Wow... it really seems rare to have a moment of free time since Abbie's arrival. We've had a string of doctor's visits in the past few weeks - Mike has had 3 spider bites on two separate occasions, I had my last OB visit which was shortly followed by a visit to our general practitioner and then a general surgeon to remove an abscess from my arm (I cut myself shaving - totally embarrassing), and then each appointment had a follow-up appointment as well. Whew! Fortunately, everyone is otherwise healthy and we only have one scheduled appointment left for this month and that's for Abbie's 2 month check-up.

Josh attended his first birthday party at the end of last month. It was held at Wild Things, a refuge for animals (think elephants, hyenas, lions, tigers, bears... oh my!) who could no longer be taken care of in their environment (many grew larger than their owners predicted, like the alligators) or who could no longer perform as needed in their jobs (like the elephants) or the animal is a current or former movie star - there is a tiger there who is the most photographed tiger in the world and the lion who posed for "The Lion King" and for the MGM lion-roar motto called this home until he passed last year. Grandma did a very good job of keeping the reigns tight on Josh.







The following weekend Uncle Blake and Aunt Sarah came down to visit for the day. The girls (including Abbie) went to a bridal fair that was held at the Hyatt. Sarah is managing the wedding planning very well and fairs are great places to get new ideas and to meet potential vendors. We tried four different types of wedding cake (even though the cake for the big day has already been picked out) and several mini-truffles (even though the food for the big day has already been picked out too) and even though we didn't win any of the drawings, we had a great time. Meanwhile, we sent the boys out to go grocery shopping. :)

We spent Labor Day weekend watching movies on the sofa and enjoying the down time after all of the visitors we've had lately. Monday was the usual BBQ on Forest Circle, which was lots of fun as always. Josh ate his first ice cream cone and wolfed a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie (both courtesy of Grandma) while mingling among the crowd. My arms got a break from holding the Abbster as all of the neighbors were wanting to get their chance to hold her. We finished the night off with root beer floats - YUM!



We experienced our first earthquake last weekend!! Officially, it was a "minor earthquake," ranked 3.9 on the Richter scale and was centered just outside of Hollister. Here's a map:



It made our windows rattle like a wind storm and our bed feel like a shiatsu chair... it woke us up at 2am, but surprised us more than anything. It's a very weird sensation to wake up to your bed vibrating!!

Here are some pictures recent pictures of our laundry helper, truck-watcher, future surfer, all around cheeseball (aka Josh) and his little sister the chunky monkey (aka Abbie).

August 27th Update !

Hello, it's been a bit since we've updated - we've been BUSY. Two kids really takes life in a whole new direction. It's great, but like I said, it's very busy and we never have enough time !

What's new?

Well, my parents came in for a week around the beginning of August. This was their first trip out to the West coast and they loved it.... If we could only convince them to move out this way... We did all the touristy things, went surfing a few times and just hung out. There were several family dinners - all 8 of us - and great food.







Rebecca and her fiance' came a week later. It was a blast. Dave's new found passion is surfing. We must have gone 5 out of the 7 days they were here. They stopped at San Francisco, did Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge.

Let's see, what else? Between church, Bible study, worship practice, leading worship, studying for the Cisco certification and Tiffany possibly teaching part time at a college - we don't have much time for anything else. The 1-2 nights we get to relax at home - well, we just try to relax. In addition, Tiffany has me on her exercise routine - and we walk about 4 miles a night, 4-5 times a week. Not only is it good exercise, but it gives us alone time, or should I say, time to talk. Walks in California are much harder than Texas - lots of hills. However, it's not hot here, so it's generally more pleasant. Abbie sleeps during walks, and Josh loves taking trips in the stroller. I've lost a belt notch, but have gained 3 pounds - hopefully it's muscle - but I'd attribute it to surfing regularly and walking.

This weekend we plan on taking a trip to Santa Cruz for lunch, then afterwards we're meeting a guy who owned a surf shop - I'm trading a computer that I fixed for one of his surfboards. October 12, we're going to see David Crowder band play in Modesto; we've got company in/out of the area over the next few months.... it's fun.

A Bonding Moment

Buy a CD

Looking for good music? Look no further. This great album can be purchased at WalMart for $9.00. That's right, nine bucks !

It's a GIRL !

We were blessed this morning at 2:10am with a beautiful little girl. Abbie Elizabeth was born and weighed in at 7lbs 15oz. She is 20 inches in length.

Praise God.

Uncle Blake and Aunt Sarah came down for the day to see the new arrival. Grandma and Grandpa came over with big brother Joshua.

What a day.

Mom did such an excellent job - she is healthy and Abbie is healthy.

Special thanks to Blake for taking the photographs below.