Moraga Canyon, Ca

Pat and I have been working a lot lately, which is quite depressing considering the gorgeous weather we have had in California. However, today we were able to go out and enjoy the Sunday with a drive through the Moraga Canyon and the Oakland hills.

I was going to try my micro lens trick on these bees, but that would require me getting really close to them, so I whimp out.

I think the Oakland hills are absolutely gorgeous with all the unique houses.

My dream house. I will live there one day.

A Weekend with the Smiths

(my adorable niece Julianna)

This past weekend Pat and I headed up to my sister Kim's house in Sacramento. The weekend was full of yummy food, both from CPK and my sister Kim who is an amazing cook, fun, and relaxation.

Lyla Rose is my new niece. I haven't been able to be around her much so it was so fun to play with her. Her family calls her "Moose" because she is sturdy baby (they think she is chubby but I say she is just sturdy). She is such a cute and happy baby. It was so great to get to know her more.

My family LOVES games. However, Pat and I are not so into it. Everytime my family gets together they want to play board games, such as Settlers or Ticket to Ride, which I do not like at all. However, when it comes to a good card game I am all for it. We played the card game called Trumps. I really like this game, especially because I beat everyone hardcore!

Kim really spoils us when we stay at her house. She made yummy yummy food and always had good snacks to eat.

On Presidents Day we took the kids to "Funderland" which basically is a tiny childrens amusement park. It was perfect because there was no lines and just enough rides to make the trip short and sweet.

Eli's signature trademark—"The Asian Peace Sign"

Julianna is a rock star.

Although our time in Sac-town was short, it was a blast.

DIY Micro Lens

We were at the park the other day and there were TONS of lady bugs everywhere. I tried out the self-made micro lens trick posted here and this is what I came up with. It is so cool that something so easy can give you such great results.

Childhood Memories

I haven't been home in Moraga for an extended amount of time for a long time. It is weird because everywhere I turn there are memories from my childhood. Every morning I would walk to my junior high school through this orchard.

I never really paid attention to how beautiful it is because it was always there. While Pat and my dad were watching the Super Bowl, I went to walk my old path that I took to school, through the orchard and through the creek. The well worn path that was there when I was a kid was all grown over. For some reason it made me sad.

Since I was in a nostalgic mood I went to go look at the creek I played in all the time when I was a kid. It was here that we spear fished with makeshift spears made from broom sticks and kitchen knives, got poison oak, floated on rafts during the summer, built forts, and spent hours at a time with no parental supervision.

Story Time-

Speaking of "no parental supervision," as I was walking home, I was reminded of an experience that I had when I was a kid.

As many of you probably know I am the youngest of 5 children. Being one of 5 children it was easy to get lost in the mix of things. On this particular day, I must have been feeling a bit neglected and wanted some attention and to be appreciated.

In order to get this attention I would normally through tantrums and go bizzerk. This usually granted me the desired attention I wanted, even though it was negative attention, at least it was something.

However, this time I decided to try something new to get attention and to make my family realize how much they loved me...I decided to run away. At the time, I thought this would be a great idea. They would realize I was gone and then come searching for me. I would wait to reveal myself and then when I came home they would all be so happy and celebrate that I was safe.

I didn't really want to run away too far, so I decided that I would just hide out in my front yard and wait until they came looking for me.

So I hid in these bushes and waited....

and waited....

and waited...

and waited....

it started to get dark...

and I waited...

and waited....

after a few hours no one realized I was gone. I gave up and went home. There was no celebration of my arrival because no one knew I had run away. So in the future when I wanted attention, I decided to use a no-fail tactic...throwing tantrums and going bizzerk—it worked much better than running away.

I think I will create a children book about this, but I would have to change the ending a bit. haha

Northern California Winter

Well, we have made it. We arrived in California about a week and half ago. Our drive went well and quickly (I got a Dr.Laura book on CD to listen to). The days here are filled with me working and Pat working on my parents house (they are remodeling).

The weather here is great. The time we are going to be spending in Moraga, California is my favorite time of year. The rolling hills which frame this valley are green, green, green.

We were so happy that the first day we were here, we were able to go on a motorcycle ride through Moraga Canyon. I look this picture while on the back of his motorcycle.

We took a 10 minute motorcycle trip to The Oakland temple to use Pat's Christmas present to look at the San Francisco Bay.

This weather is my kind of "winter"!