Visiting Phil and Jaime

Ethan and I took a trip to northern California for our Anniversary. First, we spent a few days with Phil and Jaime before going on to San Francisco. We had such a nice visit with them (but it was too short!) We got to go their church and hear Phil preach. I got all choaked up when he first got up to speak. It was my brother, Phil, and he is a pastor now! Wow! It is such a blessing to see how much their congregation has embraced their family and loves the preaching of God's Word. Very cool.


Their son, Adam, was such a cute little thing. Actually, "little" doesn't quite fit - he's quite a big baby. He was a lot of fun to hold and watch.

Georgia, also a cutie.

On Saturday, we drove to Old Town Placerville. We walked along the shops and enjoyed talking and hanging out. Here is Ella, Annalee, and Georgia outside one of the shops. Our last stop was an ice cream shop. Yum. :)

Adam, just chillin.

Phil and Jaime's Visit

Phil and Jaime came down to Southern California for a few days. Our friends from church, Tim and Cheryl, hosted a small get-together at their house with a few families. It was great to all get together. It was my first time to see my nephew, Adam.

Adam.

Adam was sitting up all by himself.

Evan, Ella, and Annalee.

Annalee, Georgia, and Aubrey.

Uncle Ethan holding big Adam.

I had such a great time chatting with Jaime. I really miss her!

Phil, Jaime, me, and Ethan.

Georgia is such a crack up. You can get a glimpse of her personality in this picture...

Aunt Lisa with her 3 sweet nieces who have grown up sooooooooooo fast! (Ella, Georgia, and Annalee)

Trip to PA to visit Mike & Jen

Ethan and I flew to PA to spend five days with my brother, Mike, and his family. I was really excited for the chance for Ethan to get to know my brother and his family (as well as for them to get to know him). We had such a nice time. Mike and Jen are friends with a family from their church who were so kind and offered their cabin for us! It was great to stay out "in the woods" and relax. The cabin was really comfy and cozy. We had a wonderful time as you will see in the pictures...

At the Philadelphia airport, we just had to try out a coffee ice blended drink. It was yummy!

Mike and Ethan enjoyed playing Othello together... At night, the four of us enjoyed playing "Settlers" together into the early hours of the morning.

Mike and Ethan also enjoyed playing with miniature remote cars. The point of the gaem: see who can survie the longest on the small table without being pushed off by your opponent...

We went to the park and watched the girls play on the playground.

Hannah really enjoyed the playground too. After awhile, she was brave enough to try the "scary" slide and she even admitted it was fun.

Becca on the swings, swinging all by herself.

Joshua, chilling with his daddy.

Becca loved to pick wildflowers. She and I went on a walk together and found many different wild flowers.

Joshua, Mike, and Hannah.

Aunt Lisa, Hannah, and Becca - at the very beginning of our walk into town to get ice cream at "Bonkeys" - a local favorite.

Jen and baby Joshua.

The ice cream was yummy!

Hannah enjoyed her soft serve chocolate.

Becca enjoyed her ice cream too - only when she was done she had half of it all over her face. :)

There was an old train station on the way back that was refurbished and look really cool.

Uncle Ethan helping Hannah and Becca leading the way home.

This was the cabin we stayed in. What a wonderful blessing!

I just love my nieces. Aren't they so cute?!

Adorable Hannah.

It was fun watching Uncle Ethan play with the girls. They really enjoyed playing with him, especially when he would chase them around the house and catch them. It was cute to hear their squeals of delight as they played with him.

Aunt Lisa, holding her adorable nephew, Joshua.

On our drive back to Mike & Jen's home, we stopped at this lookout. Ethan and I loved the view as it was so green - quite different than our So Cal desert landscape.

On the morning that we left, I took this picture of the fam. Mikee took us to Dunkin Donuts (my request) before we headed to the airport. We had such a great time with my brother and his family and we really miss them. We're so glad we got to visit them. Lord willing, we will see them again soon.

Saying Good-bye to Mandy

My good friend, Mandy, just left for northern California. I will miss her dearly. About a week before she left, we went to Soup Plantation together and came back to my place for a movie. I was glad to spend some quality time with her before she left.

The day before Mandy left, Kristina, Mandy, Abi, and I all hung out. We first went to the Autry National Center of the American West.

After the museum, we went out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum! It was delicous, as always. We of course had a slice of cheesecake for dessert. :) After dinner, we headed over to the Griffith Observatory. As we were driving there we were talking about how we thought the Hollywood sign should be somewhere close. After getting out of the car, we spotted it and asked someone to take our picture. The lady taking our picture commented, "The sign is really small, you can barely see it." She was right... If you look CLOSELY, you can see it in the distance...

Abi, Kristina, and Mandy in front of the Griffith Observatory.

Spending time with an old friend

My friend from High School (from Faith Academy), Sarah, was in CA for a short visit. I got to go see her and it was so great to spend time with her. I hadn't seen her for 8 years! She is now married and has twin boys. Her boys are so cute. Sarah and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Longbeach. Here are a few pictures of her visit.

Disneyland with Kristina

During my spring break, I went to Disneyland with my good friend, Kristina. We had a great time together.