To make the most of the last weekend with the kids we planned a little trip to San Diego. We all met up in Carlsbad on Friday night excited about the fun time we would have. Saturday morning turned out to be an amazing and beautiful day. No rain....just beautiful blue skies everywhere. After breakfast we drove down into San Diego for the day. Seaport Village was pretty crowded as this was the weekend of the Red Bull Air Race. We walked along the way enjoying all the sights and ended up by the USS Midway. All the kids, especially David, were very excited when we told them we were going on board! It's hard to grasp the enormous magnitude of the ship until you are standing right beside it. Once on board we explored the different decks and learned a little more about the history and impact the Midway had in the war. It was very interesting too see, feel, and smell as you went through it. While we were there the air race started and it was a little surreal to hear small planes buzzing around overhead all around us. We made it up to the flight deck and there had the best view of the whole "race course". We also had a very fun time climbing into and exploring all of the different aircraft there. The weather was perfect and seeing the daredevil pilots racing was quite breathtaking. I've put up some of the pictures and hope to get a few more soon! http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/
Friday we planned a family get together and Colombian dinner. Donna, Greg & the kids came from AZ. 
Margie and Adam doing the "monster" face!
To see more pics click on "Ruth's pics" link to the right
Monday afternoon we packed up the kids and drove out to Carbon Canyon Regional Park. We took a nice long hike along the park to the hidden redwood forest. Everyone had a great time. Christine enjoyed herself taking lots of pictures. Abby kept us updated on our nature walk by reading all the descriptive scientific tree names. David built a trap with his lasso (and almost stepped on a big lizard!) Margie had fun running here and there. Finally we hiked back and then took the kids to the playgrounds. When was the last time you played on the swings? It is fun to enjoy these things with the kids. See pics here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/
The Kids Are Here!
My brother and his family have arrived from Georgia for a visit here in California. They dropped by my office this afternoon to see Auntie Ruth. We have lots of fun plans for the kids. They will be staying with me this week...fun times! We are hoping to have a family reunion coming up soon (our first in three years). I am so blessed to have these wonderful kids in my life! I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures soon.
This past Saturday I celebrated my being back at my "old" place by having a house warming party. I feel so blessed to be back at such a beautiful location and have space to entertain again! 
I had about twenty two friends come and enjoy it with me. Preparing all the food for everyone was a lot of fun. I made barbecued pulled pork for the first time. It was really good! Grace and Abby helped me to assemble the veggie kabobs and Jon grilled them. After eating to our hearts content we took a little walk down the road to see the sunset (and the neighbour's llamas!). Every morning when I wake up I thank the Lord for His wonderful provision and love. There are more pics here:
