Going, Going, Gone.

Time is running out. We will soon be leaving this place. It has been our shelter, our safe place, and our home for the past 3-and-a-half years. Lately, I have been thinking about experiences that we have had here that I would like to remember. This is not, by all means, a complete list.

*David coming home from a trip to the BMX track with horrible road rash up 1/2 of his body.
*Isaac and Andrew swimming for hours a day in the shallow end of the pool until I lovingly forced them to try out the deep end. Now they are my swimmer fish.
*A very difficult pregnancy with our miracle, Luke Sam.
*Having the ward choir come to my home to sing me one of my favorite songs, Simple Gifts. I had missed it when it was sung in Sacrament Meeting due to bed rest.
*Looking for snails with Luke on the front walk.
*Tearing a leaf off of the lime tree (left of the patio), for the delicious citrus scent.
*Hauling an absurd amount of dirty clothing, every week, to the laundry room.
*Dislocating my toe, and resetting it quickly....by myself.
*Semi-Annual Donut Night with friends.
*Discovering the importance of health and nutrition.
*Isaac reading on the top bunk for hours.
*Dave playing the guitar.
*Andrew wanting to be outside, but not wanting to upset his shadow Luke.
*Baseball, soccer, skateboarding, rip-sticking, climbing trees, scootering, running, wrestling, hide-and-seeking, and recovering on the play area in front of the apartment.
*Watching the Livermore Police take care of naughty neighbors.
*Dave finishing up his doctorate...and thinking he was done with school for the rest of his life.....
*Developing new family history research skills.
*Date nights with Dave (movies after the boys are in bed).
*Homework, Homework, Homework.
*Isaac breaking his arm on the school playground.
*Dave and the boys drawing pokemon, animals and faces. Luke using markers on the couch.

We are looking forward to the changes ahead. Our only sadness comes from knowing we are leaving friends and neighbors who have influenced us for good. Friends who have been there for us through difficult times and rejoiced with us when those times have passed. Friends, who in all aspects are our Family.

Moss Beach

With our time here in California slowly running out, our family took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend. Our closest enjoyable beach is in Half Moon Bay, and our favorite spot is the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at Moss Beach. The first trip we made here was at high tide, and so we were not too impressed. But, ever since then it has been delightful to visit. We always go when the tide is as low as possible and we are constantly amazed at the many different creatures that we come upon. The tide pools are incredible!
I love the drive to get here. Especially the small curvy roads as we near the coast. There are some neat little shops along the way. The Christmas tree farms were preparing to open, and I will admit that it was strange to see huge paintings of Santa here and there. Mostly because the temperature was in the 80's and we were in a lush, green area.
The boys love to explore here, and play in the sand. Luke thoroughly enjoyed shoveling and throwing wet sand everywhere, including on himself. I spent my time searching for beach glass while Isaac and Andrew collected interesting rocks and shells. I found a shark tooth, which I presented to Dave. The boys thought it was super cool, but when we showed it to the wildlife ranger he kindly reminded us that we were not allowed to take anything from the beach. I asked him about my beach glass and told him that I considered it a favor that I was willing to pick up garbage while at the beach. He agreed that beach glass was not a natural part of the beach. This greatly disappointed the boys since there treasures, along with the tooth, were left for nature to crush and grind into sand.
I love to be on the beach. It is both refreshing and rejuvinating to hear, see and smell the water. As we watched the sunset and prepared to leave, we recognized that everyone else conveniently headed to their cars too. The traffic was so bad heading back east that we drove the coast south a little bit and found a cozy place to enjoy fish and chips.
We have been so overwhelmed with the coming changes that this little excursion brightened our week. It also makes me realize, once again, just how much I am going to miss being here.