Big Sur Camping

We finally did it! We had been talking about camping with the Schiros forever. This past summer, we talked it up big and nothing happened. RT and I decided to get away during the Presidents' Day weekend and thought by chance maybe the Schiros would meet us at Big Sur. They did! Unfortunately, we couldn't eke by with a cheap campground and had to book a private one at Riverside, but it was very nice and not too crowded for a busy weekend.

It was a very relaxing weekend with no plans and no agenda. Thankfully, because it was so cold! Don't let the sunny photos fool you, it was freezing. The entire weekend, my feet were frozen even with 2-3 pairs of socks.

It was also very fun to see our daughter hang out with the Schiros daughter who is almost 2 years older. For the most part, they got along great--just P is in her "mine" stage and had some difficulty sharing!

The girls had a great time playing by the river, throwing the rocks in the water, and just being outside.

At nighttime, it was so cold, that to hang out by the fireside was not an option, so bedtime was pretty early for us. Plus the fact that P wouldn't go to sleep unless I was in the bed with her, so it didn't leave a lot of adult time to hang out. Oh well, next time!

SLO Sewers

That's [so-ers] not the stinky kind! We have finally gotten together to do some crafting. A couple of gal pals from work have decided to start a sewing/craft club. We'll see how long this lasts! So far, we've only had one successful meeting. I seriously would like to continue because it's a nice time to get away and chat. Since we work together, we definitely had a gripe session about some stuff from work. It's a great tension release to verbalize all the complaints and have that comraderie. Bonus, we get some sewing projects accomplished!

Of course, I always strive for the complicated (not purposely). What started out as an easy stocking project has turned out to be a nightmare. I kept making mistakes and did so many seam ripping. I've decided to pack this away and attempt this again next year!

Let the crafting begin!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent Thanksgiving with RT's family this year. Along with Turkey Day, RT had his 20 year high school reunion that weekend. We had a very nice, relaxing time for Thanksgiving along with a very delicious meal. We walked off some turkey along the Aptos pier and looked at the infamous Cement Ship, which is getting more stinky each time we see it!

Finally, we had the reunion.I got roped into going to RT's BFF and his wife. Us girls had a great time spending the evening chatting and catching up on our lives! We also had a few laughs as some girls made complete fools of themselves on the dance floor. What were they thinking???

It was very interesting to meet a lot of RT's past friends and hear what they had to say about him. Apparently, I married a "legend". I'm sure alcohol played a part in some of these guys' trips down memory lane as they rehashed stories to me. At one point, some guy took me aside to explain how lucky I was to have married this "Aptos legend" and do I understand that I married a legend? Someone else said he was honored to be in RT's presence. Frankly, I was getting a little tired of all this sycophantic behavior and being told how I should understand what I got.

It was funny, though. RT never let on about this, and maybe he didn't know about this legendary status. He also told me, "Did you notice that none of the girls said that about me?"

He did have a point. I teased, "I didn't have to worry about you rekindling an old flame with a girl. I probably had to worry about one of your guy friends wanting to take you home!!"

So, behold, we have a legend in our midst. Note: no one really said why he was a legend.

Grandpa and Obachan

I think my parents see us at least once a month. Usually they come visit us since it's easier for them to travel rather than us, at this point. P loves it when they come. She calls my dad "Grandma". So technically, it's Grandma and Obachan (which is redundant, but very cute) according to her.

My Face

Why are there close-up shots of my face? I am doing this facial procedure that is like microdermabasion (or maybe it is, not really sure). Back in July, my sister's face was massively peeling. It was a little gross, but then she explained what she was doing. When I saw her recently, I looked at her face and was so blown away at how much it improved. It looked awesome! I wanted the same results.

My face has so many sun spots from my teenage years of stupidly exploiting my skin to the sun, and always going without sunscreen doesn't help. So after almost 40 years of neglect, I'm finally starting to wise up.

So, the photos are my before pictures. Hopefully, in a few months, I'll see some amazing results. At any rate, I'm sure I'll be walking around with nasty peeling skin and grossing people out.

Trick or Treat!

We took our little mouse to our neighbor's house, her friend Bode's house, and the Mayotts to do some trick or treatin'! She liked ringing the doorbell, and she wasn't shy about getting a treat!
This is the one and only kind of mouse that will ever be allowed to stay at our house! A really cute one, too!

Going across the street to our neighbor's house.

The doorbell is fun!

Our neighbor, Jim, and the little pipsqueak!

On to Bode's!

Final destination...

Susan with the good stuff!

Sampling the goodies.

Boo to you!

Pumpkins Galore!

We made a "date" with P's crib buddies to check out a local family farm's pumpkin patch. I had no idea this place had so much in addition to the pumpkins. There was graveyard, a jail, a corn maze, some farm animals, and of course lots and lots of pumpkins and gourds in all varieties.

Success!