Anniversary Get-Away

Charley and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary on the 15th!! Wow!! To celebrate our anniversary, we took a quick get-away to Monterey/Pacific Grove. We stayed in the Seven Gables Inn in Pacific Grove. I would highly recommend it. It was just what we needed!
We ate dinner at Fandangos which was OK...probably would have been better if I was a real lover of Italian food...but alas....I am not. Oh well, it was an adventure.

This is what we woke up to....just gorgeous!


We walked along the "cliffs" over the bay for awhile and spent some time in the Word and just talking. What a treat it was to just be quiet for a few days and not be responsible for any littlies. Just what I needed.

The gardens were very beautiful and peaceful.

Charley is pointing to our room :):)

The happy...and well rested....couple enjoying their time together.

Then...we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium...and can I just say, that that is an amazing place!! We had never seen the sea horse display since it opened, so I was very excited to see it. I WAS NOT disappointed. AMAZING!! What an amazing Creator is our God!! I never tire of looking at the sea creatures at the aquarium. Charley and I took a behind the scenes tour and that was pretty great too. Our guide was SOOO informative and knew A LOT. The people in our group were quite talkative too (in a good way) so it made the tour all the more worth it.

Can you believe that this is a seahorse?? It took me a minute to realize what I was looking at :)


After going through some of the aquarium, we stopped for lunch at Bubba Gumps. It was a very fun lunch! We had a "Bucket of Boat Trash"....a bucket full of crab, fish, shrimp and fries. All fried...not good for you in the least....but very yummy :):) Thanks Samm for the tip!

Happy Birthday to my Baby!!

Well, my baby is now 5!! I can't believe it!
Where has the time gone? Next year she will be in kindergarten...learning to read....graduating from high school...getting married.....AAAHHHH! :):):) We had a fun little pony party and had her friends and family over to celebrate.
Elli, Anna, and Nessy


Anna and Kristina ....princesses!!

Grandma Epps gave Anna a BIG doll that was exactly Anna's height. It was actually kind of funny to watch her with it since it was her exact height. Not sure what she thought of it when she first saw it, but now she likes it.

Happy Birthday Anna! We love you!!

Even Transformers like to dress up for Halloween

Went into the boys room last night to kiss them goodnight and this is what I find.
I guess Transformers like to dress up as Mouseketeers for Halloween:):):)

Story Problems

Thus...one more difference between boys and girls. Instead of making up story problems about kittens, dolls, flowers, bunnies, etc., boys make up story problems about Star Wars, people dying, and light sabers. :):)

Spoiled Dog!

I'm sitting on the couch tonight, look over at Caleb, and this is the sight that meets my eyes. Spoiled Dog! He has more love in this family than he knows what to do with. I have to say that we are a bit spoiled with him too. He is such a good dog! He turns 1 this month.

Happy Birthday month Buster!!

Ardenwood Harvest Festival 2009

As I get older, I think Fall is now my favorite season. I really do not enjoy summer anymore and the heat....although I must admit that except for a few weeks of INTENSE heat....this was a really nice summer.

Once again this year, we went to the Ardenwood Harvest Festival. It was a lot of fun! The kids really enjoyed picking the corn and I think Anna would have picked it all day if we had let her. Mom's back paid for it the morning after as I had to lug a huge gunny sack of corn over to the husking area. Ugh!!:(

Grandma Epps came with us for a little while. It was nice spending some time with her.


Kristina picking the popcorn


How big of a pumpkin can you pick up Abby!!

Joshua, trying to keep his eyes semi-open in the bright sun.

Silly Caleb as Dorothy

Our Pumpkin Beauty

Charley wanted to take this picture....me in the driver seat with my students in tow. So cute!!

Happy Birthday Uncle John!!

So...it is "Uncle" John's birthday...and it is a special one! His 50th! So I make a special dinner, make a chocolate-chocolate cake, and buy a birthday card. When Charley comes home, I ask him to sign the card and then I wanted to show him the cake. I open up the cake lid and this is what my eyes behold.........




..........2 Anna-sized finger marks!! Can you believe it??!! What a stinker she is! She admitted to it later (after I took a picture of it:):) Hee Hee :) As my cousin rightly stated, she is the cutest little cake monster you ever did see.