.

Convention in AZ and seeing old friends.

More friends.

In May, I rushed back to say goodbye to my mom. She was gone in 3 hours. The family at the gravesite.

While in Wisconsin we attended Garrett and Sarah's wedding reception.

Visited cute people like this….

Watched Shane graduate with his Masters in Nurse Anesthesia

Stayed with our other "children"

The happy couple that are finally done being poor students!

Watched our 4 boys have some great times together!

Drove through the old neighborhood towing the last of our belongings.

Attended the Milwaukee area graduation party.

Saw my cousin Lynette and more people in Colorado.

On our drive to CA we stopped to see Tristan in Kansas

A day with cousins Ron and Jan at Hotchkiss Convention.

Camping trip in Mammoth Mountain,CA with our good friends.

Revamped the entire front yard with help

New patio

Then the pipe broke and we had a disaster!

Our co-in-laws and friends- Randy and Brenda came to visit

More friends that showed us great hospitality. Joel and Ann, Scott and Jeanette

I was lucky to get a bonus trip back to see the kids. First to WI…..

Very special friends and cousins Randy and Cathy came to visit.

A day at my home convention- WI Dells

Days in Berlin,WI with these 2 special people:)

Seeing my sister too.

Then a flight to Kansas to spend time with Tristan. 

Yes, he is gainfully employed in his profession!

Special meeting time in Fallbrook and 2 young couples we love.

Special visitors- Mark and Jeremy

Dave learns to fly

Dave's mom came to visit- our last remaining parent.

Back to WI for Thanksgiving- lunch with special friends.

Our boys on Turkey Day

Family

Lots of cousins at brunch the day after T day

And more….

All of the Garner's and Brooke.

We meet Yehzie!

And get to cuddle her sisters- Minzie and Minah

Dave gets brave and begins flying over the ocean.

Special visitors- Pam and Andrea

Wayne and Marilyn visit us

And the Sanderson family ( and Cammy)

Then Tristan and Brooke arrive.

The Tristans celebrate their birthday!

And that was our year….. I am amazed at all that can happen in just 12 short months!

2 hikes in 3 days

   Before I tell you about the hikes I have to share a few photos of these adorable children. The kids are cute but they aren't the best photos because they were moving targets! They make my hats look really cute. We enjoyed having them over Sat evening along with their parents and 1 set of grandparents.  We have known their grandparents for many years and were at their wedding.  I am sounding kind of old…. Their Grandpa Dave was a room mate of my Dave, Their Grandma Lynae is from the great state of Wisconsin :) We enjoy their long visits out here to see their kids and grandbabies.

Our very own tangerines! The thrill of picking citrus fruit in our own yard is amazing!

After a delicious meal at some friends we took a hike before gospel meeting…. This is first hike I took after moving here. It is very steep and begins with "Heart attack hill".  I have to say I have avoided it- there is a more gradual hike up the other side which I prefer. But I made it with a little help from Dave.  Tristan would remember the stick that his Dad would use to help power him along on his bike? Well 2 hands in the back work too! That little strip of blue in the far distance is the ocean.

The 2 Dave's at the summit

After the hike on Sunday I decided I needed to train a little more on steep slopes.  Dave is off traveling for work so after making out my last will and testament, today I headed to Monserate Mountain. I have hiked this before with Dave so I knew where I was going.  It was a beautiful sunny day- about 60 degrees at the base of the hike.  I am proud to say I did it all by myself! The view at the top is stunning. The ocean is one direction and snow capped mountains the other direction.

This is a rock pile with a guest book and various snacks in a box at the base.  I guess if you get stranded you  will have something to eat and something to read.

It is hard to see the ocean in this photo but it is there.  

Snow capped peaks in the far distance.

I have been whining about the multiple nights of frost ( tonight should be the last for now).   I have been faithfully covering all of our new plants and they are doing okay.  FYI- I wondered why the fountain wasn't flowing very evenly… well there was a full layer of ice on every level! I stopped at a local nursery to buy a few new plants for one of my pots. How awesome is it to buy plants in January!

Anenomes with yellow violas will be planted AFTER tonight!

For someone like me who loves flower gardening this sure is a fabulous place to live! I will leave the vegetable gardening to others- the produce is so reasonable at the farm stands it hardly pays to plant. Besides, there would be less room for my flowers!

Produce stand

    Nothing too earth shattering tonight…. I was out and about today gathering groceries, yarn, frost blankets, etc. I stopped at my usual produce stand and was inspired to take photos of my favorite "store".  I love having a farm stand that is open year round. It is not a fancy place- set in a little gully on a dirt floor with a tarp roof. But oh my the goodness that can be purchased here!

Mangoes, pomegranates, guava, cherimoya….

Luscious local strawberries

An entire table loaded down with avocados.

Locally produced jams, jellies, honey. Mounds of limes, lemons, tangerines,  oranges.

The sweet lady who answers all my questions regarding what things are , when they are ripe and how to eat them!

 

The 12 Days of Christmas Company Part 2

I know you have been waiting anxiously for Part 2 of the ongoing Christmas Company saga…. Tristan arrived late Saturday night and the poor guy got the floor bed because the bedrooms were full. Cammy was already on the floor also. It was very fun to have a house filled with relatives since we live so far from all our family. Let me explain the connections for those who are our newer friends…. Marilyn is my double first cousin- our mothers were sisters and our dads were brothers and we grew up 4 miles apart. Of course, I actually grew up with Marilyn's younger sisters who were MUCH closer in age to me. Marilyn truly did change my diapers! Marilyn and Wayne got married in their 30's so their children and our children ended up close in age. We spent many vacations together- mostly camping and since we shared all the same relatives (except for those in laws) we were quite bonded! Now time and life has scattered us all over the USA. 2 of their children are in SC and 2 in WA. We have 1 in WI and 1 in KS and we are in CA. We love airplanes! So we had 5 states represented in our home that weekend.

Sunday lunch on the patio

The 12 Days of Christmas Company- Part 1

   On the first day of Christmas an airplane brought to us…. Wayne and Marilyn Lepak from the cold land of Wisconsin….. On the second day of Christmas an automobile brought to us…. Jason and Sarah (Lepak) Sanderson through rain and snow with three adorable boys in tow from Chelan,Washington. And an airplane brought to us Cammy Lepak from the far eastern coastal state of South Carolina. On the third day of Christmas an airplane brought to us our younger son Tristan from the prairies of Kansas. And finally on Christmas an airplane brought to us Brooke Satterfield (special friend of Tristan) from that oddly named city of Oconomowoc in Wisconsin. So the days of fun, feasting, exploring, games and just wonderful conversations began! So much catching up to do and so much to show them about our new state and our life here.

We took Wayne and Marilyn over the foothills via the Ortega Highway to Laguna beach. Snow capped mountains in the distance.

Lake Elsinore look out

Lunch on the ocean in Laguna Beach at The Beach House. Wayne and Marilyn

The view from our table.

Of course we ate supper on our patio. That is what patio heaters are for! Jason and Owen

Tristan and Wade with Grandma Marilyn.

Sarah and Jason

Grandpa Wayne taking on all 3 boys.

Of course we took them to La Jolla.

Then to Torrey Pines to picnic on the beach.

The adults lounged while the crazy kids chased seagulls and played in the waves.

Sweet owen

Doing the hokey pokey with Grandma. Please note the difference in attire… Marilyn had 2 coats on. It was 60 degrees!

Jason, Tristan and Wade

Cammy and Tristan's "octopus"

Hiking after lunch- little Owen did great even though the steps were almost taller than him!

The Lepak/Sanderson clan

The tour guides

Serious Wade

A family that reads together stays together!